The Gippsland Times welcomes letters to the editor.
Preference will be given to brief, concise letters which address local issues.
The editor, Liam Durkin, reserves the right to edit letters for reasons of space and clarity, and may refuse to publish any letter without explanation.
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Readers are entitled to one right of reply to a letter directly solely at them.
The views expressed in letters to the editor are those of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Gippsland Times management or staff.
Email letters to news@gippslandtimes.com.au
Victorians’ issues have not changed
THE issues Victorians faced before the 2022 state election have not changed. In fact, it is getting to a critical point for our state’s health crisis, the increasing cost of living and the cost of education.
These are not isolated to a single electorate or region. There are issues that every Victorian – whether they are regional or metropolitan – will encounter.
As the 60th Parliament of Victoria resumes for the year, The Nationals will be ensuring that the voices of regional Victorians are heard.
Regional Victorians have spoken, and they want urgent action on Victoria’s expanding surgical waitlist, overcrowded Emergency Departments, patchwork local roads, mobile blackspots – the list goes on.
But most importantly, regional Victorians don’t want to be overlooked by the Andrews Labor government when it comes to investment in our communities and services.
The Nationals enter Parliament with a stronger team, covering Victoria from border to border.
We will put the issues facing rural and regional Victorians front and centre, and work to resolve them.
The Nationals is the only party solely representing regional Victorians. It is our absolute focus.
The regions should be more of a focus for Labor, because when the regions are thriving, Victoria is thriving.
Peter Walsh
Leader of The Nationals
MP has my support
I WRITE in support and with my thanks for Darren Chester, expressing his concerns over the decision to bring Loy Yang A power station closure forward 10 years, to 2035.
I would go further in pointing out that our coal-based energy plants like Loy Yang would have cost less over a much longer time, and operate 24/7 every year. They also do not shut down when there is no wind or light to supply them as opposed to base load coal, which I understand we have some 50 years-plus supply yet to utilise.
More base load coal plants and less high expenditure on renewables is the answer.
Charles James
Clydebank
Laying down the challenge
I’D like to challenge the misleading claims by Field & Game Australia (‘Great outlook for ducks’, (Gippsland Times January 27).
I’ve studied Professor Kingsford’s annual waterbird survey reports for more than a decade.
Field & Game Australia (FGA) suggests this aerial survey doesn’t include enough wetlands. But it systematically covers 12 per cent – almost one-eighth – of the total land mass across Queensland/NSW/ACT/Victoria, from the Gulf of Carpentaria down to southern Victoria.
The survey doesn’t claim to count every single duck while traversing broad swathes of the eastern states. But by repeating its coverage in the same way for 40 years, it tracks the relative abundance of species over time.
Despite record rains, game ducks are now at their third lowest on record.
FGA dismisses this shocking result, claiming birds dispersed or hid on nests, but the survey saw non-hunted waterbird species flourishing.
Kingsford’s views on hunting have shifted as climate change and irrigation developments tipped the scales against the ducks. But FGA only quotes his comments from last century (1999 and 2000).
In 2006, Kingsford castigated the Bracks government for holding a duck season despite low game duck abundance.
Today, our game ducks have only half that abundance!
I hope the Premier is better informed than FGA.
Joan Reilly
Surrey Hills
Deadly reality
THE horrific story of the toddler who died in a hot car on February 2 is a stark reminder of the dangers of leaving anyone in a hot car.
As temperatures soar all over the country, please remember that dogs and children should never be left in parked vehicles, which can rapidly become death traps.
Even on a mild, 22-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can soar to 47 degrees in minutes. Leaving windows open will not keep animals or children comfortable or safe.
With only hot air to breathe, they can succumb to heatstroke in as little as 15 minutes, resulting in brain damage or death.
Symptoms include restlessness, excessive thirst, heavy panting, lethargy, diarrhoea and vomiting, and even seizures.
Please, when it’s warm outside, leave children and animals at home, or take them out of the car with you.
If you see children or dogs left in a car, have the car’s owner paged at nearby shops or call 000 immediately – their life depends on it.
If the authorities are unresponsive or too slow and their life appears to be in imminent danger, find a witness (or several) who will back up your assessment, take steps to remove them from the car, and then wait for authorities to arrive.
Mimi Bekhechi
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Actions speak louder than words
THE National Party was elected with a clear mandate to represent the people of this region.
Perhaps they were too successful. All are in opposition and the best they can expect are the economic scraps from state budgets over the next few years.
A closer result and the Labor Party may have tossed some extra money around to see if they could attract more support and change the vote at the next election.
But it is what it is and for the last four years, I’ve held my tongue while our representatives boast about some problem they’ve highlighted; some ‘Mickey Mouse’ speech they’ve made, or some petition they’ve submitted to Parliament
Well, I just can’t sit back and watch more of the same for another four years.
Old and new members have to roll up their sleeves and actually achieve a real improvement, no matter what problems they encounter.
Through their efforts, we need to be designing, making or assembling something of substance and something new after this current term.
They need to come up with a plan that will create jobs and give a substantial boost to our economy and not just highlight a few potholes in the road.
Sure, they can already point to developments where they were involved, but most of those were company driven or achieved through natural development.
It won’t be easy.
This is one of the few times I don’t have a suggestion, but if all we get from them is more of the same, then we’ve been ‘dudded!’
No matter what it takes, they have to actually achieve more than they have in the past!
At the next election they need to be able to say: ‘Without us, that would never have happened! Those jobs would not be there!”
Bob Hammill
Sale
Be brave and shave
ACCORDING to the Leukaemia Foundation’s latest research, many Australians living with blood cancer, particularly those in regional and remote areas, are under significant financial strain as a result of their diagnosis and treatment.
Nearly half (43 per cent) of those diagnosed experienced out-of-pocket treatment costs totalling hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars.
Regional patients and their loved ones often need to travel long distances or relocate to a capital city to access lifesaving treatment, which significantly increases the financial hardship they experience.
As a result, some have had to sell assets including their house or car to pay for treatment, with others using charity food boxes and turning to charities like the Leukaemia Foundation for support.
With blood cancer incidence on the rise, and more Australians than ever needing financial, emotional and practical support, the Leukaemia Foundation has launched the 25th anniversary of World’s Greatest Shave to help raise vital money.
Money raised will also help research scientists continue their search for better ways to diagnose and treat blood cancer more effectively.
We urge all Australians to join us in celebrating the 25th anniversary of World’s Greatest Shave, by signing up to shave, cut or colour their hair in support of the growing number of Australians diagnosed with blood cancer every day.
Sign up to World’s Greatest Shave online at worldsgreatestshave.com, or call 1800 500 088 for more information.
Chris Tanti
Leukaemia Foundation CEO
Sectarian lines no reason for division
I BELIEVE it is very important that people in positions of government leadership are able to respect Australia’s multicultural society.
This means equal opportunity for people of all races and religions.
For a long time, I have been very concerned about Labor and the Greens being prejudiced against Christians, but I am also shocked that the Coalition is also adopting this same bigotry by attempting to disendorse their Liberal upper house candidate for Eastern Victoria, Dr Renee Heath, for the so-called crime of being a churchgoer.
My family saw how our native Sri Lanka was destroyed by socialists hijacking the government and conducting hate campaigns against certain racial and religious groups.
I am disturbed that Victoria seems to be headed in the same direction.
Christians are unfairly persecuted in this state.
Ravindu Gunawardena
Sale
Kudos
I WRITE to publicly congratulate the organisers of local events that took place across Gippsland South on Australia Day.
I was fortunate to attend events in Toongabbie, Sale, Woodside, Foster and Dumbalk, but am also aware of many more that took place right across the electorate.
Australia Day is a great opportunity for us to get together and celebrate what makes our nation the best in the world, and I want to thank the local volunteers and community groups who organised and ran local events to facilitate this.
I also want to take this opportunity to welcome those who became new Australian citizens, and congratulate those who received local Citizen of the Year awards or were awarded medals through the Australia Day 2023 Honours List.
The Australia Day awards are always a great reminder of the wonderful calibre of citizens we have right here in Gippsland South.
Danny O’Brien
Member for Gippsland South
