Our asylum seeker shame
Last Sunday, I attended a screening of Chasing Asylum at the Star Cinema Eaglehawk.
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Whilst previously thinking I was well informed regarding the plight of asylum seekers, I walked away feeling completely disgusted to be an Australian citizen.
The current way we treat asylum seekers is totally un-Australian, inhumane and against all international protocols.
People seeking asylum now are doing so for the same reasons as the Vietnamese refugees in the 1970s, only rather than fleeing a communist regime they are fleeing a regime of Islamic extremism.
I feel less than comfortable with Australia's future when we are devoid of leadership and compassion such as Malcolm Fraser showed in the 70s.
Now is the time to close the detention centres, stop wasting our money and open processing centres in a third-party country such as was done for the Vietnamese.
Australia can well afford more refugees entering the country with monies from failed detention centres being spent in country resettling new comers.
If you have not yet seen Chasing Asylum do so to reinvigorate an attitude of the “Aussie fair go” and embrace the concept of increased migration and say no to the xenophobia of Pauline Hanson.
Maybe now we have another PM with the name Malcolm he might demonstrate some leadership although, unfortunately, I will not hold my breath.
John Parker, Strathdale
Collection a waste of time
I wish to make further comment about this extra bin.
I applied for an exemption, and didn’t even get an acknowledgement.
So I have sent another email, complete with photos of my mulching mower, chipper etc.
But I think this is just a way of increasing revenue in light of the rates being capped.
We are two people in our 70s, how much waste do you think we generate? None.
Peter Tharle, Bendigo
Exception to exemption
Whilst I fully support the council’s organics waste initiative, I strongly condemn their flawed exemption process.
Last week, I participated in a series of three community meetings in Kangaroo Flat, Eaglehawk and Strathfieldsaye, with in excess of 130 attendees mostly voicing their concerns about how to apply for an exemption.
One Eaglehawk attendee had been granted an exemption but the CEO insisted on a statutory declaration being supplied.
The lady has complained to the Human Rights Commission.
However, according to the March 2 council minutes (page 123) the councillors did not vote for a stat dec to be completed because direct household inspections are being undertaken by council employees.
A recent CoGB advertisement states that only ratepayers can apply for an exemption. Well, that is so true, however, some ratepayers need assistance in completing or lodging the paperwork.
I, like other like-minded council candidates, offer ourselves to assist these.
After all, if you saw an elderly person struggling to cross a heavily congested roadway, would you simply walk past them or at least offer to assist them cross the road?
I’m sure most would do the latter. That is no different to this situation.
It seems council officers shift the goalposts now that they see in excess of 2000 applications for exemption lodged with still a month to go.
So far the process and attempts to stifle those assisting ratepayers is underhanded, to say the least.
If elected at the next October council elections, I aim to have this exemption process extended so that ratepayers can participate with all available facts put before them.