Keep it up
When I was in Australia, studying Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly saw me through the days. If you come from a Third World country where politics is still decipherable and you end up in a First World" where politics is over-choreographed and full of bullshit, you need a paper like GLW to see through the mesmerising maze. GLW did that for me. Now I am a writer for a daily here specialising in analysis and features, and I still pop into the GLW newspaper online every now and then to check how you are doing. Keep it up.
Tshireletso Motlogelwa
Gaborone, Botswana
Port Coogee
In response to Sam Wainwright (Write On, GLW #573), who says I avoided "the whole crux of the issue" when I wrote to your publication to refute Anthony Benbow's ludicrous claim (GLW #570) that WA's Coogee Beach was "in danger of being swallowed up", I'd like to remind your readers that Port Coogee is a development proposed for Owen Anchorage.
Owen Anchorage is not Coogee Beach, which lies one kilometre south, but it is the crux of the issue. Owen Anchorage is a degraded eyesore, the legacy of previous planning errors that had the area used for "Noxious Industrial" purposes for more than a century. The result is a contaminated wasteland that begs for urban renewal of the sustainable kind.
Most Perth people know this, but it is not something anti-development campaigners care to admit. As a result, our decision-makers have acknowledged the majority view and are on the verge of providing the final approval for Port Coogee, a project that has been exhaustively considered for more than a decade.
Our community knows this development will deliver innumerable economic and social benefits, and the environment will be a significant beneficiary too.
I challenge the anti-Port Coogee campaigners to refute our claims, which are supported by a well-regarded marine biologist and which are now enshrined in the dearth of project approvals, including that of the Environmental Protection Authority. (Theirs was one of the most exhaustive environmental reviews ever conducted in Western Australia.)
These approvals indicate democracy will eventually prevail and they also send a signal to the wider community that the City of Cockburn is writing a new chapter in its history, one that has sustainable development as its focus.
Alan Davison
Coogee, WA [Abridged]
Christian fundamentalists
If internet reports I have read are correct, both George Bush, and our own Peter Costello are converts to the Assembly of God religious cult. This could explain why preference deals were done between the coalition and Family First Party, who represent the Assembly of God and other Christian fundamentalists, which prompted National Party Senator-elect Barnaby Joyce to describe Family First Party as "the lunatic right".
These people believe they have God on their side, I have some news for them God is universal to all religions on Earth, certainly not exclusive to lunatic right religious cults. The actions of these people defy my Christian beliefs (for example, thou shalt not kill). They are supportive of the slaughter of 100,000 innocent Iraqi civilians, and spend $US250 billion on an illegal war in Iraq. Wouldn't that $US250 billion have been better spent in Africa where people are dying of starvation and malnutrition?
In fact, the actions of these people to me is very un-Christian. By their actions they show their contempt of God and the issues they choose to discuss like abortion is simply a smokescreen to strengthen their facade of Christianity.
Shaun Newman
Thuringowa, Qld
Iraq
As predicted, after the elections news and images of "liberated" dying children are emerging from Iraq. Please pause and imagine yourself in this situation. You are in one of the unlucky 1 in 10 houses that get bombed in Fallujah. Shrapnel slices open your child's stomach. There is no electricity, water or phone. Ambulances are being shot at and not available and the hospital is closed to Iraqis and all clinics are shut down. Even if you could carry your dying child somewhere, it's too dangerous to go outside. You do your best, put on a bandage and give her water. She dies. You bury her in your backyard. Did you vote to support this? Is anyone game to tell the Americans to abide by the Geneva Conventions which state that civilians must not be targetted and must be allowed medical support?
Why is this happening? Saddam is captured and there were and are no WMD. We can leave now. America wants chaos so it can maintain a presence to support its puppet CIA-installed president and protect its hard fought-for oil reserves.
Democracy cannot be won by massacring its people. All troops must leave now and allow Iraqis to determine their own future.
Dean Jefferys
Mullumbimby, NSW
Tax cuts
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry wants the top marginal income tax rate slashed to 30%. What public services and benefits, relied upon by ordinary and disadvantaged Australians, are going to be cut?
The ACCI ignores scholarly research which challenges its view that favouring the wealthy will ultimately bring widespread economic advantages. It also neglects environmental considerations and the fact that people's well-being depends upon their relative social position — not just cash in hand.
Why should less-well-off Australians today make sacrifices because of a dubious assertion that doing so will materially benefit future generations which are already destined to be richer?
The ACCI emphasises international comparisons. However, Australia's current progressive income tax system is compatible with relatively rapid economic growth. Furthermore, it is not ethical for Australia to cut taxes in a bid to lure investment and skilled labour away from poorer Asian neighbours.
The disturbing international comparisons are those showing Australia has a less financially generous social security system and overseas aid budget than most similar nations. To address these matters, and fund population aging, we should introduce new taxes on wealth and wealth transfers and abolish existing concessions favouring the better-off.
Brent Howard From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, November 24, 2004.
Rydalmere, NSW
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