Eventide had just completed four homes in the plantation, which were up for sale.

My husband, who had Parkinson’s disease, thought we should buy one, so we were the second buyer here. As well as the initial price, there is a maintenance fee which rises continuously. It is now $64.50 per week. A short time after moving in I noticed several white-tailed spiders in the house, which I collected as proof. Eventide kindly had the roof cavity sprayed, which is where white tails prefer to live. When the numbers of white tails over the years built up, Eventide organised the spraying.

Now the chief executive has flatly refused to pay and told me other residents want their homes sprayed also because I had told them of my problem, which I had not.

I awoke last week at 7am because I felt something crawling on my arm. It was a white tail spider, which fortunately had not bitten me. I have a collection of these spiders as proof in a jar. My dog, then a young puppy, was bitten.

I am perplexed to know what my ever-increasing weekly maintenance fee covers, as usually I am able to fix things myself, and have rarely asked for help. I am extremely disappointed in Eventide’s attitude.

Maintenance used to come regularly and vacuum the air-conditioning duct and at the same time check the batteries in the smoke alarm. They no longer do that. When on a pension of $64.50 per week, there is a lot for nothing. I have heard they had white tails in one of the cottages at Eventide and very promptly attended to that. I shouldn’t think the cottages would be paying as much as the plantation.

MARGOT GARDNER

Stawell

THIS year will undoubtedly go down as one of the worst in recent history for road crash fatalities in Australia. 

However, the opportunity is looming to turn those statistics around by making new year’s resolutions about our driving patterns and playing a personal part in helping to reduce road trauma.

It’s not about the numbers, it’s about individual people - mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, grandparents and friends, who needlessly lose their lives, creating a lifetime of sorrow and grieving for those left behind.

We need to work together – the educators, government, the community, police and businesses and importantly every road user to reduce the number of deaths on our roads. Even one death is one too many.

Road Safety Education Limited is a not for profit organisation, committed to reducing trauma on our roads by educating year 11 students through its flagship RYDA program. 

It provides powerful workshops to change the way young people think about road safety. We watch heartbreaking stories of young people losing their precious lives, hoping it never involves our own families. It’s time to take the pledge, make that new year’s resolution, to improve our driving, stick to the rules, turn that mobile phone off and leave it in the glove box when we’re driving. Parents teaching their children to drive have a very significant role to play in helping their young driver to stay safe on the road. 

The best possible advice for any parent is to be a good role model for your learner driver. 

Don’t be the parent to take that quick phone call when driving or to have a couple drinks before getting behind the wheel. 

Encourage people to take responsibility for driving safely because no one wants a friend or family member to be killed or injured. Let’s stop accepting death and serious injury as just part and parcel of using our roads. Together we can all play our part in radically reducing the road toll and making 2017 a year to remember for all the right reasons.

TERRY BIRSS

CEO, Road Safety Education Limited