Michael Gorey

Alpine Shire Council advertised in the Border Mail today for a “greenhouse assistant”. I thought this was an horticultural position, the nature of which intrigued me, so I read further to try and figure out what the bureaucrats in Bright are up to.

It surprised me further to learn the position is something to do with data collection related to the Greenhouse Effect.

There are a few choice phrases to question why a small local council would be interested in this international scientific phenomenon, the most polite and literary of which is: What the devil?

I daresay they obtained some state or federal funding to finance this scheme, but the hidden costs may never be known (eg supervision, compliance, administration, etc).

And at the end of the day what can usefully be achieved?

I was talking to a local identity in Myrtleford yesterday and he commented on how many people are now employed by Alpine Shire. It’s true that new positions seem to be proliferating under the current regime.

These articles might be of interest:

• Alpine Shire and Greenhouse emissions
• Alpine electoral review
• Shire council governance