Issue 818
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Alstonville residents waiving their banners and calling for a Bypass made State Cabinet members turn their heads as they arrived for the Evans Head Cabinet Meeting on Tuesday. While all present would have liked Mr Scully, the Minister for Roads, to give a start date for the project they all believed that Mr Scully now knows how important the project is to the Alstonville community.
However, without the support of local businesses such as Burnett Bus lines and the organisational skills of Bob Wilson and Neil Chesworth this rally would not have eventuated.
So many thanks to: Burnett Bus lines, who provided the bus and petrol; bus driver Kevin Munroe, who also gave his time freely and even participated in the rally; Bob and Neil for organising and looking after 50 Alstonville citizens whose ages ranged from 4 to 87; our C Riding councillor Marilyn Perkins who joined the rally, helped serve morning tea and then went to formally meet Cabinet; and finally thanks to all those Alstonville citizens who put aside other responsibilities to rally for their community.
Jane Gardiner
Alstonville
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I am writing to inform the community of Lismore that the overnight shelter (Yeshua Haven) in 19 Frank Street, South Lismore will be closed on May 23 and will not be in operation again on that site.
Thanks to all who supported this venture for our homeless over the last two years. We have no way of providing a new shelter unless someone or some organisation gifts us with a building.
Sister Margaret Mazzer
Lismore
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Here we have a so-called Australian Federal Government, which now wants to curtail our freedoms - our freedom of speech, our freedom of actions, and our freedom of movement. These are just for starters. Now for persons like me and hundreds of others who oppose this neo-fascist government we would be thrown into jail without the options, like without a trial.
Real dictatorship for bloody sure. This bloody neo-fascist government would be in their element in places like Russia, China and other such fascist countries. We have to rely on the federal senate to block this hideous sick piece of legislation, otherwise we are sunk.
Norm R Turner
Goonellabah
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Several points need to be made in response to Cr Gates' comments in regard to the Memorial Baths (Echo, May 2).
This is the biggest investment Council has ever made, and the community, which has been shut out of the decision-making process, will bear the burden of this for many years to come.
Cr Ros Irwin
Lismore
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In response to the Mayo'rs view on the aquatic centre (Echo, May 2).
Cr Gates, a result based on the rhetoric of your 'personal opinion' is not empowering for the people who are trapped within the issues at stake here. A difference of opinion can generate much creativity if handled the right way.
As a team leader, should you not spend a significant amount of time listening to the citizens you are supposed to serve, and to your 'adversaries', before a strategy is determined?
Surely Cr Irwin's preceding experience and research must have unveiled some positive viewpoints which you could use as a valuable resource? Her years of community consultation could be seen as an asset to Council and her professional conduct at meetings could be seen as exemplary to those Councillors who are less competent. Does she not have the same right as the other councillors to offer fresh ideas, without fear of needless, unconstructive and childish bullying? Cr Irwin may not see the same picture as you, but does that make her wrong?
With the world being torn apart by seemingly irreconcilable differences, creating respect is really a key challenge for these times. Knowledge resides and is active in all people; not just a few favoured councillors. It is the people in our community who see and know intimately the problems facing them, and are often in the best position to collectively make a change. However, this Council, under your management, appears to be rather cynical and patronising toward public comment, preferring to believe Council's own ideas to be best.
Like many political establishments, this Council is not working as a team. Moral is low, egos are high and as a result it's not productive for the common good of the whole community. If you can't find common ground on these ancient issues what hope is there for Lismore when the next equally interesting problem arises?
Sharon Zealand
Lismore
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I am writing in relation to the Chris Goh's Hotnews item (Echo, Mar 28) on the Church of Scientology and the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The Church of Scientology requested the law be applied and that Google thus overlook sites that were illegally using the Church's copyrighted material. The Church has always been a strong advocate for the protection of individual works on the Internet. This includes book authors, artists, musicians, and filmmakers; each of whom has been subjected to the misuse, abuse and theft of their works that would be intolerable in any other setting.
It is hardly ironic that the Church that does indeed encourage the questioning of the world would protect the rights of artists from those who would seek to criminally profit from them or ruin them.
In 'The Creed of the Church of Scientology' it says: 'That all men have inalienable rights to think freely, to talk freely, to write freely their own opinions and to counter or utter or write upon the opinions of others.'
I say to others, 'Ask your questions, write your opinions, but do not steal. We will counter or utter or write upon your opinions.'
To everyone else I say, 'Find out for yourself.'
Tara Fitzpatrick
Public Affairs Officer
Church of Scientology
Sydney
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No doubt most Lismore residents are sick and tired of hearing about the city's proposed new pool. Join the club.
But at a projected cost of $10 million it represents the biggest single investment ratepayers have ever made. Not only that but the tail - the enormous $650,000 plus subsidy that ratepayers will pay annually to keep it open - will be swinging the body of Council for years to come.
This subsidy is more than 10 times the amount it costs to keep the current pool open. We have to make sure we are doing the right thing before it is too late. Once the pool construction starts, probably in March next year, there is no turning back.
Given all the publicity, most people by now will have formed some opinion on whether it should go ahead in its current form or not. However Council has not heard you. Indeed, to date at least, it has indicated it does not want to.
There have been no consultations on this pool option apart from key user groups who are understandably supportive. Ratepayers in general however have not been asked whether they are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices for it to go ahead.
Simply put, if the pool goes ahead many other worthwhile civic projects will have to be delayed or curtailed for many years. This includes a long overdue sports facility for the youth of Goonellabah, developing the centre of the city to make it more attractive to shoppers, developing the river bank to attract tourists and so on.
Spending on roads and other Council services will also suffer. This will be a tragedy.
Economically Lismore has turned a corner over the past year or so but for it to continue the entire community has to work together.
Council in particular has to be in a position where it can direct resources where necessary to ensure that vital projects for the city's continued growth go ahead. It will not be able to do this if it is burdened with excessive debt. Even if we stop at Stage Two of the pool design, which gives us not much more than we have at the moment, the cost will be $6.6 million. Loan repayments on the borrowings will be close to $600,000 a year.
On top of this is the loss the pool will undoubtedly make. Even under very optimistic assumptions, the pool is likely to lose $100,000a year and possibly a great deal more.
This is a huge commitment from ratepayers and it will go on for years. Perhaps the people of Lismore are willing to make this sacrifice but we just do not know. The very least Lismore Councillors can do is to embark upon a series of wide-ranging consultations with urban and rural residents, the business community and other key groups to find out what they think.
Once the community's views are known, then Council can make a sensible decision.
To undertake a project of this magnitude without clear community support would be a travesty.
Cr David Tomlinson
The Channon
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Just like Victoria! Our Victorian Federal Treasurer is trying to bully our NSW Honest John out of his chance to beat Victorian Bob Menzies' record stint as Prime Minister. Who does he think he is? Paul Keating?
Nat B Wheatley
Alstonville
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Coalition politicians need a lesson in many things but the most obvious is in the name-calling department.
One can hardly compare the wimpy 'bleeding heart', 'elitist', 'unAustralian' and 'chattering class' used to denigrate today's activists to Billy Snedden's masterpiece.
He labelled demonstrators in the anti-Vietnam War marches: 'Political bikies, pack-raping democracy', a description which little old ladies in hats and gloves immediately adopted with great glee!
Here's one aspiring 'L-O-L' who is finding the whole name-calling thing terribly amusing and who's looking forward to as much embarrassment for the present Government when it finally comes to its humanitarian senses as the 'bikie incident' must have been for little Billy!
Cloud
Kyogle
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Re: Jim Lee's letter (Echo, Apr 18) and his uninformed description of a foetus (up to 3 months) as 'indifferent embryo cells.'
Even a female kangaroo is aware that the very small immature and barely formed creature climbing through its fur, after only 40 days in-utero. In order to reach the pouch where it completes the final two months of growth, is actually its offspring and not a bunch of wayward 'indifferent cells.'
Further, the 'breath of life' should not be confused with oxygen inhaled at birth. The 'breath of life' is given by the Author of Life at the moment of conception when the generation process is initiated and a tiny individual heart, as distinct from its 'host', starts beating (at 24 days). Unless of course it is extinguished or dies.
Ironically, the more caring we become about the plight of animals, the less caring we appear to be of our own humanity or its very inception. A current TV ad implores (for animals) '... please take away all this pain, don't be cruel to creatures that God has made!'
Women on the other hand, have been 'sold down the river' by the contraceptive pill and abortion, on a 'private' voyage of discovery.
As for freedom Jim, a final thought from a very wise and holy shepherd - 'Real freedom is found only in obedience to the truth.' (John Paul II)
Mary Mason
Lismore Heights
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I have been overwhelmed by a feeling of disbelief, and a sense of unreality, since hearing a few days ago that the United States is seriously considering invading Iraq, with a view to eliminating Saddam Hussein on the grounds that he may be developing, or might already have, weapons of mass destruction. And that if he did have any, he might use them.
Try as I might, I cannot think of anything more likely than a US invasion to motivate Hussein into accelerating the development of any weapons he might be working on, or using any he had. This is starkly obvious to me, and I cannot believe it is not equally obvious to nearly everybody.
Does the US government, or ours for that matter, really believe that the 'war against terrorism' is best carried out by provoking (those they consider) terrorists to do their worst? Does anyone have any other explanation for this insanity?
Jonathan Chance
East Lismore
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Like most others I feel sorry for the genuine refugees and some of our detention centres are certainly not desirable places to house women and children. But many are not the harmless people that many readers would like to have us believe.
We have a niece married to an Afghan refugee who escaped the Taliban regime. He is a very nice bloke and we get on very well with him. They even invited me to be MC at their wedding.
But even he is afraid of the boat people. He fears that people will be sent to Australia to kill him, and they won't come by plane, as many would believe, but by refugee boats so that they will be unable to be identified.
Various current affairs shows in the past six months have painted a different picture of the refugees that many choose to ignore. A reporter on Foreign Correspondent found that many destroy their identification in Indonesia, before boarding a boat to Australia. An Indonesian man told how the people of his village were afraid of the refugees and how they'd threatened to 'slit his throat!'
Sailors had to prevent one refugee from strangling a child. Sailors were attacked with homemade weapons. One refugee told how he was raped by a number of other males on the boat ride to Australia.
There are stories of child sex abuse in the detention centre, but these are unable to be investigated because of their 'code of silence.' Guards have been attacked with rocks, sharpened broom handles, curtain rods, steel pickets and other home made weapons. Homemade weapons were found in the camps such as razor blades inserted into toothbrush handles. Garrottes made from guitar strings and nunchakus.
I could relate a lot more that has been broadcast.
Many of these people are violent brutal people and those who believe they should all be released into the community really have their heads in a cloud.
Sure, let all the genuine refugees stay but who would want some of the more violent ones living next door to them? Some have been quoted as saying, 'It's not wrong to kill Australians, they are only trash.' And another, 'Australians and their leaders are a bunch of weaklings and need someone like Saddam Hussein to rule us.'
This letter is certainly not meant to be racist. My late father-in-law, be it my wife's stepfather, had Aboriginal blood. He was a good man who worked two and three jobs to raise four of another man's children and four of his own. He never drew the dole in his life.
I have had many close Lebanese friends and can speak Arabic. When I was single, one even told me that I could take any of his daughters out or marry any of them. One has to be very well liked to have an offer like this, I can tell you.
I believe we will be asking for trouble by letting violent people into the country. It was reported recently that a number of violent criminals paid big money to join the Vietnamese boat people to come to Australia. Look at the Asian crime in Sydney at the moment.
M Mackay
Goolmangar
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We, the organisers of the Lismore Showground Markets, wish to thank and advise the people of Lismore and surrounding areas, for the support shown to the new market. The benefit to the community is now starting to show.
As recognition for the support given by our stallholders we are offering the next six months site fee for the cost of three months. This will start from May 12 to October 13.
As normal, we will have our charity of the day. Any organisation wishing to register for charity of the day please phone Noreen or Chris on 6622 8028.
Noreen Colley
Lismore
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I am writing to express my concern with the legal processes which relate to the development of the biomass cogeneration power plants for Broadwater and Condong. Originally the developers Sunshine Sugar and Delta Electricity produced a Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) to accompany the Development Applications to Richmond Valley Council (RVC) and Tweed Shire Council (TSC). The result of this act was that the Condong plant was approved on the strength of the SEE, whereas the Broadwater proposal was withdrawn from RVC after community pressure for an EIS and proof that it is a designated development requiring an EIS. The EPA also placed a stop on the Broadwater proposal voicing concerns over noise and other issues.
My query is how can two cogen plants with the same fuel consumption and electricity output be assessed under different criteria? Having proven that the Broadwater proposal required an EIS should prove that an EIS is required for the Condong power plant.
It is my opinion that Tweed Shire Council approved this development without having fully researched the proposal, if they had they would have known that the Condong proposal is legally a designated development requiring an EIS. People of the Tweed Shire should demand that their council put a stop on the Condong cogeneration development until an EIS has been completed otherwise the Tweed Council may be guilty of not following correct and proper procedure, possibly finding themselves in a litigation situation or fined. We all know that it will be the residents of Tweed Shire that will foot the bill for their council's ineptitude.
This is not true green power, it is environmental vandalism! If our councils were serious on green energy they would be looking at solar, wind and tidal power sources, instead of pandering to the NSW sugar that holds only 5% of the Australian sugar industry. These electricity plants will not save the NSW sugar industry. NSW cane farmers must think about diversifying to other crops. And will these power plants eventually be sold to foreign investors via deregulation and privatisation of the NSW electricity industry, which was enacted this year?
Residents of Condong, it is not too late to write and demand that your council follow the letter of the law on this issue by bringing Condong in line with Broadwater's power plant proposal, in that an EIS is required for these developments.
Residents of Broadwater must decide if they want to live with this development for the rest of their lives, that is constant noise, air and water pollution. Send your submissions of objection to Richmond Valley Council before May 24. I encourage all residents of Broadwater and Condong to seriously consider the long term affects of these Biomass Cogeneration Power Plants on you and your children's health and well being and that of future generations, the developers will not do this.
Russell Burtenshaw
Broadwater
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