Letters To The Editor

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True colours

At their very first meeting, the new version of the sick-pack have shown their colours. A complete disregard of the wishes of the people.

Ros Irwin got a far greater vote than Chant and yet he has been chosen as Deputy Mayor.

Can we afford to have another four years of stupidity?

Can we afford another four years of disastrous financial decisions?

John Temple-Watts
The Channon

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Work it out

Nothing is so easily misquoted and faked as statistics. Two prominent examples include the official Unemployment Rate, as published monthly, and the CPI.

Who knows that our glorious rate of unemployment, currently about 5.7%, counts everyone as employed who works at least 1 hour per week?

While the actual monthly household survey these figures are based on is quite comprehensive and would allow to derive quite accurate figures about how many people are working full time, how many are working part time or casual and how many are feeling under-employed, these figures are not mentioned in the media and nowhere available on the ABS website. One wonders why!

Perhaps the truth would be a death sentence to any government in office?

The CPI figure, currently at about 2% per anno, is another joke. Have you, dear reader, seen anything such as rates, insurance premiums, fruit and veriest, electricity, rent, coffee prices, car repairs, petrol, government fees and charges, medical and other services etc. pp go up by 2 per cent only? You're kidding! The official figure is only true if you buy a Merc or BMW, a DVD player, a computer, a luxury range hood and a spa bath every year.

While luxury consumer goods and electronic gear get cheaper all the time, essentials get dearer by the 10's of per cents.

Currently this is even more true for rents and home ownership costs. While the big end of town enjoys almost stable expenses and lavish increases in their pay packages, the bottom end enjoys almost stable incomes and lavish increases in their essential expenditure.

Mind you, every Centrelink pension, allowance or benefit is tied to the "official" CPI figure.

So, not surprisingly, many Australians find themselves under employed and poverty stricken, or working permanent overtime in poorly paid jobs just to get by. The kids suffer either way under the stress of their parents. The great Australian dream of the fair go has been superceded by the brutal exploitation not seen for the last 70 years. Thank you, America!

Michael Qualmann
Modanville

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King parrot

With Broadcaster Alan (The Parrot) Jones currently receiving $1.2 million annually from Telstra, it is obvious that the average resident is being slugged for extra rental costs to offset this largesse. Voters should remember that Telstra is 51% majority owned by the Federal Government, and instruct both their feckless and fearless elected representatives accordingly. No doubt our National and Liberal Federal MPs are tearing strips off the Kirribilli Kitchen Kabinet, on our behalf, right now.

John X Berlin
Maclean

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Precious freedom

You still don't get it, Bad Boy Roddy. I'm not sure how to say it in words of one syllable that you can understand.

You have free speech.

But ... all freedoms have limits.

You have written to The Echo, and your letters have been published. Had you written similar letters in certain other countries, you would indeed have been locked in a cage. You are still at large.

You seem to have other issues that you are unwilling to mention. I can't comment on these, but I would still maintain that you would not end up in a cage (or have your right arm amputated) if you published these other matters yourself.

Unless, of course, the other matters were seen as a strong incitement to riot, insurrection or violence, or if they falsely and seriously maligned one of your fellow citizens, or if they were offensive in some other way to other members of the community, in which case there might well be an argument that you had breached the bounds of your precious freedom.

Rosie Gibbons
Lismore Heights

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Yabba dabba doo time

The Laws versus Jones Show. Ho hum! It's just a touch of the Flint-stones. In this week's episode, Fred hurls verbal barbs at Barney who's preoccupied with saving the skin of a few old dinosaur friends. Next week it's a new reality show "Two Egos in Search of a Microphone" with a tilt towards Howard's End. Stay tuned.

Neville Jennings
Kingscliff

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Pet Adopt-a-thon thanks

Over the weekend of May 1 and 2, Animal Rights & Rescue held the 3rd annual Pet Adopt-a-thon. What a weekend!

Not only was it the most successful to date (about 40 animals found great homes), but the people who came to view, adopt or just have a chat were terrific. Everyone was patient if they had to wait to talk to a volunteer, and it was a pleasure to meet so many sincere, responsible pet owners.

As an Animal Rescue volunteer, I wanted to thank the public for their support - it was very heartening. The venue was great (thank you Alstonville Agriculture Society), the weather perfect, and the only bad thing was some lowlife stealing our animal food sometime Friday night. (Anyone who steals from a charity is bound to have very bad karma!)

For those who are interested in bringing a pet into their home, please contact ARRG on 6622 1881, or check out the web site: www. animalrights.org.au .

Michela Brown
Alstonville

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Freedom of choice

I'd like to thank Ian Causley for not accepting his invitation to the Nimbin Drug Law Reform Rally. It was a beautiful day with blue skies and we didn't need Ian's dark cloud of misinformation hovering above us. It seems the medical experts disagreed with Ian totally!

Again I'd like to thank Ian for putting our tax dollars to good use by using his PR department to work bagging the Rally, as the well informed realise that, what Ian thinks, and what is, are two very different things.

Personally, I've been involved in drug law reform for several years because I don't want my children or even my grandchildren to be subjected to the draconian drug laws that are on the books today, and I realise how difficult it is to change these laws and their makers! Freedom of choice is the beginning of real freedom. Thanx again Ian,

Michael Wright
Mt. Nardi

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The third annual Northern Co-operative Meat Company Charity Golf Cup (NCMC) was another huge success raising $15,000 surpassing last year's proceeds of $12,900. In addition 60 golfers travelled from Brisbane to play and compete for $10,000 in prizes with most chasing five nights accommodation with return business class airfares to Cairns won by NCMC employee Andy Shaw.

However the major objective is the funds raised will be distributed across the Northern Rivers to the North Coast Rescue Helicopter, Windara Tearooms and Nursery and Jumbunna Pre-school and Early Intervention Centre.

The events success would not have been possible without the support of the customers of the NCMC that gave sponsorship from as far a field as South Korea and all states of Australia. Some NCMC traders travelled to Casino from Melbourne to Brisbane and everywhere in between to attend.

However most importantly the generosity of the business community across the Northern Rivers was once again magnificent with sponsors from Ballina, Lismore, Grafton and Casino all contributing to the success of the day.

Their generosity is best summed up by Pat Townsend, owner of Flair in Casino - "We like to give often, but not big." Well to Pat and all the other supporters the sum of the often will always outweigh the infrequent big gesture and keep these wonderful non-profit organisation performing their invaluable work 365 days a year!

On behalf of the organising committee I would like to make special thanks to the director's and management of the Casino Golf Club, Northern Co-operative Meat Company, Casino Travel Shoppe, Ballina Manor, Golf World Bundall, Country Energy, Ian Halliday golf professional and The Northern Star for their unbounded contributions.

This event is becoming a great appetiser for a wonderful six weeks in Casino with Beef Week and Primex still to come. Thank you all!

Stephen Wills
NCMC Shipping Officer
Northern Co-operative Meat Company Ltd
Casino

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Get losta Costa

The state transport minister never had the bloody guts to face us train supporters here at Lismore or down Sydney. We was told he made a quick dash over to West Australia. The bloody germ should stop there scumbag that he is.

Norm Reg Turner Davidson
Goonellabah

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Not such a sweet deal

Mr Ian Causley, most of us heard your gospel garbage about how sugar cane grower's would benefit from the 444 million dollar package offered by the King of Con; Jackboot Johnney. What sayest thou now it's been revealed only the poor lads with 210 thousand dollar assets or less might? benefit if they meet the criteria demanded, please let us out here, know how many will be able to access this program.

Or can we expect more spew from the beak of our most exalted, majestic Grafton goose?

J Harvie
Goonellabah

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Just hot air?

Mark Latham needs to learn that the only thing worse than the Labour (sic) Party without policy is the Labour Party promising policy and then not delivering.

Since becoming leader almost six months ago Mark Latham has talked about every issue under the sun from the creation of a Republic to the crisis in masculinity. But he has failed to back his rhetoric up with policy of any substance.

There is only so long a leader can survive on words and speeches. Ultimately Australian people want to know what the ALP stands for. They need to see real policies.

When Latham came to power we were promised a breath of fresh air. However the reality is that he is becoming the king of hot air.

Bob Wilson
Alstonville

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Watch your language

Re: the curse of the naughties.

Apparently it is still unlawful to use offensive language in a public place. It would be interesting to know just what constitutes "offensive" in the present cultural climate.

The great Aussie adjective 'bloody' has been supplanted by the universal 'F-word' which many, including some crusty blokes of the old school, consider shameful. However, even this could seem piddling when verbally-challenged secular media moguls and their lackeys misuse a proper noun which should be revered by all Christians and respected by others as a inviolable. The previously insidious but now blatant profane use of the Holy Name of Jesus begs the question - is sacrilege passé or is it only applicable in places where threats of violence (at the very least) follow sacrilegious pronouncements? As we know, the name Jesus means 'savior' or 'redeemer' and Christ means 'anointed one' or 'Messiah' so is it PC to use JC as an expletive? The recent past saw one local journalist exclaim in print - "Chissakes" and another referred "amusingly" to members of a visiting band as "holy trinity".

Are we not all "beautiful and equal"? Certain sections of society keep insisting we are and yet it appears that practicing Christians are exempt from this equality and should be silent when their Deity is blasphemed, outraged and His very Name treated either with utter contempt or used as comic relief. Sure, realise that expletives of all kinds can become an ingrained habit, but as yet there are no 'patches' to break the profanity habit, only a determined will.

Politicians and the secular media pay scant attention to human rights violations when it comes to religion, except when they could be seen as, horror of horrors, racist, and yet religious liberty is one of the most vital pre conditions for democracy. Recently, the Swiss Evangelical Alliance announced that Christians are still the most persecuted group, ie victims of violence, in the world. A credo of love appears less acceptable than one of hate.

There is however, more than one form of persecution. The very air around us is polluted with curses and blasphemies and this in itself is unlikely to result in the elusive 'peace' we keep bleating about.

Everything we do has a consequence, and so, if just for the sake of peace we cold start a counter-revolution by using the Holy Name of God as a prayer and not a profanity.

Mary B Mason
Lismore Heights

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