I have always enjoyed playing bowls, meeting new people through our bowls and the thrill of competition.

And now, the manager and committee of the club wants to reduce the floor space down to only allow three mats which does not allow visitors to come and compete, which not only upsets us as a group but loses revenue for the club as a whole.

I am now 80 years old and do not have any other sport and I am disgusted that the manager and committee seems to be doing what they want and take no consideration for the feelings of anyone else.

We are not the only members affected.

The old time dancers and the snooker club as well are affected.

Does the club really think that poker machines will bring more money.

Not, if all of us leave and never return and how many can we take with us.

Yours sincerely

Maureen McMurdo

As the president of Cowra Services Club Carpet Bowls I am on behalf of the members voicing my objections to the renovations to the Services Club dance floor area.

At the moment the area allows us to lay down five mats. If the renovations had gone as planned we would not have been able to have any mats at all.

After several discussions with the secretary manager and some directors a area has been guaranteed to house three mats.

We are not sure of the floor finish and we hope whatever it is it won’t be too slippery for our mats.

We would still prefer to have area for five mats as we have two tournaments per year where we require five mats. These attract 80 bowlers to each tournament, the majority being from out of town.

Earlier this year we had bowlers come from Mt Druitt for a weekend visit. Once again five mats were used.

We were hoping to hold more events like these but they look out of reach with the new area.

We bowl Wednesday night, Friday and Sunday afternoon. On Friday’s there are six people from Life Skills that attend each week and look forward to their afternoon outing where they mix and communicate with the other bowlers.

The supervisors have commented that the bowls has helped them all with their social skills.

Alan Messiter

Being a leader is about making tough decisions that are for the greater good.

Last week I had to make one of those tough decisions, and that was to end greyhound racing in NSW by 1 July next year.

The decision followed a Special Commission of Inquiry Report that was over a year in the making and had the powers of a Royal Commission to really get to the bottom of what’s wrong in the greyhound racing industry.

The findings of the report disgusted me: as many as 68,000 greyhound were killed over the last 12 years for not being fast enough, up to one fifth of trainers use the horrific live baiting practice and there is no appetite for the industry to change.

Some people are saying: “why not give the industry another chance, reform them not close them?’’. The former High Court Justice who conducted the inquiry was emphatic in saying that even if the industry was reform, he believed these practices would return once the harsh spotlight of commission was removed. That’s a chance this Government was not willing to take.

What also came out in the inquiry report was that the industry was already planning a significant downsizing due to it not being economically viable in its current state. This would have meant the closure of up to 19 regional tracks, including the one right here in Cowra.

With our decisive action, we’re now actually able to provide Government financial assistance and employment transition support to those in the industry with race tracks closing - something that would not have happened under the industry’s downsizing plan.

I strongly urge those battling with this issue to take the time to read the Commission’s report and you will understand why the government has taken this path. You can find it at http://www.greyhoundracinginquiry.justice.nsw.gov.au/

Troy Grant, NSW Deputy Premier

Leader of the NSW Nationals

Minister for Racing

THE news that greyhound racing will be banned in NSW and the ACT is most welcome.

As New South Wales Premier Mike Baird said, this industry is responsible for the unnecessary slaughtering of tens of thousands of healthy dogs.

Now that the industry has been given notice to close down, the fate of thousands more is uncertain.

The government must ensure that the greyhound racing industry stops all breeding programs immediately.

Over the next year, any money earmarked for building or renovating tracks should be reallocated to promote desexing and dog-adoption programs.

Please don’t buy a dog from a breeder and sentence one of these beautiful animals to an early death; adopt a companion and offer him or her, and yourself, many years of joy and love.

Desmond Bellamy, PETA Australia