RATHER GO TO THE DENTIST
I was forced to visit the Centrelink office in Wollongong. What an experience! I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who suffered from high blood pressure or heart problems. I needed to make a basic Medicare claim. My Medicare card had been negated because "the system" or someone in the system decided my address was no longer my address. Resolving this simple matter took almost an hour and a half, and during that time I simply became a head of cattle in a large barn full of cattle.
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I traversed the line at the door to the reception counter where I was told to: "Sit down over there, and someone will call out your name" and was directed to a bank of seats off to the side. But it appears I and at least one other person shouldn't have been sitting there. There was another barn out the back of the building where my problem was to be dealt with and it appeared to have a different waiting area. During my long wait I noted at least three cattle, who had arrived after me, received attention. Over the next hour I became very confused and very angry. I didn't feel any anger at the Centrelink staff as they were working in a system which has clearly been process-engineered down to make maximum cost savings, and neutralise all remaining elements of customer service.
Eventually my problem and my apparent anger was proficiently dealt with. Nevertheless, if I had the choice I would rather go to a dentist for root canal work than ever go back to that place.
Richard Burnett, Wollongong
AM I DREAMING?
I don't know if I'm dreaming, but I heard that our Prime Minister had stopped all Islamic fighters from returning to Australia. Now I hear that they can't stop them coming back. Is this the same prime minister that did all the shouting before? Why do we let this crap happen to us.Send them back for goodness sake.
Lawrence Wren, Fairy Meadow
PERPLEXED AND DISGUSTED
I would imagine I am not the only reader of your paper who is perplexed and disgusted at the conclusions reached by Aloysia Brooks’ thesis which suggest that bee stings are more dangerous that terrorist attacks.
Whilst that it bad enough her claim that the Federal Government has a “pro-torture ideology” is just unmitigated garbage. A dictionary definition of torture is “the act or fact of inflicting very severe pain or suffering “.
Mental suffering is easily professed by the person complaining and as such, reading these stupid conclusions is causing me mental torture. Although the conclusions of Ms Brooks are unlikely be as dangerous as those of Judy Wilyman who, I assume is the other person you alluded to as being Brian Martins (At UOW ) notorious doctoral candidate. Her association of vaccines causing autism is some sort of hairy presumption which has been investigated thoroughly in the UK and dismissed as a case of coincidence and not cause.
Roger Parrish, Figtree
REMEMBERING MIRKO
In response to the page four article by Andrew Pearson `Last stop on Mirko's ride of a lifetime’ (Illawarra Mercury, Monday May 29, 201), many knew Mr Mirko Damcevski as 'Michael' who has earned his retirement and the admiration of many passenger who became his friends.
His friendly smile and joyful personality made Michael a winner. With no disrespect to Dion's other drivers, the article correctly implies passengers looked to get on his bus. My late mother and myself will always remember the kindness, dignity and respect he gave us, and may I say that is how he treated the passengers "like they were a person, not a number". It was a winning formula. I wish him all the best and may God bless him for the kindness and respect he has shown others.
Adrian Devlin, Fairy Meadow
