Overwhelming bravery
I left the Queanbeyan Leagues Club on January 7 and was astonished and proud to see a Murray's bus full of firefighters from you know where - the good old USA.
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They are here to help with the fires in NSW and to see such young men and women coming from abroad to help out is overwhelming.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are brave, much braver then I could ever be and I give you my thanks and hope you stay safe whilst helping us.
They were going to Moruya and I hope the locals give them a good old Australian welcome. So locals lets turn it on for these wonderful people and our own RFS and hopefully get all those blasted fires out once and for all.
Love you all to bits.
Robyn Leigh, Queanbeyan
A golden example
The Golden Globes, a celebration of the best of TV and films, was a great success.
There were a number of mentions of the fires in Australia with many generous donations as well as a message from Russell Crowe who was actually fighting these fires.
It is interesting that people who spend their whole working life being fake people, the nature of acting, have such real compassion and concern for people that they may never meet. It's a pity that not all follow their example.
Their kindness and generosity will continue to help.
Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Vic
Refreshingly competent
Some thoughts on things associated with the bushfires: How much sleep has Shane Fitzsimmons had per night over the last few weeks?
He seems to be always giving press conferences and briefings, and is always able to get across multiple and very complex situations within very short time frames.
Maybe when (if ?) this is all over, the federal government could pay for him and his family to go on a holiday to Hawaii for a couple of weeks?
As for the ACT, how good is Georgeina ("Our Georgeina"?) Whelan, the Emergency Services Agency Commissioner.
Her briefing on the situation in the ACT was so refreshing and helpful - clear, articulate, relevant, devoid of spin - and in stark contrast to the usual unhelpful, motherhood statements of our elected representatives.
Gordon Fyfe, Kambah
Speaking from experience
Having lost everything in the Canberra bushfires in 2003 and knowing what my fellow Australians are going through in this awful time I acknowledge that climate change exists, indeed it did back in 2003!
The amount of ill-informed opinions about the cause of climate change that are flooding our airwaves is sickening.
The need to support 24/7 news and television broadcasts with high drama is not helping anyone.
We need to stop hearing unqualified opinions that are being used to fill a news hour and respect and support those who have the task to protect lives and property to do what they do best.
Patricia Parker, Duffy
Tactless tourism promotion
Surely any positives that may arise from our Prime Minister's latest and somewhat tactless tourism promotional efforts ("Scott Morrison is again effectively our tourism ambassador. That's really not for the best", canberratimes.com.au, January 9) will be completely negated by the ongoing international exposure and condemnation of the Coalition's climate change policies, and embarrassing public utterances abroad by political representatives like the prime ministers's good mate and unwavering climate change sceptic Craig "It's just a natural disaster" Kelly, MP.
When conservative English broadcaster Piers Morgan blasts on air an ultra-conservative politician like Kelly, the world knows that person must be a political write-off and must also be wondering about the value of visiting an otherwise developed country that refuses to try to lead the world on climate change science, mitigation of climate impacts, setting higher emissions reduction targets and adoption of renewable energy solutions.
Such leadership, if it ever came to pass, could itself provide innumerable tourism and learning locations and opportunities for overseas visitors, particularly in fire-ravaged regional areas that require rebuilding and economic rejuvenation.
Sue Dyer, Downer
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