Hilltops is just a fantasy

It annoys me that there is a tendency for some people to refer to Hilltops as a place, a location where something happens or as a place which actually exists.

Hilltops is an invention, a fantasy, used by people to try to convince us that it is something better than what we have lost.

Hilltops has no significant history, no identity.

Boorowa, Young and Harden are places. 

They have a history, a tradition, an identity, to which their residents can relate and of which they can be proud.

These three towns have a proud heritage forged through years of endeavour and by events and activities which make them unique.

Hilltops means nothing except as being a hastily scrabbled together excuse for a clutch of councils involved in a ‘shotgun wedding.’

Nothing happens in Hilltops.

Whatever happens in the relevant area takes place in either Boorowa, Harden and Young.

So please do not refer to something happening in Hilltops, because, in fact, it is happening in one of the constituent areas.

The first meeting of the Hilltops Council was one instance of why people might not want to ‘own’ the Hilltops brand,

Here was an opportunity to heal wounds and mend fences.

It was a chance for those who espoused the new council area to endeavour to make the majority of ratepayers part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

That opportunity was squandered.

People attending were made to feel irrelevant to the whole operation.

Of course this is in keeping with the obvious philosophy of the Baird government.

This government has displayed a breathtaking level of arrogance.

Not only has this anti-democratic government trampled on the rights and expectations of the people of the state, but it has also sought to destroy the livelihoods of many of them.

Those who have had the courage to speak out against this juggernaut have been forced to pay a significant price. 

This was the case for Katrina Hodgkinson and her colleague Chris Gulaptis.

It seems that representing the wishes of your constituents is not on Baird’s or Grant’s agenda.

Please God, there will be a reckoning.

Eventually Baird and his cronies will have to go to the people, many of whom he has treated with contempt.

Already the polls are showing that his support is collapsing.

When the consequences of some of his legislation becomes obvious, I’m sure it will collapse further.

As the famous revolutionary song says: ’You have nothing if you have no rights.’

Australians, who are used to living in a democratic, liberal society, are very jealous of their rights.

Let’s see how those in Macquarie Street go when they have to face the ballot box.

Derrick Mason

Brial Street, Boorowa.

While I understand Mr Mason’s views and fears that Young, Boorowa and Harden may be losing some of their individual identity under the Hilltops banner, I see the amalgamation of Hilltops as an excellent opportunity to form a strong Local Government Area.

It is a chance for the major towns of the area to fight for a common goal – improving the region.