Begging for pension

Primary panache

CONGRATULATIONS to the participants, music teachers and organisers of the 43rd Combined State Primary Schools annual concert at the Derwent Entertainment Centre on Friday. It was fabulous to watch the hundreds of enthusiastic musicians perform with such proficiency and panache. Being in a choir or orchestra is a lifetime gift and this opportunity must be available to as wide a range of students as possible. Political leaders would do well to follow the example of a an effective and gifted conductor whose effective leadership can bring harmony and order out of a cacophony of sound and terminal discord.

Merger let-down

READER Peter Williams uses the City of Greater Geelong (COGG) in Victoria, a creation of Premier Kennett’s amalgamations in 1994, as an argument for amalgamation (Letters, November 26). COGG is huge in area and population. This is a big I HAVE voted for the federal Liberal Party my entire life – however I can no long support a party more concerned with their own egos and survival than the welfare of their constituents. I have worked and paid taxes all my adult life and used my savings when unable to work due to illness. In March I was eligible for the aged pension. Nine months later and after visits on almost a weekly basis to Centrelink I am still being asked to provide information submitted on a number of occasions, with no indication of when my application will be approved. I am angry and saddened to find myself reduced to the status of a secondclass person begging for a pension to which I’m entitled. My pleas of hardship have fallen on deaf ears. Hopefully, when the elections are nearer, their empty promises will also fall on deaf ears.