Sad saga for Gunnedah pool

As a resident and pool user for 54 years, I have been following the Gunnedah Memorial Pool saga with both interest and despair.

Thank you to councillor Newell for having the courage and foresight to vote against the EOI for an external provider proposal and to Rebecca Ryan for pointing out the important difference between the pool’s operating costs and the ongoing conflict between pool user groups (Gunnedah Times, October 2).

The pool complex is a remarkable asset for a country town the size of Gunnedah. As custodian, council is well aware that it is a public (collective) good provided for community benefit and well-being. It will never be ‘cost neutral’.

One of the reasons given to rate payers for the huge and unprecedented recent rate rise was so that council could maintain its existing level of service provision. Why then seek an external provider? This is an important credibility issue for council.

The current pool complex is a great example of how something outstanding can result from cooperation, collaboration and hard work – council, community, volunteers and users over decades. The enclosure of the heated pool in the mid-1990s is a case in point. A small band of swimming club mums volunteering in the canteen (credit to Annette Percy and Jenny Wharton), farmers donating truckloads of wheat (credit to George Avard) and many others contributing to the common good.

Working with, not against one another brings out the best in people. In stark contrast, the current conflict that has erupted between user groups has brought out the worst in people.

Whenever there is a problem, the cause(s) have to be determined, acknowledged and addressed before a solution can be found. Some person(s) has initiated this ‘war’ – perhaps blinded by self-righteousness, self-interest, misguided entitlement, jealousy and /or personal vendetta /dislike – who knows?

The fact is, holding a grudge is hard work and such a waste of time and energy. Conflict fosters so many negatives-division (people take sides), bullying, intimidation, hubris, nastiness, gossip, selfishness, innuendo, blaming, finger pointing and small mindedness – just to name a few. Kindness, respect, humility, cooperation, collaboration, consideration and understanding- the positives, unfortunately, get sidelined.

Full credit to council for its patience and due diligence in trying to navigate a path to ‘peaceful coexistence’ between user groups. The statement from the Swimming club president (Gunnedah Times, October 16) provides some insight into what council has been up against! Council has a WHS obligation to pool staff whose workplace has become a war zone at certain times during the day: not good for morale, job satisfaction nor work culture.

The basic tenant of a community asset is equality of access for all community members – no user group should assume privilege, entitlement or exclusivity. Beware the ‘big fish small pond’ syndrome! Every local child who chooses to do swim training, in whatever capacity, is equally important.

To those who ignited this fire and fuelled it until it was out of control- my challenge to you is to now work out how to put the fire out- enough damage is done. Time to reflect, become positive role models and demonstrate to the kids in your care the merits of cooperation and friendly coexistence. Having more than one user group should be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat. Let kids train alongside one another, have fun together and be members of both clubs for competition purposes. This could help keep coaches ‘on their toes’ and bring out the best performance in the kids. Pragmatic lane sharing, depending on numbers present at any one session, makes sense. Show your collective gratitude for having access to this great complex for coaching/ training purposes. Try the easy road where user groups share, co-operate and collaborate.

There are no winners in the current climate; the main losers are the children who, through no fault of their own, are members of the warring clubs. I suspect no pool user, individual or group, wants an external operator as their end game.

Colleen Loveridge, Emerald Hill.