Letters To The Editor

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Trust Red Cross

This is a heartfelt plea to your readers not to withdraw support and donations to the Red Cross. This organisation is humanitarian, ethical, over-worked and fully deserving of the community's backing. Any, but the most biased, research will immediately show that the funding for Red Cross is used wisely and well for the good of those most in need.

As far as the Bali donations go – one commendable expenditure was on a machine that sprays burns with a false skin thereby enabling the victim's own skin to grow unimpeded and without the ghastly pain associated with more conventional methods. The rest of the money raised is equally accountable and used properly.

For my part, I will ignore negative media presentations on Red Cross and continue to help this organisation with its aims of helping the more unfortunate, globally.

Well done Red Cross and all you dedicated volunteers out there who are making a difference!

Rosalee Bennett
Nimbin

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Mungo's defence

Dr Pezzutti, unabashed disciple of current Howard Liberal American style capitalism, says Mungo "seems to live in an old time socialist state that he had hoped to create." (Echo, June 4).

I can only conclude from that statement Dr Pezzutti feels we should all accept that "modern" government, without silly old socialist ideals, will be the way of the future. We should accept the unquestionable advantages of American capitalism over socialistic government. After all, both Liberal and Labor governments do.

They'll both cut welfare, cut health and education funding for the underprivileged to the bone. Both try to undermine unions. Both harass the unemployed, pressuring them further into exploitative employment.

We'll follow America, where the long-term unemployed are given no choice but to be exploited to the point of not earning a "living wage". That's an old socialist term, Dr Pezzutti, about workers unable to support their families. Only union struggles protected the workers, and gave them a living wage. Now with the capitalist resurgence, the workers have no voice in government.

If you saw what the Socialist party has achieved in Scotland, Dr Pezzutti, you wouldn't be so arrogantly assured of the irrelevance of Mungo's socialist ideals.

Since you said nothing of a specific nature in your criticism of Bob Ellis, just said he couldn't be taken seriously, I'll assume you meant everything he said was laughable. Like that the war in Iraq isn't over? Ludicrous?

Well why, Dr Pezzutti, are the Americans not only not withdrawing troops, but sending, yes sending, 20,000 more troops?

Doug Burt
Kyogle  

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Save the creek

The recent collapse of Bridge Street and the subsequent need for repairs has left council with a dilemma – how to repair the road and also protected a unique eco-system.

The collapse has been caused by slippage of a 50m section of creek bank on the western side of Slater's Creek. This small section of bank has rare and endangered Fragrant Myrtle trees at each end of the slip. The central area of the slip contains more than 50 native Sandpaper Figs (often quite large), lily pillies and Prickly Pea, itself a threatened species. This area of bank is also to the point where the run-off from the Slater's Basin meets the tidal waters of the Slater's Creek inlet from the Wilson River, and as such is a haven for many birds and animals. The banks are steep and narrow and thick with vegetation, much of which at present is weed species, but even in its degraded state the area provides protection and nesting sites.

We have recorded 58 species of birds; regular inhabitants include of Rufous Night Herons, Azure Kingfishers, Sacred Kingfishers, Partelotes, and numerous Pacific Black Ducks, as well as many Eastern Water Dragons, turtles, a large carpet python, brown snakes, black snakes and bandicoots. We have even seen a chocolate brown wallaby on several occasions. This area of Slater's Creek is one of the last remaining wooded sections of backwater creek in the Lismore area and must be protected. Any sudden denuding of the bank for road repairs or bank restoration will cause loss of habitat. Many of the creatures will never return. Defoliation will need to be carried out extremely carefully and in small sections at a time. One of the methods of road repair proposed entails rebuilding the collapsed length of road and bank with wire baskets filled with rocks, and stacked like large bricks to form a solid stone wall. This method will remove practically all foliage and cover from the western side and reduce the bank to a vertical, bare drop, thus destroying the entire eco-system. Clearly this method is unacceptable.

The rumoured widening and upgrading of Bridge Street to facilitate the proposed Northern by-pass would do even more environmental damage. Any decision to accommodate the proposed road widening within the current road repair, would make a mockery of ongoing community consultations regarding the route or even the necessity for the a Northern by-pass. It would pre-empt the Environmental Impact Statement and quite possibly result in a waste of ratepayer's funds.

We urge the council to make the protection of this very special area its top priority when planning and carrying out any work.

Warwick and Lee Boyd
North Lismore

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Sex & politics

It's a shame our local state MP has not the capacity to support the recent amendment to the Bill on the Age of Consent but has the gall to say how strongly he opposes this issue in his propaganda page of "State Matters" (Echo, May 29).

Changes to this law will give any guy at 16 the right to have sex with whom they please. They need not necessarily be gay however, gay youth that have been disadvantage in the past will no doubt benefit. Surely an equal age of consent has to be considered a step forward for basic human rights in this state bringing us into line with all other states except the Northern Territory.

Could you imagine the unfairness of two youths who go out aged 17, one's straight and the other's gay, but they are the best of mates. They both pick up, one a girl and the other a guy. It seems unfair that only one couple can have sex. What are the consequences of allowing one and denying the other? I was a gay youth once who ended up married then later divorced. How much easier it would have been for me, and others, if I had had the choice the freedom to choose who I wanted to be with.

George you represent a diverse electorate and your stand on issues should not be merely based on Christian morality or prejudices but on fairness. Where were these so called values when earlier this year over 5000 people in Lismore from all walks of life marched for peace? Where were you? Maybe you should run for Federal MP because unfairness is that Government style as they have picked on the battlers from refugees to people on welfare. One can only hope at the next state election that our young voters are as fair to you.

Name withheld
Nimbin

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Red Cross speaks

I wish to take the opportunity to comment on the controversy that has recently engulfed Australian Red Cross. We said in a media release on 16 October 2002 at the time the Bali Appeal was launched that moneys raised would be applied in both Australia and Bali to assist victims and would include expenditure on "future needs and reconstruction".

The reference to 90% in providing "direct assistance to the victims" was in a context which made it plain that 90% would be applied beneficially and that up to a maximum of 10% could be applied towards administration cost. (In fact these costs have been contained to just under 3%).

This was reiterated by me and my senior Red Cross colleagues in subsequent media interviews. Any fair-minded reader of media reports quoting this release would have understood that expenditure in Bali would include longer term projects of benefit to the Balinese people generally. These programs were announced in a second media release on 1 November 2002 and I and senior Red Cross colleagues spoke out about them at a media conference and in a host of radio interviews that day.

It is a great pity that what we wrote and said has been misconstrued in recent times, first in articles published in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on May 17 and in subsequent media comment. The original articles complained that the Red Cross had not provided prosthetic limbs to victims in Australia. It was never the job of Red Cross to meet those particular needs and the minister for Health has publicly acknowledged this. Any criticisms about delays should not have been directed at the Red Cross. We have rebutted every allegation made since then however mischievous, hurtful, or absurd they were. But the controversy has continued. I assure the Australian public that the Red Cross has nothing to hide and we have willingly agreed to an independent external audit. The dedicated volunteers and staff of the Society have not misappropriated or wasted any funds donated to this cause. There has been no deceit or maladministration but this misleading publicity has been very debilitating. The tragedy is that it may shake the faith of Australians in this great organisation that exists only to serve people in need in war and in peace. The Australian Red Cross like the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in some 179 countries around the world remains faithful to its historic mission. All we ask is for the public to listen to our side of the story. I know that one day this wave of destruction will be over and I know also that Red Cross will survive because there are many Australians who know and appreciate what it does and why.

Dr Rob O'Regan AM QC
National Chairman Australian Red Cross.

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Slipped again

After a month or so without Ballina Council pulling a major financial blunder I was beginning to think they had learnt to count. Wrong. They were just spending their time putting together another king size boo-boo.

This time it's the rating structure that they have decided to change. In doing so they create more problems than they solve.

The problem the Councillors had to solve was that some very high residential land revaluations were going to send some people's rates very high. They (as would we) wanted to avoid this outcome.

So the Councillors opted for a change to what is called 45% Base Rating. Oops.

Compared to the existing rating system their change did reduce the very high residential rate payments by $172,000. But the consequences of this ill thought out move are many and mostly bad.

The change also shifted rates in other categories. Business rates go down by $150,000 relative to the existing rating system. Farm rates go down $68,000 relative and there is another $29,000 down in other categories.

In total the rate payments on residential properties in the low to middle value with average level of revaluation go up by $420,000. Good move Council! To save $172,000 for one group of residential ratepayers change to a system that costs the other residential ratepayers $420,000.

Dept of Local Government's comparison of councils shows the average rate for business properties in Ballina Shire is the lowest in NSW already for Group 4 councils. This Ballina average is 70% lower than the average of all Group four NSW councils. So there is clearly no need to shift $150,000 off business properties and onto average residential properties.

Farm rates are set at 67% of the residential rate and would have modest increases under the old rating system. There is no justification for having residential ratepayers pay more so farms pay less, but that is what Council is proposing in its 2003/04 Draft Management Plan.

Ballina Shire residential ratepayers should write to council and lodge an objection to this inequitable and unjust proposals. Tell them to stick to the current system (with a few minor changes to fix the "problem") and forget about the extra 4% rate increase.

Keith Johnson
Alstonville

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The first stone

Brian Pezzutti demonstrates how easy it is for self-righteous people to see the faults of others while ignoring their own, which all begin as the hypocrisy, ie. fallacious reasoning inside the lobes behind their own eyeballs. (Echo, June 4)

As the Man said, metaphorically, before some of them executed him for insolence, aka heresy, defamation and subversion; "They fuss about the dirtiness outside the cup, but ignore the muck inside".

Dr Doug Ogilvie
Bilambil

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Hands off!

Thank heavens Australia has the Senate it has, vigilant, active, democratically elected and stopping the worst draft legislation our amateur Governments dream up.

It provides the only real opposition to the two-party tyranny of look-alike major parties that have long ceased to inspire the electorate. A feature of the much praised but little understood Westminster system is directly responsible of the lack of quality of our Governments.

That is that Ministers must be "in and of the Parliament". Thus some 30 portfolios have to be filled from roughly 100 elected politicians! What can one expect? It is a recipe for incompetence. Why not address that serious deficiency, the major cause of the problem?

Klaas Woldring
Pearl Beach

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Thank you

On behalf of The Salvation Army, I would like to thank you and your readers for the support given to our Red Shield Appeal National Doorknock. In particular, we thank all our collectors for their wonderful work and commitment.

Funds raised will help us in the year ahead in continuing our wide range of services assisting those less fortunate in our community. The Red Shield Appeal continues until June 30 and anybody who was missed at the door can still donate by ringing 133 230 or by visiting our website www.salvos.org.au.

Again thank you for helping The Salvation Army 'shield those in need'.

Major Mark Campbell
The Salvation Army

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Botanic gardens

The Australian Plant Society has commenced its help to the Lismore Rainforest Botanic Gardens.

A series of occasional work parties has been arranged for five years. The Far North District Group of the society will clear land and plant Australian dry and sub-tropical rainforest species adjacent to Upper Fern Gully.

The area is timbered already with Richmond River Pine, Brown Kurrajong, Firewheel Trees, Lillypillies and Ferns. It is below good stands of Red Gum. The Botanic Gardens are evolving between Wyrallah Road and Gundarimba Road (Keen Street) on Council buffer lands around Lismore Waste.

After the drought, recent rains have given obvious growth spurts to Spring time planting's of rainforest species by The Friends of the Botanic Gardens. Phone 6624 2963 for details

Geoff Walker
Richmond Hill

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Conspiracy theory

So it seems that the Iraq had actually destroyed the weapons of medium destruction that was supposed justification for the conquest of Iraq, or that the weapons were stolen by terrorists during the chaos of the Saddam's regimes death throes, surely the worst possible outcome, so either the US is caught in a lie or failed to stop terrorists obtaining weapons.

But the US seems pretty happy with the mess in Iraq and it made me wonder if perhaps they had achieved all the ends they wanted! It's taken me along time to work it out, but I finally have deduced what the secret yet sufficient reasons were for the Americans (and thus Australia) to go to war on Iraq and why the complete destruction of the Iraq Government was the only acceptable end game for the Bush administration.

My conspiracy theory runs as follows: shortly after the anthrax attacks in the US, (remember those) the FBI announced that they were interested in an American Biological Weapons researcher as a "person of interest" as the anthrax released had been found by DNA analysis to have come from the US's own anthrax stockpile.

At this point in time Don Rumsfield was swearing before a committee that he was sure there were no "smoking guns" connecting the US and Iraqi weapons of mass destruction not withstanding that after his personal visit as a "senior defence official" to Bagdhad in 1985 the US recommenced suppling weaponry of "all types" to Iraq prior to the first Gulf War.

Imagine an interview between the Biological Weapons researcher's lawyer and the FBI.

"Our client was surprised to receive this requisition to provide biological agents including anthrax to any gulf state, even one currently at war with our then bugbear Iran, so he sought approval from the Defence Dept. and received this hand-written authorisation signed by none other than Donald Rumsfeld."

We know from reports in The Herald that the US did supply anthrax to the Iraq and following the unsuccessful search for Bin Laden, the Administration probably reasoned that any public disclosure that a key member of their war on terrorism had personally okayed the supply of anthrax to a member of the Axis of Evil would destroy and chance of re-election.

Don't be surprised documents are found in some Ba'ath Party building supporting to detail a trial of anthrax attack by distributing spores in postal items which will prove to be the final justification for this whole immoral attack on Iraq and shut up the Biological Weapons researcher's lawyers.

If it sounds unlikely to you, just remember the contortions involved in Contra-gate and the overthrow of the Allende government in Chile.

Ross MacDonald
Nimbin

• Edited for length. – Ed

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Corner

Once he was known as "Honest John"
A path he has now strayed from
The name is now "Jack Boot Johnnie"
Sending our troops with the Yanks and Pommies
To kill and maim at the drop of a hat
Well he asks "What's wrong with that"
Our cause is just we're saving mankind
From chemical weapons we've yet to find
Bring our troops to us back home
And never again let them roam
To countries that don't show us aggression
But have hundreds of oil wells in their possession
Must our troops be exchanged for trade
All for big John to receive accolades
From overseas leaders who live by the gun
And think that in the world they're number one
The budgets in surplus ain't that fine
We're swimming in money that's the bottom line
Just think if we hadn't had the war
We could have helped medicare and the poor
Wake up Aussies before its too late
Uncle Sam is waiting at our gates
If this is the path we are to tread
Then for our future I'm full of dread

By Betty Langenberg

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