AN EXPENDITURE PROBLEM
In response to the letter by Ben Morris (Illawarra Mercury, Saturday, July 16, 2016), you are wrong, Mr Morris.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Turnbull Government does not have a revenue problem, but an expenditure one. Revenue has risen significantly over the past decade, however expenditure has risen even more. We are not living within our means, but above our means and on borrowed money.
Medicare is not "free" because approximately $11 billion of taxpayers money cover the expenses each year. To insinuate that the Coalition only want to please their rich masters referring too private health funds and private hospitals is simply, just garbage.
Remember, Mr Morris the Abbott/Hockey budget did not pass the parliament which means it is not legislated, which means the increased costs cannot be implemented. And as a disability pensioner I have undergone four operations within the last 17 years. Some of the operations required x-rays and other tests before and after surgery and yet I paid nothing.
Adrian Devlin, Fairy Meadow
BOUND FOR TROUBLE
From what I have seen so far this new Pokemon craze/game is dangerous and is bound to cause more trouble in the future.
Bev Wood, Kanahooka
AREAS NEED PROTECTION
I was born in Wollongong and moved to the Southern Highlands nine years ago.
Wollongong was once a lovely place however, over the years, it has been ruined by inappropriate development.
Commissioner Simpson's Inquiry (COI 1998/99) into Illawarra Escarpment Planning and management, found Wollongong Council had no independent studies on which to base its planning. ie it relied on the studies of developers. After the independent studies were supplied and detailed consultations / mapping and resources provided (following the COI) nothing seems to have changed. Poor decisions are still being made 18 years hence.
Residents still contact me when they are concerned regarding poor planning decisions.
Three areas are obvious at the moment - Mt Keira, Farmborough Heights and the Albion Park flood plain.
Apparently Mt Keira is being considered for development with gondolas etc. This type of use is totally out of character with the Aboriginal significance of the mountain coupled with Its instability, its conservation value and its scenic lookouts.
The second area earmarked for development , the Farmborough Heights land, is high farmland and should be kept as a buffer to the Escarpment lands above. These farmlands are also useful for food production.
The third area, opposite Tullinbah, is currently being bulldozed and one of the best farming areas on the South Coast. Magnificent alluvial soil is being excavated for housing development.
We need to retain good food producing land close to large populations but the Wollongong and Shellharbour councils do not appear to understand what sustainable development means.
June Pronk, Southern Highlands
SHOW THE STATISTICS
The article entitled “Public Transport is Safer” (Illawarra Mercury, July 9, 2016), consisted of comments from the police officer in charge of the south-west sector of the Police Transport Command.
However, no information was provided to demonstrate that public transport in the area is, in fact, safer.
It should be quite easy to use crime statistics to support the statement but none were provided.
Perhaps Chief Inspector Craig James can supply the relevant statistics in response to this letter?
Bronwyn Bryceson, Mangerton