Credit:Ilustration: Megan Herbert
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COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS
Our leaders must listen to the medical experts
Now that the prime minister, premiers and chief ministers have axed the requirement for people with COVID-19 to isolate for five days without directly consulting the chief health officers (The Age, 1/10), where does that leave people who are immunocompromised? Probably pretty scared to resume doing things or going to places outside their homes. Life will not return to “normal” for them. In fact, it will make them even more cautious.
Australian Retailers Association chief executive Paul Zahra says: “The ultimate goal has always been for COVID to be treated just like any other virus and that people should be responsible for their own health – if you’re sick, stay at home, but if you’re well, you should be free to go about your business.” But it is not like any other virus.
And I am sure that without the isolation requirement, many people will not think twice about going about their business while unwell, thus putting others at risk. Many of us would rather listen to the advice of Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton. After all, he has medical training.
Joy Hayman, Blackburn North
We need to face our ‘new reality’ and plan for it
Sorry, but this is a cop-out by the federal government. It is an excuse to stop paying the isolation payment (except for casual workers in high-risk settings such as hospitals and aged care) and get back to a so-called “normal”. COVID-19 will be with us in some variation for the foreseeable future. Therefore “normal” has also gone for the foreseeable future. This is our new reality, and we need to plan for it.
Maintaining the isolation requirement and paying people for abiding by this should be a priority. Many people in casual jobs, with mortgages and families to feed, will not stay at home if they are not required to and are not compensated. They cannot afford to. The government is being purposefully naive and, therefore, neglectful.
Janine Perks, Footscray
Seeking politicians who will protect the elderly
With the end of the isolation restrictions, I feel sorry for seniors and others with chronic health conditions. They have been thrown to the wolves again. Perhaps, it is time for the establishment of a “teal-style” political movement, primarily to help protect the health and rights of senior citizens.
Craig Calvert, Montmorency
We are ‘free’ at last – but at a very high price
Well, that was interesting. A visit to the supermarket: no sanitiser at the entrance, nobody wearing a mask (except me), and no social distancing at the check-out. But isn’t this great? Because we are free now, aren’t we? Leave aside that I know four people in Ballarat who have got COVID-19 in the past fortnight, as well as a friend in Melbourne with highly infectious flu. We’re free again, free to be sick.
Darryl Cloonan, Ballarat
Need to protect the vulnerable as restrictions ease
Why does the Australian government cherry pick from pandemic regulations overseas? The latest dictum, driven by business lobbying, to cease isolation of COVID-19 sufferers does not reflect the measures taken overseas to protect the vulnerable.
The United Kingdom is giving extra vaccines to those who need protection to counteract the inevitable surge in numbers when isolation ceases. It is irresponsible to adopt one measure without adopting the safeguards necessary to keep the elderly safe.
Doris LeRoy, Altona
Cases, deaths and hospitalisations are still high
On Friday, the Victorian government reported 8000 active
COVID-19 cases, 145 cases in hospital and 59 lives lost on average each day over the preceding week. Given the possibility of emerging variants, it is prudent to share Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton’s “lingering concerns”. While there is a decline on previous numbers, it is naive to agree with Jon Faine that “the fight against COVID-19 is done” (Sunday Age, 2/10).
Joe Wilder, Caulfield North
LETTERS
A predatory culture
I was an early career scientist at Davis Station in Antarctica over four decades ago, the year before the first woman, a GP, “over-wintered” at that base. It is inconceivable that since then, professional female staff should feel unsafe in their temporary home and place of work, particularly although not exclusively in the remoteness of Antarctica (The Age, 1/10).
It is a privilege to live and work in the most remote and coldest continent on Earth. Certainly an experience of a lifetime, from the voyages there and back through the howling gales of the Southern Ocean to the passing seasons of perpetual light and darkness throughout polar summers and winters. From the camaraderie of colleagues, to overcoming the challenges of extreme isolation while also celebrating one’s own and others’ achievements.
These experiences can be life-changing and career-defining yet above all they should be fulfilling and enduring. Regrettably, this cannot be said for a number of women in Antarctica whose aspirations, experiences and careers were either not met, not fulfilled or possibly cut short.
Allan Davey, Kew East
Protection, education
Melbourne Zoo’s website states, “Our vision is to fight extinction to secure a future rich in wildlife”. Miki Perkins’ story – “Frog-saving push spawns new zoo centre” (The Age, 1/10) – highlights this vision and provides us with hopeful optimism for the preservation of tiny and rare frogs pushed to the point of extinction by bushfires.
Frogs are tiny giants that have a fundamental role in our ecosystems. How fortunate that this science-driven protection project exists, and is accessible to the public through an education program at our zoo. Reporting of projects in a positive and prominent way services the community brilliantly.
Isabelle Henry, Ascot Vale
Surely ripe for the hacking
My wife and I have received notification by mail from two members of a blue-coloured political party that, as we are over 70, we can pre-register for a postal vote at the state election. A form is included, with a reply-paid envelope which has our names, addresses and dates of birth already filled in.
If we were to just throw out the forms, or if someone recognised what the letters were before we received them, they could have an important piece of our information in their hands, ready to begin identity theft. I object. Given all the publicity about the hacking of Optus’ database of customers personal details, why did anyone think this was a good idea?
Don Jordan, Mount Waverley
Extra layer of protection
With the ever increasing risk of fraud and identity theft, there is a case to be made for the numbers on driver licences (as with passports) to change every time they are renewed.
Kate McCaig, Surrey Hills
Risky, cavalier attitudes
Companies holding personal data is all too common and often completely unauthorised. During an interaction with Telstra, I was required to provide proof of identity. I do not drive, so took my passport. I had no problem passing it over the counter to be read but I had a huge problem with it being scanned. The staff member had no idea how to reverse the procedure and seemed surprised I was unhappy. This off-hand, cavalier attitude, often masquerading as security, needs to be constrained.
Alison Fraser, Ascot Vale
So much for ’security’
Recently I was on hold to one of Australia’s airlines and could hear a customer’s credit card details being read back to them. Security is not just a problem with Optus.
Michael McKenna, Warragul
On the path to failure
From the moment new Prime Minister Liz Truss aligned herself with the memory of Margaret Thatcher, Britons should have been very, very wary. It seems that any such concern has already been vindicated. Unless the Tories have an election death wish (which their patience with Boris Johnson might indicate was the case), Truss will not last until 2025.
Anthony Hitchman, St Andrews
Confidence in the Greens
My name was referenced in an editorial regarding the Greens’ principles and practices (The Age, 30/9). Earlier this year, The Age brought to light the media and social media pile-on and defamation against me, and against Greens’ Melbourne City Councillor Rohan Leppert, for our alleged bad behaviour.
It would be inappropriate for this to form a precedent in relation to Senator Lidia Thorpe. No allegations have been proven against her, and she should not be subjected to the type of vile, trial-by-social-media attacks that were directed against Cr Leppert and I. While The Age is doing its job reporting allegations of public concern, I have confidence in the Greens as a party of principle to ensure the highest standards of conduct and accountability in our elected representatives.
Linda Gale, Kensington
Mixed views on Thorpe
Lidia Thorpe: one correspondent’s “cyclone”, another correspondent’s “breath of fresh air”, but for Adam Bandt and the Greens, increasingly resembling an albatross around the neck.
Susan Caughey, Glen Iris
Young woman of insight
Re the article, “I’m 14, and I tried to suicide” (Saturday Reflection, 1/10). Dear Anonymous, are you sure you are only 14? Your wise words indicate someone much older, and some of us never achieve that state. You should be so proud, as I am sure your parents are too. More power to you.
Jan Grutzner, Richmond
Benefits of public housing
In 1988 I co-authored a report to the federal government on the issue of rent assistance versus more investment in public housing. Modelling I undertook showed that after 12 years, we would be better off directing funds into public housing. Rent assistance merely pushes up rents whereas adding to the public housing stock delivers a capability to provide ongoing affordable housing.
If the advice had been heeded, the supply of public housing would now be better aligned with demand and there would be downward pressure on rents and house prices. Financially the government would be in a better position. Governments need to understand that decisions on housing policy must look beyond the next election.
Rodger Gibbins, urban economist and planner, Ivanhoe
Show’s lost, true essence
I am with sheep farmer Ian Kyle – “Why farmers are abandoning the Melbourne Royal Show” (The Age, 1/10). I attended the Show for decades, spending most of my time in the stands watching the equestrian events and the animals being proudly paraded by their owners. I then visited the animal stalls and chatted to the owners. And who has not enjoyed visiting the animal nursery?
Showbags may be getting bigger but do they represent what the show is about – giving city folk a greater understanding of farming? Due to the site redevelopment and smaller size, the true essence of an agricultural show is missing. I will not attend the Show again until the emphasis is on agriculture and farm animals.
Cecily Falkingham, Donvale
The Show’s glory days
Last time I went to the Show, pre-COVID, I finally found one small, token tractor. I understand the farmers’ views. The agricultural show is a bygone era. Sadly, I used to love it. Seriously love it.
Patrick Walker, Coburg north
Look to our own record
How can Australia, and other countries, criticise Brazil for clearing rainforest and mining while we continue to clear old-growth natural forests and mine here? How hypocritical. All countries need to change.|
Sue Gilbert, Balnarring Beach
Our precious market
Developers want to pull down 80 per cent of Preston Market, retain the fruit and vegetable stalls, and build high-rise apartment towers.
I was at the Save the Preston Market Stall on Saturday and here is a snapshot of the people who stopped: Visitors from Sydney said, “There is nothing like this in Sydney. It reminds us of markets we’ve seen in Italy.“
A family from Greenvale stopped and the mother asked: “How could they destroy so much goodness?” A man came from Altona to have lunch with his friends, and a woman said she came from Collingwood each week, by train, to shop there.
People love Preston Market and come there from far and wide to shop, meet friends and enjoy the multicultural food stalls. It is an irreplaceable, community-connecting resource.
Barbara Reeckman, Coburg
End the barbaric trade
It is heartening that New Zealand has banned live animal exports by sea from April 2023 (The Age, 29/9). When will the Australian government wake up to the fact that the live export industry is heartbreakingly cruel and that most Australians with any ability to recognise cruelty want an end to it? The industry has had years to improve conditions but reports of sheep boiling alive in mud and other senseless tortures continue to be reported. The industry must stop relying on this endless horror to make a living.|
Atholie Harden, Williamstown
The forgotten annexation
Sadly, Russia’s annexation of part of Ukraine is not the largest land-grab since World War II. Indonesia carried out a similar “referendum” of a small number of elders in West Papua/Irian Jaya in 1999, resulting in a 100per cent “yes” vote for incorporation into Indonesia.
Thus this 100,000-square-kilometre country, never associated with Indonesia except when the Dutch occupied them both, became an Indonesian province. It remains one of the poorest provinces despite being rich in natural resources, and locals are harassed and incarcerated for discussing independence.
John Pinniger, Fairfield
AND ANOTHER THING
Ukraine
Let’s hope Russia’s generals know a nuclear conflict has no winners and stage the overthrow of Putin.
John Walsh, Watsonia
Russia remains a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Please explain.
Peter Sanders, Macleod
China had to abstain in the UN vote on the annexation of part of Ukraine given its annexation of Tibet some 70 years ago.
Anthony Palmer, Southbank
Do we feel sorry for the new, young Russian conscripts about to face their baptism of fire?
Peter Walker, Black Rock
COVID-19
Restrictions are gone but it is still here. Political wisdom?
Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill
Unselfish people isolate for a few days until they’re well, regardless of their bug. Selfish people don’t.
Ian Anderson, Surrey Hills
Furthermore
I wonder what Jeff Kennett would consider a crisis (2/9)?
Marie Nash, Balwyn
Whenever there’s a difficult and sensitive issue, why does Kennett speak out and make it worse?
Rob Willis, Wheelers Hill
Increase the GST until inflation is under control, then return it to its current 10per cent. A win-win.
Andrew Synak, Taylors Lakes
Do a job that matters, says the Victorian government. Then pay workers as if it matters. Simple.
Anna Hayman-Arif, Ringwood East
The item on the treatment of women at Antarctica was on Page 28 (1/10). This issue is important. Do better.
Damian Meade, Leopold
Re the design of the $5 note: It appears that our new king may suffer a similar fate as the first Charles. Chop.
Roger Farrer, Hampton
Spring is here. The first ducklings were on the Elwood Canal yesterday morning.
Greg Tanner, Elwood
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