Ethologist and Nobel Prize winner Konrad Lorenz once said that the yardstick of how high a civilised society has developed is to observe how it treats its animals.
The more respect, consideration and care, the higher the level of development. We cannot brag to have reached anywhere near this level in the ACT, especially during the Queen's birthday long weekend in June.
Our beautiful city turns into a war zone, with loud explosions lasting for a full four days, a lot of material damage and loss of animal life.
Every year we hear, '' Tighter regulations will be put in place ... blah, blah, blah.''
Does anyone care about those regulations?
They only exist on paper and not in reality.
Does the handful of brainless culprits pyro freaks give a hoot? Mr Barr has spoken of ''allowing people to enjoy fireworks''.
How utterly ignorant, considering all the consequences this enjoyment costs.
What kind of a society are we, allowing this slaughter, this horrendous act of stupid cruelty to carry on year after year?
I know I am not alone feeling this anger, disgust and dismay.
Let's put a stop once and forever to this StoneAge-like legacy and emerge as a compassionate and safe place for everybody.
If people want to enjoy fireworks, let's have it under controlled measures, maybe on a few ovals around the city where professional pyrotechnicians run the show, and that during certain hours. Make it a family event, enjoyable and acceptable for all of us.
M. Parer, Fraser
A unified PS
The public sector union has criticised the fact that each public service department negotiates pay agreements with its own employees, so that there are more than 100 separate pay agreements, instead of one for the public service as a whole (''Union call for single PS wage agreement'', May 5, p6). The criticism is justified.
Apart from the tremendous administrative costs of negotiating and administering more than 100 agreements instead of one, it's ridiculous to pretend that each department's employees are ''self-contained'', and not simply part of an overall public service. As the Public Service Commissioner herself has said, these dispersed pay deals affect (meaning ''are contrary to'') ''the concept of the APS as one career service''. The present arrangements were probably introduced by competition enthusiasts, who saw it as beneficial if departments competed with each other for staff.
While competition is a good thing in business if it leads to greater efficiencies, better resource use and lower costs and prices, that's not the situation here. It's an example of the fact that competition can be pushed too far.
R.S. Gilbert, Braddon
What democracy?
A recent survey commissioned by the action group, Do Something, has found that 83 per cent of respondents want a nationwide ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags, 96 per cent want South Australia's 10-cent container deposit to be national, and nearly 90 per cent of the 1000 people surveyed want new laws to force distributors and manufacturers to recycle electronic waste.
Surely if our democratic system of government really works in the interests of those other than vested interest groups, these survey results should result in government action that affirms the wishes of the vast majority of the Australian population Buckleys and Nunn.
As for any action that threatens gross profits by the banks on the backs of ordinary people struggling to survive from day to day, hell shall freeze over thrice.
They need all that money to be healthy, vibrant and good corporate citizens oops ... and wealthy.
It's all in our interest anyway, I hope you know.
Patrick O'Hara, Farrer
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