Letters to the editor

If your cover is for public hospitals only and you require a procedure, you are categorised and then wait subject to availability on the public hospitals waiting list; anything up to or even beyond three years. What are you paying public hospital health insurance cover for? Nothing.

Sandra Burns, Alfredton

Ballarat has many 19th Century building icons courtesy of its immense wealth from the gold diggings. There are fewer icons to represent the 20th Century reflecting the harder times "after gold".

My pick of structures to represent Ballarat's 20th Century history would be the Arch of Victory tribute to soldiers of WWI; the Civic Hall, a mammoth construction effort employing local materials and artisans and the venue of many community events and celebrations in the second part of the 20th Century; and the Sovereign Hill/Gold Museum development of the 1970s.

As to the 21st Century, there is so far a dearth of iconic structures. Congratulations to Ballarat commercial firm Ballarat Construction Management for pushing architectural boundaries in their office development (The Courier 12/5/2016, p. 9). 

If there is need for a new library, our civic leaders should be lobbying for Commonwealth and State Government funding for a state-of-the-art purpose-built facility rather than limiting the options of both the library and the Civic Hall by converting the hall for library purposes. Geelong has managed to create a striking new facility alongside a heritage building. Surely we can do this too. 

Barbara Cytowicz, Golden Point

A remarkable comment from a government minister, "If we let in these illiterate asylum seekers, who cannot even speak their own language, they will take away Australian jobs". Another intellectual statement from a member of the Liberal front bench kindergarten.

How many illiterate Australians should be apprehensive? Had the government not removed the education funding, illiterate Australian people to whom the minister refers, would be sufficiently educated to compete for those alleged jobs. Are we seriously expected to have confidence in selecting such individuals to a national parliament?

Is this the attitude of the majority of Australian voters? We will find out by July 3rd. Such language indicates the desperation of such individuals who are perhaps concerned these allegedly "illiterate" asylum seekers threaten their jobs. These are human beings; from which we have much to learn.

Wally Reynolds, Tasmania

The new medicare changes by the liberal government are literally the straw that breaks the camels back'. When private health went up by around $12 a month just recently, I had to drop out.

If bulk billing is stopped, that will be 12 regular visits to my gp each year I won't be attending. That also means 12 blood tests I won't be having. Not only that, if the price of medicine goes up, there won't be 26 visits to the chemist each year. If I get sick then I will just front up to emergency like everybody else will be.

I suppose I could become a merchant banker. Then I would not have to worry about money and I wouldn't have to associate with us poorer people, because I would not really care about your problems anyway.

Peter Smith, Delacombe