Everyone has a problem, and many believe their problems are not being heard. 

This is not to say everyone whines, or the council does not care. But there is merit in thinking more about Goulburn Mulwaree Mayor Bob Kirk’s response to a ‘quick fix’ for the Wastewater Treatment Plant. 

The sewage smells across town is doing more than kicking up a stink. In some ways it’s highlighting the disparity of information between the people and the council. 

Many people forgot the Wastewater Treatment Plant was, in fact, getting a much-needed face lift. And, as both the council and Environmental Protection Authority sang in tune, the plant is around 100 years old. If there were complaints over the past few months on the sewage smell, the council should have publicly acknowledged the problem and acted with greater transparency. 

To those with blocked noses but unblocked ears, another development has arisen: the changing modes of how a community converses.

Traditionally, when one thought of those village green exchanges, it came down to conversations in grocery aisles, car horns beeped at red stop-lights, and other unexpected gatherings.

For regional towns, this exchange has proliferated and has a greater pull than in larger, metropolitan cities.

However, over the past few years, akin to a growing itch, sites such as Facebook and Twitter have propelled an inevitable phenomenon worth noting: the growth of online communities. Now, there are multiple sites and threads online where discussions on the town are held. 

Some could quite easily be categorised under senseless ranting, but most times these platforms provide an opportunity for strangers to join arms and fight the same battle. For others, it might be a space where they know that they are not alone. 

To those who snicker at the illegitimacy of online communities, the Post’s investigations were conceived from these discussions. 

The pre-historic association with online spaces disabling ‘good old-fashioned’ communication needs to end. Why does one ‘community’ carry more relevance as a stand-alone. Why can’t they work hand in hand, together? The answer: they can.