LetteroftheWeek

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 Ones You Trust. The brand-new psychological thriller from

THE letter in Your Views (GCB, 26/09) by Dick Sayer hits the nail on the head about the disruption of the third stage light rail plan.

Another nightmare in the making and businesses going broke.

Having spent a week in Sydney I saw buses which run on natural gas, very quiet, non polluting single buses and double-length buses.

Tom Tate, don’t give in to this madness being planned by the upheaval of yet another debacle.

Just think, buses can run all the way to the airport, very quiet, non polluting on natural gas, which this country has plenty of. LYDIA LOWIT, SURFERS PARADISE

COUNCILS around Australia have a hide thinking local government gives them the right to change what is Federal business.

Australian citizenship is not an issue to be taken lightly and it’s not a council’s duty to change the date on which Aussie citizenship is bestowed on new Australians.

Whether January 26 is to their liking or not is not an issue.

It’s our national day and must be respected.

Giving in to a minority is happening far too often in politics in recent times so it’s encouraging that PM Scott Morrison has cracked down on any variation on the date. KEN JOHNSTON, ROCHEDALE SOUTH

IN the news recently, journos asked if children should be shown how to work for pocket money, and put it into bank savings.

It just might be the only savings they will ever have. Successive governments have ignored banks eating up our savings.

Savings are gouged by petrol taxes, energy taxes, exorbitant property rates and government charges of many kinds and the continuous invention of new taxes and charges, e.g., carbon tax.

I can see why smart children don’t bother to save.

The “legal” theft of money is endless. Then there’s the banks that create credit out of thin air.

God bless Australia, paradise for government gouging. JAY NAUSS, GLEN APLIN

HAVE the ABC replaced their female boss with a male and was she bullied?

Is the new boss going to receive more money? ROD WATSON, SURFERS PARADISE

MYSELF, plus four other old blokes and a young mother with a baby were in the doctor’s waiting room last Sunday morning.

The young mother is waving a toy in front of the baby with eyes glued to her iPhone.

The other four old blokes are on their iPhones, thumbing away.

I am reading a magazine. I rang my son when I got home and asked him, am I the normal one, or the odd one out?

And he said, yeah, the odd one out! Thanks son!

I thought it was hilarious. VERN EVES, TWEED

WRITING an opinion piece puts you out there.

Not everyone is going to agree with you but at the very least it is proactive. I don’t claim to speak for the entire business community or the community at large as some do, but I trust the opinions expressed are engaging and thought provoking.

So why does a business advocate become enmeshed in social and political issues?

Simply put, business operators are a part of the community that makes up our society.

The emergence of class politics is no less divisive than ethnic or religious politics.

Each is a cynical and destructive emotional ploy to create fear, jealousy

or instil a sense of suppression. There are many instances in history, even today, where this has gone far beyond a simple political ploy.

Then we have a perceived imbalance between law and justice, faithful representation by our elected representatives, the rising cost of living, environmental protection, growth and development and dare I say it, politically correct speech.

The Gold Coast is the nation’s small business capital. It is a city of opportunity for those who want to grab it. Nobody will stop you from going into business. Ask yourself, without small business in our city, and the jobs it creates, where would we be?

And then there is the risk. There is no guarantee of a pay transfer at the end of the week unless the business makes a profit. The staff and suppliers must come first. Let’s not forget the customers.

Unless a business is competitive, offers good service and honest dealings they won’t last.

Clearly, business operators share the same challenges, face the same obstacles, sometimes more and like you, are looking for answers. Business operators are your next-door neighbours, part of your street, suburb, city and community. Sharing the same challenges and obstacles they stand beside and with you, giving their support which includes publicly expressing an opinion.

‘Evil prevails when we do nothing’ is a politically correct interpretation but just as true.

Everyone has an opinion. Kept to ourselves, nothing changes, but spoken out it creates debate, and debate can induce change. BOB JANSSEN, PRESIDENT GOLD COAST & HINTERLAND BUSINESS ALLIANCE