Letters To The Editor

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A step forward

Congratulations on your good news story re reconciliation, 'Paying the rent' (Echo, July 1) and congratulations Sue Edmond and Jarlanbah Community for conceiving the idea and following through on paying the rent.

While the gesture of paying $1 a day to the children of the Bundjalung nation is token it carries deep significance in terms of recognition and respect, it is a step towards some long overdue treaty business. Keep up the good work leading the way in sustainable and ethical development Jarlanbah, let's hope other developers and those who make profits from dealing in and on Bundjalung land follow suit!

D Thomas
Bexhill

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Lesser evil?

Assuming the allegations against Mark Latham are true, what's worse: engaging a war on a country, killing, and destroying homes and infrastructure on the basis of a lie and political opportunism; humiliating and dishonouring desperate people by claiming they throw their children overboard for political gain through lies; spending over $100 million dollars on political advertising at the expense of desperate people waiting for urgent health care; or taking money away from ordinary school kids so the more affluent can get better advantages in life trough education?

I appeal to the media to please get their priorities in perspective and sell a more civil values-oriented society. I only wish some of these people could experience some of the less fortunate life experiences for a while.

T Slufinski
Tintenbar

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Short-term memory

It is interesting to hear all the hype about Latham's so-called violence against another man years ago. Was it not violence against hundreds of other men when Howard ordered balaclava wearing mercenaries and their dobermans to do his dirty work on the wharves a few years back? Is he who signs the paper any better than the man who uses his fist? Both could claim provocation because of an ideological clash. What short memories some of the media have. Balance, please!

B Guy
Lismore

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Thanks Echo

It is support from businesses like The Northern Rivers Echo that made the International Gala Ball held on May 22, organised by The Rotary Club of Lismore Central Inc. a financial and social success.

On behalf of the ball committee and our club I express sincere appreciation for your generous sponsorship and advertising help.

Barbara Hull
International Director
The Rotary Club of Lismore Central Ball Committee.

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Where are you now?

To Cr Col Sullivan, the great advocate of amalgamation in which you played a very large part in forcing the amalgamation of Richmond River Shire Council and Casino Council against the wishes of a great majority of the residents and ratepayers of the former Richmond River Shire.

At the time, at concerned meetings in Evans Head, residents were told by you that if they didn't want amalgamation to happen then it wouldn't!

But you also said it would save us money if it eventuated. Well Col, you know that it is not true. We now have an amalgamated disaster for a council with, in my view, bad management and overspending, bleeding people in Evans Head dry financially.

Although you were sighted at the last land auction at Evans Head recently (more money for Casino), you've never come along to any public meetings held recently at Evans Head, that I am aware of, to face the local people. Where were you during the rates discussion?

Margaret Saul
Evans Head

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Channelling Howard

I see there's a new TV channel up for grabs. May I suggest that Mr Howard buy it for his own use? Then he could have his personal cameraman travel with him 24 hours a day and those few who are interested can tune in and have the benefit of his opinion on everything.

Well, we practically get that now - whatever the event - sport, politics, science, medicine, industrial relations, domestic, foreign, cosmic, you name it, our Johnny's got a comment. And the fool press follow him around as if he had something important to say.

Rosie Gibbons
Lismore Heights

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Young guns blazing

What a great week we've had to celebrate the achievements our young citizens! First of all we saw their wonderful community contribution celebrated at the Kids in Community awards night and then North Coast Camera hosted Youth Media, a program of three wonderful short films made by local young people with the help of some great adults.

Both events were well attended and gave the broader community a chance to recognise the talents, skills and social awareness of our school-aged young people.

Congratulations to all nominees, winners and filmmakers and to the adults who assist and support them.

Cr Jenny Dowell
Goonellabah

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Security measures

What a plan. Clear all the land. Drain all the wetlands. Poison all the rivers. Totally destroy the environment. Who wants to invade a desert? Kill a tree. It's national security.

Marcus Davis
Lismore

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Road woes

About a year ago I wrote in your letters section that I had been driving in three states since 1941, and that I consider myself to be a very experienced and competent driver, so I believed I had a right to comment on local drivers.

At that time I pointed out that many drivers, even some police and fire brigade cars, had often been observed blocking intersections in Lismore CBD. I also pointed out that a large number of drivers use their indicators too late, beginning to turn or, on the highways, merge from the left, at the same time as the indicators operate, also the left indicator after leaving a roundabout.

Since writing that letter I have driven as far south as Port Campbell on the 'Great Ocean Road' in Victoria and to Airley Beach and Chute Harbour in North Queensland. I found little fault with Victorian drivers on my trip through that state, quite a lot of driving around Melbourne. (Perhaps I was lucky, they were woeful in the fifties when I lived there) But driving in South East Queensland?!!

The Pacific Highway from the border to Brisbane and the Bruce Highway from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast has many stretches of 100 and 110km/h limit, but many drivers only do 70-80km/h, which would be no problem if they drove on the left. But there are vehicles at varying speeds on all four lanes, resulting in drivers cutting in from both left and right.

I drive on the highway to Coomera, at the northern end of the Gold Coast, fairly often and I am surprised that I have not been in, or witness to, a multiple pile-up. Talk about Russian Roulette!

Doug Myler
Lismore Heights

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Flag wavers

Nationalism can breed its own indefensible actions - pride comes 'before the fall' doesn't it? Albert Einstein once remarked that "nationalism is the measles of mankind".

This was the time when measles was a medical problem akin to, say, AIDS today, and the Germanic Nazi machine was in full flight.

Think of that when you next gaze starry-eyed at a flag, and/or puff out your collective breasts "with pride".

And our Prime Minister would make flying the flag mandatory at schools? The man's clearly not well. Get rid of him at the next election.

Col Bowen
Lismore

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Civility needed

I do think Mr Bartos that you are being just a bit too harsh on Mr Lang (Echo, June 24). Perhaps you could afford him the same civility that you yourself desire and obviously appreciate. I mean it is clear from Mr Lang's letters that he's got unpleasant memories about having had to grow up in a totalitarian country. Perhaps he should be forgiven for being over-emotional, especially when he is constantly reminded of this own past whenever he turns on his TV and sees the mistreatment of the Iraqi, Afghani and Palestinian people.

Perhaps he could be justified for being outraged about the attacks on our liberties and the wars being waged in our names and with our tax dollars. And perhaps it should serve as a wake up call for the many when people like Mr Lang and myself who have lived in a totalitarian system before keep having déjà vu experiences with an ever increasing rate. Especially since this so called "war on terrorism" started.

The cornerstones of our democracy, the freedom, rights and liberties are being eroded at an alarming rate right in front of our eyes. Not to mention the war on Iraq and the rhetoric coming out of Washington and Canberra about it. All of which sounds like an echo of the rhetoric that came out of Moscow in the bad old days, constantly reminding the peoples of Eastern and Central Europe that they the Russians didn't come to invade, but rather to liberate us and to install democracy to our countries. They kept their forces there, not to oppress, but protect us from the bogeyman. And of course, we the little people had to be ever so grateful to Mother Russia for her kind generosity. Does it sound familiar, anyone?

America too, and for a while even Australia, had it's own bogeyman, the communist. But he died with the collapse of the Soviet Union. So, a new bogeyman had to be found. And sure enough, he has duly arrived on a sunny morning in September 2001. He is the terrorist.

So now we have terrorists under our beds. And fridge magnets to remind us about them. As the American historian Howard Zinn states in his book Terrorism and War: "Terrorism has replaced Communism as the rationale for the militarization of the country, for miliary adventures abroad, and for the suppression of civil liberties at home. It serves the same purpose, serves to create hysteria."

According to the latest opinion polls in the USA, 54% of the people now think that invading Iraq was a mistake, and 55% believe that the war has actually made the world a more dangerous place. Sure, there might not have been any terrorists in Iraq before the war, but they are there now.

Never mind, insist Bush, Blair and Howard, if things have not gone to plan and the situation in Iraq is less than ideal, it is all for a good cause: to fight terrorism and bring democracy to Iraq. But if fighting terrorism is more the effect of, than the reason for the invasion, then liberating Iraq was never really part of the game plan.

Busted on his claims about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction and on linking him to Al Qaeda, our Prime Minister now alleges that he was, at worst, misled by faulty intelligence. But it seems much more likely that it was in fact the government who have wilfully manipulated intelligence in the cause of a dishonest agenda.

It is no accident that John Howard seems incapable of speaking the truth to the Australian public about this war. To admit failure on Iraq is to bring into question his entire foreign policy. As a citizenry, we were misled to such a degree on such an important matter, that it was nothing less than a clear subversion of our democratic system.

Now an entire nation has to pay the price for the overweening arrogance of a few men.

Tom Koo
Alstonville

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What about Heritage Park?

Why is it that council is spending $105,000 on improvements at Wade Park and $414,900 at Kadina Park, as well as $30,000 at Shearman Drive, but don't appear to be spending anything in Heritage Park which would have more people using it than all the rest combined.

Does council now think that having two other parks of a similar size is a good idea? Or would they prefer it not to be there at all, just flat grass so it only has to be mown?

Brian Grey
Wyrallah

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Nice work

The news of the last day of the financial year is that the tyro NSW MP, Eric Roozendahl who has been in the job for one day, repeat one day, has been granted a pay rise of $16,898 by NSW Premier Bob Carr. This is same caring and sharing Premier who has agreed to electricity price rises of 7.63%, (effective from last week), greatly and savagely disadvantaging pensioners and those on fixed incomes.

Please, John Brogden, go into bat in a big way for these poverty stricken battlers. We are being treated with utter contempt by the Mandarins of Macquarie Street.

John X Berlin
Maclean

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Seeking family

I am currently researching my family who were well known pioneers of the Ballina/Lismore area. It has been brought to my attention that your newspaper may be able to assist me in this regard and I would greatly appreciate any help that you may offer by printing my letter. I reside in Canada so it is most difficult to locate people from afar. I will list below the information I am seeking.

Firstly Malcolm MacKinnon, school teacher, Lismore High School, 1926-1929, lecturer, son of Ewen and Eliza MacKinnon, Ballina, married to Lucy Gladys Rotten. (Kenneth, Mollie and Malcolm). Malcolm married Gwendoline Hughes (Newcastle) deceased. Siblings Malcolm John and Caroline. Malcolm and Caroline would be in their 50s now!

Secondly, I have information from the Lismore High School 25th Anniversary booklet that a Maida Mackinnon attended Lismore High School in 1947-1950, was Girls' captain, captain of Oakes House, prefect, avid sportswoman and public speaker. Maybe someone attended school with her or knows of her whereabouts.

Please if anyone has information on the above, family or contact, even a name, that you could send to me it would be greatly appreciated.

I look forward to a reply in the very near future.

Marlane Nygaard
4422 53 Avenue
Leduc T9E 5W4
Alberta, Canada.
e-mail, telephone (780) 986 8076 or local contact Barbara Worthington e-mail bnbworth@nor.com.au.

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Inspiring youth

The YWCA, a local community organisation, runs various programs/services for young people. Recently I was lucky enough to be involved with one of these: the Youth Enterprise Project Program.

I just want to congratulate and thank all those involved at both Richmond River High and Casino High School. The students excelled themselves in both projects, and made me so proud that I wanted to put it in writing!!

Students at Casino High worked hard, and showed a lot of determination to produce an Indigenous Dance calendar, raising the profile of our Goori community. Whilst at Richmond River students organised and ran an ice cream day, aimed at promoting positive values and friendship in the workplace, proving that you can have fun, and make money at the same time. By supporting the YWCA and the Youth Enterprise Project, both schools are exemplifying a culture of caring, and importantly extending opportunities for our local young people, and in turn our whole community.

So once again thank you to all those students and staff at Richmond River and Casino High School for their support, time and encouragement! Truly a deadly job!

Lindie Shrestha
Lismore

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Kids not ads

Stage 3 of Xavier Catholic College, Skennars Head, a most impressive College was officially opened by the Minister for Education, Science & Training, Dr Brendan Nelson on Tuesday, June 29. During his address he observed the government grants towards the project came from your (our) money funds that the (Federal) government is custodian of.

What an interesting observation, so the Federal government is spending our money on all its politically motivated TV advertisements.

Don Hains
East Ballina

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Shipshape book

Australia remembers 1945 - 50 years later Bill Lunney and I launched our book Forgotten Fleet. We could not have done this without the help of the Federal Government at the time who gave out a special funding for the publication of Unit histories.

Forgotten Fleet told the story of boys aged 15 to men aged 70 and beyond. These were men of all nationalities who served in the US Army small ship section New Guinea 1942-1945. Our vessels were manned by merchant seamen, farmers and other men from various walks of life. Some prisoners were even let out of the stockades, while one gentleman Elmer Malanot an aristocrat Austro-Hungarian was a former World War 1 U-boat commander. Some called us the "Raggle Taggle" Fleet, while others called us MacArthur's Navy.

Forgotten Fleet 1 is now out of print, but can be found in Sydney's main libraries, the war memorial in Canberra plus other libraries in Australia. In the USA it is in the library of the U.S, Army Centre of Military History in Washington D.C, the Naval Academy Indianapolis Maryland and the MacArthur Museum Norfolk Virginia.

Now finished and ready to be launched is Forgotten Fleet 2 by Bill Lunney and his wife Ruth. They both had many setbacks in writing the book, sickness and hospitalised at times and Ruth's own work on her book The Plays of Christopher Marlow, all played havoc with their health.

Forgotten Fleet 2 offers a revised, updated and expanded history of the men and ships. Details of more than 1,000 ships are now recorded and more than 1,500 men. Like the earlier version this new work is constructed of records and memories and memorabilia.

The book is hard cover, 368 pages and priced at $50 plus $8 postage. It can be purchased from Forfleet Publishing, 7 Wade Close, Medowie, NSW, 2318.

Frank Finch
Kyogle

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Makes me sick

Labor's recent back flip on the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS) puts Labor's candidate for the Federal Seat of Richmond, Justine Elliot, in a real bind.

It was not long ago that Justine Elliot was telling us that any changes to the PBS would affect the sickest and the poorest. Apparently this was one of the issues she felt very strongly about.

Now that her Federal Leader Mark Latham has hung her out to dry on the issue, Justine Elliot has to make a choice. Was she sincere about her concerns about the PBS and if so will she speak out against Mark Latham? Or is she simply towing the Labor Party line and prepared to sell the Federal Seat of Richmond's residents anything the ALP machine spits out?

If it is the ormer then Justine Elliot should do the right thing and run as an Independent. At least she would be genuinely representing the seat of Richmond.

The last thing the seat of Richmond needs is a Labor Party lackey at the merciless whims of the Sydney ALP machine.

Bob Wilson
Alstonville

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Burning issue

The big dry is upon us again. Heaven knows when we will get useful quantities of rain again. So people who, in good faith, have bulldozed down piles of the nasty Camphor Laurels which have infested their farms are in a quandry. Co-generation at the sugar mill was supposed to take them all off our hands. Now they are an unsightly eyesore spoiling both the look and the usefulness of the paddocks concerned. As the bushfire season approaches, the farmer thinks "fuel reduction - reduce the bushfire risk."

There they are, the unsightly piles of Camphor logs half covered with the dirt the bulldozer heaped up with them. So when the wind isn't blowing towards his house (can't upset the missus!) he sets fire to the piles.

They burn brightly for a hour or so, then the flames die down and the nasty phase begins. The bulldozed dirt slows it down to a slow glow and the fire drops its temperature. The nasty chemicals in the Camphor Laurels are vapourised or transformed into other unknown chemicals which may even be worse, nobody has ever checked. The fumes wend their way downwind for a week or more, whichever direction the wind is heading. You don't realise just how many changes of direction it can have in 24 hours till someone starts one of these slow-burners. So the neighbours wake up in the night coughing and spluttering, maybe an asthmatic kid has to be rushed to hospital.

Anyone's guess how much noxious greenhouse gasses have been contributed to present global warming increases.

Does anyone care? Any government authority? Who can teach the farmers a better way? A big hero rushing in with a banning order is not much use. Maybe the Ag Research Institutes can do one last good work before a mindless State government closes them down!

Nat B Wheatley
Alstonville

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