The massive hydro-electric system covers 5000 square kilometres, incorporates 16 separate dams, and has over 150 kilometres of tunnels linking it together.

In 2015-16, Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation’s revenue totalled $581 million, income derived from a broad spread of offices around the world and the sale of electricity to NSW and the southern states.

Last month SMEC was acquired by Surbana Jurong, which is owned by an arm of the Singapore government, for $393 million. SMEC will continue operating as normal with Surbana Jurong as the parent company.

Why did this happen? How can such an important asset as the Snowy Mountains Hydro system pass into the hands of the Singaporean government?

The big losers here will be the Australian government – loss of tax revenue - and power consumers.

I read with interest the article written in the Town and Country on August 1, 2016 concerning the intent to cull brumbies in the Kosciusko National Park. The article is the opinion of Mr John Parkes, a member of the friends of Currango group.

The preferred method of removal of these horses is aerial shooting. There is, or was, a moratorium in response to community concerns after the Guy Fawkes River cull in October 2000. Regular visitors to the Kosciusko National Park have stated that they have recently come across many slaughtered horses left to rot and become food for the growing wild pig, dog and fox population.  In the "Methods to be Implemented" section of the plan it suggests the only method National Parks and Wildlife will use is trapping, using lures and mustering, using low stress techniques. So why are these horses being shot?

Wild horses have been present in the area since the 1830s. NPWS refuse to call them "brumbies". They prefer feral horses or pests. They do not want to evoke any emotional attachment to these animals. They are however, brumbies. Their bloodlines date back  over 150 years. When broken in they are exceptional horses, showing loyalty and patience. Their history could be compared to that of the Waler horse. Bred in this country for these conditions. It was the Waler horse that was used by the Light Horse in World War I. One hundred an thirty thousand horses went overseas and only one ever returned. The Waler breed was re-established in part, using brumbies captured from the wild. The extermination of this animal is not just about the conservation of the Kosciusko National Park. It is also about the conservation of a national icon.

For many years bushmen have been rounding up these horses by traditional means. The numbers never getting out of hand. Around 1970 NPWS introduced a licensed horse roping/brumbie running system.

In 1982 NPWS declared the area as wilderness and banned recreational horse riding and stopped the roping/brumbie running. Since then horse numbers have increased. NPWS decided in 2003 that it would prepare a horse management plan. The plan is dated December, 2008 and is only now being actioned. Bushmen had been using their traditional methods for over 100 years and they worked.

There are plenty of interested groups with many years riding experience who would jump at the chance to help muster these horses. 

I hope we are not going to see the slaughter of hundreds of horses any time soon. If the NSW government gives the order that is exactly what we will see. Horses left to rot and be eaten by wild pigs, foxes and dogs –ensuring the establishment of these feral animals at the expense of the brumby.