LETTERS

LETTERS

The Age

Wednesday November 4, 2009

You want to talk?Then pay up, first"COAL firm paid to see Labor" (The Age, 2/11) and "$10,000 to sit next to Brumby" (The Age, 3/11) explain why it is so hard for resident groups to meet Planning Minister Justin Madden. It is this "cash for chat" system". Why don't they just say so? They could print a list of costs �� for example, $5000 for a 15-minute meeting and bulk rates for several groups together. Or discounts under certain conditions, such as not asking difficult questions.When I bump into Minister Madden in Parliament, he says he wants a meeting, but then I get a letter from his department saying "no meeting". I told him I did not believe a word he says. He says he has an "open door policy", but there is an iron curtain outside his door.We have often wondered why it is so hard to get through it. Now we know that it needs greasing. In the meantime, we are losing democratic rights under the Brumby Government. Who voted for him to be premier, anyway?Mary Drost, convener, Planning Backlash, CamberwellDoyle's big conROBERT Doyle, you are not the Prime Minister, a member of the Government or even of the Opposition. You are the Lord Mayor of Melbourne and in no position to make one iota of difference to climate change other than to add to its impetus by taking unnecessary overseas flights. Your $61,000 trip to the Copenhagen Climate Change conference (The Age, 3/11) is a junket, one that you promised not to take. The city's ratepayers have every right to be aggrieved.Rodney Williams, TemplestoweVoters don't forgetWHILE some may say that it is important for the Lord Mayor to attend this conference, surely they will be a minority. And there would be very few who would say it is necessary for ratepayers to pay for his personal staff to go as well. What will his chief of staff actually do? Carry the suitcases and run messages perhaps? Cr Doyle needs to understand that if it looks like a junket and smells like a junket, then it is a junket. He should enjoy the remainder of his time in office because broken promises tend to remain in the minds of voters at election time.Robert Cooper, Mount ElizaAiming for the bestTHANK you for Brian Caldwell's "Education revolution fails grade" (Comment & Debate, 2/11). My comments relate to Victorian government schools. The ENTER score required to get into teaching courses needs to be lifted to ensure that better candidates apply.Also, it is debateable that having a master's degree alone improves teacher quality. These degrees vary in quality. Moreover, focusing on completing a master's degree while working as a teacher takes time and effort which ought to be directed at more thorough preparation and correction for the classroom.In the short-term, teachers could be relieved of onerous administration tasks, releasing them for further professional study. And in a more perfect world, less of my retirement time would be spent doing data-driven marking for the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and more spent on strengthening the literacy skills of weak students.Jenny Debney, former teacher,Lake GardensHorrific mutilationGOOD on you, Princess Alia of Jordan (Comment & Debate, 2/11) for advocating for the humane treatment of animals during slaughter. I applaud your view that "a conscious decision to cause an animal pain is in essence a loss of humanity".You point out that under Islamic teachings, the mutilation of animals is forbidden. But it seems that the same standard does not apply to the young women and girls of Jordan, Egypt and other countries who are subject to female genital mutilation. Will you use your position to advocate for them too?Katherine Iliopoulos, WilliamstownWest's hypocrisyTWO weeks ago, the United States and European leaders persuaded Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai to accept a second round of voting, when it was discovered that a third of votes in his favour were fraudulent. Thanks to Karzai's only challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, for pulling out of the race, the above leaders are taking turn to congratulate Karzai on his re-election (World, 3/11). What hypocrisy. If the reason for holding a second round was to restore legitimacy to the elected government, how does cancelling it two weeks later make it more legitimate?The West has missed an opportunity to persuade Abdullah to change his mind, and Karzai, who was expected to win, to promise to include members of the opposition in his government. Those warlords and drug barons, who delivered Karzai's votes in the first round, cannot believe their luck: they will continue to milk the country of the aid that is intended to benefit Afghans. By propping up an illegitimate regime, the West has admitted defeat in Afghanistan.Sam Nona, Burradoo, NSWLong slog to be GPsI TEACH English to doctors who have migrated from overseas, many of whom aspire to become GPs here. Having passed Australia's requisite medical, clinical and English exams, they are then required to secure a position in a public hospital. After that, they may undertake GP training over one to two years.The reality is a bottleneck in the public system �� too many applicants and insufficient funding for their supervision and training. It is sobering to hear a student's point of view: "A waste of time and money." Being a burden on the taxpayer is insupportable to these highly qualified and motivated doctors-in-waiting.The feeling of impotence, plus a lack of formal advocacy, diminishes bright and optimistic individuals who have much to contribute. There is a risk these aspiring doctors will become patients themselves. This is too ridiculous to contemplate. GPs are in short supply. Surely, this situation begs for urgent review for all concerned.Jacquelyn Berry, ArmadalePro-nuclear powerCONSTANT references by anti-nuclear power scaremongers to the Chernobyl disaster (Letters, 3/11) show how hard-pressed they are to find reasonable grounds of objection. To compare current technologies to Soviet era times of 30 years ago is like equating today's hybrid cars to the dirty old Trabants of yesteryear. Are we to believe that nuclear power is the only technology not to have advanced in 30 years?Peter Rushen, CarnegieBikes and mykiA PUBLIC bicycle scheme (The Age, 2/11) will be terrific for Melbourne. I have used the practical and stylish JCDecaux system in Paris and it works extremely well. But you have to question why the new public transport smartcard myki is not a payment option. Not only would this assist in the take-up of the new ticketing system, it would also be more convenient, with hire of the bikes guaranteed by credit card via myki.Transport Minister Lynne Kosky should open as many doors as possible to enable myki's success. When I am in Hong Kong, I use my Octopus card to pay for train, tram and bus journeys as well as the local newspaper, coffee and other purchases from 7-Eleven stores. I can also top up my card there.Andrew Heslop, Kingston, ACTIs anyone there?IT IS little wonder Myer shares made a disappointing debut (Businessday, 3/11) if my experience at the store on Sunday was anything to judge by. Armed with my Myer One card, I headed to the men's department to purchase a new shirt. The reality could not have been any further from the glossy marketing that accompanied the share offer.Not a single salesperson was in the men's section, bar two overworked cashiers. Change rooms were inconveniently located on the opposite side of the store with long queues. Piles of discarded clothes and packaging were scattered through the cubicles. One disenchanted customer tried on shirts, barechested, in full view of customers with the only assistance provided by his wife. One wonders if Myer One was so called because the "One" refers to the number of staff employed per floor, or what their share price will be worth shortly?Gerard Kennedy, Port MelbourneGive us a laughWHO'S the killjoy who rearranged the Mind Games page and took out Zits? Our brains might need a shake-up, but surely the five or six mind games you had before was sufficient for this. How much time do we have anyway? Just as importantly, we also need a smile in the morning. Bring back the comics.Peter Haydock