From Belinda

Welcome to Issue 91

Hello Readers

Welcome to Issue 91. Thank you to everyone who contacted me regarding the new column Gecko Chirps. Most were very positive and the feedback both via email and phone calls was great to see.

If you’re a lover of orchids, then we have a great article from Alistair Gray about a local award-winning business called Red Fox Orchids. They have an expansive wholesale flowering Cattleya Orchid nursery in Elimbah where you can buy direct.

We cover Queensland’s state budget, with some of the winners and losers again.

This year’s local Red Ride was a huge success, raising awareness for domestic violence.

The Local News writer Alistair Gray covers Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s visit to Bribie Island. We also speak to Luke Binks, one of the competitors in the jousting competition this year at the Abbey Medieval Festival.

As usual, we cover a wide variety of local issues, while showcasing our local businesses. It is our local businesses who make this publication possible, so please support them.

Until next month

Warm regards Belinda

The views expressed in Letters to the Editor are not necessarily those of the editor or publishers of the newspaper.

A gecko of brilliance

Thank you Belinda for a great read in Issue 90.

Your new columnist, Gecko Chirps, is quite brilliant without drawing any comparisons. Great timing on a subject that has a lot of meat yet to be published.

Just to add my bit:–

It seems strange that a prime minister is so determined to spend millions of taxpayer’s dollars to change a constitution that is most likely to bring division to a country, just after the country has spent millions of dollars to be rid of the same divisions.

I’m afraid it is beyond my understanding.

A very newsworthy paper, congratulations. I thoroughly enjoyed it. You definitely have your work cut out to better the Issue 90 read.

With much gratitude, S Warner Bribie Island

Thank you!

Thank you for printing our story on our 60th wedding anniversary. We love to get our copy of The Local every month and our story was beautifully presented. Regards

J & B Bench

Elimbah

Broaching the truth

Finally, someone willing enough to broach the subject of Aboriginality in Australia. I grew up in the Northern Territory in the 50’s and 60’s and lived amongst the Aboriginals, so I am very familiar with the culture from that area.

I never witnessed a smoking ceremony at any corroboree’s I attended. Before Ayers Rock became a tourist attraction, the government had difficulty finding someone to look after it. As tourists started to discover it, it then became a sacred site. I suspect this is the case for many of the now so called ‘sacred sites’.

Name and email supplied.

Biased and Untruthful

The article by Gecko Chirps about the Voice referendum in the last edition was biased and untruthful. Unfortunately, it represents misinformation that is circulating at the moment. Do your own web check for accuracy.

Firstly, Aborigines were not simply nomads. Search for the Map of Indigenous Australia to see the approximately 250 first nations who lived sustainably on their own country. Also, search for the nine CSIRO Seasonal Calendars that show the complex knowledge of food sources and note the quote that Aborigines were Australia’s first scientists.

Aborigines should have a voice on Closing the Gap for their most disadvantaged members after 150 years of non-citizenship and no say and many government programs imposed on them when they also had no say. Check out a website called Our Shared History.

Scaremongering about granting extra privileges and establishing apartheid are nonsense. Those who have been encouraged to worry about ‘the details’ after the referendum should understand that those details will be decided by parliament. The Voice will advise only, will receive no money or do work that other groups currently do and have no veto over government decisions. This will make us all more equal and is definitely not racist!

Joy Banksia Beach

Glad to see you read my informative article, but unable to interpret and accept the facts. Opinions are only worthwhile if they are based on fact. Perhaps you need to educate yourself so that you are aware of what the Voice is all about and what it means to all of us.

And by the way, just because there is a different viewpoint to yours, does not mean it is ‘racist’.

The Gecko

Contempt and the Voice

As a Kiwi living in Australia, let me say how refreshing it was to read your latest Gecko Chirps article about the Voice!

Nobody would dare write anything close to this in New Zealand, because they would be branded a racist and the witch hunt would be on. I’ve seen firsthand what happens when this sort of political ideology is implemented.

It separates the people into ‘us’ and ‘everyone else’, with nothing but contempt for the other side forming rapidly.

So thank you once again for being a voice for everyday average Aussies (and imports).

Name and address supplied.

Constitutional Monarchy

As the pomp and circumstance of the Coronation of King Charles III fades into memory, we should keep in mind the importance of our system of government here in Australia. The proposed, as yet unspecified, Voice to parliament poses a threat to the stability of our government by dividing our nation on the grounds of race.

Our constitutional monarchy, with its inherent checks and balances of power, has been a tried-and-true system for more than 120 years.

Our founding fathers worked on the preparation of the document for about a decade before it eventually came into use on the first day of the 20th century. They considered the types of governance in different countries, including Canada and the United States and ultimately rejected the republican system in favour of a constitutional monarchy.

Before the proposed referendum for the Indigenous Voice to parliament takes place, please take the time to read this short document, The Australian Constitution.

It is not about race.

M Keen Beachmere

Voice of Reason – or Voice of Virtue Signallers

So – we’re now called racist if we don’t vote yes to something most Aussies don’t truly understand. Not only do we not understand, but the proponents of the so-called ‘Voice’ do not understand. What will be its real powers, who will be appointed to it and by whom? What are the legal ramifications of such a change down the track? Why are we breaking with tradition and only allowing a say to the ‘Yes’ side of the debate? Why are so many senior indigenous people saying NO?! Why are so many legal people having second thoughts and doubts?

I saw an advert on TV claiming the ‘Voice’ was merely a device to ‘recognise’ our indigenous peoples. Surely the dozens of government bodies and numerous parliamentary representatives with indigenous heritage, already do this. Why do we need to amend our constitution to create a ‘Voice’? Once amended, it will be almost impossible to change it back if we find the ‘Voice’ is unmanageable. I appreciate the virtue signallers in our community clamour for the change, yet none seem to be able to define its benefits to all in our community and/or why it is truly needed in our multi-cultural society. Will other ethnic groups clamour for their own ‘voice’ in years to come?

Perhaps, what we really need is a Royal Commission into spending in Aboriginal affairs over the past 100 years. Where have the billions of dollars gone that has been spent in this area? Who received it and how have they acquitted their expenditure? Has this money been spent wisely or just gone to specific causes and people? If we just keep ‘giving’ and not asking for accountability, this matter will never be satisfactorily settled. The money must be going somewhere.

The ‘Voice’ is a half-baked idea from the Labor party to change our very way of life. To reward some and placate others. And to show how ‘virtuous’ they are. We should all look at the reasons put forward for this ‘Voice’ and ask why it is necessary? Why do we need it and most importantly, do we really need to amend our constitution to achieve this so-called ‘recognition’? The same can be readily achieved by regulation in the federal parliament. Shouldn’t our indigenous peoples have the same rights as any other Aussie? No more, no less. If we have any doubts, worries or any lack of understanding whatsoever, we should vote NO to changing our constitution. Blackmail, threats and accusations are not a reason to vote yes.

M Matthews Bribie Island

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