Wonderful people
You have to feel sad for One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and her belief that it would be difficult to spot a good Muslim. She doesn’t know what she is missing. Pauline, there are millions of good Muslims and they are easy to spot … they look just like you and me. My wife and I, with support from about 20 very generous people from Bendigo and district, run a small project in Indonesia, helping to educate young Muslim women from a very poor village. One is now a teacher, another a nurse, giving back to their communities. They are the first girls from their village to go to university. Another nurse and a teacher will graduate in the next two years. I can tell you, Pauline, that these young women, and their families, are wonderful, generous people who think Australians are pretty good. Our supporters are a mixture of Buddhist, Christian, agnostic, atheist and their position, like ours, is that Muslims are good people.
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So, Pauline, go to a Muslim country, sit down with ordinary people, be surrounded by their generosity and friendliness, and you will be a happier, kinder person for the experience. Sadly, I think you never will.
Peter Smith, Bendigo
QEO signage confusion
When Bendigo's iconic Queen Elizabeth Oval was given a much needed upgrade some years ago one of the more controversial improvements was the removal of advertising hoardings around the perimeter fence. This was done for aesthetic reasons and most would agree this certainly improves the visual appearance of the venue. The lost earnings from sponsors for local users was possibly not a high priority for the decision-makers. It surprised me when I drove past the QEO yesterday to see the fence now adorned with sponsors signage. I would ascertain that these are there to appease the AFL who are holding a practice match at the QEO this weekend. The inconsistencies in this decision making and the obvious bending of rules to suit a "big time player" do nothing for the reputation of those who make the rules.
Charles Jarrett, Maldon
Universal right to live free of disease
As a single woman who dates I am acutely aware of the prevalence of STDs. My recent experience of meeting a man who had genital herpes enhanced my fear of catching a STD. Motivated by fear of getting sick I went to the doctor and had a free STD test. While waiting for my results I realised how lucky I was to be in Australia, a country with a good quality public health system which is free for Australians to access.
I realised that people in developing countries would have a different experience engaging with STDs and health. 340 million cases of STDs occur around the world each year, with the greatest number in developing countries where STDs are the most common diseases treated by healthcare professionals other than malaria and diarrheal problems. Within the poverty stricken continent Africa, 25 out of 100 people will be infected with a STD each year compared to only 9 out of 100 people in Australia. Even though the majority of STDs are preventable through public health measures like vaccines, antibiotics or condom usage, the sad reality is that developing countries lack the resources to fund this, resulting in larger numbers of people experiencing poor health and early death. When the doctor informed me that my STD test results detected no infection, I felt incredibly relieved and I realised having access to public health measures shouldn’t be contingent on where you live. Viewed in this light, the Turnbull government should re-evaluate whether cutting 220 million dollars from the AusAid budget was immoral. Australia should recheck our priorities, because all people have the right to live free from disease. Our AusAid program is not a ‘cost’, but rather an ‘investment’ into people’s health. When will the Turnbull government re-invest?
