The Nationals on notice
There has always been an increasing degree of discontent in the Australian population, but the result of the Orange by-election, the interference of Barnaby Joyce in one council area, and his intervention in the water allocation to South Australia, has put the National Party on notice.
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Start representing all people in Australia, or suffer the consequences,
Why does the Australian population have to cop the leader of a party who struggles to get 6 per cent of the vote, becomes Deputy Prime Minister, has a secret agreement with Turnbull, ignores the vast majority of the Australian electorate, as well as his idiotic tendencies?
Are we not entitled to have a deputy PM who at least abides by the rules? Oh no, Barnaby is shifting a department to Armidale costing $25 million, with no business case, of which it will have no binding benefit to his constituents, and only 2 per cent of the workforce want to go to Barnabyville anyway.
It is not at all surprising that the Nationals copped a flogging in Orange, and there are many more to come, if this party of over-inflated egos does not start including the non-farming sector into their conversations.
The election of Trump in America awoke the sleeping anger of many Australians to the narrow mindset of any party that thinks it can ride roughshod over ordinary Australians, and expect them to cop it sweet.
Pauline Hanson is going to have a field day at the next election at the National Party’s expense, and Joyce and the Nats only have themselves to blame.
Australia needs a fresh start, including a Deputy Prime Minister representing more than 6 per cent of the vote controlling the whole country. That is simply a joke.
And when will the Liberals stand on their own two feet, and demand that the Deputy Prime Minister comes from their party, as the voting pattern has the National Party behind Labor, and the Greens.
After One Nation has finished with them, goodness knows where they will be.
Ken Price, Eaglehawk
Safety first when buying
As young car buyers scour the state for their first set of wheels, it is timely to remind them to put safety at the top of their shopping lists.
Many first car buyers and their parents would be surprised to find dozens of used car models with potentially life-saving features like side curtain airbags and electronic stability control, are available for less than $3000.
Gone are the days when the only cars first-time buyers could afford were old clunkers with little in the way of safety features.
Victorians are 30 times more likely to crash in their first six months of solo driving, so it makes sense that young drivers do their research before buying a car.
The Transport Accident Commission’s How Safe is Your First Car website is a great place to start, allowing users to find four and five-star ANCAP safety rated vehicles within their price range.
While colours, sound systems and fuel economy may seem important to some, these features should all take a back seat to ensuring we all get home safe.
Getting everyone in safer cars will help us in our Towards Zero vision for a future where no person dies or is seriously hurt on our roads.
For more information on safe affordable cars, head to www.howsafeisyourfirstcar.com.au.
Samantha Buckis, TAC road safety manager
Found mentally sound
You can come up Trumps, even from hospital. I was helping a friend prepare his will this week. The doctor asked him questions to confirm his mental state. The final one was: "Who is the new US president?" My friend replied: "I can't remember his name but he's an idiot." The doctor pronounced him mentally fit.
