FIT FOR THE FUTURE
It is no surprise to me that the former General Manager of Wollongong City Council Rod Oxley is upset that the merger with Shellharbour City Council may not go ahead (“Stick with mergers”, Illawarra Mercury, February 8, 2017).
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He was an advocate for the northern council absorbing Shellharbour City 20 years ago which was a bad idea then too.
I’d be interested to know what Mr Oxley sees as the benefits for the people of Shellharbour City in his merger scenario. Has he even read our submission to the delegate?
The reason councillors are opposed to the idea is because 76 per cent of the residents of Shellharbour City don’t want it to proceed.
The reason the community is opposed is because they understand that creating a bigger council would mean diluting their representation, spreading their rate paid dollars across a much larger area and shifting the focus of their council to the north.
Shellharbour City Council is completely devoted to its community and is managed by capable staff who have ensured that we are fit for the future and financially sustainable.
If there was any benefit to the community in merging these councils then we would be the first to support it.
Mayor of Shellharbour City, Cr Marianne Saliba
IN DENIAL
In response to the letter by Doug Steley ("Gutless wonders, Illawarra Mercury, Tuesday, February 7, 2017., using the violent attack near the Wollongong Mosque to criticise and degrade those politicians like Pauline Hanson, Cory Bernardi, George Christensen and radio presenters on 2GB is a low act.
The Islamic State has declared jihad on western civilisation and encouraged both group and lone wolf attacks.
Man Monis an Iranian-born cleric showed his disdain for our values, freedom and democracy by sending hate mail to the families of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
However, Man Haron Monis could not have been more clear about his intentions the day he walked into the Lindt coffee shop with a shotgun while wearing a headband bearing the war cry "We are ready to sacrifice for you, O Muhammad".
And what about 15-year-old boy who visited a local mosque prior to shooting police employee Curtis Cheng in the back of the head outside the force's headquarters at Parramatta?
Denial of Islamic fundamentalism puts us and other western nations in danger. Wake up.
Adrian Devlin, Fairy Meadow
JUST DOESN’T MAKE SENSE
How could cutting company taxes by $50 billion, as proposed by the Turnbull Government, be the best way to create jobs?
It doesn’t make sense.
It is spending that creates jobs.
\If I spend $500 on some plumbing, the plumber will spend most of this addition to his income on something else and so it will go on.
One person’s spending is another person’s income.
This is how jobs are created. It’s called the multiplier effect.
Poor people spend nearly all of their income. They have to in order to survive.
The people least likely to spend any increase in their incomes are rich people.
They’re more likely to save it. It makes them richer and they like getting richer.
The gap between rich and poor in Australia is an ever-widening one.
The best way to create jobs in Australia is to increase the spending power of the poor, not the wealthy.
Giving $50 billion to the top end of town in the form of company tax cuts is the way to increase profits, not create jobs.
It’s not economics.
It’s common sense.
John Martin, Woonona
