Yet, like the lemmings of today, we rush headlong to the sea without looking at the big picture of an overall failure of the economic system to generate sufficient cash flow to fix all the roads, eliminate all blackspots in telecommunications, all the decaying school buildings and police stations and all the bottlenecks in Melbourne’s ‘freeways’. Then add your own pet topic.

The economic system has never caught up with the increment that machinery and, more recently, technology offer us.

Until the system is rejigged to give us that acknowledgement, delays in all those projects will only lengthen as will unemployment lines.

RON FISCHER

Horsham

MY son took his wife and two children to the Kannamaroo Festival in Horsham late last month. While at the festival, my son purchased a balloon for each of the children.

You could have knocked me over with a brick when he told me how much they had cost – the princely sum of $12 each or $24 for the two. While the organisers may not have any input into the prices charged by the various vendors at the festival, surely charging a small child $12 for a balloon is too much.

FRANK DOSSETT

Horsham 

Cheryl Robertson’s 11-year-old granddaughter Lily wrote this letter to her grandmother after her car was targeted by vandals in Horsham last month.

Ms Robertson said she was very thankful to the people that had contacted her since the car was vandalised to offer their support.

She said she hoped the culprits were caught soon.

DEAR Nanny, I am so sorry about your car. I hope the person who did it gets smacked (very, very hard).

You don’t deserve to have someone do that to your car. They are very naughty and evil for doing that. They did it so you wouldn’t be able to drive your precious car anywhere. It isn’t fair on you and it isn’t fair they did it and got away with it.

They should be in jail because they did that to an innocent 61-year-old with family and work to go to with no time to deal with these troublemakers. I hope they get smacked very, very, very hard.

AS one of your local MPs, I am constantly in contact with small business people from across western Victoria. As we approach Christmas, I cannot stress how important it is to support your local businesses.

Small business is the backbone of the towns and it’s important we show our support. More and more people are buying items on the internet, but this does nothing to keep local businesses financially viable and staff employed.

Every dollar spent on line is a dollar that can’t be used to employ a local person or improve shopping opportunities in our local communities. Almost five million Australians are employed in small business.

Towns across our region, from Donald to Dunkeld, Charlton to Creswick, Beaufort to Bridgewater and many others offer great gift shops, butchers, bakers, grocers, restaurants, cafes, pubs and an array of other shopping opportunities. If we want to keep them in our communities, we need to support them.

By shopping with local small business, our actions ensure those businesses continue to survive and employ local people.

Shopping locally is good for small business and it’s good for your community.

JAALA PULFORD

Member for Western Victoria

The state government needs to scrap its withdrawn ‘puppy farm’ bill and consult dog breeders to avoid creating new regulations with unnecessary red tape.

The Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford has made an absolute mess of the legislation, which has caused incredible division, hurt and worry among legitimate and small-time hobby breeders. The Economic and Infrastructure Standing Committee will this week call for the Andrews government to abandon its plan to limit breeders to owning a maximum of 10 female dogs.

This legislation has inflamed huge community concern, with more than 100 dog owners, breeders, farmers and local councils ringing and emailing my office to say that the proposed legislation will increase red tape. It would also result in costly compliance and significant costs to breeders, show societies and local government, as well as the councils which will have to administer and police the permit compliance.

The puppy farm legislation is simply a dog’s breakfast. I can’t remember a bill being second read in the Legislative Assembly and then withdrawn, not to see the light of day again. To quote new councillor Bev McArthur of the Corangamite Shire, the government is “using a sledgehammer to squash a pea” to try and improve animal welfare standards in industrial-scale puppy farming. My advice to the minister is to scrap the legislation and start engaging with stakeholders to find a way to avoid overlaying costly bureaucratic compliance against puppy breeders who are doing the right thing and adhering to the Domestic Animals Act 1994 codes and standards.

SIMON RAMSAY

Member for Western Victoria