As I'm writing this I am sad, for I know that the fifth generation I am raising now will not be here in the future, that their future lies elsewhere because of the shortsightedness of some of the people in this town.

I understand that the Big Hill Enhanced Development Project evokes emotion, but the negativity of some people has astounded me.

Why, because they don't care. Not about others, only themselves. They have given no consideration to people like me, middle age, raising kids, trying to earn a living, or the younger generation, full of hope and excitement with all that in front of them.

It astounds me with all that these people have seen over their life time and what wonderful achievements that have happened because of change that all they see is negativity.

So to those people who are completely blinded by the negativity for this Project, I say -

You are so negative that you don't give any consideration to the business owners of this town that will be directly affected by the closure of the mine (half the shops up the street are already either empty or occupied by businesses that are service providers).

You are so negative that you don't take into consideration other businesses and service providers that will be affected indirectly when people leave town and take their families with them.

You are so negative that you don't take into consideration our schools and what reduced numbers will mean to class sizes and the facilities that are able to be offered or the amount of teachers that will no longer be required due to decreased numbers.

You are so negative that you don't give any consideration to our sporting clubs, at junior and senior level and what reduced numbers will mean to them.

You are so negative that you don't give any consideration to the small clubs/organisations that rely on the mine grants that are offered up twice a year that without they would never be able to do the things they do (although I do recall seeing some people who are quite against the mine happy to line up for a cheque).

You are so negative that you don't give any consideration to the Stawell Gift, or the local racing club, the Rifle Club or the various other organisations that the mine sponsors, yearly outside the grants.

You are so negative that you don't take the time to think about what the mine has done for Stawell. The fantastic helipad sitting on top of our hospital for one.

You are so negative that you don't give any consideration to the fact that Big Hill could be something fantastic, something special, something that will draw the tourists in, something we as Stawell people can be proud of because I don't know if you've been up Big Hill lately but it's a disgrace (when the weeds get out of control the DEPI sets it on fire making it look even more unappealing).

I'm surprised there hasn't been a serious accident with people walking up the hill on the road because there are no tracks or paths. I do know there have been more than a couple of close calls.

Image if at the end of this project we had proper walking/cycling paths, barbecue areas, native plantings, a proper viewing platform to the Grampians and the Pyrenees. These ideas and more, if wanted by the people of Stawell are an option, but you are so negative you won't allow yourselves to even entertain this idea.

You call yourselves 'friends' of Big Hill, but who in this community off their own bat has planted a tree, cleaned up rubbish around it (down Reef's Road, Stawell Gold Mines does) or done anything to beautify its surroundings - some true friend.

One million dollars a month the mine puts into the economy of this community and that doesn't include wages or the safety vouchers that are awarded to SGM employees as an incentive to keep our Lost Time Incidents to a minimum.

So make that millions of dollars a month the mine puts into the economy.

I work at Stawell Gold Mines and have so for six years, so am I getting something out of being for the Big Hill Enhanced Development Project going ahead?

If you mean earning a wage and being able to pay off my mortgage, pay to send my kids to school and all the various sporting clubs that they attend, buy sporting gear, school shoes, books, groceries, clothing, etc. all locally, well the answer is yes.

It's more than that. This could be something great. This could bring more tourists into the town. This could bring other businesses into the town. This could bring young people into our town.

The Northern Grampians Shire recently undertook an Open Space, Sport and Recreation Strategy Study prepared by SGL Consulting Group Australia Pty Ltd. As part of this report there were some key study findings. One of these was Project Area Population Trends.

Some interesting information from that Study: Based on 2006 and 2011 ABC Census data the population of the Northern Grampians Shire has decreased from 11,911 people in 2006 to 11,843 people in 2011. A small reduction of 68 people (-0.6% of the population).

This doesn't seem much until you see the average Victorian population growth is 8.5% during this same period. State trends indicate that the Northern Grampians Shire area population is reducing and at a significant level when other area population growth rates are compared.

Northern Grampians Shire area population 60 years and over represents 3,360 people (28.4% - based on 2011 figures). Future population age profile data predicts that more than 39% of the population will be aged over 60 years by 2031.

Maybe we just close Stawell up. We don't try and get new investment into the town. We don't encourage new people to come. We especially don't encourage the young or families. Maybe we just become Victoria's largest retirement town where nothing happens and nothing changes. Is that what you want?

I realise that this project is set for a limited period of time and after it's done Stawell Gold Mines sadly will shut its doors to mining, but it's not just about this project.

It's about keeping Stawell alive while trying to bring in new business.

It's about retaining and retraining our workforce so that when other projects open up in the surrounding area, Stawell has the educated workforce to work such projects keeping people and their families in town.

It's about encouraging growth within the town, inspiring other families to live in Stawell because we encourage progress, forward thinking, thinking outside the box, because we want to thrive as a small country city.

It's about bringing tourists into our town rather than using Stawell as just the place you go through to get to the road to the Grampians.

This project is about so much more than just you, it's about time people started looking at the glass half full.

Kelly Cosson

Stawell