SUBMITTING LETTERS

WHAT occurred at Currumbin Creek last Saturday was a tragedy and one can only feel sorrow for the family and their loss.

I read they are thinking of patrolling this area of Currumbin Creek.

As a person that regularly relaxes in the calm waters after my morning surf I can honestly say these are the most tranquil and safe stretches of calm waters on the Coast.

This tragedy didn’t happen because the area isn’t patrolled, let’s be honest here. This tragedy also did not occur at the boatpark.

Supervision, supervision, supervision is the answer, patrolled or not.

At the time of the tragedy it would have been close to having an ebb tide on its way in, the calmest of conditions in already calm waters. This is a creek that flows to the ocean, in places on low tide you can walk from one side to the other and yes, in places you go from shallow water to deep. It’s not a hidden trap, there is a clear change of colour in the water that can be seen before entering the water.

The locals who use the creek are always on the watch for everyone. Currumbin Creek is probably the safest, calmest stretch of water on

the Coast. I honestly don’t see the need for patrolling. PAUL RADISH, GOLD COAST

WE’VE become a real nanny state, with the bulk paying for the failures of a minority.

Headache tablets with codeine now can’t be bought over the counter because a small minority abuse them. Now we all must incur the cost and inconvenience of a doctor’s visit simply to get a prescription, making appointments even harder to get, and a massive cost increase to the health system. And abusers will simply visit multiple doctors.

Doctors are pressing for a “sugar tax” to help reduce obesity. Once again everybody must pay because of the minority, but those most susceptible will still overindulge.

Naphthalene flakes, used for insect control, have been banned for safety concerns, yet the same product is available processed into very

much dearer moth balls. I’m tired of paying for other people’s failures. IAN TIMMINS, MERMAID BEACH

WE all treasure the swans that reside at Black Swan Lake, being such a beautiful species, but I think there is a lot of unnecessary panic re their survival if the lake gets filled in.

These swans will obviously move on to the wide lakes of Mermaid Waters or Clear Island Waters etc that can offer the swans tidal and cleaner waters to set up home.

There is a family of swans that have been happily residing at Lake Intrepid and adjacent lakes and canals for several years under the watchful eyes of hundreds of water frontage residents who became their self-appointed guardians.

GCCC is doing these swans a favour by moving them on to a

safer and healthier environment rather than the stagnant unhygienic waters of Black Swan Lake. KEN WADE, TWEED HEADS

CONGRATULATIONS to Professor Michelle Simmons, a scientist who has been named Australian of the Year, but I find the nomination by the Turnbull government somewhat hypocritical.

Mr Turnbull has overseen massive sackings and cuts to: the CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology, the Australian Research Council, the Climate Council, the Sustainable Research Excellence and Geoscience Australia.

The scientific community was dismayed when Mr Turnbull dropped the science position from Cabinet for only the second since the 1930s.

As the government trundles on its merry way ignoring the science of global warming and renewable energy, the award makes a nonsense of his comment: “If we are to be a successful nation of innovation we have to have a stronger commitment to science and technology and it has to start right across the board”. RAY ARMSTRONG, TWEED HEADS SOUTH