Letters To The Editor

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In reply to letters from Mr Gough and Mr Harvie (Echo, July 29).

Firstly, Mr Gough: you are right about the columns from the four politicians. But if you think about it that comes under the banner of information (no, seriously) and is akin to reports from shires and councils. Without these reports, which are part propaganda and part information, the public would be even less informed than we are now. The difference between those reports and Mr McCallum's half-page is that he is not an elected federal, state or council representative and is a private citizen, albeit one with a huge axe to grind. I also put to you, if Labor representatives are elected in place of the current persons, won't they also have a similar column in the paper? I am sure that The Echo would take their reports because The Echo is a newspaper first and foremost, and you as an individual then could read their columns and others wouldn't. A matter of choice. I will continue to read them all in hope of being better informed.

Mr Harvie: I think you are trying to say that I don't have to take offence if I don't read Mr McCallum's column? Well if I don't read papers, watch TV news and documentaries, have discussions, go to hear politicians of all persuasions, how do I make up my mind about anything? We can all say after the event "Well, that was a waste of time," so I will continue to read his column even though it is sometimes hard to do. Please try to write without profanity, I am sure you can put a letter together without resorting to it.

Just a thought about voting. It is compulsory in Australia. But voting itself, the act of filling out a voting card and placing it in a box is not the legal part. That part is having your name crossed off the voting register (roll). You can be fined for that but you can't be for not casting that vote. Also, there is no request for proof of identity when your name is crossed off. Illegal as it is, and I would never suggest that this has been done (well, much anyway) there is nothing to stop me from having my name crossed off and casting a vote at all the polling booths in the election area. Six months later, if I have a letter from the electoral commission saying my name was crossed off in six booths, I deny it, saying someone else must have been using my name. No proof of identity you see... Imagine if we all as an act of civil protest registered and then put a blank voting slip in the box? But that would never happen, would it? And, Mr Harvie, don't blame me if you try this, you didn't have to read my letter.

Eric Wilson
Goonellabah

Minister's music

The fact that Howard Government Ministers have taken it upon themselves to so vigorously defend George Dubya's biggest political financial supporters, the US Drug Manufacturers, is embarrassing to say the least. After watching the theatrical antics that masqueraded as Federal Parliament Question Time today, I advocate the introduction of a brief burst of theme music to introduce Ministers responding to Questions. At least then the elderly and infirm will then be able to differentiate Question Time from TV wrestling.

Our Bronnie could have 10 seconds of the theme from "Jaws" as she approached the despatch box. Lil' Johnnie could have "Hail The Chief", Poisonous Pete would get "Pinocchio", John Anderson would have to have "The Beverly Hillbillies" and Lord Alexander could be accompanied by "The Stripper" or "Sweet Transvestite".

John X. Berlin
Maclean

Bait debate

How dare the human race be so cruel. Fox baiting with 1080 poison is what we are talking about.

Currently a program of laying 1080 baits is being undertaken along the sand dunes and beaches between the months of August and December to exterminate all foxes south of the Richmond River in Ballina Shire. The National Parks & Wildlife Service has contracted out the bait laying to save the threatened species Pied Oyster Catcher from extinction by its predator, the common fox. These poison baits are being laid now!

What does the poor old fox do, and what are its aims and intentions? To eat the eggs of the Pied Oyster Catcher. But don't we eat chickens eggs and ducks eggs and even fish roes, like caviar? What's the difference? Isn't it just nature taking its natural course when the Pied Oyster Catcher loses its eggs to a common predator?

Would you, the people, like to have to forage for food and find it was poisoned bait? Would you, the people, like to die a horrible, slow, excruciatingly painful death from something you'd eaten?

But is there an underlying reason for fox baiting?

We recently got wind of the fact that officers of the National Parks & Wildlife Service, Ballina Shire Council and Department of Lands were hatching up a management plan - yes without any community consultation, and without the knowledge of anyone outside their select and secret consortium - a plan to ban all dogs from the beaches south of the Richmond River except one km either side of Patches Beach, and to close all 4WD access points except the one at South Ballina and the other at Patches Beach.

So what do you do if you live south of the river? Go to the pub, go to the movies or go shopping? There aren't any pubs, shops or cinemas. All you can do is go for a walk with your dog along the beaches like your ancestors have done for hundreds of years before you, or go beach fishing. Have the beaches of South Ballina suffered from this practice? Take a look at those pristine, white, unpolluted sands with crystal clear water and waves gently rolling in.

Are we, the people, going to take this lying down? Stand up and be counted! Fight the good fight and stop fox baiting now and leave the beaches open for every living creature that God created.

John Felsch (Deputy Mayor, Ballina Shire Council) and
Margaret Howes (Ballina Shire Councillor)

Where's Lets?

Whatever happened to Richmond Valley LETS? There is a failure notice to emails sent to their rivlets address, and mail is returned PO No Longer Valid.

LETS, for the uninitiated, stands for Local Energy/Enterprise/Employment Transfer/Trading System - or it could even mean Legal and Ethical Trading System. It is a movement that originated in Canada, and the first LETS system in Australia was at Maleny, Qld, in 1987. Members exchange goods and services with one another for a local currency or a combination of local currency and dollars.

There are around 103 systems in Australia at present - in NSW the figure is 15 [14 if Rivlets has folded up, but another 60-odd NSW systems have come and gone since 1987].

Anyone wanting more information about LETS go to www.lets.org.au, and follow click on various headings - Australia and elsewhere.

P Ferguson
Berkeley

Why do it?

Remember in the olden days when men had to be polite and charming to impress women? Well I can't really remember it seeing as I wasn't born then, but I know how it all was back then. Good times!

It's a shame how these days it's like all a guy has to have is testosterone and a car to be considered relationship-worthy by most women. What's up with that? I can't believe how many nice, intelligent women decide to settle for such insensitive monkeys!

There sure is a lot of settling going on these days, I don't know how people can just throw their life away like that, it really makes me want to throw up! Some guys are so insecure too, like when another guy looks at their girlfriend the poor little bubbies get upset. Aww, how sad!

Honestly, it's amazing there are still so many heterosexual females, what with all the yobbos, thugs, and such. Oh well, not my problem, have fun!

Grant Armitage
Lismore

Splendid time

I'm just writing to thank you for the two tickets we won from The Echo to Splendour in the Grass. As you can see the three of us (actually four as I'm pregnant) had a fantastic time. The event was very well organised and a great place to take a child to.

It was wonderful to be out and about as a family listening to great music. Thanks so much!

Jennifer Parke for Mitchell Cox
Lismore

Next in line

I want to know why aren't we (ie. Howard and Bush) invading Azerbaijan?

After all, up until September 11, the US had sanctions against this authoritarian regime with a history of gross human rights violations, which are still continuing right now.

According to Human Rights organisations, if you are a member of the opposition, expect torture and to be disappeared. Yet, now that the USA has found that there is oil to be had there and plus, its next to Iran - hey, the USA now has a few military bases there; the US seals train there with the Azerbaijani army; the US has increased its military aid (aka support for the regime) to $24 million, so now, the despot in charge (who took over from his dad in October 2003) can repress his people with even more impunity... thanks to the backing of Uncle Sam. Will Little Johnnie do anything about this regime? Well, if Bush says no, they are our friends, I guess not.

Will the President of Azerbaijan, Iilham Aliyev (aka the Saddam of Caspian) find himself with WMD if he fails to toe the line or are the WMD to be found just next door in Iran. Now that the USA can conveniently bomb Iran from there - will Iran be the next 'terror' state we find ourselves in?

Aniko Cripps Clark
Gundurimba

Are you fed up?

Are you sick to death of the two-party preferred political system? Tired of the tit-for-tat bickering and name calling? The poor representation? Getting nothing for your vote? It's time to break the system, and we can do it.

The mainstream media would have us believe that there are only two choices - the Coalition or the Labor party - but that's mainly because they are lazy. It's far easier for them to focus on Howard and Latham, and they feed us accordingly. The real choice for us, here in Page, has nothing to do with either leader. Our choice so far is between the National Party's Ian Causley, Labor's Kevin Bell and The Greens' Mark Jackson. The choice should be made on local issues that effect us directly.

Ian Causley has been prominent in his support for Howard's involvement of our troops in Iraq and also their shameful stance on refugees as well as the Free Trade Agreement with the USA. The Nationals have for a long time painted the Greens as a threat to rural communities and farmers, but nothing could be further from the truth. Have a look at www.greens.org.au for a full rundown on Greens policies.

Remember Bob Brown and Kerry Nettle taking on George Bush when nobody else would? Howard has to go to the polls before the US presidential elections because he knows Bush will lose, and if Bush loses - so does he.

Many Labor voters are unimpressed with Latham, and even less impressed with the Carr Government and the way they ignore our region. The answer is not to vote for the Nationals - vote for the Greens! The Greens have been at the forefront of opposition to Iraq and the Howard government's treatment of refugees, and Andrew Wilkie will be The Greens candidate challenging John Howard in the seat of Bennelong.

Despite lack of national media attention, The Greens are ready for the next Federal Election and while currently polling at around 10% should be set for at least a couple more Senate seats. That's great, but we need more Greens in the House of Reps also. Michael Organ was the first Green elected to the HOR in Cunningham in 2002, winning the seat from Labor on local issues.

Don't let anyone tell you that voting for the Greens is a wasted vote, or 'just a protest vote'. If you vote 1 for the Greens and they do not win, the full value of your vote will carry to your second choice.

Andy Gough
Larnook

Dead wait

Federal Labor's capitulation to wedge-politics (Federal Labor's decision to support Howard's Anti-Gay Marriage Bill) led by shadow Attorney General Nicola Roxon, clinches the shape of the future Latham government - four long years of lookalike Howardism.

Between the collapsing skeleton of old-Liberalism and the stenching morass of pretend-Socialism the only principled political choice that remains is now clear. It will be some shade or other of Green.

I have no doubt whatsoever that Greens in government (or holding the balance of power) will commit countless stupidities and display embarrassing ignorance and ineptitude. But make no mistake, like any other awkward, loveable infant brat, Green politics will hold the future world in its own tender hands. Under any other party we have no future.

So, farewell to the Left/Right/Centre politics of yesteryear. And thank you, Ms Roxon, for putting the final nail in Labor's coffin in regards to my voting intentions for Election 2004.

For any electorate without a Green candidate, I now predict a massive national Green write-in vote such as the historic 'No Dams' vote that changed Tasmanian politics forever in 1981. Change is near, and when it arrives it's going to bury the equally putrid corpses of Labor and Coalition politics, dumping them together into the graveyard of Australian political history.

Lee Andresen
East Ballina

A super idea

Australia's financial regulator APRA is worried. Australian super funds are investing their members' money in instruments of torture, old growth forest wood chipping, and depleted uranium weapons that will leave radioactive contamination for the next 4.5 billion years.

However none of these issues are causing the auditors who run APRA any lost sleep. What bothers APRA is that despite the enormous hurdles placed in the way of setting up a commercial super fund from scratch, at least one grassroots fund currently exists in Australia.

Foresters ANA is a Brisbane-based Friendly Society that dates back to 1890, and in 1993 it was the first Australian financial institution to launch an ethically screened super fund. It has maintained a preference for community investing, supporting community kindergartens, disability groups, housing co-ops, refugee groups and small ethical businesses.

Although APRA believes that community investing is riskier due to these groups' reliance on government funding, Foresters' super fund has never had a bad debt throughout its first 11 years of existence. APRA's tunnel vision is fixed on the sharemarket, and affronted by the fact that committed social activists are taking hands-on action to financially support Brisbane's non-profit sector, it is attempting to regulate their fund out of existence. Within the last few weeks, Foresters has been informed that: it is prohibited from lending to community groups; it must employ expensive consultants; and it will be 'under review' more frequently than ever before.

Those with long memories will remember that APRA, as the authority entrusted with regulating the insurance industry, was caught fast asleep when the HIH disaster emerged. More recently, it was obliged to deal with the consequences of failing to prevent the National Bank's rogue trading losses.

While numerous examples exist of the Howard Government trampling the relatively weak and powerless, there are reasons not to let them get away with it this time. Next year will see the implementation of legislation enabling employees to choose their own super fund. If, by this time, no community-investing super fund is left, it will represent a large removal of choice rather than an expansion of choice.

Please protest at the APRA's policies targeting community-investing super funds, with particular reference to Foresters ANA. The relevant Minister is the Hon. Mal Brough, who can be reached at Parliament House, Canberra, ACT, 2600, or via email at Mal.Brough.MP@aph.gov.au.

Martin C Oliver
Lismore

A free trade-off

The Howard Government is trying to railroad the Senate into passing legislation associated with the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement, days before the Senate Committee hands down its report due for release on August 12.

The Government is manufacturing the urgency, because they know that the longer they wait, the more facts about the inadequacy of this deal will emerge. They're determined to impose this agreement on the Australian people without regard for very legitimate concerns.

The Senate has a crucial role in scrutinising the FTA carefully, to assess the impact on our national economic, social and environmental interests.

The ALP are pre-empting the Senate inquiry too and, seemingly in spite of ALP Senators who know better, are going along with it anyway.

Not only is the promised export boom an illusion for farmers, if we look at the Canadian experience of a FTA with the US, the Aust-US FTA will have an impact on important aspects of Australian health, quarantine, cultural and intellectual property policy. It is a win for big pharmaceutical companies in the US who will see to it that Australia pays more for pharmaceuticals, as promised by President Bush. Short term investment gains will not be worth the long term pain caused by damage to our social policies, and the hijacking of Australia's sovereignty to make decisions for our own future national interest.

The FTA is a sub-standard deal that will do real harm to our national interests and the Australian Democrats will not support the enabling legislation in the Senate. We have carefully weighed the benefits and costs, and the balance comes out in favour of the US, hence the description of the deal by US congressmen two weeks ago as a 'slam-dunk' for the US.

Julia Melland
Australian Democrats
Goonellabah

Makes sense

The Echo's Scene pages have always got the vibe that turns one right onto the fantastic talented and entertainment opportunities that our great region has so much of.

S Sorrensen definitely has a masterful way in formatting the material. But what stirs me to write this letter is the true blue brilliance with which he wrote his 'S Sense' column re the Italo Club car park on the night of the Green's fundraiser. The essence of our community summed up in his vehicle observations. (I have cut my copy out to treasure, and also show friends from Sydney who keep asking me why I moved here.)

Not only astonishingly accurate, but also side-splittingly funny in the way that only uniquely observed truth can be. And mayhap there will be a new dimension added to the science of Sociology through S Sorrensen's ground breaking work!

Cheers!

Helen Hope
Lismore

P Plate curfew

The plan to introduce a curfew for teenagers and P Plate drivers from 10pm to 6am is totally unacceptable in a so-called free society.

Are these new rules being implemented by those with affiliations with the KGB, Chinese Triads or shareholders in the new privatised jails? Has the RTA been privatised as well? If so, they are therefore a monopoly and should be investigated for a "conflict of interest" by those pushing for these changes. One has to question their motives since "there has been a dramatic fall in the road toll and it has plateaued over the past five years". So why these draconian changes?

There may be public transport in major cities, but there is no public transport in country towns, so does that mean that all teenagers or P platers cannot go out or work at night? So what is happening here? Is someone truing to make us all so angry, so aggressive that we will riot and fill their privatised jails?

This is a frightening scenario never before seen in au. Surely this is further perversion of or democratic rights by "the State" and discrimination that cannot be tolerated.

Bev Pattenden
Grafton

Higher rates

Therese Schier's comments (Echo, Aug 12) about the rate rise in Richmond Valley Council seem to tell only part of the story.

If the average rate rises in Casino and Evans Head are both less than average rise across the LGA of 12.71%, then obviously there has to be a lot of other people in the LGA who will be paying much more than the average.

Our farmland rates have just gone up 21%. In all the consultation done before the rate rise was agreed to, we were never told the increase could be THAT big.

Obviously Therese didn't get that sort of shock from her rates notice.

Janet Cavanaugh
Whiporie

Board thanks

I have not always agreed with everything the former Northern Rivers Area Health Board did in relation to issues in the Ballina electorate, but I would like to express my appreciation to all those individuals on the Board who gave up their personal time to contribute to health administration in our Northern Rivers area.

Whilst the front page article 'Major Surgery - Health Minister Merges Region' (Echo, August did cover the major issues accurately, it would be unfortunate if readers were to gain the impression that the NRAHS Board Chair Elizabeth Rummery along with the rest of the Board had been sacked for lack of performance. This is not the case.

Indeed it remains to be seen if the region will benefit from the replacement of the existing Board by a toothless 'advisory council'.

In any event, the appointment of Chris Crawford as acting CEO of the new larger region is good news for the Northern Rivers because he knows the local issues, their history and he's a person of integrity.

Don Page MP
Member for Ballina

- Editor's note: We did not intend to imply there were any problems with the Board and included comments praising its role from CEO Chris Crawford. Apologies to all concerned in that was the impression. However, the fact remains that the Minister dismissed the Board and its long-term experience, preferring Sydney-based approval to local decision-making.

Nice earner

It would be nice to have the same security blanket that our Federal member for Page has so comfortably wrapped himself up in twice.

It was one of the suckers who fell for the federal government advertising campaign for superannuation, where, if you put in a thousand dollars the federal government will match it dollar for dollar. After sending my thousand dollars away, I was informed that the offer didn't apply to those who own their own business and are self employed.

Unlike Mister Causley who gets to double-dip by claiming both federal and state superannuation and will walk away with in excess of a million dollars. Two rules, one for them and one for us.

Ian Juleff
Lismore

Headline?

Why don't we just put speed inhibitors in all new cars? We have the technology,

The answer is so simple;- Who would borrow $50,000-plus from a bank for a top of the range European sports car that couldn't out zip an old dato? Speed sells.

And as the King brother's face court for defrauding $174 million from NAB and as thousands of other NAB customers declare bankruptcy. And another record profit. They are laughing at us. Listen or I will laugh to.

So let's vote globalisation 1 (Liberal) or globalisation 2 (Labur). Even if you want to vote for the save the planet 1 (Greens) the way preferences work you have to prefer globalisation at some stage, so where's the bloody pamphlet?

Marcus Davis
Lismore