Driven by evidence

Jack Flynn makes a passionate case for change around Horsham West Primary School, The Weekly Advertiser, June 24, however, passion alone is not evidence.

He describes traffic around the school as ‘unsafe’ and ‘chaotic’, yet provides no traffic studies, engineering assessments, parking surveys or crash analysis to support those claims. 

Public policy should be based on evidence, not assertion.

The available crash data tells a different story. It records only a small number of incidents over many years, all resulting in non-serious injuries, with no recorded crashes in the immediate area since 2018. 

Those facts do not support describing the location as a danger hotspot.

Mr Flynn also refers to parking meters, speed humps and the Horsham City Oval redevelopment. 

Whatever one’s views on those decisions, they have no bearing on whether traffic arrangements outside Horsham West Primary School are unsafe or whether his proposals are justified.

He also calls for major infrastructure projects and a council working party, as though these are simply matters of priority. They are not. They involve multiple agencies, substantial funding and responsibilities extending well beyond local council.

Finally, Mr Flynn tells readers he has written about 100 emails and letters, made numerous phone calls and attended countless meetings.

Persistence is not evidence. Repetition does not convert opinion into fact. 

Policy should be driven by evidence, not emotion; by demonstrated need, not persistence.

Kath Dumesny 

Horsham 

It is misleading

WIM Resource’s recent announcement of a Community and Coexistence Reference Group for the proposed Avonbank Mine is concerning because it risks giving the impression the project is a certainty.

The reality is the Avonbank Mine has not been granted a mining licence. 

It remains a proposal that is subject to an independent regulatory assessment, and no decision has been made on whether the project will proceed.

By inviting people to help shape a future community benefits fund and long-term support program, WIM Resource appears to be asking the community to plan for a mine that has not yet been approved. 

This risks misleading residents, businesses and organisations into believing the regulatory process is merely a formality.

Mine-Free Wimmera Farms believes this is an attempt to secure a ‘social licence’ by building community acceptance and support before the statutory approvals process has been completed.

The community deserves clear and transparent communication that reflects the current status of the project – not one that suggests approval is inevitable.

Russell Heard

Mine Free Wimmera Farms Inc.

The entire July 15, 2026 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!