DREAM OF RESTORATION

THE 50th anniversary of the flooding of Lake Pedder coincides with my golden wedding anniversary and restoring this national treasure to its original state would be a marvellous gift to a couple who walked in and camped on its dazzling quartzite beach early in 1972.

Danielle Wood’s prescient article, “We must fix our messes” (Mercury, April 29) is a timely reminder that the drowning of this beautiful lake is a metaphor for the many other areas of life that have been submerged by a total disregard of those in power for the welfare of this country’s citizens.

Newly married (and unmarried) couples in the 1970s slipped into home ownership with an ease that would be incomprehensible today.

Higher education was free and there was a guarantee of work in most areas.

Fuel and transport costs were minimal compared with today and public transport was accessible to most people.

Couples who chose to have children were supported by child endowment payments. Most importantly, health care services were easily accessible and affordable.

Those without work were given opportunities to enhance their skills and welfare benefits, in the main, kept up with living costs.

Asylum seekers were welcomed into Australia and assisted in their

quest to become citizens.

It would have been obscene to have sent refugees to compost on offshore islands and in hotels year after year.

There were certainly families who were struggling, and life was not a never-ending Camelot for many. But there were pathways available and choices people could make to ease their plight and eventually thrive in their new environs.

Covid and the current election campaigns have highlighted a raft of areas that have negatively impacted on the lives of so many Australian citizens.

There is something seriously wrong with a country where billionaires double their wealth during a pandemic while people are living in poverty.

It is simply wrong of any gov

ernment to expect charities to rescue people when its own policies have led to the economic destitution and financial desperation of many of its populace.

The restoration of a beautiful lake might also encourage a return to the values and principles that support a healthy democracy that hopefully still lies beneath the surface of our society.

Ed Sianski West Moonah