Your Letters

Newcastle Herald

Wednesday October 4, 2006

GR

Tough but useless laws

ONCE again, the report "Bitter to the end" (Herald 3/10), on the death of Enid Lee, a client of cancer con-man Paul Perrett, filled me with sadness for victims of alternative health frauds like Mrs Lee and Hunter naturopath Reg Fenn's client, baby Mitchell Little (died 1999), and their families.

The editorial ("Vulnerable victims" Herald 3/10) rightly commends NSW Health for its intention to institute "the toughest laws in Australia to deal with health shonks".

However, if these new laws, like the present system, rely solely on the willingness and ability of sick and dying victims to lodge formal complaints and be prepared to present their evidence in courts before any action is taken then these new laws will be useless.

Until society has the courage to ask why victims of alternative health frauds are fearful of reporting deceit and abuse and do something about it then these new laws will not change anything.

Cheryl Freeman

Dudley

October 3

Another place on the Barrington

THE fire that destroyed the Barrington Guest House was a tragedy for the owners, staff and the public.

Of course, the economic impact of this tragedy will be felt most by the owners, who have worked so hard for the past three years. Staff may no longer have jobs.

To a lesser extent, Dungog will suffer a loss of business from guests stopping in the town and for any goods and services they formerly provided to the guesthouse.

Guests will miss the traditional vacations there, the wildlife, the Williams River, the long summer days.

Fortunately, there was no loss of life or serious injury, and we believe that was due to the quick response and bravery of the staff.

The fond memories we have of visiting the guesthouse will never be forgotten and we look forward to the re-building hopefully in the shortest possible time.

Richard and Kay Fay

St Ives

October 3

Clever talk can't disguise torture

THAT'S it. The back must surely break now. There's a long list of questionable moral straws our Government has asked the Australian camel to bear in order to gain or keep votes, but I'll mention only some of the heaviest.

These include accusing parents of risking drowning their children to save their own skins; possibly allowing the funding of an evil dictator while preparing a war against him; an Aboriginal policy that amounts to ignoring them and leaving them to rot; and abandoning Australian citizens to the death penalty with barely a whimper.

Rating even morally lower than those putrid examples, we Australians apparently, through our elected representative Government, now explicitly endorse torture.

Our endorsement has been camouflaged in lulling language to disguise it. Mr Ruddock, the legal mouthpiece for our Howard Government, has used the words "coercive" and "interrogation".

He argues that keeping naked human prisoners in refrigerators and blasting them with strobe lights and ear-splitting music, specifically to keep them awake until they are willing to say what their captors want to hear, isn't torture. Imagine yourself, or your child, in that position.

There's at least one Australian father and mother who don't have to imagine it.

Examine your own conscience and admit honestly to yourself what you would call it if it were happening to you or one of yours.

Jody Bailey

Kahibah

October 3

No minister may act in this way

AH, Mr Iemma. Wasn't it enough for the Labor Party to run rough-shod over its rank-and-file in the Newcastle preselections?

Now, if we can believe media reports, one of your MPs not just any MP but the Minister for Police has flagrantly breached parliamentary rules by conveying or arranging to convey a weapon onto parliamentary property.

Not only did he apparently ignore a direction not to do so by the Legislative Council President but defied the security guards.

These actions are not acceptable from any MP, but are extremely inappropriate from the minister entrusted with ensuring our laws are upheld.

Mr Scully should be removed from office as the Minister for Police and as an MP.

Gunnar Seck

Wallarobba

October 3

Bowling clubs and parks go together

PEOPLE are jumping on the political bandwagon over the future of Ferris Oval.

I have lived in Charlestown for 47 years. Nothing has been done to improve it in all that time. It was an open paddock when it began and is still an open paddock.

Obviously people saying we are losing open space have not seen the plans to make Ferris Oval into a landscaped public park with a bowling club in part of the grounds and underground parking.

To see how well bowling clubs fit into the landscape of public parks, visit Dangar Park, Mayfield, Lambton Park Bowling Club, and Alder Park Bowling Club.

Ron Shepherd

Charlestown

October 3

A plan is already there

RICARDO Sholl (SMS 26/9) asks why the Newcastle rail line is still being debated.

Yes, the debate should have been closed in 1981, with the winning entry (pictured) in the foreshore and urban design competition run by the former Newcastle City Council under then Lord Mayor Joy Cummings. Newcastle would now have been benefiting for nearly 20 years from the scenic, landscaped entrance to the historic Newcastle station.

Ignorance regarding the establishment of the Newcastle-Maitland passenger rail line must also be dispelled.

The passenger rail line was opened with great fanfare on Monday, March 30, 1857, with up to 10,000 free trips between East Maitland and Newcastle, according to newspaper reports of the day.

The Newcastle-Maitland railway was the second passenger rail service opened in the colony.

Doug Lithgow, Highfields

October 1

Letter of the week

This week the letter judged the best, most succinct and interesting will win two tickets to a Hoyts theatre, courtesy of The Herald. The winner will be announced on Saturday on this page.

© 2006 Newcastle Herald

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