A yearly Christmas discussion with my friends and family is when to take down the Christmas tree, decorations and lights. I remind them each year that there are 12 days of Christmas with the first day being Christmas Day (when Jesus was born) and runs through to the 12th day of Christmas on January 5, known as Epiphany Eve.
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This 12-day festive period marks the span between the birth of Christ and the coming of the three wise men. So the Christmas tree, decorations and lights should stay up for the whole period.
I also remind family and friends that the 12th day is the last day for decorations to be taken down, and it is held to be bad luck to leave decorations after this. And what about putting up decorations before Christmas Day?
This is OK because the four weeks preceding Christmas are collectively known as Advent (the waiting and preparation for the nativity of Jesus), which begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on December 24.
Why have I raised this issue? The Canberra Times had been publishing stories and addresses of Christmas lights on Canberra houses to celebrate Christmas. I visited one in Bonner on December 29 and there was nothing there. They had all been taken down. Others followed suit.
There are actually 12 days and nights of Christmas from December 25. Please keep the lights up longer to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.
Tony Falla, Ngunnawal
Disparity hits women
Shivani Gopal's article ("No sense marrying money", January 2, p20) shares some advice from Julia Banks, federal independent MP, encouraging women to seek financial independence.
It highlights the often ignored fact that having and raising children has a big impact (along with gender pay gaps and bias usually talked about) on many women's career progressions and superannuation earnings compared to most men's at retirement.
Sadly though, Julia seems to put all the responsibility for fixing this disparity squarely back on women's shoulders, ignoring that the workforce and super systems themselves, have not been designed with working mums (or stay-at-home fathers) in mind.
This points to a bigger issue around the need for a new system that values equally the "caring responsibilities" that have traditionally been and remain predominantly women's role. "Caring" is extremely valuable and vital for the health of our children, families and planet.
I'm forever indebted to the women who fought for the vote and equality in a male world, but it's time to shift focus and value traditionally female work; to remunerate it, superannuate it and ensure equality of opportunity there also.
Alison Coster, Jerrabomberra, NSW
Price hard to justify
Price of diesel fuel in Belconnen on Thursday – Coles 165.9¢, BP Jamison 149.9¢. Ten per cent is a big difference that would be hard to justify. Coles has seen the last of me.
Steven Hurren, Macquarie
A box of birds
I really like being a bird. Think of some of my advantages.
I can pretend to be a drone, relatively a noiseless one and the residents of Bonython are actually pleased to see me.
I am free of the burden of Mr Barr's increasing land and general taxes and I never have to pay a bond or stamp duty for my home. No McMansions for me, I am perfectly happy with a little tree hollow.
I used to like living high in the trees in Northbourne Avenue but just like the poor people living nearby, I became a nuisance (especially when I chirped an opinion to Mr Barr). We all had to move far away from city services. Home is a remnant tree near Kambah Pool for me now.
Some days I fly over the city watching all the cars carrying only single drivers banking up along the roads. No problem for me. I don't like the new tall buildings, I can remember when the trees were the highest things in the Bush Capital.
My best fun is perching on a ledge near the ACT Assembly building and cackling loudly at the rubbish spoken by the pollies in there. Caw caw caw!! And I can't wait to poop on the new light rail.
Free as a bird. That's me.
John Mungoven, Stirling
System costing us
T.J. Marks takes Gary Wilson to task for his insistence that the ACT government is no more than a town council (Letters, January 3). As Marks points out, our 25 members of the Legislative Assembly have a lot more to do than run a council. Unfortunately for us, these extra functions – mainly health, education and justice – are demonstrably inefficient in a small jurisdiction like the ACT. This is costing us dearly.
The ACT has to support almost the same core legislative and management framework as a large state like NSW, which has nearly 20 times the population and resources. The work involved in running health and education is enormous, and proportionally more so for our small population. Every day we see evidence that ACT health and education "departments' are not coping and not keeping up with larger states by any measure, despite punishingly high rates and taxes.
It makes no sense at all for our little government to duplicate the governance functions of NSW in these areas. What is the advantage?
Our hospitals and schools should be handed over to NSW. The result would be better health and education outcomes, better integration with surrounding NSW facilities, lower costs, reduced interface complexity between ACT and NSW and, crucially, more time for our Assembly members to deal with their remaining much-neglected town council responsibilities. Canberra might finally get workable town planning, city development, public transport, roads and parking, building regulation and parks and gardens. We might even get rid of the graffiti.
Julian Robinson, Narrabundah
T.J. Marks (Letters, January 3) takes Gary Wilson to task for referring to the ACT government as "our town council". I couldn't agree more. In the light of the multiple dodgy land deals, woeful oversight of the territory's building standards, the ACT's lacklustre NAPLAN results, the most expensive and least responsive health system in the country, the white elephant tram and obsession with homophilia, we should be calling it "our mickey mouse government".
Bronis Dudek, Calwell
T. J. Marks (Letters, January 3) urges Gary Wilson to desist from referring to the ACT government, as a "town council", listing its responsibility for education, health and other functions, as do the states, for a population of about 450,000.
The London County Council, with a population of several million, catered for similar needs from 1889 to 1965 before becoming the Greater London Council. Our own council might usefully note that in the 1930s LCC development focused on less-dense single-family homes because it was felt it was what the working classes preferred and would provide insurance "against Bolshevism".
Bill Deane, Chapman
Where are the gardens?
David Griffin (Letters, January 2) identifies why our city looks unkempt – "lack of park care".
Once we had a Department of Parks and Gardens, now it seems we no longer have gardeners. Just mowers and weed sprayers.
What an opportunity missed to create useful and valued jobs. It's just not the inner city that needs gardens. Try using the "green" space in older suburbs. Vast expanses of long grass, mowed sometimes, edges and around trees not trimmed, path edges overgrown, then mown grass left to dry in situ.
This is not attractive as a park. And don't even mention the median strips on our roads. Before taking submissions on the rejuvenation of Haig Park, first identify who is going to maintain it and how. Parks need gardeners.
Marie Wensing, Evatt
Pope's cartoon skills
I agree with Allan Gibson (Letters, January 3) about the extraordinary skill of cartoonist David Pope. He had big shoes to fill in following Geoff Pryor, but has strengthened The Canberra Times' fine tradition of bringing us the best of political cartoons. Thank you, David, for many LOL moments. Sue Wareham, Cook
Feeling the heat
I visited a Brumby's Bakery outlet on Thursday (35 degrees outside) and was served by a young female whose face was flushed. I inquired about the outlet's cooling. Two small fans was the answer. These working conditions are surely unacceptable in affluent Canberra in 2019. Who should be lobbying for change on behalf of this part-time worker?
Mardie Troth, O'Connor
Pill testing can help
John Barilaro ("Why parenting can't be outsourced to a pill tester", January 4, p18) seems to be repeating reactionary ideology, has not thought things through, and is being disingenuous. Surprise. The music festival drug users are of an age where they ignore boring authorities like politicians, police and parents, so what Michael Daley says is irrelevant.
At this stage parenting has already failed to prevent drug abuse, so pill testing is not "outsourcing parenting". Lastly, pill testing is not saying "it's OK to do drugs", it's a warning that drugs can be lethal.
Why do people take drugs of any kind, including booze and tobacco? Because they want to. Because their friends do, and their parents do, and because drug use is embedded in our culture: monkey see, monkey do.
Ultimately perhaps because our biology is susceptible to it. Of course, pill testing isn't the only thing that needs to be done. No one suggested it was. Yes, bust the dealers. Yes, improve parenting – but especially before kids become reckless teenagers.
Above all, and hardest of all, kill the stupid lie that it's good and fun to poison oneself with booze or tobacco or drugs. But why not do something relatively simple and cheap now that seems to save a few lives and give those silly people a chance of redemption? Or should we just let them die?
R. Neville, Fraser
Not stopping
Pill testing won't stop overdoses. Safe injecting rooms will not stop drug deaths. Seatbelts will not reduce road fatalities. Restrictive gun laws will not stop mass shootings. Swimming between the flags will not stop drownings. Close your mind and the truth of all the above becomes so much clearer. Objectivity and evidence-based policy only gets in the way of a strong, clear, conservative political vision. I'm sure that Alan Jones would agree.
Garry P Dalrymple, Earlwood, NSW
What could have been
As 2019 begins I wonder what Australia would be like if we had remained under a Gillard government instead of the mess of a government we currently have with three different leaders at its helm.
What a different progressive country we would have been: an NBN that works, a good climate change policy that also works, a fairer more equitable society and my blood pressure would remain stable instead of fluctuating madly every time I read some inept saying Scott Morrison is smugly imparting.
As I see it we have two people to thank for this current mess. First and foremost Tony Abbott for his deceit during the 2013 election, which his former chief of staff Peta Credlin has now admitted were lies, particularly pertaining to the carbon tax.
Then we have Kevin Rudd who undermined Ms Gillard at every opportunity whilst she was leader. He too must carry some of the blame. So here's hoping for an early election and a change of government, in the immortal words of Gough "it's time". We've wasted enough of it in the past five years.
Jan Gulliver, Lyneham
GST revenue
It may have been an "insane" decision giving the proposed GST revenue to the states as John Hewson gratuitously says ("Australia needs a redesign", January 3, p18), but politics is the art of the possible. That decision was a primary demand of the Democrats, the Green wreckers of the era, aided by their co-conspirators, the Labor party. Typically, now neither will give up the easy and efficient revenue the Liberals fought for and nearly lost government over in 1998.
Finally, I know how important it must be to not be seen as an old white geezer, in the interests of truth in advertising, John Hewson should consider providing a more up-to-date photograph to go with his articles. Say about 30years.
Christopher Smith, Braddon
Hot cross issue
Purveyors and purchasers of unseasonal hot cross buns are possibly overlooking the commemoration of sacrifice and resurrection associated with Easter. The Judaeo-Christian scriptures persistently and purposefully link food and spirituality.
Consider the divine encounter on Sinai by those who saw God and ate and drank (Exodus 24). Feasts should therefore be solemn and rare, asShakespeare's Sonnet 52 explains.
By all means let marketplaces sell fruit loaf all year, but hot cross buns really should be reserved for Easter.
David D'Lima, Sturt, SA
Palmer and the song
How long will it be before Clive Palmer can safely use Twisted Sister's lyrics without being sued ("Raft of 1920s culture now in public domain", January 3, p11)?
Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook, NSW
Plenty to chew on
I suspect that Frankie Seymour (Letters, January 3) is using claims of saving the environment to advance a particular view in relation to the use of animals to produce meat. Even if we accept her premise that all land not required for crop production be revegetated, what would be wrong with harvesting wildlife such as kangaroos from such areas provided this is done at sustainable levels.
Adopting this suggestion would remove large areas of land from food production as much of Australian agricultural land is not suitable for cropping let alone continuous cropping.
Such a suggestion also demonstrates a lack of understanding of the role of pastures in agricultural systems. Pastures offer benefits to soil's physical condition and can also be used to fix nitrogen to produce better crops without needing to use nitrogen produced from fossil fuels.
While pastures need to be grazed by animals to produce food for humans these need not be ruminants as non-ruminants such as pigs or chickens could beused.
Livestock can also be used to produce food from crop by-products or poor quality crops not fit for human consumption.
There is no doubt that reducing meat consumption could offer both health and environmental benefits but there is absolutely no need to completely remove animals from agricultural systems.
Those with philosophical objections to the use of animals to produce food can of course follow vegetarian or vegan diets but please stop using spurious environmental arguments to try to force these views on to the rest of society.
Jim Derrick, Florey
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