Letter of the Week
Have strong opinions, write in an engaging way? You could win our Letter of the Week, and with it a book from our friends and sponsors, the publishers HarperCollins. This month’s book prize is The Accusation by Wendy James. A powerful exploration of the fragility of trust and the lure of the mob, from the Ned Kelly Award-winning author of The Golden Child and The Mistake.
PEOPLE don’t all age at the same rate so why should age be a factor in determining one’s ability to drive a vehicle?
I’m 75 and often witness cases of bad drivers in their 50s and 60s and younger. Many older drivers are highly capable. Many also need a vehicle for local shopping etc but let’s not cover them all with the same blanket.
A driving test is surely the best way to determine the skill levels of older people. But then the cost would be prohibitive to test people every year.
Doctors are able to identify patients whose skills are sadly lacking for health reasons. But yes, it would put tremendous pressure on the medical profession if responsibility stopped with them.
If a patient obviously is unfit to drive for health reasons, then I do think doctors should report this. But does this open a can of worms? KEN JOHNSTON, ROCHEDALE SOUTH
IN relation to Ken Johnston’s experience as a teacher and poorer kids missing out on school activities which marks them for cruel peer commentary, and worse, takes me back to circa 1956 (aged 9) when a girl in my class was brought to tears by a nun for not bringing school dues (say 5 shillings). l hated that nun for that.
I demanded my parents switch me to a state primary, and thereupon, if asked, I declared I was C of E, and still do at 73.
DAVID HALL, COOMBABAH
ELECTRICAL power. It’s something we take for granted by simply throwing a switch. We forget that it is a part of our everyday lives affecting manufacturing, construction, transport, communications, health and by no means least, our economic stability.
You could fill pages on how we use electrical power and our modern society could not exist without it.
Let me make a bold statement. “Every job relies on electrical power in some way.”
I’m not going to argue the pros and cons of climate change but I will argue the haste in which we are charging to convert from a reliable source of power generation, coal, to renewables. The reliability of power output is critical to our economic stability and the collapse of that stability is a pathway to another form of extinction, a word that has become popular with the younger climate change protesters.
While I can admire the young protesters in Brisbane for their passion and willingness to stand up for their cause, I can also advise caution in what can potentially result. Perhaps we should all take a deep breath and look back at the effects of the Electrical Union strikes in Brisbane during the Joh era.
And that was only a matter of weeks. Yes, the often-dismissed older generation do have the benefit of life experience, the lessons of history and are apt to be disappointed in a headlong rush to repeat those mistakes.
Could this effect happen again because we rushed in fuelled by passion without consideration of the overall effect? And what will those nations that continue to use cheaper coal do?
Will they be in a position where that can flood our nation with cheaper goods, food, medications and essentials because we cannot afford our own?
Can we compete or export in the world market or will our prices be too high? What happens then? Will we be forced to sell off assets to simply live?
This is not just about the jobs in the coal industry. This is about all jobs, it’s about our ability to support our families, even those young and passionate protesters.
Fossil fuel is not inexhaustible, which is another reason we must move to renewables, but without a balanced approach that factors in economic impact we leave ourselves open to losing all we worked so hard to have. Saving the planet is an admirable goal but we do not need to carry that burden alone or commit economic and social suicide to achieve it. BOB JANSSEN
THE battle between Albanese and Setka is assuming State of Origin proportions and to think that, if Shorten had become PM, Setka and his mates would have been running the country. GREG KATER, SANCTUARY COVE
LAST weekend we went to Sydney for the weekend and caught a plane out of Coolangatta airport. Parked our car in the short-term area and returned the next day and was charged $93 for the two days. What a rip off. Never again. BRIAN IRELAND, BURLEIGH HEADS
CONGRATULATIONS Ash Barty for your much deserved win. You are a joy to listen to and watch and is a great ambassador for this country. Something we desperately need.
And could teach many sporting people a thing or two when it comes to common courtesy’s. Many who sit in both Houses of Parliament could learn a thing or two but alas she would be wasting her time. D J FRASER, CURRUMBIN