STUMERS CREEK UNDER ATTACK
Dear editor,
Council is intending to reduce dog access at certain beaches and bushland. One of those areas hit is Stumers, which is an icon as a dog meeting place, used not just by locals but people from Brisbane and other areas. There are many reasons council have given for this decision, some of which have been pulled out of a hat in my opinion (carbon footprint of dogs? Really? Do these people eat meat? That’s a big carbon footprint for you).
What are we achieving by doing this? Why are we bending to accommodate new developments, losing our liveability? Connecting with nature, dogs, exercising and chatting with others doing the same, hugely improves our mood and our overall mental health, thus relieving the burden on our health care system and society at large.
Please stop this nonsense and keep the coast dog-friendly.
D.Korving,
Mount Coolum.
##
TAXPAYER FUNDED TRAVEL
Dear editor,
The NSW Premier, Chris Minns, has reviewed his government policy regarding ministers’ usage of government vehicles for private and personal use. This rort has been exposed, after numerous occasions by ministers exploiting and misappropriating taxpayer-funded vehicles. Currently, NSW Transport Minister, Jo Hayden is under the spotlight but is not sacked.
He intends to change the rules, so “further instances of unreasonable use of cars and drivers would be very troubling” and ” would weigh heavily on me.” Minister Hayden has done this on a few occasions, without scrutiny by minders. Politicians, as well as local councillors, are paid well above average wages and welfare payments of constituents. It may be approved to a point but does not pass “the pub test” – workers face toll road costs, high fuel prices and congested roads, in order to travel to and from work.
Taxpayer dollars spent on the misuse of public funds for personal usage, is covert theft, on a grand scale. Ms Hayden has been exposed. It’s not her first time, with a taxpayer-funded-paid driver in a company car, accompanied by complicit, offending mates. Most Australians can’t afford a car or taxi and are subject to an inept public transport system.
This unconscionable, privileged practice has gone on since the dawn of time by public servants with “a sense of entitlement”, answerable to no one! An over-representation of bureaucrats at the public’s expense, draining the purse and demanding privileges not afforded to their benefactors, should be an election issue.
E. Rowe,
Marcoola.
##
NEW MINISTRY?
Dear editor,
Out of the Shadow Ministry looms a new Shadow minister trumpeting our own DOGE, a new Dept. of Government Efficiency. Just asking if it’s on track to all the ways of the USA? More details needed.
Margaret Wilkie,
Peregian Beach.
##
CLIMATE CHANGE
Dear editor,
The experts say we are experiencing extremes of climate change with heat waves, fires, and floods.
We have had stinking hot days, but nothing compares with what Charles Sturt experienced in the 1840s whilst leading a daring expedition into the fiery heart of central Australia in search of the mythical inland sea.
Historian, Darrel Roche, points out that Sturt found if he dropped a match on a rock, it lit up. Nails expanded and popped out of wooden boxes.
Sturt was gobsmacked to find the leads in pencils had melted. He grabbed a pen, but the ink dried on the nib.
Next time we have a hot one I won’t be complaining with my fridge, fans, and air conditioner on hand.
The inland sea proved no more than a mirage and so might our action on climate change unless we get cracking rather than wasting time on climate wars sitting in trenches sniping over energy options.
Garry Reynolds,
Peregian Springs.
##
E BIKES
Dear editor,
Hopefully you have seen the results of a yearlong study conducted in the UK originally instigated by the Conservative Party into increasing the wattage from 250 to 500 and making throttle-assisted bikes for the first 15.5kmph legal.
All these changes were strongly opposed by various groups and individuals.
What they did find is there is an industry where bikes are modified to become something outside the law with regard to speed for throttle assist.
There was strong support for changes to assist mobility issues of the handicapped and aged as well as the cargo industry, but general public concerns resolved around road safety issues.
There were also other concerns – the line between mopeds which are registered and throttle assisted e-bikes which should be registered and are not narrowed and with after-market alterations, there is no differentiation between the two types.
By far most e-bikes used on roads with a posted speed limit of 60kmph in traffic and centre line marking are throttle-assisted e-bikes which in the current regulations are illegal unless registered and meet specific regulations. There is no public sympathy for change in this area.
In our street of Springfield Ave between 7am and 8 am weekdays which is a 60kmph road with white centreline and no segregated bike path, the majority of e-bikes are throttle activated travelling at speeds greater than 25kmph and are ridden by school children on the way to the high school. They originate from second and Third Avenues Coolum Beach and further up the road at Springfield Avenue and would account for twenty traffic movements in this hour.
E-bikes are also seen going to and leaving the local primary school where the maximum age of those attending primary school would be 12 and therefore illegal.
A common sight around the streets of Coolum is children being doubled on the bikes sitting on a crossbar with no safety fixes.
All of these instances are currently outside the regulations and are subject to fines and sanctions against parents for breaches of the regulations. Why are the police loathe to enforce the regulations?
These regulations seem to be going down the path the same way wearing a helmet whilst riding a cycle has gone for young people.
If there is no respect for this law then what chance do you have of overcoming youth crime which is showing the same disrespect for the rule of law as is shown to e-bike regulations?
There is no doubt e-bike and e-transportation are the way of the future, but they must be made safer.
Currently, the government is committed to the 2030 road safety objective of a 50% reduction in road deaths and a 30% reduction in serious injuries from traffic incidents. In Qld, the number of injuries from e-bike and e-scooter related crashes treated in emergency facilities has doubled in the last two years.
The regulations need to be tightened and enforced. Police need to be given the power to confiscate mobility devices if the law is broken and parents held responsible for not complying with the supervision requirements. Any e-bikes with throttle activation need to be confiscated if obviously not registered and complying with the regulations
Colin Caudell,
Coolum Beach.