A SCARE CAMPAIGN?
Your story on June 15 in regard to the "Our Turn To Care" public meeting held at Wollongong Town Hall bears further scrutiny.
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As a concerned member of the public, having witnessed at first hand the strains on the system of aged care, I attended the meeting hoping to find out the truth about the issue into the future.
Instead what transpired was a litany of mistruths and misleading statements about the system, all of the problems of the system being the fault of the current Government and Prime Minister.
I almost fell off my chair when South Coast Labour Council chief, Arthur Rorris explained the poor attendance at the meeting was perhaps due to bullying by employers. The answer seemed to be to threaten further bullying of employers?
An example of what I perceive is misinformation is a statement by the main speaker, Gerard Hayes, secretary of the Health Services Union (HSU), that there had been $2billion in cuts to the system. Having researched the last two Budgets, prior to the event, I was aware that there had been significant increases for the sector in both Budgets, the most recent showing a $5billion increase.
As there was no provision for questions from the public at this so-called "public forum" I challenged Mr Hayes privately after the event and was promised that he would provide details of his statement of a "$2billion cut" by "tomorrow". Alas this has not been the case.
One can only assume that the "Our Turn To Care" is merely a front for another misleading campaign by the HSU similar to the "Mediscare" campaign of the 2016 election when, presumably HSU members in nurses and paramedic uniforms, handed out fake Medicare cards.
One would expect that a union which has been exposed for significant issues in Governance and it's clearly deceptive conduct in alliance with the Labor Party at the last Federal election would be seeking to improve it's credibility rather than its executive members becoming involved in further questionable campaigns.
We all know that Medicare has not been sold and there is no evidence to back the claims of Labor and the HSU; in fact my research showed that the funding has increased significantly with a wider range of medicines now being available on the PBS.
I do not dispute that there are significant problems within Aged Care services in our community but solutions can be achieved without resort to lies and deception. Such deceptive conduct should be exposed.
David Gray, Cordeaux Heights
END BARBARIC EXPORT
The obvious answer to live animal export, is banning it, of course.
There’s no dilemma here at all. The evidence concerning the welfare of animals in the ‘voyage’ is beyond shocking.
There needs to be a more humane treatment of animals, and the obvious outcome out of this is only positive for the local Australian community, in terms of creating more job opportunities.
Most importantly, it also means that the animals no longer suffer.
The government needs to step up and do the right thing, something that should have been done a long time ago.
But the delay is hardly a surprise, coming from a government with their barbaric treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in offshore detention centres.
Narayan Khanal, North Wollongong
A BIBLE OF SORTS
I had a phone call from someone asking if I was religious?
I replied: “ Well I go to church to attend weddings and funerals in respect for friends and family.”
Any other religious information I read in the Mercury letters occasionally.
Have a nice day.
Mick Chamberlain, Dapto