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LETTERS Residents’ rights removed In October 2018 state Planning Minister Richard Wynne amended a section of Victoria's planning laws. The amendment bypassed parliament and there was no consultation with the Victorian public. The change opened the door for developers to build certain commercial facilities in residential-zoned areas anywhere in Victoria. Previously developers were required to apply to the local council for a planning permit and residents were given 28 days to make submissions. Now, under the minister’s planning amendment, residents are denied this right. The right to resolve a disputed development through VCAT has also been removed. The previous long-standing provisions protected Victorian communities from inappropriate developments for decades. They gave local government power to protect residential areas from developers who chose to disregard the character and amenity of communities and who ignored the impacts that an inappropriate development had on existing residents. The proposed large three-storey commercial development for Roslyn Rd, Belmont, is the first of several planned by Haven Foundation. The foundation has been secretive from the outset. Its replies to residents’ questions have created misunderstanding and division within the community. We should all be clear that Haven has proposed a commercial operation. It will not be free; clients will be required to pay for their accommodation. Councillors voted unanimously last week in favour of an urgent motion by Cr Ron Nelson (Geelong Indy, 2 August), and as a result our mayor is writing to the Planning Minister requesting a review of the recent planning-law change. Geoff James Highton
Vale, John ‘Gunner’ Scarlett While John ' Gunner' Scarlett (Geelong Indy, 2 August) played 212 games, kicked 51 goals, and was the father of Matthew, one of the game’s all-time-great fullbacks, there's more. Like North Melbourne's David Dench, her regularly had the audacity to bounce out of defence on a bog deck then have the temerity to execute a lace- out drop kick deep into the centre at top pace. He was a fine sportsman who worked on his game as well as serving his country as a National Serviceman. During the 1980s for eight years, always after the briefest of phone calls, John would provide free 12-hour security in Eastern Park
Email: editorial@geelongindependent.com.au 1/47 Pakington St, Geelong West, 3218 Fax: 5249 6799 lion, the British parliament declared a ‘Climate Emergency’. A more-practical threat is already underway in our lucky country. The Greens call for de-carbonisation, by which they mean no fossil fuel may be used to generate energy. They are well-aware our civilisation is based on carbon, which is why they use another slogan: de-industrialisation. As a result of the popularity of windmills to replace coal and gas, our regulators are having trouble keeping the lights on. Perhaps the Dark Ages may return us to candles, or whale oil. Tim Saclier Leopold
BUCKETS & BOUQUETS Buckets to Melva (Buckets & Bouquets, 2 August). If you don’t think teachers should be educating children about the greatest threat to humanity and the planet then I would like to know what you think is more important. The three Rs won’t help if nobody’s left to use them. Get Real, Geelong West
Buckets to people who throw takeaway food packaging out of their car windows. It’s hard to believe such selfish, grubby attitudes still exist. How very bogan. Disgusted, Torquay
Have your say - it’s free 1/47 Pakington St, Geelong West, 3218 Email: editorial@geelongindependent.com.au Facebook.com/GeelongIndependent Fax: 5249 6799 Contributions must be less than 50 words and include the writer’s full name, address and phone number. for The Geelong News-Qantas-GMHBA Australian Endurathon Triathlon. He was a seamless community-minded guy. Late last year John was working at our place with his technician assistant. I mentioned a Teachers' College mate, the late Phil Smith, who went into the GFC system about the same time as him. At that point he positively lit up and beamed. "Smithy", he said. I prepared some morning tea then asked whether it would be okay for me to go and have a hit of golf for a while. He agreed. When I returned late John was sitting in the back room musing over texts from his son, who was holidaying in the US. He reminded me that, on that day, I couldn't have blamed the wind. He was a laconic, personable and patient bloke; the consummate St Joeys alumni. We'll miss him. Richard Worland Manifold Heights
Get positive about progress So Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex have decided to limit the size of their family in order to help the planet. Should we follow their example? The notion of overpopulation is not new. It follows the Malthusianism idea that population growth is potentially exponential, while the growth of the food supply is linear. In the late 19th Century the Reverend Thomas Malthus thought England was overpopulated with a population of four million. England today has a population of around 60 million. with a much higher living standard. Contrary to the doomsayers, bigger populations have resulted in a more-plentiful supply of food, a reduction in poverty, lower commodity prices and higher living standards. In light of the expanding world population, which many experts think will peak in the
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Videos for naysayers A bob each way is sitting on the fence, and I have suffered the to and fro for months. Why do some readers not use their brains and search the internet for the facts from people who know? They should search online the following videos, which will give naysayers satisfaction in the knowledge they are right: The Great Global Warming Swindle, Greenpeace co-founder Dr Patrick Moore’s A Death of Carbon, or perhaps David Icke’s Is Global Warming a Scam? Finally, readers should search out interviews with Dan Pena, the ‘$50 Billion Man’, who has spoken to scientists at the north and south poles, where they laugh at the suggestion that CO2 drives climate change. I listen to scientists who know, not people who think they know. Phil Springsteen Bell Park
late 2040s, is global warming a bad thing? According to The Rational Optimist author Matt Ridley, a modest increase in temperatures is a good thing because it has resulted in a greening of the planet and increased crop yields. Mr Ridley argues that life is getting better with industrialisation as living standards rise. Food availability, increasing personal income, and the average life span are all up across the world, while disease, child mortality, and violence are down. There are always two sides to any coin, and it’s a pity some opinion writers don’t give a more-positive outlook instead of endlessly repeating the negative assessments about the future of the planet. Alan Barron Grovedale
Higher road to Dark Age
Thanks for helping children
Higher education is wonderful but deters its possessors from seeing the world in which we ordinary folk live. Peter Mitchell (Letters, 2 August) feels himself "not qualified to argue the details of climate change" because he thinks the debate is about science. Instead, it's about politics. Melva Stott put her finger on it nicely in Buckets & Bouquets last week when she wanted a stop put to teachers “giving their opinions to our children and making them so apprehensive about their future in a scary world scenario". It's not entirely the fault of teachers. They too are the victims of a stream of political propaganda through the major media that has forecast the planet's doom ever since the United Nations dominated the pseudo-science of modern climatology 30 years ago. Hence the striking school children, led by the original striker, Sweden's pig-tailed Greta Thunberg. Such is the madness overseas that Greta was welcomed at Westminster, and, at the demand of her backer, Extinction Rebel-
I express my sincere gratitude to the Victorian community for support of The Smith Family's 2019 Winter Appeal. We are humbled by the generosity of Victorians who donated more than $1.3 million to help us deliver vital out-of-school learning and mentoring support for thousands of students living in disadvantage. With one in six young Australians living below the poverty line, it is heart-warming to see so many community members join us to change the educational outcomes of these children. The donations will help us reach more than 3000 Victorian students in need. To everyone who has altruistically given their time and dollars to support us, and so provide a helping hand to children in need, we extend a heartfelt thank-you. Anton Leschen The Smith Family Victoria general manager
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