Letters To The Editor

Road rage over h'way carnage

Four more deaths on the Pacific Highway from another head-on smash.

This goat track has averaged one fatality a week over the last five years and the dual carriageway is not due for completion until 2020.

The price of 1000 dead is too high for the electorate to tolerate watching this 'political football' fiasco between Carr and Howard.

Politicians of all parties should unite to make this a jointly-funded issue of national significance.

Enough is enough! It's time for the electorate to voice some 'road rage' and get the dual carriageway completed as a matter of urgency. It's time to get angry about the road carriage and it's time to demand action for the political inactivity from all parties.

Jim Roche
Ballina

Reforms don't work

Commenting on the upcoming workplace reforms, Prime Minister John Howard quoted that other famous humanitarian Margaret Thatcher, pointing out that we must not forget that "work-rights start with the right to work".

Implying that instead of claiming any rights at work, workers should just shut up and be grateful that they've got a job in the first place.

That sort of argument would only have any merit if employers had employed people for purely altruistic reasons and workers were the only beneficiaries of the whole exercise.

But of course, that is not true and everybody knows it, except John Howard and his colleagues.

Therefore if you claim, as Thatcher did before and as Howard does now, that employees should be grateful to their employers for the job they have, then you must also accept the claim that employers should be grateful to anybody who works for them at all.

Most people understand this and go about their daily business with mutual respect.

But that's not good enough for Howard and Co, who believe that legislating a minimum wage or decent working conditions is not only folly but sacrilege.

And if they will succeed in destroying Australia's age old, balanced workplace relations laws, then it will surely result in straight-forward exploitation for many and increasing stress at work and job insecurity for others.

Tom Koo
Alstonville

Our excellent ABC

Sincere thanks to Martin Corben and the team at ABC North Coast who provided such a valuable service (along with a host of paid and unpaid emergency workers and other media outlets) during this week's Big Wet. As one who was travelling through the Northern Rivers region at the time, I greatly appreciated the chance to get regular updates on the flood situation. What would we do without "our" ABC?

Neville Jennings
Kingscliff

Memorial musings

Recently I was visiting Alstonville and I decided to visit the Paddy Bugden memorial. The visit brought up some questions that I hope someone from the local RSL, the Rotary Club of Alstonville or the historical societies of Alstonville, Lismore and Casino can answer.

According to the VC site on the internet it says Paddy Bugden was born at Gundurimba, NSW, but on the memorial it says Tatham. Which is correct?

How did the Queensland Government come to get ownership of the VC that Private Bugden won? I would have thought that the Lismore or Alstonville historical societies should have got it, what with Bugden being the only North Coast born resident to win it so far. Why has this award to a local resident been allowed to fall into Queensland hands? Even our local RSLs deserve to have it! Was there a Queensland connection in the Bugden family? Don't forget Casino Historical Society near Gundurimba.

Has any effort been made to get the award back from Queensland?

How come the Governor of Queensland in 1997 unveiled the memorial in Alstonville, NSW? Wouldn't it have been more appropriate for someone from NSW to have opened it? It seems strange that the Governor of Queensland would unveil something in NSW!

I only moved to the North Coast in 1998 so I wasn't here when the memorial was unveiled. I hope your readers can answer my questions.

The Australian Victoria Cross site is well worth a look for anyone genuinely interested in our connection to the award.

Helen Coyle
South Lismore

PS: Even the NSW Government buying it would make much more sense than Queensland having it! And why was the memorial erected in Alstonville and not his place of birth?

A nasty surprise

The Richmond Valley Council has an appropriate slogan: Valley of Surprises. If you're a resident of Evans Head it is particularly appropriate - on a regular basis we poor suckers are slugged with a new surprise.

I wonder who noticed the RVC's news in their newsletter about Council's decision to increase sewerage and water rates? Out of the blue, with no debate that I have heard of, colossal increases are announced to slug those people who own multiple occupancy properties. In our case the bill jumps from $1278 to $5490, a four fold increase. It's easy enough to say that our tenants will cop it sweet when we pass on the increase to them, but they won't. They're all senior citizens, some on mature-aged pensions.

It is utterly impossible for this vulnerable group to budget ahead, even if they are self-funded retirees, when money-grabbing councils inflict such massive rate increases on them without warning. This latest surprise comes on top of the outrageous general rate increases of a few months ago and the unrealistic land values of Evans Head.

I think that most people can see the logic of the current "user pays" philosophy. But for authoritarian bodies to inflict such severe fee increases on anybody, let alone the most vulnerable in our society, clearly shows to me how the principle of a "fair go" for all has been abandoned in the interests of making a quid.

Ron and Betty Doyle
Multiple occupancy owners
Evans Head

A Clayton's society?

I read a very interesting article by Adele Horin (SMH, July 7, p 37) about outsourcing in the new age economy. The gist of the story was that everything is being done for us today by someone else. We have rejected the old "do it yourself ethos."

For a start, Australian business has exported huge portions of our industry and work offshore. White goods, shoes, clothing, electronic goods, steel making, cars. We don't even make matches now. We have become the total consumer society. Our so-called leaders have told us how good this has been for economic growth. So where has this taken us?

25 per cent of our youth are unemployed. 10 per cent of the workforce spend their time on phones on low wages trying to sell things to fellow Australians. Business wants to turn the workforce into sub contractors, rather than employees. Woolworths and Coles control 80 per cent of the retail market while farmers struggle to compete with cheap produce from overseas. In the process, jobs go, the land becomes more and more degraded as urban politics and decision making pushes people towards the coastal metropolises of Australia.

As the McDonalds society spreads across the world, we do less and less for ourselves, not even cooking our own meals. We don't think. We don't create. We just watch computer screens and watch each other. "Big Brother" is here now.

Adele Horin says: "Outsourcing is part and parcel of the new economy where some are serviced and others serve." But it goes far beyond just "outsourcing." The government has surrendered our economy, our sovereignty and the nation to multinationals and the super powers of China and the US.

We have gone to war and participated in the destruction of a nation. Our economy and society is being undermined by foreign interests. We are lied to and deceived by weak and immoral politicians from within both the conservative and Labor camps. We are locking men, women and children up for years behind barbed wire without charge or any recourse to justice or human decency.

Under new anti-terror laws, this government is censuring our people. Raiding homes and wanting to increase its powers to search and investigate citizens, at the same time, taking away their rights to normal protection of the law which has been part of our democratic society.

Australia has enormous potential to be one of the leaders in the world in developing a clean, green society. We are a small nation with strongly developed social and technological infrastructures. We could export the new energy technologies of sun, wind, ocean and geothermal power. But more importantly, we are in a strong position to export ideas, environmental and ecology management expertise, medical knowledge and education to third world countries.

In the south-east Asian region we are perfectly situated to trade in new commodities and provide security, meaningful work and real growth to this great country of ours.

John Jessup
Lismore

Charity from the art

Thank you very much for running the stories on my recent exhibition Water, Earth and Sky. The opening and ensuing weekend was a great success in my mind. Over the course of the weekend $147.15 was raised by gold and silver coin donations of which all will be going to a charity set up by Lennox Head couple who were on the ground in Sri Lanka when the tsunamis hit (Aussies for Orphans), while $1000 will be given to BACCI and a further $500 I'm giving to Biala Special School to go towards the rebuilding of an interactive fountain which was destroyed by vandals. Thank you all once again and for your support of the arts.

Joe Stark
Ballina

Clubs okay... figuratively speaking

Media watchers in recent years will have noticed a plethora of reports of clubs closing and the struggle of those remaining open to stay in business. These reports have often hinted that the cause of closures and poor financial results have stemmed from poor management and more recently the increase in poker machine tax.

Foremost among the closures have been those clubs based upon returned services organisations. A close second are those clubs which draw their support base from the remainder of the older generation eg. bowling clubs.

A little research indicates that while management could be blamed for some of the failures, it is not poor management of the clubs, but the failure of management to appreciate the real cause behind their declining memberships and support base. It is also the case that on occasions a club will show that the membership is still in healthy figures but the finances are not. This may be due to the members retaining membership but failing to continue to make full use of their club.

The real reason that clubs are failing is the lack of support from their support base and management should look to the reasons behind this. Research shows that this lack of support is due to demographic factors ahead of all other causes.

While some clubs receive support from the group aged 18 to 30, the finances of those clubs catering for the older population primarily come from the group of members aged between 50 and 75. While membership numbers may not indicate that this is the strongest group, it is this group that has the most spare cash oriented towards expenditure in the club scene. Prior to the age of 50 expenditure is primarily towards family needs and education of the family is high on the expenditure scale together with paying off the mortgage. From age 50 to 74 household incomes become more available for enjoyment and in many cases this enjoyment comes from the club scene. The prime years for this type of expenditure are from age 60, when many people take early retirement, until age 75 when the same people begin to give up the notion of a night out or patronising a sport facility. They would rather stay at home and enjoy the comfort of a snooze in front of the TV.

It is the decline in numbers in the age 60 to 75 group that is most affecting clubs. This decline is primarily due to the dearth of births in Australia during the depression and war years from 1930 to 1945. These people are now in the age 60 to 75 group and because these are so few of them, clubs and other social activities are suffering from declining member spending. A small saver in some areas came in the form of the post-war migration. An interesting piece of research would be to check how many club members in this age group were born overseas. I would suggest around three out of every 10 members in this age group, in local clubs, were migrants.

Club management needs to check their membership against these facts and if they find that their financial support base has declined because of demographic factors there is a need to attract a different support base by opening the membership to a wider demographic range. In doing so there will be a requirement to address the needs of this support base and provide entertainment and facilities to which they are attracted. In many cases this could be quite different from that which they are currently supplying.

While the active membership scene is very grim at the moment, there is a light in the not too distant future. From 1946 onward until around 1962 the Australian birth rate increased dramatically and gave rise to the so-called "baby boomers." These people are now approaching the years in which they have high disposable incomes and those clubs that can survive until these people begin to use that income on club pursuits will prosper to an even greater extent that in the past years of glory. But this will only happen if the management addresses the needs of these people and caters for these needs.

Anyone interested in checking out population trends should log on to www.abs.gov.au where they will find reams of information supporting the above in the statistics relating to the 2001 census.

Cec Patch B Eco
Alstonville

Trains for flood relief

Lismore and surrounding district have now been proclaimed a 'natural diaster area' by NSW Premier Bob Carr.

Due to floods road services to outlying towns were cut. People were unable to travel to work. Schools were cut off. Bus services were cancelled, only to mention a few.

I ask, does this not indicate that our rail service on the Casino to Murwillumbah line should be reinstated as a valuable service in times such as this to service our townships for public, and also for the emergency service if required?

I know there will be critics of this suggestion, but remember, there are many 4WD vehicles adapted to traverse these railway lines that could be used as emergency vehicles to floodbound townships.

James Harvie
Goonellabah

Right you are

I wish to comment on Richard Gates' letter (Echo, June 30).

His criticism that The Echo reporter should get her facts right is wrong. Her report of the Richmond Valley Council meeting was accurate.

Mayor Charlie Cox did castigate the aerodrome committee for being selfish and putting its interests over and above community interests. The reporter could have gone further by stating one councillor deplored the fact that the committee has personalised the issue and another councillor was critical of the furphies being told.

The aerodrome committee, through their president, is guilty of all of the above.

The Memorial Aerodrome Committee had a very large measure of support in the Evans Head community and I was amongst these. However, due to its dog in the manger attitude, support for the committee has faded dramatically.

The opposition to the Ballina Ex-Services Home being built on the unused section of the aerodrome has damaged the aerodrome committee and cause, as general feeling is that both could co-exist.

This part of the aerodrome was excised by Council in 1988 for housing development. Even if it may now be listed as part of the Heritage Aerodrome, it does not alter the fact it was and is surplus to requirements.

What gives Richard Gates the right to speak for ex-service men and women and what is wrong with an ex-services home being built on the unused portion of the Heritage-listed aerodrome?

Woodburn-Evans Head RSL, the Club, the Women's Auxiliary and Legacy all favour the development, as do most of the businesses in the town.

The Ex-Services Home Committee, comprising over 200 members, all ex-services from over the North Coast, would not proceed if it was thought the two projects were not compatible.

Richard Gates bragged about what he has done for the ex-service personnel. I think my record and experience over the last 16 years would leave him for dead.

There is no doubt if the home were built it would soon be a boon to Evans Head, providing health care, aged care and about 100 jobs.

What of the memorial aerodrome and the fanciful ideas of the aerodrome committee? Many of the proposals will not see the light of day.

With two fully functional airports in the vicinity, plus another just hanging on, how is it possible to bring about their plans and where is the money coming from?

The wish list of the aerodrome committee:

• Maintaining four runways;
• Rebuilding the derelict Bellman Hangar - estimated cost about $500,000;
• Building a conference centre to cater for 100 fly-ins. This is also to incorporate an in-ground pool and sauna and a Japanese bathhouse;
• Establishing an aircraft industry;
• Pilot training;
• Night flying, training (lights?);
• Employment of experienced tourist guides;
• Employment of a manager to bring this all about ($250,000 from Council for three years);
• Upgrading the tarmac in front of the Bellman Hangar ($100,000 from Council); and
• The establishment of an airpark, interested persons to lease land to erect a residence.

Is the above wish list not a fantasy?

It should be remembered that the aerodrome committee did not want the aged care home on the aerodrome at all. Now, in view of public opinion, they state it should be somewhere else on the aerodrome.

Perhaps the airpark could be built on the area they have in mind.

To make the committee's case look good, it is now suggested Richmond Valley Council hand over the land for nothing. We all know this will not happen. Even the State Government has legislated not to give away state land, no matter how worthy the cause.

One other matter of interest is that no rent or landing fees are paid for the use of the aerodrome and the people concerned want this to continue. At the moment, they have exclusive use for nothing. The aerodrome is out of bounds to all others.

We all know the aerodrome committee is Richard Gates and he has been working assiduously to keep the home off the aerodrome. He has been frantically lobbying the Heritage Council to this end and will be speaking at their meeting on August 3 with this in view.

Richard is anti-development and lodged an objection to the home on the previous development site. His letter in The Echo mentioned above showed that he is not capable of handling criticism, but has been free to dish it out.

Note how he lambasted the Council and he has been doing it for years. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Get a life, Richard, and try to work for all the community.

Frank McKey
Evans Head