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 Queen of the North by Anne O’Brien. To those around her she is a loyal subject. In her heart she is a traitor. In 1399 the fight for England’s crown has dire consequences. This is one woman’s quest to turn history on its head.

Rules: Best letter competition runs until January 19 next year. Entries close each Thursday at 5pm. The winner is selected by 2pm each Friday. Book of the month valued up to $49. Entrants agree to the Competition Terms and Conditions located at www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/ entertainment/competitions, and our privacy policy. Entrants consent to their information being shared with HarperCollins for the express purpose of delivering prizes.

GREAT article yesterday about how politicians spend big bucks on foreign countries and take we the people for fools (‘Ethiopia has better internet than much of the Coast but Feds are investing overseas’, GCB, 27/6).

I live in a block of nine units at Biggera Waters and the NBN guys are installing the cables in our building.

I asked one of the tradies whether with the NBN, apart from just extra speed, I be financially better off? He said it will be lot cheaper as there will be more internet retailers, so more competition to choose from as NBN will sell the internet at “wholesale price” to the retailers and the retailer will sell it to the consumer!

I asked him who pays for the billions of dollars to install the NBN. He replied the Government and I asked him where does the Government get the money from? He paused for a moment, he answered “me”.

Why are we spending a bottomless pit of billions and not getting NBN at wholesale prices instead of paying retail prices? We can see how privatising electricity, hospitals, water boards, post offices ended up “cheaper!”

These retailers will have majority overseas (slave labour) and no extra Aussie jobs. ANGELO, BIGGERA WATERS

WHAT a childish rabble our football fanatics are, trying so hard to prove their own brand is superior to all others.

A similar product identification contest has demonstrated the immaturity of owners/supporters of Holden and Ford motor vehicles.

Loudly they proclaim theirs is the best but those claims are unprovable by any objective argument. So it becomes a case of “Mine is bigger than yours!”

The only true fact is that all football codes are here to be enjoyed, our choices being dependent, mostly, upon our own first experiences in the sport. The noisiest proclaimers seem to be the supporters of the round ball game which has arrogated to itself the title of “football”, even though it involves “headball” and, frequently, “handballs”.

They base their claim upon the numbers of players worldwide, making it the only truly international game. That is a valid claim but only because it is one in which short speedy people can prevail and every continent of the world has large populations of height-challenged people and it is available to everyone regardless of their birthplace, political regime, economic status, schooling, education standard, etc.

All “arguments” about football codes or motor vehicles, etc. are mere value judgments with eternally circular reasoning, in which reason plays absolutely no part.

Time would be better spent in active physical support of your chosen sport and your favourite team and help them in any way you can. R. HALL, HELENSVALE

SEVERAL state MPs attended a forum on voluntary assisted dying (VAD) held at Parliament House in Brisbane earlier this week.

The event was organised by the Clem Jones Trust and Dying With Dignity Queensland with the support of Speaker Curtis Pitt and we thank him and those MPs present for their interest.

Our forum focused on the urgent need for a State Parliamentary Inquiry to assess expert evidence and sift fact from fiction to help draft new laws.

Queensland is the only state that has not examined VAD through its State Parliament.

Our State Government wants to wait and see how Victoria’s VAD law operates after it takes effect.

That means nothing happens here until after mid-2019 despite the fact a meaningful inquiry would take 12 months at the bare minimum.

Evidence to Victoria’s inquiry showed that at least one person a week took their own life in that state in sometimes horrible, tragic, and dreadfully lonely circumstances because of the absence of VAD as a legal and safe choice.

The situation is likely to be the same in Queensland.

The longer we delay an inquiry and new laws the more people will suffer.

There is plenty an inquiry could do right now to examine how VAD laws overseas are working, and plenty of experts whose evidence an inquiry could consider right now.

Sadly, there is also no shortage of challenging personal stories from Queenslanders that an inquiry could hear right now. DAVID MUIR CHAIR, THE CLEM JONES TRUST, INDOOROOPILLY

SINCERE thank you to the three young men who last week stopped in Bridgman Dve on their way to work to assist my wife who had fainted and fallen on to the busy roadway while putting out rubbish. JOHN WATTER, REEDY CREEK

I WAS one of the throng who ventured down to the beach and was captivated as the Commonwealth Games marathons unfolded.

I’ll be doing the same this Sunday to cheer on the thousands taking part in the GC Marathon. REG, MUDGEERABA