The monetisation of the "environmental" protest industry, focussed on native forest harvesting and woodchip export, has helped to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars into the "environmental" charity sector. The subsidy to activists, via tax deductible donations, has come at a significant cost to Australian taxpayers.

With the environmental wildfire disaster unfolding on the north coast and the season just underway in southern NSW, one might think attention of the "environmentalists" would be focussed on helping with the wildfire fighting effort and wildlife rescue. Think again! The leading thinkers in the activist movement want to mobilise their keyboard backers to sign yet another petition.

With the north coast wildlife toll, including well over 1000 koalas, potentially in excess of 200million birds, mammals and reptiles, one would think they would reflect on their policies that help to underpin the massive fuel accumulations that have contributed to the current wildfire Armageddon. Wrong again!

Will they reflect on the 2003 wildfires that decimated 2.4m hectares of the east coast main range, including 60 per cent (over 400,000 hectares) of the Kosciuszko National Park? Will they reflect on the estimated death of 370m birds, mammals and reptiles lost in the mega fire area, that stretched from Canberra to Myrtleford in Victoria?

Hell no! Keep the donation message simple. Continue to misinform the community that harvesting is "the biggest threat to biodiversity" and once harvesting has been stopped and the forests are put into national parks, the forests are "permanently protected". In the words of Dr Phil: How is that belief system working for our public native forests and dependent biodiversity?

We all know about the bushfires in the Batemans Bay area, and in the Blue Mountains and the work the firefighters are doing. The one question I would like to ask is where are the Greenies in all this, Harriet Swift and all her friends, where are they? Do they have to be told to go help fight - "all the precious trees are being burnt". Practice what you preach.

Kudos to those responsible for providing the new compostable dog waste bags for dog owners! I was always concerned with the black degradable bags provided previously, as I understand that they actually break down into micro plastics.

I have been buying my bags from Melbourne for years as they are biodegradable and will be consumed by microbes in landfill. So well done Bega Valley Council.

We have volunteered our Merimbula and Bega offices to be a collection point for presents for the Sapphire Coast Community Christmas Lunch taking place at the Bega Civic Centre this year.

Please feel free to drop off your donations to our Merimbula office at 2/6 Alice St, or the Bega office 4/225 Carp St (opposite Betta Electrical). We are open 9am- 5pm Monday to Friday. We ask anyone donating to ensure their donations reach us by December 19.

Presents can be wrapped or unwrapped as our staff will wrap those that aren't. If they are wrapped please provide details of the gift. We would like to encourage anyone donating presents to consider gifts for adults as it is especially important to ensure our older residents receive presents too.