The ad-industry film director travelled by train from Melbourne to address the council’s open forum session specifically to say we had a “second and third rate festival.”

We suspect other motives are at play which Mr Murphy is not telling us. He touched only slightly on this, saying that he and Mr Bell “had their differences over the years.”

But if taken on face value, the claims beg scrutiny. Mr Bell has poured his heart and soul into the Blues Festival for over five years since taking over the event from the council. As successive audited annual accounts reveal, there’s little profit involved. Mostly it’s blood, sweat and tears simply to bring a great weekend of entertainment to Goulburn.

It’s highly subjective whether the acts are “second and third tier bands.” That’s Mr Murphy’s opinion. We certainly didn’t hear anyone complaining about the line-up, which this year included the likes of Dream Boogie and Canadian singer/songwriter Ann Vriend. In fact each year there are new acts.

The festival has gone ahead in leaps and bounds since Mr Bell took it over. Granted, $20,000 is not a lot for the council to allocate annually. This can be reviewed if the council does indeed want to draw in higher profile acts. Perhaps also, those businesses that reap rewards from the influx of people to the city can kick in to promote the festival. This, and sponsorship are valid talking points but for now, Mr Bell deserves our support.

Dalton and district residents must be given maximum opportunity to comment on AGL’s revived plans for a gas-fired power station in their midst.

The passage of five years has not dimmed public angst over this development and the company has not fallen over itself to maintain channels of communication.

Two weeks was never enough time for people to comment on AGL’s request for a two-year extension on their approval, due to lapse in July.

It’s good to see the Department of Planning relenting and extending the submission period until April 13.

But it should also insist that AGL update environmental studies, including the water and air quality impact, as part of its application.