Great opportunities spoilt
Clunes has again been fortunate to host a film crew and play part in the creation of yet another film. The benefits to the town are many, both indirect and direct. Therefore it is unfortunate that a small section of the community is reported to have made things more difficult by behaving in a manner both regrettable and embarrassing, including disrupting filming by running a lawn mower. If these reports are correct, it is to be hoped that the experience of this latest film crew will not deter future filming in Clunes and spoil its long standing and enviable reputation as an excellent film location. To that end, I would expect Hepburn Council to offer an apology to the company on behalf of the town.
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John Sayers. Clunes
Labor is still a leader on indigenous rights and environment
I refer to the letter from former Greens candidate, Alice Barnes published in The Courier (March 30).
Labor has long been a leader of the Parliamentary push towards Indigenous rights and welfare. It was a Labor government which enacted land rights, and it was the current Labor opposition which took to the last election policies to recognise indigenous Australians in the constitution, to fund indigenous legal services and to close the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians in areas of healthcare, education and incarceration.
Labor policies similarly commit to progressive, effective and affordable action on Climate Change. A Labor government would transition our energy system to 50% renewables by 2030, protect the Great Barrier Reef, strengthen environmental protections and institute an emissions trading scheme to give industry the certainty it needs to invest in our future.
What Ms Barnes fails to mention is that the Australian Labor Party, unlike the Turnbull Government, has offered no financial support to the Carmichael Coalmine. If, however, the company behind the project believes that it is commercially viable on its own and meets environmental standards it should, like all legal commercial ventures, be allowed to proceed.
This project has the approval of a majority of the local indigenous elders and the independent National Native Title Tribunal, and it is insulting to bring up the legacy of the late, great Gough Whitlam to further your attacks on the Labor Party which he led.
As a member of the Australian Labor Party I will not be taking my riding instructions from a member of the Greens.
Catherine King MP, Federal Member for Ballarat
safety concerns
Protect Victoria is a peaceful people-power group who have pulled together because of the on-going escalating crime problem in Victoria. We want the government to give back to us the safety and security they took away from us. Victorians are living in fear behind closed doors waiting for their turn to become victims of home invasion. Our government seems to be twiddling their thumbs while innocent people including defenceless children, the disabled, the elderly and infirm are not able to defend their homes from the escalating violence.
Bill Dobell, Sebastopol
Keeping pace with growth
It worries me immensely at the rate of housing growth within Ballarat & surrounding Districts. The absence of the infrastructure so badly needed to cater for current increasing populations is appalling. The plans and designs for housing developments openly get the tick of approval ahead of creating the necessary infrastructure. Ballarat is heading towards becoming 'Grid-locked' and it seems those who can make the difference right now just don't want to. How often have we all said, 'Development is moving at a rate faster than Infrastructure'.
Robert Goon, Sebastapol
