Issue 731
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Letters To The EditorOde to Lismore LakeJet Skis and power boats are the way to go, J Vaughan Click here to comment on this letter.
Tranquil LakeAfter reading the letter by Kate Scanlan (Echo, July 12) about the tranquillity of Lismore Lake and the birds nesting there, I drove out to have a look and was pleasatly surprised at the variety of birds as well as the numbers. Now we have someone who seems to have a great deal of knowledge of birdlife also asking council to 'Leave the Lake to the birds.' No, I am, not about to disagree with Molly Crawford, (Echo, July 26). I also think that it would be a shame to return the lake to motorised watersports, having allowed it to become a haven for so many birds. Doug Myler Click here to comment on this letter.
Smell as sweet?Casino's Own Wireless (COW) 107.9 FM, has a problem with its name. Some like it and some hate it. What do you think? COW is a community radio station and is owned by the community. The members are the custodians and the operators. So, it is appropriate that the community has a say, gives their opinion about the name and may also give suggestions about what name they may like. Please write to the secretary, COW, PO Box 1149, Casino, 2470 or ring 66623796 Mondays from 9am-11am or Thursdays from 8am-10am. Karl Gottsche Click here to comment on this letter.
Mind the gapCommercial TV is running many taxpayer-funded advertisements on behalf of the Howard Government that leave one with the thought that the Government has done something for us at no cost to us, provided we belong to a private health/hospital fund, by ‘'closing the gap'' – the gap being the expenses outstanding following hospitalisation for a private fund covered patient. But have you read the fine print? Participation in a gap-covered scheme is always your doctor's decision. The doctor can opt in and out of the scheme on a patient-by-patient basis. The doctor can charge, all the gap, some of the gap or no gap. The fund can only pay up to the Schedule Fee established by the (federal) Government and you will have to pay any amount over the schedule fee. So says my fund! Does yours tell you the same? Don Hains Click here to comment on this letter.
Bull barsBull-bars have long been recognised as a life-saving device for many rural and regional residents. They are essential given the dangers country motorists face on a daily basis from kangaroos, other wildlife and domestic animals. Proposals to force country motorists to make changes to bull-bars, or ban them, are unrealistic and driven by a narrow city-based group of lobbyists. It is time these Sydney-centric lobbyists visited country NSW and equipped themselves with the facts instead of skewing statistics to suit their cause. Since the issue was raised in December last year the NSW National Party has and will continue to vigorously defend the right of country motorists to use bull-bars as a safety device George Souris Click here to comment on this letter.
ALP thoughtsI would like to respond to James Baker's latest musings (Echo, Aug 2) , on the ideology of the Labor Party. I believe that he is confusing the principles of a Social Democracy with those of a Totalitarian Socialist system. The major difference between the two is that a social democracy based party is elected by a majority vote in an open and fair election. Change is then implemented by a majority vote in both house of parliament. Socialist regimes seek to gain power by either corrupt means by manipulating the electoral system, as did Hitler, or by revolution as demonstrated by Lenin. I suggest that he visit his local public library and borrow William Shirer's book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and also Mikhail Sholokhov's trilogy And Quit Flows The Don, Harvest on the Don and The Don Flows Home to the Sea. Perhaps these will give him a better perspective of life under both extremes of a truly socialist totalitarian government. He can then ask himself if life under a social democracy system of government could be worse or would he be better off under the American corporate welfare system where the less well off are ignored by their government Terry Harvey Click here to comment on this letter.
Family reunionMy name is Marlene Jackson. We are having a family reunion on October 6-7, 2001, in Wingham NSW at the showground and are asking all Witchards and family members to attend. Any information they seek can be obtained by contacting me at aralle@netsprint.net.au or by writing to 5 Falcon Avenue, Thornlands Qld 4164 Marlene Jackson Click here to comment on this letter.
Nothing comparesLets compare – the Lismore Herb Festival and Nimbin Mardi Grass. This could be fun!
Okay, that's one more comparison than the 10 commandments and my index fingers are getting tired. I hope someone is getting the point here. These are your local rates and federal taxes at work. I don't think this is fair or fun, I just said it could be. Michael Wright Click here to comment on this letter.
Lismore ideasSeveral years ago when I was living in Lismore, I spent some time thinking of how Lismore could ‘lift' its image and bring itself into a more positive point of view, and an idea came to me as to how it could be done. I often think of the idea I had and sometimes tell others about it, so I decided to rid myself of the idea altogether by writing it in a letter to the people of Lismore and then I can be done with it. Perhaps the people of Lismore could increase their revenue as a town and work together as a community to bring money into the town and offer more jobs and opportunities for everyone. The idea is this – that the council and the people of Lismore agree to plant flowers in their homes and throughout the city and that Lismore promote itself as a tourist venue, to be known as the ‘City of Flowers' or the ‘Garden City of the North'. This would bring tourists to visit Lismore to see the flowers, in turn, bringing much needed revenue into the town. Buses could be run from Byron Bay. Of course, it would require very good planning and organisation with regard to soil, water and of course ‘cost' and administration of the project, to name a few. So hence there it is, the ‘big' idea about Lismore. To add, it does include other ‘components' like a ‘Peace Walk' winding through the centre of Lismore between the ovals and through the heart of the city for visitors to Lismore to take guided tours through the history of Lismore, with ‘areas' along the way created by any local groups who wish to contribute their time and effort, ie Bundjalung people's place, the place created by the ‘youth' of Lismore etc etc. There are of course other possibilities as well, but I won't go on for too long, I don't want you dozing off. Thanks for ‘listening'. Gabrielle Rose Click here to comment on this letter.
Unwilling and unableI wish to congratulate The Echo on the new ‘Political Corrections' column. Margo Kingston is a first rate senior journalist with a lot of political nous and always has something useful to say. I can only heartily agree with her recent commentary (Echo, July 16). This country desperately needs a change in the social and political dynamics, instead of following the boring and uninspiring mainstream party politicians who are obviously far more interested in their own self-indulgent power games than the good of the community. Ms Kingston refers to the highly respected political observer John Ralston Saul, who described the descent of modern civilisation into corporatism, where most citizens are mere consumers with little or no control over their lives. He says 'most of what we reward works against the public good.' In Australia, obvious examples are the push to sell public utilities or the deregulation of banks and milk producers. Margo believes we could change this by ignoring politicians and by starting our own debates on matters we care about. What a simple, but intelligent idea. Sadly, our political leaders are unwilling or unable to take such a step. Why is this so? John Jessup Click here to comment on this letter.
Labor's agedHow refreshing to hear a Labor Senator openly condemning his own Party for its disgraceful treatment of the aged. For 13 years Labor had the opportunity to open retirement villages,but not one did they ever provide. The Trade Union movement also failed the elderly, loyal, trade union members. There is no trade union financed retirement village in NSW. Jenny McAllister should be ashamed of this. When a union member retires and wants to leave Sydney for the Coast he must seek out a church, RSL, or caravan park for accommodation. The Labor Government and the Trade Union Movement provides nothing. Labor Senator Evans is entirely right. John Howard was left the job of righting wrongs in the past. Through the advice of Ian Causley and Larry Anthony we have seen many improvements already. Caroona almost doubled in size and Maranoa has another 19 nursing beds. Our thanks to the Labor Senator Evans for pointing out that another 584 beds are needed. This will give Ian Causley and Larry Anthony added incentive. It may also shame the trade union stalwarts like Jenny McAllister and Jenny George to give the ACTU a kick in the backside and remind them trade unionists should be cared for in their Retirement years. Thank you Labor Senator Evans Bob English Click here to comment on this letter.
Drug problemDrugs aren't the problem. It is the people who are gluttons that are the problem. The bias rubs off on to me too. Gluttons aren't the problem, they have a problem! Why? Very few people actually care for each other anymore. As broken hearts crave anything to fill this unfillable space, they look for replacements for ‘love'. Too much salt and your problem will be hardening arteries. Too much fat and your problem will be heart attack. Too much alcohol and your problem will be serious liver and brain damage. Too much tobacco and your problem will be emphysema and lung cancer. Too much heroin and you'll forget how to breathe. Too many amphetamines and your problem will be psychoses. Too much LSD and your problem will be that you won't know what your problem is. Too many downers and your problem will be depression or brain damage. Too much marijuana and you'll fall asleep and when you wake up you'll probably want to do it all over again. All of the ‘medical' problems that relate to pot are caused by the poverty a smoker who does not deal faces. Wealthy ganja users do not develop the depression or neuroses that those who don't profit from the drug do. Too much cannabis and your problem will be poverty and probably a criminal record, which further estranges one from our community. It takes about three days of withdrawal to come off pot, three days where one has trouble sleeping, of excessive nervousness, of trying to say you don't want any more, when you really do. But, after three short days it feels wonderful not to be living in a dazed and confused state anymore. For a short while anyhow. It is so easy to give up if you have to, but one is very likely to start again. Half the time one starts again more for friendship than the delusions of grandeur this herb provides. Do you know what the real drug problem is? If most are so small minded that they must solve other people's problems without looking at their own first, then we all do have a real problem. Stop changing your problems into ours. Some already suffer enough. Keith A Stone
Click here to comment on this letter.
ATSIC concernsI think ATSIC Board Member Jenny Pryor is justified in putting about that leaders in places of power other than ATSIC are by no means squeaky clean and that violence towards women is at a high level across the whole of Australia. However, I think the reason why lots of people are angry at ATSIC is because of the down right horrific stories about the sexual assault of children and women, but most of all the fear that some Aboriginal women have of speaking out. In recent times it does seem that non-Aboriginal women are less reluctant to speak out about violence than Aboriginal women. Maybe they would like their Aboriginal sisters to be able to speak openly about cruelty and violence. Everyone knows that people who cover up problems are not happy people and will often take to alcohol and drugs to repress their sadness and grief. I also think that people are not happy that ATSIC board members have just moved on to other matters, expecting people to forget recent reports about some members involvement with very serious matters. I am the first to rebuke our legal system as one that does not ensure that justice is done and that jails are not necessarily the best way to encourage people to mend their ways and become more responsible citizens. I think we all need to come up with alternative ways to both promote strategies that are preventative and confrontational if we are to thwart social problems running out of control. That going to jail is seen as a mark of pride in some communities omens very poorly for those communities ever changing direction. I said in a recent letter to Geoff Clarke and the media that in regard to averting violent behaviour that seems to attend binge drinking in Aboriginal communities and the use of drugs that we all need to accept that what some people see as offensive others may consider expressions of care. I think this can apply to methods of punishment, retribution or rehabilitation put out as best for dealing with recalcitrant offenders and people who feel no shame at all about being deprived of their liberty in jails cells across this country. Last year I read in a country newspaper about an Aboriginal bloke's response to the question about what to do about dealing with wrong doers. He was not an elder yet said in wonderful way that simple wisdom can operate: 'When you see your brother getting out of line, do not just walk on by, pull him over – rebuke him for his misconduct – tell him to go sit under a tree a while'. Maybe when all of us both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal give up on this notion of tolerance of what was once seen as deviance, this notion that anything goes and that it is best to just mind your own business, we will start to bring back more sharing of responsibility for community growth and care. Not long ago in many communities throughout the world your brother did not offend, your neighbour did not beat up his wife and people did not steal from their fellow man because of the shame wrought on the whole family and the community. Doors were left open or there were no doors at all. I think there needs to be more discussion about the promotion of community pride that takes on board that whole communities can help in the making of lots more winners and a lot less losers – I think that Aboriginal communities that still hold a special sense of connnectedness are especially suited to humane and healthy though not necessarily wimp-like ways of pulling in to line people who have lost what it takes to be a responsible citizen. Now I'll go and sit under a tree myself. Kathryn Pollard-O'Hara Click here to comment on this letter.
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