Letters To The Editor - June 28, 2018

Don’t touch the trees

Dear Editor,

Have you ever seen the beauty of Spring Creek? We have and we strongly believe this should not be a building site – #donttouchthetrees

Do you know how many trees will be lost in this action? Wildlife will be destroyed and their habitats like trees, and plants.

I’m so disappointed in our politicians. People refer to them as leaders; we call them polluters, chasing the money.

Renya and Izzy
St Therese Catholic Primary School

Nominations open for mental health prize

Dear Editor,

The majority of Australians are touched by the impact of mental health in some way.

Many live with the daily burden of anxiety or depression, or care for a loved one. Devastatingly, thousands of Australians die by suicide each year and many more make an attempt. It is the leading cause of death for Australians between 15 and 44 years of age, but it can be prevented.

There are thousands of people working tirelessly to make a difference in this field and their efforts could not be more urgent. Anyone who knows of such a person would no doubt appreciate their achievements, but I would encourage them to take it one step further and nominate them for the Australian Mental Health Prize.

The prize was established to acknowledge those who are doing innovative work in this area, whether they are involved in the industry as a vocation or are advocates because they have been touched by mental illness. Acknowledging those who work or volunteer in the industry is an important part of the process to destigmatising mental illness.

Nominations are now open and I urge people to nominate people in your area.

More information and nomination forms can be obtained from australianmentalhealthprize.org.au.

Entries close on September 7.

For those who are living with the burden of mental illness every day, thank you for your support.

Ita Buttrose AO OBE
Chair, Australian Mental Health Prize Advisory Group

Turnbull government needs to remove all children from detention centres

Dear Editor,

This is an open letter to Sarah Henderson.

Sarah – like many of us, I’m sure you have been horrified to witness the recent incarceration of refugee children on the Mexican border and relieved to see the widespread outcry and backdown from the US government.

In a letter to the Surf Coast Times on December 25, 2014, you stated that “by early next year, the vast majority of children will be out of Australian detention centres. My strong view is that no asylum seeker should be in detention, particularly children”.

Do you realise that the recent statistics (April 26, 2018) from the Refugee Council of Australia show that the “number of children: in detention facilities: 7, in Nauru Regional Processing Centre: 22, in community detention: 180, and in the community on a bridging visa E: 3,038”?

After promising nearly four years ago to remove all children from detention, why has the Turnbull government not followed through on this promise?

John Bartlett
Surf Coast Rural Australians for Refugees

More needs to be done to help elderly renters

Dear Editor,

I was very excited when I saw Rebecca Adam’s article on May 31 (“Units to hit the market to help the needy”, Bellarine Times).

But then I read it was the Lions. Don’t get me wrong, the Lions at least try to do something for the older people here, but their units cost $25,000 just to get one!

Not many older people struggling with rents and bills have that.

So when we are talking “affordable” and “needy”, this just doesn’t cut it!

Yes, their rents are affordable compared with other rents causing severe distress and homelessness on the Bellarine, but in some you also cannot have pets! These are our companions, our family.

Pets have been shown to help the physical and mental wellbeing of older people. But we have to get rid of them? Would you?

So although I think that the Lions do a good job for a few more fortunate older people, where are the people who are really going help us?

Who will build small one-bed units with low rentals and allow pets? Ones that you don’t have to give all your savings to (if you have any), just to have a home and be safe?

Can anyone imagine what it is like to be old in Australia now, having to rent without savings? Never knowing if you will have a roof over your head next year or even next month. Yet this is what renting does. This is why so many now go homeless.

Diane Roberts
Portarlington

Christmas in July?

Dear Editor,

Surf Coast’s inaugural “Christmastime in July on the Great Ocean Road” couldn’t provide a better place to celebrate our two Christmas holiday seasons.

December brings beautiful sandy white beaches with stunning views; and now July provides another wonderful month of celebrating with family and friends to enjoy bright holiday early evening lights, decorations, events, superb dining and gorgeous coastal drives – sometimes even with a surprise dusting of snow nearby!

The event’s intent is simple: to help build up our local winter economy and be good fun for locals and visitors – especially as the winter school recess begins.

There already has been much positive community feedback – so I would encourage local businesses to think how they would like to participate, register on the below Facebook site, and watch the event grows over future years!

Businesses and individuals can log on the Facebook site: “Surf Coast Christmastime in July on the Great Ocean Road” for event information.

John De Witt
Torquay

Fixing roads in the south-west

Dear Editor,

There’s been a lot written about the condition of roads across the south-west, but one thing is for sure: the region’s roads are not up to scratch and they’re now being rebuilt, widened and made safer with the biggest ever boost to upgrade our roads.

VicRoads has been going through the 300+ submissions to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Country Roads, and listening to the frank and important feedback.

Our communities and industries have been leading voices in a push for a dedicated focus to fix rural roads.

Now the entire state is receiving almost $1 billion to renew and rebuild roads, and the southwest has been recognised as a special case.

Just as the original road builders of the Great Ocean Road could not have envisaged five million tourists a year, nor could they have planned for roads with thousands of B-doubles every day carrying exports to the busiest timber port in the world at Portland. The times and economy are changing and our roads are now being rebuilt to keep up.

In the last financial year, the equivalent of the entire state road maintenance budget was invested in the south-west to begin to address the generational backlog of deteriorating roads. Strong investment will continue, with the Victorian Budget 2018/19 including a further $126 million of additional investment in the south-west.

From big ticket upgrades of the highway from Colac to the border, to upgrades to Forrest-Apollo Bay Road and a new Bellarine rail trail, narrow sealed roads and dangerous intersections will be improved and roads made safer.

Improving the quality of vital freight and tourist routes will remain a priority, with upgrades continuing on the three major roads leading to the Port of Portland, as well as ongoing geotechnical works to safeguard the future of the Great Ocean Road.

The significant investment in road maintenance will also continue this year, with resurfacing and rebuilding works to be carried out right across the region to improve the safety and longevity of our regional road network.

The need to work much more closely with local government has also been heard, with a $100 million fund to rebuild and resurface local essential roads.

It’s not only about more money, though.

A new authority for regional roads – to be based in Ballarat with a presence in regional centres across the state – will help address decades of under-investment and inattention, overseeing a $333 million investment in road maintenance.

Championing the needs of country Victoria, Regional Roads Victoria will give rural and regional Victorians a direct line of communications to VicRoads, and a clear focus on making the network safe and fit for a growing tourism, agribusiness and innovation economy.

People in the south-west deserve roads they can rely on, and this investment continues the rebuild to make sure the roads are safer and more reliable than ever before.

Mark Koliba
VicRoads Regional Director (South West)

Alcoa’s bike park assurance welcomed

Dear Editor,

Re “Questions keep coming about Anglesea Plan”, Surf Coast Times, June 21.

The Anglesea Bike Park Committee of Management welcomes Alcoa’s recent assurances that the Bike Park won’t be closed when the current lease expires at the end of June.

We are surprised at Alcoa’s suggestion that fears of “bulldozers rolling in” were unreasonable.

We only learned of Alcoa’s intention to keep the Bike Park open beyond June 30 by reading an update in the Surf Coast Times on June 14. Prior to that, all we (or anybody else) knew was that Alcoa planned to get rid of the Bike Park and didn’t intend to renew the lease. Of course we were worried!

As many readers would know, the committee and more than 5,500 petitioners are calling for the Bike Park to be retained. We are delighted that council has heard that call and offered to buy the site from Alcoa.

We eagerly await Alcoa’s response and urge them to help save the unique facility that they co-created in 2006.

Kate Maffett
Secretary, Anglesea Bike Park Committee of Management