State Of The Snow Leaves Visitors Under A Cloud
The Age
Wednesday September 15, 1993
BACK in Perth this week are four blokes whose opinion of Victoria is somewhat diminished. And the cause of their grievance seems legit.
A bit over three weeks ago, businessmen Mike Fotios, Alan Thomas and Gary and Stephen Dempsey booked a skiing holiday at Falls Creek. They had fallen down slopes together before. In Europe. This was to be their first time on the piste in Australia. A travel agency in Perth made the arrangements. Displayed prominently on the premises, says the foursome, was a report on Victorian skiing conditions.
Right up until they collected the plane for the east _ about a week ago _ they say they checked the ski conditions. In the middle of last week, the sign still described the situation at Falls Creek as ``excellent skiing". So off they flew, hired a car in Melbourne, then drove up to Falls Creek and disillusionment.
``I'd describe the snow as non-existent," said Mike Fotios. ``There was a bit of man-made snow on some runs, but you could see the boulders sticking out of it." The chums, who didn't bother to unpack, headed back to Melbourne, where they were stuck for a couple of days while airlines shuttled West Coast Eagles supporters backwards and forwards across the continent.
Mr Fotios and companions are a tad cheesed off because their tickets, which had cost a combined $5000, were valid for a year. ``If someone had come clean and told us beforehand there was no snow we would have postponed the trip until next season," he said. ``As it is, it seems there is no proper supervision of snow reports sent out of Victoria to other states.
Stuck in Melbourne, the foursome thought they might at least redeem the weekend by watching West Coast cream Essendon. And that wasn't much fun either, was it? COURT journalists are more than a little sad about the Budget cut that means the court will not be holding its reception to open the 1994 legal year. Apparently some scribes used the event to get a rare court ``freebie" of the odd half Scotch and water.There is no truth, as yet, to the rumor that the reporters will hold their own ceremony at a local hostelry.
SNAPPY Tom Roper faces the task of pushing factions uphill as he tries to retain his seat of Coburg in the coming December preselection holocaust. The dogs are nipping at his heels.
Jim Kennan, in the days when he was state Labor leader, was said to have valued Tom for his nous in dealing with Legislative Assembly business and to have backed him against those doubting Thomases in the ALP who pointed out that their kids screamed in fear whenever Mr Roper popped up on screen in the Tories' ``guilty party" advertisements. In fact there's a theory that one reason why Big Jim pulled the plug and went off to tend his vegie patch was his lack of success in rallying votes for Snappy.
Anyway, Tom certainly seems to be in trouble. When the seat he represents was called Brunswick (the name change recognised boundary changes) he had to battle the local Mayor, Simon Pryor. Now an ex- councillor _ he resigned in a burst of spleen last year _ Mr Pryor wants another shot.
Also lurking around are Coburg councillor Pauline Taylor and young Socialist Leftie Carlo Carli. Possibly of more immediate bother for Snappy is fellow Rightie Bill Kardamitsis, who still enjoys a following even after being rolled twice by Phil Cleary in Wills.
A FELLOW who reckons it might rain until Cup Day popped into the NSW travel centre in Bourke Street yesterday and looked longingly at the brochures for Merimbula and thereabouts. Why not a few days on the Sapphire Coast? Uncertain of the geography, he looked around the walls in the hope of spying a map of our most populous state. No luck. He then asked a young woman if she could help. ``Sorry," she said politely, ``but they have maps at the GPO down the road.
Not to worry, the brochures reveal all.
© 1993 The Age
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