LETTERS
Letters - 300 words maximum and including full name, address and contact number - can be sent to The News, PO Box 588, Hastings 3915 or emailed to: team@mpnews.com.au
Need writers with humour and pearls of wisdom Your Letters page needs to have a holiday for 12 months. Two years ago it was an interesting and humourous page to read at times, with some very good pearls of wisdom for Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors to digest. You currently have about 10 weekly contributors from the socialist left wing loony tunes group that are outraged that the majority of normal Australians dared to vote in a Liberal government. I think Marg D’Arcy, [Rupert] Steiner, Joe Lenzo, and [John] Cain, to name a few, are puerile, vitriolic and appear to have too much time on their hands. Marg must choke on her [breakfast cerials] if she reads a newspaper and there is a photo of [Prime Minister] Scott Morrison on the front page. Not to worry, backstabbing Billy will be back to lead the party in the next federal election and they can have their say in the ballot box again. The best letter I have read and is of an immediate concern to the Mornington Peninsula, was from John Dusting about how we will need a Dunkirk evacuation if and when a bushfire occurs on the peninsula (“Dunkirk-type effort needed to evacuate a burning peninsula” Letters 21/1/20). The amount of traffic coming down on the weekends is unsustainable. Why not put a toll gate on the entry points and charge tourists and day trippers $100 dollars a car, $200 for jet skis. Good revenue for the shire and our rates might drop. Try to encourage writers that will generate, humour, gossip, upcoming local events, sporting achievements, and don’t print the political garbage. Graham Griffiths, Rye
Protect whistleblowers Mornington Peninsula Shire Council at its 28 January meeting agreed to conduct a formal review of past planning decisions to ascertain that decisions were not subject to improper influence (“Permit probe goes further than IBAC” The News 21/1/20). It is probable that there are “whistleblowers” within our shire who are willing to provide information to assist the shire’s review. In order to facilitate this process, council at its next meeting should agree with this proposal and subsequently establish or appoint an independent third party to receive and, where appropriate, pass this information on to the council’s reviewers. Anonymity to any “whistleblower” must be guaranteed. Bill Holmes, Sorrento
Adding fuel Barry Kirkpatrick and Michael Long point out to your readers a common sense approach to where the responsibilities lie when our country faces a dramatic situation like the recent fires (“Leave leaders along”, “Maligned Morrison” Letters 21/1/20). The people who are trained to manage and fight these situations do not need inference from politicians or the public diverting their attention away from the task at hand. Media and many of the country’s population have forgotten a fire needs flame, oxygen and fuel. These ingredients, coupled with the very dry fuel loads on forest floors that weren’t reduced to recommended levels after the 2009 Black Saturday royal commission, this lack of responsibility and action by the appropriate bodies did not assist our firefighters in their bid to fight and control our recent disastrous fires. Bruce White, Rosebud
Sports interference The last federal election did not produce quite the result the pollsters and some thought it would. We now understand that there may have been a reason for that in some seats, including the distribution of sporting grants to various marginal National Party electorates. Regardless of the outcome of the senior public servant inquiries into the decisions by the minister responsible and the likelihood that, to be seen to be doing something, this minister is stood down, it will not alter the presumption that our federal election may have been interfered with. Perhaps we need an impeachment inquiry and then, if there is sufficient evidence, a trial in the Lower House and, if passed, then in the Upper House, to ascertain if there are grounds to impeach the offending party. Only then will the people be satisfied. Ken Norris, McCrae
Fired up over GetUp Well, our loony left sure didn’t get a fact checker for Christmas. The first three letters last week all lambasted the prime minister for not taking notice of the former fire chiefs who toured the country being interviewed nightly, warning about climate change and the coming fire season (“Human rights sacrificed on the altar of economic interests”, “Missing in action” and “Climate change neglect” 28/1/20). Perhaps the PM [Scott Morrison] knew then what we all know now, that the tour was sponsored by and fully-funded by GetUp and not one thing the federal government could do would change this season’s outcome. Next up Marg Darcy (“A leader’s responsibility”) stated “[Victorian Premier] Dan Andrews has also shown real leadership. From day one he has stood alongside the emergency service personnel.” Oops, Dan Andrews was on holiday at the same time as the PM and did not make it onto the telly until the day after the PM arrived back in Australia. Just a quick comment on “sports rorts” (“Hunt
on side with sports grants” The News 28/1/20). Having a whinge, the president of the La Trobe Valley Hockey Club has slammed [former Sports Minister and deputy leader of the Nationals] Brigitte McKenzie. He said the club had “broken windows and tiles, cold showers, minimal lighting and no female change rooms”. He then added: “We didn’t actually apply for a grant but…” Michael G Free, Mount Martha
Charities under fire What? Donating to Red Cross for bushfire victims? Why? The [organisation] has already stated [on television news] that many of these funds will be saved for a “rainy day”. This is not the first time it has withheld donated funds and banked them for other “causes”. I say do not donate to Red Cross but find some better legitimate fund to support and check what the organisation is. There are a lot of scams going around. And the Red Cross is not alone with the ABC accusing St Vincent de Paul and the Salvation Army of drip feeding donations to fire-affected communities and stockpiling money for future emergencies. Do morals and ethics have any standing with even charities? Joe Lenzo, Safety Beach
Off court battle Is Martina Navratilova losing “the point”, again? By having a jealous hate outrage against Margaret Court, a real champion who also has the well deserved honour of a sports arena being named after her. Margaret mentioned on social network a quote from the Bible, the most well read book in human history, and which is totally relevant to the Judeo/Christian ethics and the civilisation that we enjoy today, apart from the loud, outraged few that come and go in every period of human history. Stay calm. Martina likes using free speech, so does Margaret Court. Bless us all. Maureen Federico, Frankston South
Mornington News
4 February 2020
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