In 1972 there was not a tree insight, it was known as the Sahara Desert, it was a paddock with a few horses.

But first and foremost the land is owned by the crown it is not council land, anyone can put a DA in on any block as long as they have the owner's permission.

As a friend pointed out to me it appears that all these groups doing the complaining are all linked, The Greens, Futuring Orange, ECCO, Ploughmans Wetlands, Hearts of Orange , etc ...

All jumping up and down wanting to make an area of land, which is not council's, a Central Park-type complex.

Sure, anyone can come up with great ideas but who is paying?

The $25 million being used for the sporting precinct is state government money, not council's.

The business case, if you talk to a number of outlets in the centre of town, is an extra $4000 to $5000 in takings on any given weekend if there is various types of carnivals in Orange (cricket, football, athletics, for example).

If it was to be a Central Park, our council already pays $11.5 million in operational and capital cost for parks and gardens in Orange.

The operational costs of just the botanical Gardens is well towards $700,000-a-year

The Ploughman's Wetlands, where I am sure Grizzly Adams lives, was just a normal paddock with a small gully scattered with briars and blackberries and the odd cow in the '70s. It's operational matters comes at a cost in excess of $250,000 per year.

So for council to take on this land as a park it would seem it would cost upwards of $2 million a year to maintain.

Meaning your rates would have to rise 3 per cent or more to cover costs. That is over and above the IPART percentage increase.

As most councillors know the Bloomfield site was not my first choice however I do respect the democratic vote that was taken in the chamber and if I disagreed I would've used the democratic process of recision.

To go outside this perimeter would be an insult to every Australian that has fought for our democracy today, which includes generations of my family and I have no intent of insulting them.

However the Blue Mountains Council, which was pointed out by Mr Da Rin, have branded radiata pines as a noxious.

Other Other councils haven't gone as far but advise against planting them and leave their planting to the forestry corporations. Details below of the Blue Mountains Council.

Radiata Pine (Pinus radiata)

(Also known as Monterey Pine)

Type of weed: Woody weed

Description: A very fast growing tree up to 50 m tall. The bark is thick and furrowed. Leaves are linear, pine-like and arranged in groups of three; they are aromatic when crushed. Male and female cones are produced on the same plant. Male cones are small and yellowish. Female cones are soft and purplish at first, ripening over 18-36 months to form 7-15 cm brown pine cones.

Dispersal: Radiata Pine has been widely planted for forestry and windbreaks. It is highly invasive usually in areas where the rainfall exceeds 600 mm. Seed is dispersed long distances by wind. The Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo uses the seed as a food source and spreads the seed further into bushland.

Impact on bushland: Pines reduce the fertility of soils, alter the nutrient and water cycles, reduce light levels and generate thick layers of pine needles that prevent seed regeneration and growth of seedlings. Radiata Pines form dense stands that shade or crowd out most native trees, eventually creating monocultures.

The Blue Mountains Council would be one of the most "green" councils in New South Wales.

It is to be noted that the forestry corporation take around 1 million tons of radiata pine from the area per year which is equivalent to about 1 million trees.

I cannot see these people attaching themselves to Glenwood forest, Macquarie Woods, Kinross Forest, Mullion Forest ... etc etc

And also where were these organisations when the new DPI was being built and the removal of trees there.

If I remember quite correctly "the Greens" on council voted for the new DPI and appeared to care less about the trees that were there, even though some of them were planted in memory of various people.

My phone and messenger have run hot with residents and ratepayers saying just hurry up and build it.

We need the stadium, we need the athletic track and we need the sporting fields.

We have families travelling to Dubbo to be able to get quality training facilities for their elite athletes, others have to go to Sydney.

But it is interesting to see that the protest rally at the hospital precinct is on land that is owned by the crown and under the control of the Orange Ex-Services Club.

When the organisers of the climate emergency debate were in our chamber, a number of people came from Sydney. It will be interesting to see if they have permission to hold the Rally and abide by all COVID-19 regulations.

One would think that the police will be there to enforce social distancing, but that remains to be seen.

There is a perception in the community with the similarities of the names that Futuring Orange and Future Cities are links to Orange City Council. This rally has nothing to do with Orange City Council.

Over the years we have had the ozone hole, global cooling, global warming, climate change, a climate catastrophe, extinction rebellion, climate emergency etc....

We now wait for the 'great reset'.

Wasn't it Al Gore that said there would be no snow on Mount Kilimanjaro by 2020?

I'm not a climate change skeptic, it's been happening since time began but I do not support the doomsdayers.

It appears that some are using this as a political platform but I believe the majority can see through this process.

The Central Western Daily relies on your support to keep doing what we do. If you're not already a subscriber, please consider coming on board. For as little as $3 a week for full digital access, a subscription represents great value.