PURE REVENUE RAISING
Your article about the speed camera outside The Illawarra Grammar School lacks detail (Camera’s school zone cash, Illawarra Mercury, August 11). In previous years, Mercury articles have pointed to the fact that most of the school zone fines were issued at the start of the school year when that private school is still on holidays.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Fining motorists travelling at less than the prevailing 60 km/h speed limit when no schoolchildren are present has nothing to do with road safety. Where are the injury/fatality statistics to confirm or otherwise that this speed camera is of any use whatsoever?
The camera software records the number of fines issued and this is reported as “revenue” by the NSW Office of State Revenue as quoted in your article. However, the government’s media release on which the Mercury article is based does not bother to report injury/fatality statistics or any trends. The total focus is on government revenue. That is not an acceptable standard of road safety management.
The Attorney-General in the Australian Capital Territory severely criticised the government for not bothering to record or analyse injury/fatality statistics in Canberra before and after camera installations.
So the government “taking the word” of a camera salesperson that speed cameras are a good thing is not acceptable to the Attorney-General in the ACT. Why isn’t the Attorney-General in NSW providing similar statements about the lack of speed camera justification to the people of NSW? We need a road safety policy in this state instead of a road revenue policy. Our lives depend on it.
Allan Pryor, Figtree
LABOR HAS LOST MEANING
In response to the letter by Keith Norris "By the Shorten Curlies” (Illawarra Mercury, August 12, 2017), congratulation to Mr Norris for his letter where he points out how Mr Shorten supported and defended a plebiscite on the important family and social issue of same-sex marriage.
Changing one's mind "too suit the moment" for the same-sex activists and LGBTIQ community doesn't show much credibility, but a lot of populist pandering. I particularly appreciate Mr Norris's final paragraph in which he makes clear that he had voted Labor most of his life until the Labor governments of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard respectively.
I take this further Mr Norris and suggest that the once great Australian Labor Party which stood for labourers and blue collar workers, stood for traditional marriage and family, and the rights of parents has been changed to such a degree the founders wouldn't recognise it.
And has been replaced by same-sex marriage and gender diversity activists, and global warming campaigners who sacrifice heavy industry and the jobs of blue collar workers. My late father joined the Labor Party in 1932 and remained a member until his death in 1979, but would walk away today as Labor have lost their meaning, foundation and focus.
Adrian Devlin, Fairy Meadow
AN UNSELFISH ACT?
It is nice to hear that Anthony Mundine is thinking of coming back to the St. George Illawarra Dragons which was originally St. George Dragons. In the intervening years he may have learnt how to and when to pass the bloody ball.
Ted Mitchell, Towradgi
A SILLY STUNT
The two Victorian councils that have irresponsibly undermined our institution of Australia Day, should be sacked as incompetent and not Australian. Along with any other council that tries this silly stunt. As far as I know, we are still a democratic society, so why not give the constituents of each council a choice by putting it to a vote. I think we all know what the outcome would be. Don’t waste the rate payers time and money. Leave Australia Day alone.
Steven Thomas, Shellharbour.
