Time for a new home
About ten years ago, I was cycling along the Yarrowee River trail towards Whitehorse Road and heard a lot of gunfire overhead. That was genuinely concerning for a suburban setting. There were no red flags or warning signage visible from the trail, so I stopped until realising the shooting was not coming down to the trail. I subsequently found the source in Marty Busch Reserve.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
During the last five years, I have been riding and racing with the Ballarat Sebastopol Cycling Club on the velodrome. The one thing no cyclist wants to hear while racing around the velodrome is a gunshot; it makes exactly the same sound as a high pressure tyre exploding. I know; I have had these while road riding during a lifetime of cycling. Sorry for the gun club having to move, but it really is time to relocate it into the bush.
David Chadderton, Wendouree
Numbers don't add up
Why does the state government persist in its quest to redevelop the Ballarat station when clearly locals are not in favour of the current plans? Taking a walk through the Bridge Mall there are 13 vacant shops. Hotels in the area are between 50% and 60% occupancy. B&Bs are struggling. The numbers don't add up. No one has taken up occupancy in the redeveloped shops at the station, so why is the government so keen to give away public land to a private developer for a hotel and retail development? By all means develop the site, but look to SOS who are focussing its well-thought out plans on a transport hub. This is what Ballarat needs - right now.
Fiona Watson, Ballarat
The difference in semantics over death
Some politicians still want euthanasia legalised. The arguments they put up are based, not on reason, but on emotion. They avoid defining the words they use. The term "assisted dying" is especially confusing, it sounds like being nice to someone who is already passing away, but in practice, it means murdering somebody.
Traditional Christian teaching does define its terms. "An act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator…." (Catholic Catechism, 2277)
Caring for the dying and disabled can be expensive in terms of money, time, love and compassion. Do we care enough to make the effort?
Arnold Jago, Nichols Point
Fairness for all should be any government's job. You are elected by the people and the everyday low pay workers help and support the running of this country. Lest we forget.
Kim Hart, Wendouree
Martial law will serve little purpose
Many Filipino-Australians are disappointed and outraged by President Duterte's decision to impose martial law in Mindanao. While attacks by the ISIS-supporting Abu Sayyaf and Maute Group are affecting a small part of Mindanao, we know that martial law will not solve the root causes of terrorism or the armed conflict in the region. Instead, only the United States, big business and feudal landlords stand to gain from martial rule through entrenching their control that denies the country necessary independence, national industrialisation and land reform. Martial Law will only fuel the armed insurgencies in the country by threatening the rights of activists and other citizens engaged in normally legal activitiesWe ask everyone to call for an end to Martial Law in Mindanao by calling for Australia to end its military support to the Philippines and show your support for the peace talks and demands for socio-economic reforms.
May Kotsiakis, Point Cook
