Mr Schneider is experienced in public life and on the boards of important groups, notably our own health board for the southern region.

He is a resident and will advocate on residents’ behalf.

He is also a measured man, unlikely to give any comfort to hot heads proposing vigilante action on the bats that have now spread from the Batemans Bay Water Garden to roost in surrounding suburbs.

The bats are feeding in many places at night throughout the shire, but it is their roosting habits that are causing residents so much angst.

The Bay Post/Moruya Examiner has covered this story from many angles since 2012, but the calls for action have become louder since the colony swelled to an estimated 120,000 in recent months.

No-one who has inspected the Water Garden or the surrounding streets could fail to have sympathy for the residents living nearby.

Mr Schneider certainly does.

However, he also knows that bringing some quality of life back to the homeowners, tenants and businesses who must put up with the bats so close will not be an easy task.

Flying foxes play a special role in our environment.

If human action has displaced bats from more remote areas into urban areas, then we are certainly reaping what we have sown.

Any action to disperse the mammals must be taken in full understanding of what has led to their roosting so close to an urban centre.

Our letters page today, as so often recently, has letters regarding this subject.

We thank the Bodalla electrician who has offered his services to Dr Jeet George, who complained through our pages last week that he was unable to field emergency calls due to the common power failures caused by bats flying into powerlines.

It is also good news that Telstra is replacing the batteries at its Malua Bay facility to mitigate the effects of power failures on telecommunications.

Essential Energy has also put on extra resources to help. Cool heads are needed now.