Canberra Times Letters to the Editor: Poker machine wish-list fails to gain support from powers that be

Some time ago we had a wish-list of suggestions on poker machine reform by a bi-partisan committee appointed by our Legislative Assembly.

It made no impact at all on the ACT government and all but one of the many reforms were rejected by Joy Burch, who is a fervent poker machine club supporter.

Originally poker machines were intended to help finance clubs and with what was left over support the community they lived off. At the moment they are to a large extent controlled by small groups of directors who use the apathy of club members and any stratagem they can devise to stay in control.

Club constitutions ban directors from receiving payment. The spirit of this is ignored in at least two of the bigger clubs where they use a play on words to pay directors handsomely.

The levy on net income from poker machines is also avoided to varying extents by most clubs. One of the suggestions put to the bipartisan committee was that the levy be collected and distributed by an independent body. It would be made up of various charitable organisations such as St Vinnies. The ACT government would contribute an equal amount to that collected from levies from their share of poker machine taxes.

Poker machines would still be the worst popular form of gambling but at least the community would get a positive return from the misery they cause.

Like The Canberra Times I cannot see that occurring while the two major parties control political power in the ACT. Next election, consider voting for a worthy independent.

Howard Carew, Isaacs

I am seriously considering moving to Gungahlin to reap the benefits lavished on the area with the advent of the light rail, plus the largest portion of education spending going to local schools. Added to this will be the savings on stamp duty for my new home.

As a resident of Yarralumla it is assumed that I have plenty of money to pay my ever-increasing rates to fund Mr Barr's vote-getting projects. Sadly, since the electoral redistribution, my vote counts for little as the inner south and the more heavily populated inner north are now united in a very shaky union.

Jeanette Swayn, Yarralumla

People in Canberra and throughout the ACT are rightly appalled at the light sentence handed out in the case of the Higgins woman who was convicted of not seeking help for a dog named Khan, who was seriously injured and neglected.

Officers were called after reports that the dog was tied to a tree with no shelter or water available. When Khan was taken to the RSPCA, he was found to have serious injuries, including a deep wound around his neck from being tied up for too long, with a chain almost fully embedded into the flesh of his neck. He was also underweight, fly bitten and had facial scabs and grazes.

The sentence, a one-year good behaviour bond and prohibition from owning animals for five years, does not reflect the severity of the cruelty proven in this case.

Penalties for cases of cruelty and neglect are quite inadequate, and even so are rarely imposed to the full extent of the law – under the ACT Animal Welfare Act, animal cruelty can result in fines of $22,000 or imprisonment for up to two years. At the very least, cases of serious neglect should lead to a lifetime ban on the offender having animals.

Cruelty to animals is a serious crime that must be taken seriously. If you suspect someone of abusing an animal, report it to authorities right away for the safety of the entire community.

Ashley Fruno, associate director, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Sydney

Jevon Kinder (letters, June 6) asks how Andrew Barr's bag "ban" was working. The bag ban was on the thin, free, single use, non-recyclable or reusable bags. How it works depends on all consumers following through.

The thick bags can be re-used many times, so long as you remember to bring them when you shop.

Better, washable, woven bags can be bought from most supermarkets and other outlets. According to Price Theory, a charge on the bags encourages the purchaser to use the bags again, rather than tossing away into landfill.

When buying fruit and vegetables, only small items such as peas, beans, cherries and grapes need to go in a small, thin, plastic bag. Larger items such as potatoes, carrots, apples and bananas can go into the shopping basket and then straight into the shopping bag. If small bags are needed, they can be rinsed or washed and reused. It's up to all of us, Jevon, not just the government.

E.Smith, Page

Both Bogey Musidiak and Frank Marris (letters, June 6) express their support of the Hare-Clarke system currently in use for ACT elections. I contend that the Hare-Clarke system is very flawed and denies voters their basic rights.

Currently in the ACT there are five 5-member electorates – that is, each voter has the right and task of electing five members out of however many candidates are standing. Under Hare-Clarke, each voter must make a preference choice after the first candidate he/she chooses.

In logical terms the voter is forced to say "I want Candidate A then Candidate B then Candidate C then Candidate D then Candidate E as my five members and in that order." This is fundamentally wrong. In each electorate, the voter should be able to say, in logical terms, "I want Candidate A and Candidate B and Candidate C and Candidate D and Candidate E as my five members and in no particular order."

Thus, instead of marking the voting paper with 1-5 (for the five candidates you want elected, perforce in that order), you would mark the voting paper "1", "1", "1", "1", "1" (for the five candidates you want elected and in no particular order).

There could still be a quota system for election, with (probably) a modified counting system. My argument also holds good for the Senate.

Paul E. Bowler, Holder

It seems that Douglas Mackenzie is a member of that fundamentalist religion concerning catastrophic anthropogenic climate change (Letters, June 6). He seems not to realise that the climate has always changed and accusing others of not recognising that fact is just a straw man argument.

Of course instead of claiming that there is overwhelming scientific evidence showing it to be a real threat, he might elucidate some of that proof.

No one has managed provide proof yet! There is a heavy reliance on authority and opinion that are claimed to be proof but are only arguments from authority and of no account in science.

He might be interested in the fact that most of those who signed the Paris Accord have their noses in the trough and are hoping to be given huge amounts of money from the Green Climate Change fund, which by the way, will be much smaller without the USA's involvement. Bad luck, that.

Douglas, take your rosy glasses off and see the world as it is. The renewables that you mentioned are entirely dependent on huge subsidies to exist (called the Renewable Energy Target). Do you doubt that all new renewables would cease the moment that the RET was rescinded?

Renewables do not facilitate employment but rather the opposite.

Just look at South Australia, the state with the greatest amount of renewables has the highest unemployment. They go together, or hadn't you noticed? Increasing the retail price of electricity does not encourage employment as it is an overhead which makes the business uncompetitive.

It is interesting that SA is going to use fossil-fuelled generators in the hope of keeping the lights on. And they so often repeated that the wind generators were not at fault for the SA blackouts. Their actions speak louder than words!

John McKerral, Batemans Bay

This government tries hard to distance itself from the Fair Work Commission's decision to cut penalty rates ("Sunday penalty rate cuts to be phased in", CT, June 6, p6) but no one would deny that it encouraged such a decision from the outset.

The commission is painted as an independent entity and attempts to soften the blow to weekend workers by extending the full implementation period of its decision to 2020. That should give the workers plenty of time to adjust to the massive wages cut they will have experienced.

Minister Cash points out that it will only be 3-4 per cent of the workforce who will feel the impact of the cuts (therefore their welfare is of little concern?) but she does not refer to the timing of the next election, conveniently falling before the full implementation.

Don't let anyone forget that while the "insignificant" number of workers have their wages cut, this government has overseen the greatest tax cut for the business end of town after they enjoyed a 40 per cent profit this year.

Robbing the poor to over-feed the rich. Where's the balance?

W. Book, Hackett

John Clarke (Letters, June 6) comments on Rex Williams (Letters, June 3) but is John aware that Australia is slowly adopting American printed words and vocal speech?

Witness the number of times a celebrity is coming "Down Under" and the number of times someone "met with" another person.

And don't get me going on pronunciation, with such renderings as "Sarah Moanie"!

Ken McPhan, Spence

In his letter "Religious Motives" (Letters, June 6) Lee Welling mistakes pretext for motivation.

Just as the Crusaders plundered and murdered their way through what is now the Middle East in the name of their god, so ISIS uses the name of its god as a cover for its dastardly deeds, motivated in large part, according to the former heads of the CIA and MI5, by the West's policies in the Middle East.

Pentagon officials told then secretary of state Donald Rumsfeld in 2014: "Muslims do not 'hate our freedom' but rather, they hate our policies."

To blame it on religion is a simple way to explain complex things to a generally uninformed populace and to avoid uncomfortable truths.

J. Atkins, Curtin

I am getting confused; is Xenophobia a problem of attitude towards Nic Xenophon? I think Nic Xenophon the best politician we have up there on the hill.

And homophobia? Is that a phobia of homosapiens? I definitely have that. I much prefer bees and ducks and platypus to human beings.

Then of course there's Islamophobia and now the latest: Russophobia.

I wonder what the next phobia we will be accused of?

I am more and more baffled every day.

P.A.Upward, O'Connor

Following the announcement that Adani would proceed with its mega-coal mine, I listened with growing rage to an interview with Townsville mayor Jenny Hill.

She was happy with the jobs it would provide, she said, without spelling out how many there would be, other than immediately.

She failed to accept there might be environmental considerations, jobs was the only issue. She failed totally to acknowledge the potential loss of 50,000 tourism jobs if the Great Barrier Reef is lost, a real possibility if we go to two degrees warming thanks to the Adani mine.

Why do we elect such profoundly short-sighted, ignorant people?

This is a matter that will affect the world's climate and life on Earth as we know it.

Jenny Goldie, Michelago

TRY A BUTTS REFUND

The suggestion that refunds be given for the return of recyclable items such as bottles should be taken a step further. Smokers should return their butts to the shop where the tobacco was purchased and receive a refund.

This would stop the prolific littering caused by cigarette butts.

Dr Alan Shroot, president, Canberra Action on Smoking and Health

CLIMATE CHANGE

Catherine Moore reminded us that plenty of climate change denialists, apparently including President Trump, believe in climate change, just not human-induced climate change (Letters, June 7).

It is possible that the real problem for most high-profile climate change denialists is the effectiveness of the Paris accord and similar proposals to alter a bleak future.

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor

TERRORISTS NOT LOSING

Turnbull, May and Trump keep telling us the terrorists won't win. Well, they don't seem to be losing either.

Doug Hodgson, Pearce

PARIS A BAD DEAL

America may be out of the Paris climate agreement,but Paris was a bad deal for Western nations, who are supposed to pay developing countries billions. No wonder developing nations signed up.

Rod Matthews, Fairfield, VIC

CARAVAN OWNERS WIN

Thank you Andrew Barr, my rates have gone up between 60 and 70 per cent since 2012. I notice caravan registration has been reduced. The way the ACT resident has been taxed we will all be living in caravans because of the money we have given to support the Barr government's folly of spending taxpayers' money on trams etc.

Peter Richards, Kambah

HUMANE? I THINK NOT

Dear me, Mike Dallwitz (Letters, June 7). First, look out your window – lush green grass everywhere. Second, seeing an animal who might be hungry, let alone finding one that was starving or ill, is your best "humane" option to shoot him/her? I truly wish your cat/dog/budgie a healthy life.

Mike O'Shaughnessy, Spence

UNWANTED VISITOR

Nick Stuparich (Letters, June 6) likens abortion to capital punishment, whereas a closer analogy can be found in criminal trespassing. If another human moves into your house uninvited and starts eating your food you can call the police and have them removed. Why then should somebody living in your womb uninvited be able to stay as long as they like?

James Allan, Narrabundah

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