More notes left in milk bottles

MORE notes left in the milk bottles:

■ Milk is needed for the baby. Father is unable to supply it.

■ From now on, please leave only two pints every other day and one pint on the days in between except Wednesdays and Saturdays when I don’t want any milk.

■ My back door is open. Please put milk in the fridge. Get money out of cup in drawer and leave change on kitchen table in pence because we want to play bingo tonight.

■ Milkman, please put the coal on the boiler, let dog out and put newspaper inside the screen door. PS. Don’t leave any milk.

■ No milk. Please do not leave milk at number 14 either as he is dead until further notice.

G. PATCH Toowoomba

‘‘ WE GIVE AWAY OUR NATURAL RESOURCES TO PROFIT OTHER PEOPLE ...

ECONOMIC WONDER?

ON November 6, The Chronicle published an article by Libby and David Koch titled “why we’re a global wonder” praising the Australian economy which “shows negative sentiment unjustified,” and lauds the wonderful political leadership in Australia over the past 40 years.

Kochi does not want any negative comment on our economy, but in fairness to the bulk of Australians not sharing in this economic wonder, and to strike some balance, I think we should look a little at the flip-side.

With such a great economy why do we have 1.1 million children living in poverty, with doubtless their parents also?

By contrast, China in this same 30year period has lifted some 800 million of their people out of poverty. Why is it now nearly impossible for a single wage earning family to buy a house, due to greatly inflated prices, when once they could?

More and more people are suffering mortgage stress, with also more unable to rent due to inflated rental prices. Why do we have about the dearest electricity costs in the world when we should have the cheapest, with our great resources of coal, uranium and thorium.

Governments have, by selling off our public assets, enhanced our financial position, which helps Kochi’s argument, but this is temporary; what happens when there is nothing left to sell?

We give away our natural resources to profit other people rather than enriching our own country with productive industry and productive employment.

Realistic economists such as Martin North predict a fall in house prices coming of up to 45 per cent, with others such as John Adams saying this is an ultra-conservative prediction. If this occurs, and it has already started, there could be a lot more mortgage stress to come.

JOHN WEYMOUTH, Oakey