more ideas needed on cost savings
We must be getting through to the mayor. He has called on councillors to come up with costs savings. Why the councillors only? What happened to the CEO, CFO and all senior department managers and their managers and staff? Why don't they get together, open the door to ideas and come up with cost reductions by continuous improvement programs? I bet there are people inside council with hundreds of ideas; it just needs the open door to gather them.
What about reviewing capital budgets verses actual costs by project? I bet there's some monies there. Contracting out, duplication, improvement in time of planning permits gets more monies in as more are passed. Why is he concerned about parking meter people working more hours? Shift work people throughout industry and retail do it; why not parking meter persons? Come on council, you can do it. Councillors keep the pressure on.
Quinton Wilkinson, Lake Gardens
where are we going with democracy?
What the Turnbull government badly needs is to legislate for a large number of taxpayers who do not get a vote. This resembles the good old system where only the well to do, like Lords and noble people voted, whilst the poor paid taxes. Thus, now free to increase taxes, balance the budget, and quite rightly so, win elections easily.
The mates that helped their campaign finances are happy, your retirement finances are safe, and the sea of poor strangers out there cease to be even a statistic. They are now exterminating the independents, keep them honest to some degree, parties of the people senate, common and becoming commoner. Thus, it is only natural and logical that the small common people should also go the same way. To avoid losing elections, we could do away with them and just appoint relatives and friends. Captain's picks have a good past track record.
Colin Holmes, Ballarat
Minister needs to step up to duck challenge
Together with other Ballarat residents, we joined Laurie Levy, Campaign Director of the Coalition Against Duck Shooting on Monday, February 29 for the launch of their billboard poster in Main Road, just a few minutes from Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford's office.
Sadly, the shooters' slogan, 'If it flies it dies!' perfectly describes Labor's attitude to our beautiful, innocent native waterbirds. For three months from March 19, hundreds of thousands of these defenceless birds will be shot out of the sky at the whim of shooters and at least one in four will be wounded.
With breeding and waterbird numbers at dangerously low levels, Labor is playing Russian roulette with our native birds. It simply isn't good enough. It's time for Victoria to follow the lead of Labor governments in WA, NSW and Queensland which have all banned recreational duck shooting. Come on Jaala, you are in charge of this abominable activity and you can stop it now. As the Minister responsible for the RSPCA, you are suppose to care about cruelty to animals.
Bev Woodburn, Sebastopol and Valerie Newman, Ballarat
Royal commission’s grave lesson about treating children cruelly
When will the message get through to our politicians, that so many Australians do not want to own the wretched immigration policies they have thrust upon our nation? May we learn something positive from the present Royal Commission into child abuse that occurred so long ago in our churches, schools and institutions.
Break the silence and secrecy that surrounds our detention centres and act righteously. Do not leave it to future generations to have to seek out the truth and say, "sorry".
Diane Collacott, Ballarat.
