LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

FEEDING HUNGRY

IS BEEFBANK a new bank or otherwise? BeefBank is a charity which currently buys cows at saleyards and turns them into sausages, mince and stewing steak to feed the thousands of Aussies who are food deprived.

In our population of 25 million plus, some 3.5 million report every year as experiencing a shortage of food, and are increasing by 10% a year as times are getting tougher. Of these, some 65,000 a month are turned away hungry because the charity doesn’t have the food to cater for all those in need.

Facts. One kg of beef turned into mince can feed 10 hungry people and 45% of a cow can be turned into mince, so a 600 kg cow can be meat for up to 2500 people. In Australia, 652,000 people receive food relief from the various Foodbank agencies every month.

BeefBank would like to see graziers donate an old cow or two where they can afford to. Apparently they can receive a tax-deductible receipt to claim the donation for tax purposes. The old cows are suitable for mince, and Foodbank then distributes the meat to those in need.

Seems like a worthwhile cause for cattle producers to consider.

RAY HARCH, Toowoomba

EDUCATION

IN REGARDS to current leader of the LNP Deb Frecklington’s letter to the editor.

The changes proposed by QCAA do not relegate English to any thirdrate level. Students will still have to study English as a subject and achieve a “satisfactory achievement” level as they do now.

The change is only relevant to those students who take on the challenge of studying six to eight subjects (or more) into their final year. One of those subjects will still be English.

What these students will be able to do is to nominate which five subjects they wish included in their ATAR result.

So if they are high achievers in say physics, chemistry, biology, maths C and say Chinese or Japanese but only a satisfactory achiever in English they will be able to drop their lower achievement level, being English, from their ATAR result.

For those students who only study five subjects, English will be automatically included in their ATAR result. They have no choice. The provision of flexibility for very high achievers will only affect a small number of Queensland students overall.

To say that this is a “dumbing down of English” is an incorrect reaction by Ms Frecklington.

JOHN FRIEND, Toowoomba

PLASTIC STRAWS

IT HAS been observed that Cr Sommerfield made a statement about banning straws at all its events.

This may well be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.

If Brisbane people were encouraged to put their head in a bucket of water, should we do likewise?

I will use a straw to prick your thought bubble.

We in Australia provide 1.3% of global emissions. China and India produce a lot more; we as a nation are irrelevant in the big picture. We can’t even beat NZ in the rugby union.

Indeed, no one takes any notice of us verbally or otherwise as a rule; re overseas papers we are persona non grata. So no more Chinese food nor Indian curries for you in the foreseeable future. That will show the Indian and Chinese that Toowoomba is fair dinkum.

By the way where is Toowoomba? And stick it to the US as well. No more McDonald’s on the sly either. Are you Cr Sommerfield coming the raw prawn?

T.J. FITZGERALD, Toowoomba