Source : the age
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.
HONOURS
As we celebrate King Charles’ birthday, there is another Aussie king whose life we should celebrate – Richard Scolyer. Together with colleague Georgina Long, they pioneered research and treatment in Scolyer’s aggressive glioblastoma brain cancer (“Former Australian of the year Richard Scolyer dies”, 8/6). His legacy to us is also contained in the letter he left posthumously. Cancer, he wrote, “does not define us, but can clarify the importance of relationships, friendships and selflessness”. Vale King Richard. His humility, courage and positive attitude despite everything will survive him.
Nick Toovey, Beaumaris
Two men who gave to the end
How sad to learn that Richard Scolyer has lost his battle with cancer. What an extraordinary man. There is something especially poignant about the timing of his passing, on a weekend when the nation pauses to recognise outstanding Australians and when the Big Freeze shines a spotlight on Neale Daniher’s tireless fight against another devastating disease. Though their journeys were different, both men faced immense challenges with courage, dignity and an unwavering determination to improve the lives of others. Their legacies will endure in the hope they inspired and the lives they touched.
Sue McNamara, Rye
An amazing legacy
The world has lost a great scientist, researcher and humanitarian in Professor Richard Scolyer from brain cancer. He was amazing in telling us of his cancer and his research with his science partner, Professor Georgina Long. He displayed courage in participation in groundbreaking new trials to combat the cancer. He did this for future sufferers. His humbleness was one thing that made Australians love him, and his courage and cheerfulness in the face of the awful death he knew he would face. He wants to be known as someone who “gave it a crack”. Perhaps that’s our call to arms and one of his legacies: to press on and attempt to do things, even if they seem impossible. In science, in business, in our community, in great and small things and for our family and friends.
Jan Marshall, Brighton
Shining lights of inspiration
Vale to two inspirational men, Richard and Neale, who have given hope to so many. The King’s Honours list almost fades into insignificance.
Mary Fenelon, Doncaster East
Right royal congratulations
Congratulations to all who were recognised on yesterday’s happy holiday under the Order of Australia of which Charles III is Sovereign Head. However, MP Bob Katter and Senator Lidia Thorpe are unlikely to be so honoured in such awards, given their unfaithfulness to the King of Australia. Their public disavowals of signed pledges of ongoing loyalty are disconcerting to say the least, since our Constitution (s1) provides for a federal parliament of which the King is part, and (under s42) requires politicians to “bear true allegiance”.
David d’Lima, South Australia
Let’s make a day of it
Let’s make the first Monday in June Australia Day, and we can all be happy. I’m sure Charles won’t mind too much.
Merryn Boan, Brighton
Keeping success in focus
What is the point of publishing the King’s Birthday Honours list in a font size so small it’s almost impossible to read? I don’t know the demographics of who buys newspapers, but I’d hazard a guess that the majority might be ageing/retired people like me. Guess what? A lot of us don’t have great eyesight!
Anne Austin, Flinders
Missed out … again
Darn, drat and damn (and other words I hesitate to use), I missed out on another King’s Birthday Honours list! Maybe next year.
Myra Fisher, Brighton East
THE FORUM
Ditch the slogan
Fifteen years ago, the slogan, “Ditch the Witch”, was first used against Australia’s first female prime minister. In the current context, the use of the slogan against Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen is indicative of how misogyny is employed as a malicious weapon against high-profile women in leadership and the underpinning rationalisation employed by those doing so: “It’s basically what the Victorian public feel” (“Brothel owner among funders of ‘Ditch the Witch’ billboard on Allen”, 8/6).
Indeed, as Animal Justice Party state MP Georgie Purcell posits, “sexism shouldn’t be used as a tool within political disagreement or debate”, and it must be called out for what it is: misogynistic abuse.
Moreover, that the same misogynistic “tactic” of undermining a high-profile woman in leadership is being revisited some 15 years later is testament to the deeply ingrained cultural attitude that fuels violence against women in the community. It’s not a standard that any one of us can afford to walk by if we love the women in our lives.
Jelena Rosic, Mornington
What crisis?
Currently, we seem to have a couple of crises. According to the media, we have the “cost of living crisis” and the “global fuel crisis”. While I recognise that we may have a two-speed economy operating, I am astounded at the way consumers are reacting in the midst of these so-called crises.
We live in a rural setting and were astounded at the number of punters who ventured out here in “troubled times” over the long weekend. Hundreds if not thousands of vehicles descended on Daylesford, and conveyed a multitude of people to the markets, restaurants and boutique shops.
Last year, shoppers in Australia spent $24 billion on Black Friday sales, $1.8 billion on Boxing Day sales, $450 million on Halloween, $11.8 billion on Christmas gifts, and 450, 000 people paid $400-plus to attend the Australian F1 Grand Prix, despite austerity measures.
To what extent are these so-called crises a product of the political parties that weaponise such matters for political gain?
Rob McDonald, Sailors Falls
Small towns struggle
I watched the Carlton v Bombers match at the MCG. In the preliminary discussion, two names were repeated as pivotal players – Zach Merrett and Sam Walsh. What do they have in common? Both come from a town in the Western District – Cobden.
Like many small country towns, Cobden is struggling.
I lived in Cobden for 50 years. In the 1960s and ’70s, it had a hospital where I had three children. There were four resident GPs. There were three banks. The tech school had 500 students. Small businesses thrived. There were no empty shops. The CFA had a large membership in trucks that were in working order.
Today, there is no hospital, no GPs and no banks. The school has 100 students, small businesses no longer exist or are struggling, there are empty shops. The CFA is still using the same trucks and its farmer volunteers were hit with the most unfair levy.
I am disgusted by the way this state government treats anyone outside Melbourne. Their disregard for country people and small communities like Cobden is beyond belief.
Dale Vagg, Warrnambool
The flag to fight for
Recently, I was given two old photo albums of a pioneering family from Boort, Victoria, and asked if I would return them to that town’s museum. Looking through the albums, they told a heart-warming story of Boort’s early settlement: from the family’s mud-brick homestead, newly built churches, the children and their toys to floods and farming practices.
Most touching was the time-worn photo of the unveiling of Boort’s World War I monument, commemorating those who served and who fell – the names covered by an Australian flag before the ceremony. To this day and beyond, that flag will always represent who we are as Australians.
Sheryl Henderson, Muckleford
Leave none behind
On Sunday, I attended the screening of We Are Not Powerless – a documentary about the Hazara refugees who escaped the Taliban in the hope of reaching a peaceful life in Australia, and then found themselves trapped in Indonesia by a decree made by then-prime minister Tony Abbott that “none of these refugees would be allowed into Australia”.
But instead of languishing under a system where they have no rights to education, medical support or work rights, they established the Cisarura Learning Centre, to educate their school-aged children and bind the community together.
For many, Cisarura has been a success story, with many students graduating and getting further education in other countries.
But Australia has forgotten those who have been left behind, and I believe it is time that, as a country, we stand by our social responsibility and open our doors to give those remaining in Cisarua a path to a permanent life in Australia. After all, isn’t that what we call “Australian values”?
Robert Preston, McKinnon
Homes should be safe
The article, “Barely half of Victoria’s rentals are meeting minimum standards” (7/6), will come as no surprise to anyone who’s been a renter in this state since the minimum standards were introduced. Every single renter has a horror story about living in a mouldy, leaking, freezing, insecure house, and having their complaints ignored by landlords.
If the headline was “Barely half of Victoria’s workplaces meet minimum safety standards”, there’d be an uproar and WorkSafe would be conducting inspection blitzes. But because these are “just” the places where people live, the government washes its hands of the problem and leaves it to landlords to self-regulate.
Renters shouldn’t be forced to take their landlords to VCAT simply to ensure they have a safe place to live.
Madeline Cooper, Glen Huntly
Cohealth action urged
As an advocate for the thousands of people experiencing homelessness who I know rely on cohealth centres, I implore the government to act on this report’s recommendations (“Cohealth’s board threatened with sack”, 5/6).
Now winter is here, nothing could be more urgent than this for the homeless and vulnerable. The time is now for government to intervene to propose a new model of flexible funding, address the “serious deficiency” in cohealth’s current governance and financial management, and prioritise an existing proposal for cohealth Collingwood’s Hoddle Street centre to include social housing.
This report shows the way forward for government to provide continuity for this lifesaving work. John Fogarty, CEO, St Mary’s House of Welcome, Fitzroy
Too easy to access
Re “Rise of supersized ‘nangs’ linked to deaths, paralysis and brain injuries”, (8/6): For the past five years, a stroll in my suburb has involved witnessing the steady proliferation of large canisters of nitrous oxide ditched outside the local servo, parks, and in people’s front yards (mine included). I’ve also seen groups of people in broad daylight sitting in a car inhaling the gas from balloons. Many simply restock at convenience stores and petrol stations that have a steady supply of the gas. It is about time the government did something about not just raising awareness of the serious health implications of using nangs but also restricting petrol stations selling nitrous oxide at all hours (I doubt the average person is whipping cream at 1am).
While the TGA rightly argues classifying nitrous oxide as Schedule 10 Poison is problematic because of its legitimate uses, its suggestion that “warning-based controls” are enough to curtail the numbers using this recreational drug is laughable.
Najma Sambul, Braybrook
Inspirational words
Many thanks to Simon Castles for his sobering but uplifting and beautifully written article about his profoundly difficult experience with colon cancer (“I never celebrated exercise, until I was in hospital thinking I might never be able to again”, 7/6). His description of how he is managing the aftermath – of how he learned of the studies that show the value of physical activity on recovery, and his appreciation of the simple ability to be able to move and exercise again – are inspirational. It is a valuable and motivating lesson for all of us who may have experienced illness, to treasure our health when we have it, and keep our bodies active when we can, in whatever form that takes.
Janet Hesson, Kew
Grapes of wrath
Emily Craig wrote an interesting article on the numerous and surprising benefits of eating grapes daily (“A grape boost for brain, heart and gut”, 8/6). Please remember, though, that grapes are dangerous for dogs and potentially life-threatening because they can cause acute kidney failure.
Kerry Bail, Beaconsfield Upper
Intelligence, not artificial
Something I’d like to see improved in cafe service is not AI. It is just plain smarts (“Table for 2? AI concierge has your booking”, 8/6).
When my group of 15-or-so cyclists turns up at a venue, we may find our chatter constantly interrupted by a wait-person holding a cup of coffee, who calls for its claimant by yelling out a description of the contents. This is an irritating and time-wasting practice. Smart cafe managers get staff to ask for a first name; the service then becomes much more pleasant and quick. Well, except if the coffee is for “John”.
Elaine Hopper, Blackburn
Computations
In the early 1960s, my first job was as a clerk in the Weather Bureau. There was a computer that took up the whole of one air-conditioned floor and probably had no more power than today’s iPads. The humans in the rest of the building just got inefficient fans and heaters. I hope that technological advances in the future will similarly be able to shrink the current boom in gigantic, water-guzzling data centres.
Sandra Torpey, Hawthorn
AND ANOTHER THING …
Misogyny
“Ditch the Witch”? Surely, a brothel owner has the sufficient grey matter to think of something a bit more original than that old thing? I mark him Z for effort.
John Cain, McCrae
The “Ditch the Witch” billboard being driven around must be a homage to Tony Abbott and his attacks on Julia Gillard.
Marie Nash, Balwyn
I deplore the use of the term “witch” to describe Jacinta Allan, or any female politician, but wonder how many critics were quite happy about the widespread playing of Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead when Margaret Thatcher died?
Bill James, Frankston
Trump
Donald Trump, as is his way, insults a female journalist: “You must be either crooked or stupid.” This is a perfect example of psychological projection.
Graeme Henchel, Yarra Glen
Last year, we were threatened with “Donald Dutton”. Now our concern is the thought of an emerging “Pauline Trump”.
John Bye, Elwood
It is astonishing that anyone would offer the United States as a recommendation to embrace a republic.
Judy Kevill, Ringwood
Melbourne
Your correspondent (Letters, 8/6) asks: “Whatever happened to Marvellous Melbourne?” It was sold to developers!
Brian Kidd, Mount Waverley
No AFL fan thinks the wildcard round is any use until they realise their team is in the middle of it.
Ian Macdonald, Traralgon
Furthermore
When a retailer has a pre-winter sale, followed by an end of financial year sale, a spring sale, a pre-Christmas sale, a new year sale and a stocktaking sale, could someone please explain the legality of quoting discounts from a recommended retail price?
Jim Pilmer, Burwood
Finally
It’s time the King’s Birthday Honours elevated volunteers, and not those who are paid to do a job.
Rosslyn Jennings, North Melbourne
The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here.
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.
