It was established in Australia as an expansion of the UN's annual International Anti-Poverty Day on October 17.

View Clubs help The Smith Family to lift Australian children out of poverty through the power of education.

The St Georges Basin View Club will host the manager of the Nowra Homeless Hub to highlight some of the issues in our area.  

Our club donates baby clothes to St Vincent de Paul, products to the Women's Refuge, has a wide range of social fundraising events such as fashion parades, movie and lunch days and theatre outings.

All funds raised go to aid the work of The Smith Family and their learning for life programs.

Women in the Shoalhaven area who want some fun, friendship and to also help with the great work of The Smith Family may want to try View: www.view.org.au or ring 1800 805 366.

We’re often told that those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear. We trade the comfort of “increased security” against a loss of freedom and increased oversight from our governments and police. We trust special powers will be used wisely against “terrorists” or “extremists” and they are not for people like us.

Well, the lesson of history is that freedoms surrendered are hard won back, if at all, and maybe one day these powers will be used against our neighbours. Maybe one day they will even be used against us.

Over the past week or more we’ve had government plans for driver’s licence photos and details to be recorded in a national facial recognition database.

We’ve also learned cameras will scan the crowd and recording identities at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in April and facial or palm scans will be trialled for access to Brisbane public transport.

On the face of it, these may seem like small encroachments on our daily privacy. Taken together, and with the suite of tougher measures since 9/11, it is a massive reach into our right to privacy that should concern us all.

The NSW Premier was alert but not alarmed, by the announcement of a federal facial recognition database, making our driver’s licence a default ID card. In her own words:

“I think all of us have had to accept that our civil liberties from time to time aren't what they used to be in order to protect public safety”, she said.

My question to the Premier and the Prime Minister and other leaders is -- how far do we go? How much do we trade until we have given up the very thing we’ve been saying we are defending all along?

I know Ann Sudmalis doesn’t “give a rats” about matters outside her electorate because she told me this in Milton earlier this year. Shame, Ann. 

Now Turnbull has thrown his weight behind the Queensland Adani coal mine, ignoring compelling and damning evidence which should disqualify it. He has also put significant pressure on state governments to “fast track” CSG drilling applications no matter the potential environmental risks. No matter what side of politics you are on, these developments are very alarming and have significant local relevance since CSG applications could be lodged right here in Gilmore.

So Ann Sudmalis, what is your position on Adani and local CSG applications? Would you be happy to see drilling occurring on our local farms with the risk of polluting aquifers? Well, would you? Perhaps you see this as a way of reducing youth unemployment?