It is a case of pork barrelling to the extreme
The present State Government has taken pork barrelling to the very extreme.
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How?
By wasting taxpayers’ taxes on building a new maintenance depot for the NSW passenger fleet at Dubbo; at what cost, $50 million?
Why – as they already have a maintenance located within 10 minutes of Central Railway Station.
I would like to make the Premier aware that all passenger trains radiate out of Central.
She already has two closer locations to build the maintain passenger fleet closer to Sydney than Dubbo, namely Newcastle and Goulburn, and both these two cities are serviced by XPT, Xplorer and Endeavour fleets.
The Western Line is only serviced by XPT and Endeavours only as far away as Bathurst, so why is Dubbo allocated the depot over both Newcastle and Goulburn when the new trains are still not even costed or on the drawing boards?
Goulburn is half the distance from Dubbo and Newcastle is a quarter of the distance from Dubbo to Sydney
Why?
Because the Coalition lost the state seat of Dubbo by the grand style of 36 per cent at the last state by election.
No matter what the cost is to the NSW taxpayers, she must win back the National seat to please the Nationals.
Win at all costs.
Frederick P Grady, Goulburn
Opposition is not recognising mandate
Recent articles in The Goulburn Post, including your editorial (GP Aug 16) about gay marriage bring to mind the days when the Oppositions in Australian Parliaments honoured government mandates.
The Government went to the last election promising to hold a plebiscite on gay marriage. The Government won that election.
The Opposition has refused to recognise that mandate.
If they had a plebiscite would have been held and marriage between gay couples would be legal?
It's that simple. The rest is politics.
Tony Morrison, Goulburn
Leon – your rail insights are appreciated
Thank you again Leon Oberg for your rail insights.
Isn’t Dubbo at the end of the line?
Why would you service some trains that don’t even go there?
Maybe if our State Member was in danger of coming to the end of her political line, the three new trains would be serviced where they run daily – here.
Dermid McDermott, Goulburn
Put the Performing Arts Centre at the council
I hope this letter gets to the right people in time as I was not going to write anything, but this idea keeps nagging me.
I read somewhere about the council actually thinking of putting a Performing Arts Centre in the old [town hall] council building on Auburn Street.
Well, that would be a very expensive way of doing this as walls need to come down and then the hall might still be too small?
So why doesn’t the council do it cheaper and easier?
Move the Art Gallery into the old council building. “Art galleries need walls” and put the performance art hall in that space.
Oops, too good an idea?
Sorry, but what are we paying you guys for?
Paul Agius, Goulburn
Roberts is a dual citizen
Senator Malcolm Leuan Roberts was born on May 3, 1955, in Dishergarh, India, which made him a Indian citizen by birth.
“A person born in India on or after January 26, 1950 but before July 1, 1987 is citizen of India by birth irrespective of the nationality of his parents. They are considered a citizen of India by birth if either of his parents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth". (Source: Indian Citizenship Act 1987, Foreigners Division, Acquisition of Indian Citizenship)
When Mr Roberts became an Australian citizen, he lost Indian Citizenship because the Indian Government does not allow dual citizenship under the Country's Constitution.
Under Indian Law, a Indian Citizen who acquires the citizenship of another country, automatically loses their Citizenship of Origin.
But unless Mr Roberts has informed the Indian government in the appropriate manner, that government has no way of knowing that Mr Roberts became an Australian Citizen.
Mr Roberts may still be a Indian citizen because Mr Roberts posted on Twitter: "In 2014, I contacted the Indian authorities and that confirmed that I am not an Indian citizen." (Source: Twitter @SenatorMRoberts , 17 July 2017)
It doesn't.
The Indian Governments needs proof, such as an Australian Passport or documentation of Australian Citizenship for the Indian Government to accept that Mr Roberts had acquired citizenship of another country and this means he had voluntarily renounced Indian Citizenship.
Mr Roberts applied for Australian Citizenship in 1974. He stated in his application that his Citizenship was "(British) UK+ Cols."
His application was approved on June 26, 1974 (Source: Buzzfeed News, https://www.buzzfeed.com/markdistefano/he-was-only-19?utm_term=.xsJxDAgWk#.khrLgeJz6)
From that date on, I believe Mr Roberts became a UK-Australian (dual) Citizen.