BORDERS
Dear editor,
The Prime Minister is pressuring Queensland and Western Australia to open their borders once vaccination rates reach 70 to 80 per cent. Mr Morrison fails to mention South Australia or even Tasmania, which has said will most likely stay shut until 90 per cent of its population are vaccinated.
Mr Morrison wants to end lockdowns, and don’t we all. He said if we end lockdowns “…people can have household gatherings and birthday parties, sadly they’ll have funerals, but people will be able to attend them …”. Mindboggling.
Luckily for Australians, whether we open our borders is up to our State Premiers and Territory Leaders. Premier Palaszczuk is rigorously following the health advice of our Chief Health Officer, Dr Jeanette Young and Queensland is far better off for it.
Robyn Deane,
Bli Bli.
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VAX STATS
Dear editor,
I was reading a Facebook discussion where people were quoting the 97% survival rate of COVID as a reason not to get the vaccine. I find that a really strange argument because a 97% survival rate = a 3% death rate, which is actually quite high (and a lot higher than the vaccine death rate of around 0.0019%). I also find that argument really egocentric. Sure, the survival rate for the general population might be 97%. But what about for the elderly? Or for people with diabetes? Or a disability? Or any other minority group with added socioeconomic disadvantage?
Australians over 80 have a 32% death rate from the virus. People with diabetes are three times more likely to die from COVID than the general population. I don’t know about you, but I want to do my part to protect those around me. If you don’t want to get the vaccine for yourself, consider getting it for someone else. Show a little compassion. After all, fortune favours the kind.
B. Phillips,
Coolum Beach.
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FARM POLITICS
Dear editor,
In the chook pen, threatened with the Great Foul Carkit Disease, Top Cock, spurred on by a new advisor Iver Metkin, crowed that the Great Open Up will replace the Great Pen Lockdown. Chooks may get the trots and become a little hoarse if they swallow this.
Margaret Wilkie,
Peregian Beach.
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MASK POLICE?
Dear editor,
Who is policing mask-wearing in the community? A “Sunbus” driver permitting unmasked commuters aboard without even a challenge, announced: “We don’t police masks.” Just as they don’t police free rides. Who then is responsible?
Drivers work for the same Government, which mandates mask-wearing on ALL public transport! This protects the commuters who use public transport. Every bus has the announcement notice on the windows for all to read. The illiterates and the arrogant don’t think it applies to them. These are candidates for transferring the virus.
Week after week, the mask mandate announcement comes again. After a Gold Coast family illegally visited Victoria and two Covid positive truck drivers drove to NSW and back into Qld, a child became Covid positive. None are jailed, none are fined for not wearing masks, many unvaccinated by choice, are walking time bombs.
So, catching a bus, you may unwittingly catch the deadly “Delta” strain. There is no indicator exposing unmasked, unvaccinated carriers. If the Queensland Government mandates masks and finances public transport services, should not “Sunbus” employees enforce mask wearing? It is a mandated public safety issue. It’s a joke, apparently!
E. Rowe,
Marcoola.
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ROUNDABOUT
Dear editor,
Yet again another accident at the Coolum/Yandina roundabout. Disrupting traffic to the north and south.
When are the powers that be going to do something about fixing this problem?
Why can’t lights be installed like the ones at the Caloundra roundabout?
M Beddow,
Verrierdale.
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WILDFLOWERS
Dear editor,
I opened to page four of the Advertiser last week and saw the photo of the “Milkmaid” flower and was immediately reminded that I had seen one at the Coolum Community Native Nursery this week. Many of the wildflower species Tony Gibson referred to in his article are available for purchase from Coolum Community Native Nursery. This is a not for profit organisation with the purpose of selling local native plants to anyone who wants them in order to maintain local biodiversity. It has a large range of plants from the tiny “Milkmaid” to the giant Bunya pine. I recommend it to your readers if they are looking for garden plants suitable to our local conditions or they wish to do some bush regeneration.
Lucy Wittholz,
Yaroomba.
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AFGHANISTAN
Dear editor,
I see in last week’s Advertiser that our Member for Fairfax, Ted O’Brien, has joined his Liberal colleagues in uttering the usual platitudes thanking the brave men and women of the Australian Defence Force for their service in protecting our freedoms and way of life.
Well Ted, I for one was unaware that our freedom and way of life was under threat from invasion by the Taliban; same applied to Saddam Hussein and his Iraqi military, and need I mention Vietnam? If memory serves, in the case of our Iraq invasion…there were no weapons of mass destruction and despite mass protests by citizens of this and other nations, that didn’t stop us jumping in at the behest of our great and powerful ally.
But to return to our latest invasion – Afghanistan in 2011 and 20 years later we make our exit and the friends and relatives of more than 38 ADF killed in action (the last listed casualties I could find ended in 2012) must be questioning the motives of our elected leaders in sending our military personnel to “assist people in need”. Some of those needy people would undoubtedly be those returned soldiers suffering PTSD and they must really be asking “why”?
In “defending our freedoms” 14 casualties were caused by explosive devices; five as a result of a helicopter crash; three in “small arms incidents” and yes, there are more, but that is enough to illustrate the inglorious ending of 22 lives of our best and bravest (according to Ted).
Before consigning anymore of our defensive forces to oblivion at the behest of our great ally America, our elected representatives of all persuasions must question any request made by the protector of the free world to once again invade a country which does not pose a threat to Australia.
Linese Norrish,
Coolum Beach.
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