LETTERS
The Age
Thursday February 17, 2011
Our nation haslost its heartIT IS time we all recovered a sense of what it means to seek asylum. For a person fleeing political persecution or danger, the Western tradition has been to offer safety not prison. Look at how hard-hearted we have become as a nation.A man's family is lost in a tragic sea wreck; he is returned to an isolated prison, when he should have been allowed to go to a community place of detention with his brother, so that he could mourn and be comforted.Moves to community detention need to be speeded up and expanded.The opposition's attitude should cause us all to hang our heads in shame. What bitter and twisted minds would refuse these hapless people the opportunity to attend the funerals of loved ones?I work with refugees and asylum seekers. They all have heart-wrenching stories. As a nation we need to get a fresh perspective.Father Graham Reynolds, MitchamWhen in Iran . . .I WAS saddened to read of Tony Abbott's concerns about taxpayer funds being used to transport relatives of those who died near Christmas Island to funeral services in Sydney.Recently, I fell seriously ill while travelling in Iran. When contacted by my daughter, an Iranian doctor travelled 1000 kilometres in a taxi to be with me in hospital, stayed with me and cared for me while on life support and intensive care for two weeks. He took care of all my pathology tests while in hospital, at no charge.The hospital owner, when informed that my travel insurance would not pay because "Iran is a terrorist state and the Australian government warns travellers not to go there", halved the bill. Both reassured me that I was their guest and it was their duty to take care of me.So, Tony, as a taxpayer whose life was preserved by the graciousness and hospitality of Iranian people, I am pleased that the government has acted with compassion and kindness on my behalf towards our guests.Peter Kaufman, Altona MeadowsWhere's the money?THE main essential for our new health policy appears to have been ignored.Where, Julia, are you providing the funding for new hospitals to accommodate our ever-increasing population? When, if ever, are you going to admit that our already overcrowded hospitals will be unable to cope with the influx of these new patients, no matter how much money the government throws at them or how cheaply they can manage to operate?Once again this government has rushed ahead to plant flowers in its imaginary display garden without first doing the necessary spade work to dig out the rapidly growing weeds.Nola Martin, PrestonMessages in bottlesI AGREE with Chris Middendorp (Comment, 15/2): public drug education campaigns aren't working. This is for two reasons.First, the images and the messages to teenagers simply do not accord with the experience of a majority of recreational drug users. Chris's viewpoint obviously reflects his experience. Dealing day in, day out with the harmful effects of drug use would obviously jaundice his attitude.While there are risks involved in drug use, these do not eventuate in all (or even a majority) of instances.The second reason is the mixed messages sent to younger generations. While alcohol and nicotine are generally accepted, marijuana and other drugs are not. I therefore ask Chris (and drug and alcohol policymakers) to explain this anomaly.Perhaps then we can work towards a sensible dialogue on illicit substances.Martin Bortz, South CaulfieldJustice is the guideROB Watts and others (Letters, 16/2) are right in challenging and opposing the government in its proposals to amend the Victorian Charter of Rights to allow churches to discriminate against gays, lesbians, single parents and divorcees.It is well known that many of the leaders of the mainstream churches were happy with the existing law and already do not discriminate in schools or other institutions on these grounds.In the early 1970s, the Anglican Church in the diocese of Melbourne supported the decriminalisation of homosexuality and opposed all forms of discrimination. The church's public affairs commission advocated for a national charter of human rights.It should be noted that the Brotherhood of St Lawrence and Anglicare, as public benefit institutions, are not religious bodies and are required by law not to discriminate. Nor do they in practice.Churches have a responsibility to exercise their position and ministry in society, not on the basis of privilege but justice.Canon Dr Ray Cleary, CamberwellGreed and taxesWITH the big guns, Rio and BHP, reporting massive profits, their campaign against the government's mineral resources tax can now be seen for what it truly was one of pure greed. It's time for the Gillard government to stand up, rather than back down or negotiate deals that are not in the interests of the people for whom it govern.Sure, these miners' investment in our economy has a trickle-down effect in employment and infrastructure. But the mega-return they get by slowly drawing on our national non-renewable capital needs to be better accounted for. When these resources are gone, they're gone, after the companies who mined them have fled to wherever they can next exploit resources with the aim of fattening their shareholders' returns and executives' salaries.Paul Bugeja, Caulfield NorthTesting teachersDALLAS Primary School may well be a good school being treated unfairly (Letters, 16/2). However, I would be more interested in seeing experienced educators condemning the appalling trends underpinning this controversy.Where are the objections to Australia aping a low performer in education (the US) with a mindless addiction to testing and ranking, when other approaches prove much more effective (such as Finland's)?Our primary schools have been overtaken by approaches to literacy that embody similar addictions to testing, measuring and colour-coded "readers".There is no reliable long-term research to back these approaches. The measurement people are grinding our great primary teachers into compliance.Tim Mahar, Fitzroy NorthGood men play ballONE can't help but agree with much of Peter Costello's argument (Comment, 16/2) about philanthropy and celebrity. The nonsense that has erupted over Liz Hurley's visit to Melbourne and her fling with Shane Warne is enough to make a grown man cry. As Costello wisely points out, celebrity and philanthropy don't necessarily go hand-in-hand.However, while there have been several well-publicised issues involving footballers, I would not personally quake with fear if a footballer visited my daughter's school. Tarring all sportspeople with the same brush is unfair.There are many decent young men playing AFL who are fine citizens whose good community work goes unreported. It is unfortunate that the negative stories often attract more exposure.David Ahern, Kew EastA little less interestTHE National Australia Bank's latest announcements have had a positive effect for me, and one it may not have anticipated.Following its offer to pay switching fees for other bank mortgage customers, I rang my bank, asked for a reduction in my loan rate as a condition of not moving to NAB, and got it. A lesson for other long-suffering bank customers, perhaps?Richard Morris, ViewbankDear NAB, howI hate to write . . .DEAR NAB, I am pleased with what you are doing. Perhaps, now that you do not have to provide a place for me, it is easier for you to do this.I only wish you had made the break with your friends before you made the break with me and my family of traders at Mount Martha. I always thought we had a special relationship. We had been together so long.But one day you just up and left. Not only that, you closed the other nearest "special place", in Mornington, for a makeover.It is difficult when someone leaves and your means are not easily accessible. I remained loyal to you through this difficult time, but it did give me the opportunity to distribute my friendship a little. In this way I could no longer be hurt.Because we were together for so long and I cared about you so much, I am always ready to have you back. I cannot say the same for my family of traders. They, sensibly, have found someone new. Someone from the country is moving in with them.Patricia Walker, Mount Martha
© 2011 The Age