Not worth dying for
What is happening on our roads? Five pedestrians have been killed in Victoria in the past week. One of the fatalities was a 65 year old woman who was struck and killed by a car while she was waiting at a bus stop. Another a man on a footpath picking his kids up from school. And on Tuesday morning a man was hit in the Melbourne CBD and a school girl was hit by a garbage truck in Melbourne's south-east. It is too early to say who was at fault in this disturbing spate of crashes involving pedestrians. However, research shows that pedestrians are usually not the cause of crashes that kill or injure them. TAC research shows that driver error causes 88 per cent of crashes involving senior pedestrians who are injured and 66 per cent of pedestrians 16-39 years. The most common crash scenario is when a pedestrian is hit from behind by a car turning right at an intersection. That is, the driver failed to give way to a pedestrian as they are legally required to do. It is apparent that large number of drivers either do not know, or do not heed, road rules relating to pedestrians such as giving way to walkers when crossing sliplanes, or when undertaking U turns, or entering or exiting a carpark or driveway. We need better enforcement and road design that facilitates safe driving and takes care of pedestrians. As for pedestrian error, we are human, we all make mistakes, but we shouldn't pay for our mistakes with our lives.
Ben Rossiter, CEO, Victoria Walks
GREEN WASTE: NOT ME
I, like Mr Graham Pearce do not want green waste picked up. I too, have a gardener who takes mine away, plus a few years ago, Council gave away free compost bins. I was lucky enough to get one.
June Phillips Golden Point
too late to complain
I usually sit back and read Paul Jenkins' letters with a degree of amusement, but today I cannot hold my tongue any longer. Paul is clearly quite passionate about the current woes facing our rail network, it's just a shame he found his voice 16 years too late. It would have been so much better if Paul had been a fearless advocate for rail back when he was a member of the Kennett Government in the 90s. But poor old Paul was either gagged or too scared to speak out about the Kennett Government's blatant vandalism of Victoria's rail network. The Kennett Government - with Paul's support - sold off the train network. The Kennett Government - with Paul's support - closed the Ararat, Leongatha, Bairnsdale and Mildura/Maryborough passenger services. In fact, I cannot find an utterance from Paul about the rail network during his two terms as an MP in the Kennett years. The current situation on the V/Line network is unacceptable and the result of poor policy by successive governments. Yes, even Liberal Governments. It's great that Paul has found a new energy to be a de-facto Liberal spokesman for rail. It's just a shame he didn't have any voice back when he had some semblance of relevance.
Craig Wilson, Beaufort
Finally someone has had the fortitude to face reality concerning this taxation problem and attempted to tackle both the housing & rental crisis and tax avoidance. Hopefully this is but the beginning. It should be asked why it has taken so long to face up to the facts. Could it be that our PM has 7 negative geared properties, another LNP member has 18 and another LNP member has 42 all of which are negative geared? It has been said, working class retirees on pensions should mortgage their modest family homes to pay for their retirement. Had not those wealthy retirees making such statements been assisted in financing their luxurious assets they too would be seeking retirement pensions. Many wealthy retirees when purchasing their luxurious tax-assisted homes have done so on the premise that was their retirement fund. That being the case, their home needs to be sold to release those funds. Instead, many now seek to retain that asset whilst demanding a full pension.
Wally Reynolds, Perth
