Services Club is in a precarious financial situation

The Cobar Services Club will hold its annual general meeting next month with the main item on the agenda being the club’s uncertain financial situation.

The club’s secretary/manager Linda Carter said in the whole time she’s held the position (10 years), the club’s financial position has always been a worry.

When she took over the position in 2013, and helped to bring the club out of administration, Linda made a lot of changes to ensure the club was running more cost effectively.

She said with continued rising costs of wages, electricity, insurance and workers compensation, coupled with the proposed costly changes to gaming and the introduction of cashless poker machines, the club’s financial situation is still of concern.

“I’ve spoke to the board about it numerous times and if I’m to leave in 12-18 months time, we need a pathway to get out of the problem now,” Linda said.

“It’s an old building and currently there’s an air conditioner that needs replacing, that’s $50,000, then there’s new carpet and flooring and with the changes coming to gaming, the poker machines will need to be upgraded in the next five years. It’s $35,000 for one poker machine, and that’s only an ordinary one, they sell for up to $60,000-$70,000.

“We need the support of the members and we need a cash injection from somewhere. If a 100 members put in $1,000 each that’s $100,000 but that’s not really going to get us very far.

“Or do we just throw our hands up in the air?

“But I’m not a quitter,” she said.

Linda said with the guidance of ClubsNSW she’s looking in to amalgamation, which is what a number of smaller and unviable clubs are now doing.

“We’ve had some informal preliminary talks with the golf club about this just to know what path we might be able to go down.”

She said visitors from the busy caravan trade have been helping to keep the doors open.

“They come in for a drink and a meal and play the pokies, but it’s not putting us any further in front.

“We don’t have the support of some big businessman, the club is owned by the members and ultimately they will have the say as to what happens.”

Linda said if they decide to, they can choose to close the club and sell up however members are concerned what would then happen to Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services and the memorabilia that’s in the club.

“I’ve always been kicking and screaming to keep the doors open, but now I’m running out of kick,” Linda said.

She hopes the community will show their support by attending the AGM on August 26.

Cobar to take part in a clinical trial

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I am thrilled to be starting with Dubbo and can’t wait to roll up my sleeves during my extended visit to the region in September,” Mr Johnson said.

The involvement of local Aboriginal communities will be a vital part of the project, with the Djurali Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research and Education at Macquarie University to lead the codesign process.

Some of the Love Your Sister grant will be used to fund a part-time Aboriginal postdoctoral researcher on the Djurali team.

Bundjalung Elder and Macquarie University Associate Professor of Health Sciences, Uncle Boe Rambaldini, said this project will be an important step forward.

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Cancer is the leading cause of death in Aboriginal people, overtaking cardiovascular disease, and a key barrier is access to the latest treatments and affordability,” he said.

“This project will work with Aboriginal people in a culturally safe way to identify barriers to treatment and create pathways to overcome them.

“When we have inclusion and equity, that’s when we get better outcomes for my people.”

Professor Sakkie Pretorius, Deputy ViceChancellor (Research), said it is extremely pleasing to see the ONTRAC project receive such significant support.

“People living in regional, rural and remote locations will benefit tremendously, not only from having access to more clinical trials within their community, but also from the upskilling of the local workforce,” Professor Pretorius said.

“This impactful initiative will help patients stay closer to home and their support network rather than being required to travel long distances to receive the latest treatments.”

The pilot model will also be designed, evaluated and documented so that it can extend beyond this grant, and be used not only by any trial unit within Australia, but also extended to non-cancer indications.

Macquarie University’s Clinical Trials Unit currently runs about 120 trials a year, many of which are first in-human trials run on behalf of pharmaceutical and biomedical companies.