Sir Humphrey Appleby is alive and well

While perusing the articles in Peninsula News from April 9 regarding the dredging of the Ettalong Channel, it seems that no department wishes to take responsibility.

The Council is quoted in one of the articles: "These fees should be the funding that is put back into the Brisbane Water to make it navigable for all boat owners.

"That's the way it works in other areas of NSW so there is no reason why the Central Coast should be disadvantaged by a different process."

It brought to my imagination a possible scenario for an episode of "Yes, Prime Minister".

I imagined Sir Humphrey advising Jim Hacker of the old time-worn political trick of the sitting government giving no funding or advantages to any electorate held by a member of an Opposition party.

Imagine Sir Humphrey saying: "It would never do to have the voters, at the next election, thinking an Opposition Member could have managed their electorate with any efficiency."

On opening the NSW government website I found, sure enough, the Ettalong Channel is indeed within the electorate of one Ms Liesl Tesch MP, a Labor member.

Sir Humphrey Appleby is alive and well somewhere within the ranks of advisors to the NSW Liberal Government.

Email, 16 Apr 2018

Peggy Balfour, Ettalong