Special note should also be taken of his comment: “Farmers know better than most how to balance land and environment.”

He was specifically referring to native vegetation legislation, but whether it’s this or vital water policy implementation, the issue is the same – we have city-centric politicians and bureaucrats who lack rural understanding and, more importantly, refuse to make the effort to improve their knowledge.

Mike Baird thinks a rural tour is a day trip to Penrith and appears to have little or no interest in the part of his state which exists outside what he considers NSW – Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong.

His agriculture minister, Niall Blair, seems to think the most southern town in the state is Griffith.

And their advisers spend virtually all their time in their Sydney offices, unprepared to venture out and learn about the real world.

If Mr Baird and his colleagues don’t want a massive bush backlash at the next election, I’d suggest it’s time to get out of their comfort zone.

WELL, I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that Donald Trump is at it again! 

This time, he is demanding Hillary Clinton’s bodyguards should be disarmed because of her stance on gun control.

This might be a bit too difficult for Trump to understand but it is precisely because of the lunatics who demand that every Tom, Dick and Harry should carry a loaded weapon at all times that Hillary Clinton needs bodyguards at all. 

When will Trump and his fellow firearm freaks wake up to the disaster that widespread gun ownership has caused.

It is important that the community is aware of the facts concerning the potential for contamination of waterways from Blantyre Farms proposed mega-piggery at Eulie. 

The recent rain events are a timely warning of the various factors that must be thoroughly considered in the planning of any development. 

In their EIS and the additional information, Blantyre Farms failed to demonstrate how their proposed system would have been able to contain the high level run off experienced last week and how an overflow spill from recycling dams, and ponds holding manure sludge and liquid effluent, would have been prevented from entering into Maniac and Cunningham Creeks. 

Amount of waste produced by the proposed mega-piggery waste from any animals entering drinking water catchments is a potential problem to be managed. 

This problem is magnified if there are a very large number of animals in a small area. The population density of pigs in an intensive mega-piggery presents a totally different concern than traditional grazing. Pigs produce a lot more waste than grazing animals and at least five times more waste than humans.  According to Blantyre Farms proposal, this waste (manure and urine) will be flushed from the sheds daily into a covered manure pond. The manure pond is just like a very large septic tank. The only difference is that Blantyre Farms proposes to burn the methane/biogas produced. 

In summary, Blantyre Farms proposes to store the excrement equivalent to a city of more than 100,000 people and about 10 grain trucks of pig carcasses on less than 40 hectares 200 metres, at its closest point, from Maniac Creek. Maniac Creek feeds directly into Cunningham Creek - the drinking water catchment area for the region.