Issue 739
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Letters To The EditorPoetry CornerNo MoreWhen they dropped the horror bomb on Hiroshima When they blasted North Korean cities When they rained their ghastly Napalm on Vietnam We remember Regan's bombing over Libya It well may be those lethal objects From a planet on its knees by Kevin Green, Click here to comment on this letter.
Health Service Response on Dental CareI am writing in reply to a letter from Ms Kia Jemison of Lismore (Echo, Sept 27) regarding oral health services provided by the Northern Rivers Area Health Service. Oral health services are currently undergoing a number of positive changes, including a new system of assessing and prioritising patients and increases in funding staged over three years. Services are still settling into the new processes and change is ongoing at the current time. In Ms Jemison's letter, she states that when she gains an appointment, she will only be assessed and will have to wait longer again for treatment. This is no longer the case under the new allocation system. The new process is to assess and treat at the first appointment, unless the case is non-urgent, in which case it may be allocated to a waiting list to make way for a more urgent case. Changes to oral health services came about when the Commonwealth Dental Program was ceased in the 1996/97 financial year, not at the last change of Government. Over the three year period 2000-2003, the Northern Rivers will receive an additional $1,180,000 from the NSW Government, which will significantly boost the Area's oral health services. Ms Jemison also questions the usefulness of the role of the Northern Rivers Area Health Service's complaints manager. This role is responsible for investigation and response co-ordination and the recording and reporting of data pertaining to complaints. This role does not have the authority to make funding, service or policy changes, such authority resting with operational management. The role does, however, ensure that complaints are investigated, logged and reported to managers. In this way, 'trends' in complaints can be seen and quantitative data is available to support service changes or service enhancements, such as those currently occurring within oral health services. There are still waiting lists for oral health services, however, if a client feels her/his circumstances have changed since she/he contacted the clinic, she/he can phone the clinic again to be reassessed. I hope this information serves to correct some of the misconceptions about the oral health services provided by the Northern Rivers Area Health Service. Chris Crawford Click here to comment on this letter.
Refugee DebateThe prolixity of David Estreich (Echo, Sept 20) is only exceeded by his tendency to repeat the word 'latte' a little too often. Is he suffering from caffeine withdrawal? People are legally entitled to seek asylum if they are fleeing from oppressive regimes. They may be detained pending verification of their bona fide status after their immediate needs for food, water and medical treatment are met, but as they are human beings seeking a safe haven, we do not ‘capture' them as we would an escaped animal from the zoo! Not only does Mr Estreich stoop to the abysmal modus operandi of point-scoring by chastening those who point out one injustice whilst failing to mention another, he tops it off by displaying no actual compassion for either the Tampa refugees or those turned away by the Cypriot police. As for the suggestion that there are criminals among the refugees, in a random group of a few hundred people anywhere in world, including Lismore, you are bound to have a few of dubious character. To use this as a reason to turn them all away is pathetic. Refugee-knockers often imply that because people can afford to pay people smugglers, they are either rich queue jumpers, or have used ill-gotten gains, but if you or I were either starving or suffering persecution because of ethnicity, would we not jump at any opportunity to find the resources to escape? And how do you know how long it may have taken some of these people to raise the necessary cash for their trip? As for the 'queue jumping', people do not have time to wait in an orderly queue if they are to escape persecution and/or death. Without much access to the outside world in a country like Afghanistan, how would some people even know there is a queue, let alone where it is? Give them a break! As for Ross McDonald, Frosty Grego and Margo Kingston, I would like to thank them for their articulate and thoughtful letters (and Margo for her cutting-edge articles). Far from drinking 'lattes' all day, these people are obviously already doing something constructive for our community. I wish the refugees happiness and a safe and peaceful future and will pray for their relatives and friends back home, especially in view of the current situation in the Middle East. If it makes me a 'bleeding heart', who cares. Sure beats having a heart of stone. Jenni Oliver Click here to comment on this letter.
Kid CareI am writing to say thank you to Peter and Susan who run the 'Kids Club' every Tuesday afternoon during the school term at the Presbyterian Church Hall, Park Avenue, East Lismore. This is just one of the many Kids Clubs around the area. Once each term the parents are invited to join their kids for an afternoon of fun. So, last Tuesday that's exactly what I did, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It is so nice to know that in this time of terrorists and 10-year-old bullies on street corners that our children have a place to play in a safe, caring and Christian environment. So, thank you Peter and Susan and all the other volunteers who run the Kids Clubs. Keep up the good work. Clare Gallagher Click here to comment on this letter.
Ballina MayorCongratulations to Ballina's newly elected mayor Peter Moore and, very sincerely, best of luck for the upcoming 12 months. I think it's important that I publicly call on all those councillors who voted for me in this tightest of mayoral elections to join me and together support Peter in working for our common future. I see Cr Moore's most important job as taking an active role in reversing the divisions that have been growing within both the community and the council during this term. He will have to do this successfully to prove he is the person for the job. I fully recognise just how diverse we elected representatives are, but we must give Peter a chance to gain the confidence of the councillors and public alike. Cr Alan Rich Click here to comment on this letter.
MisquotedIf Bob English is going to quote me, I wish he would do it with accuracy (Echo, Sept 27). In my letter (Echo, Sept 20) I was trying to have Senator Eric Abetz tell me if Ian Causley is/ was entitled to spend taxpayers money on Party political material. However, poor Bob, in his usual manner, if trying to soften up the mothers and prepare them for the farewelling of their sons and daughters on troopships. Are you looking for conscription too Bob? By the way, what do you think about the 'wake up and stop fighting' call given to the Liberal Party in Ryan? The pre-selected candidate, Michael Johnson, certainly has supporters in many far flung locations. Don Hains Click here to comment on this letter.
Mediation PlanI can't help seeing the global warring words as being not much different to relationships between individuals. If you want to stop people punching or shooting each other, they really do have to talk and be listened to. What makes the Taliban hate America so much? And what do they want? Often opposing sides need a third party, or more, to help. It's called mediation or conflict resolution, we all know it's the new way, with the justice system increasingly recommending it. If we want to evolve to ‘peace among mankind', which everyone would surely love, how do we do it? The attack on New York is a reaction, but to what exactly? Has it all just got too unfair? Cultures and people are afraid of each other. Ultimately we'll have to learn to enjoy our differences. I know I'm dreaming but I'd love to see Dubya and Bin sit down around the campfire to discover how much they've got in common. Michael Balderstone Click here to comment on this letter.
Jaundiced ViewI think Bob English (Echo, Sept 27) expresses a rather jaundiced view of what Australia's political leadership should be. For me leadership is more than just reading the daily opinion polls and targeting another minority group in our society to ostracise in the hope of becoming popular. Also, it does not mean sacrificing Australia's youth to portray one's self as a great statesman on the international stage. To me real political leadership is about addressing the needs of all Australians, both social and moral. John Howard and his government have done neither. Howard is obsessed with creating false images of himself at whatever cost to get re-elected. Imagine the sight of another grovelling little Liberal Prime Minister, prepared to go all the way, clinging to the coat tails of yet another xenophobic American President, just to win an election. This is not leadership but short term expediency. Terry Harvey Click here to comment on this letter.
Richmond CandidateUnemployment is one of the biggest social and economic problems besetting this nation. Unemployment damages individuals, families and communities. Our young people face an uncertain future, our workers face job insecurity. Neither the Coalition nor the ALP seem to be seriously addressing these issues. The real unemployment rate is much higher than official statistics. If an unemployed person works only one hour per week, they are not counted in the unemployment figures, even though they still receive full Centrelink payments. Both the Coalition and Labor are cosy with this distortion of figures. In Richmond, the official unemployment rate stands around the 20% mark. The Coalition engages in scapegoating the unemployed, while Labor ignores the unemployed or pays lip service to them. They talk about training or retraining. But at the end of the day, there has to be the jobs there for them. Real jobs. To come up with workable solutions, we need to look at the various causes of unemployment and at the barriers to employment. The policy of privatisation of public assets and of deregulation of industry, which has been adopted by both Coalition and Labor parties, Federal and State, must be halted. Experience has shown that privatisation and deregulation create, or result in, unemployment, for example, the power industry in Victoria, and Telstra. We need to consider job creation schemes. Our environment, our public infrastructure, schools, hospitals are screaming out for repair, for assistance, for extra hands. Small business is the largest employer of people. Yet it is under tremendous pressure from many quarters. To employ a worker costs more than just the wages. It is these extra costs where government can assist, to encourage and make it viable to employ more people. There are many options, including job sharing, fair trade not free trade, and regionalisation of government services and of private industry. If only the next government would address these issues and get a program for this country that will provide jobs and a future for all of us. The social costs of unemployment far outweigh the economic costs. Julie Nathan Click here to comment on this letter.
Wrong WordsI found the headline ‘Ansett Crash Leaves Locals Burnt' to be very tasteless and unwarranted, and I hope that it was a lapse rather than a new policy for the front page. Martin Oliver Click here to comment on this letter.
Sheep MadnessHow do we bring peace to this insane violent world, that most of you follow like sheep. As someone that has lost a family member (niece) in the madness in the USA, I feel I must put pen to paper and urge you all, that violent retaliation is not the way. Our government sides with this mad aggressor the USA. How many countries have they invaded with their aggressive nature, then innocent victims my niece are killed when one of their enemies reacts violently to USA policy towards people of another faith. I have seen the USA encourage Australia to invade Vietnam. I lost friends in that stupid war, and also had a brother effected by its violence. Look my friends, it's time to stop this violent, negative attitude that is retaliation and find, peace within and without. If everyone was left to their own coherence on world double standards , you might see that both sides cannot win this stupid, insane conflict. Please write to Mr Bush and Mr Howard and tell them they do not act or speak on your behalf. If you put your head in the sand, they will assume you follow them like the sheep you are. Make love not war. David H Scholtz Click here to comment on this letter.
Rabid RightIs there a need to reply to David Estreich's continual exaggerated racism (Echo, Sept 27)? Definitely. Because the innocent victims, the targets of his insane vitriol cannot reply themselves and are even denied legal assistance by our government. What are they scared of? Asylum seekers with a full knowledge of their rights under International and Australian law. It seems like it. Deluded David tripped himself up beautifully in his ludicrous attempt to denigrate asylum seekers as some sort of wealthy drug lords. He said, since the cessation of World War II we've taken over 500,000 Refugees and the Immigration Dept has confiscated $600,000 from them. Okay David, we won't argue your figures. But on my calculations that works out at a massive, wait for it, $1.20 per asylum seeker – or an incredible 2.4 cents per asylum seeker per year for 50 years. Your own figures David! Geez mate, that doesn't exactly make them the wealthiest criminal tourists around does it? Sounds like they could really do with your piddling tax dollars that you would deny them. And any wealthy criminal wouldn't exchange an easy and comfortable lifestyle to risk his family's lives in an extremely dangerous journey in an unseaworthy, massively overcrowded boat on the high seas. And then a lengthy unknown amount of misery in barbaric detention centres. No. Those people fly first class in 747s and have mansions around the globe. Plus, the ridiculous thought that highly trained terrorists would waste years of anonymity going through the stringent controls and checks by passing themselves off as boat people shows your immense ignorance of the situation. As we've been shown recently they are highly respectable looking, pilots, engineers and architects etc. David Estreich has accused and convicted me of being a bleeding heart do-gooder. Well, I generously thank him with head held high and proud. I'm also, along with others of a caring nature, accused of belonging like a criminal to something called the cafe latte brigade. Now, what they look like? Who are they? So now it seems that David Estreich hates invisible groups of people, let alone boat-people! How moronic is that? But I do admit to having a grudging admiration for someone in these politically correct days with the courage to spew out mistruths, mischief and exaggerated racist garbage about asylum seekers, week after week. Estreich attacked me for not speaking out about an incident in Cyprus. Well my answer is that with at most, being only able to write one letter a week about asylum seekers being ill-treated, it is impossible to cover every act of cruelty and racism around the world. So I have to concentrate on the most vocal racist scaremonger of the moment. And that is David Estreich, who, I might note, is seemingly quite proud of his weekly notoriety. His comment that we should treat sick boat people like people with leprosy used to be treated is absolutely deplorable. Every disease he mentioned is quite controllable with drugs and, or sanitary conditions. Frosty Grego Click here to comment on this letter.
In MemoriamIt is with regret, I note that the Prime Minister was unable to attend the Memorial Service held in New York to honour the lives of the Australians and New Zealanders killed in the worst terrorist attack ever perpetrated in living memory. Also absent was our new Governor General but, of course, both men had valid reasons for their non-attendance – the football finals. The disappointment felt by those families involved in this tragedy must be great. I know our Foreign Affairs Minister was present, but in every other disaster suffered by this Nation in the last few years, and in particular those involving young people, Sir William and Lady Deane were present to extend the Nation's grief and condolences to families on our behalf and to give them comfort in their sorrow. We are in election mode, aren't we? Margaret Hains Click here to comment on this letter.
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