Peter Scutt's excellent opinion piece, "Does a union want less pay for workers?" (May 29, p 22) argues that, by enabling citizens to act as independent contractors when they provide help to disabled or aged people in need, it can facilitate the very thing many of us need most. That is a local person who will be flexible, fit their skills with the needs of their needy neighbour, and most of all, become a reliable friend.
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There is plenty of research that supports this health-giving quality of friendship, yet sadly we are discovering that government-funded care platforms - which seem to roster workers on the needs of the business - cannot provide the opportunities for friendship we need for our survival, both physically and emotionally.
Yes, contract workers do miss out on sick leave, accident insurance, superannuation and holidays but, while championing these rights, the union movement must not overlook the human need to get to know the helper.
Too often we hear disturbing reports of unacceptably changeable care given in aged care packages.
Such care needs to be an expression of a profound and responsive relationship based on an intimacy which can only be established as two people learn about each others' strengths and weaknesses. Peter Scutt's organisation, Mable, has found one way to do this so its arguments need to be taken seriously.
Jill Sutton, Watson
This doesn't stack up
Eric Hunter appears to suggest (Letters, May 29) one reason why the ABC has no conservatives could be due to a lack of funding from the Coalition government.
Labor have been in for a year now and upped the funding. But I still can't find a conservative on the ABC.
The ABC is taxpayer-funded and meant to provide an unbiased coverage of the news to their viewers.
They are also meant to be impartial and represent all of the people of Australia.
Ian Pilsner, Weston
Cheesed off
The funniest comment of the week came from the Channel 7 newsreader who said "and now to one of the world's greatest sporting events". The event? Cheese rolling in the UK. People throw themselves down a hill after a rolling cheese. The prize? A large round cheese. People break bones in the pursuit of cheese and glory.
The winner of the women's race passed the line concussed and doesn't remember finishing in her quest for cheesy gold.
The bar for great sporting events gets lower under the weight of giant Edam.
Will snail racing become the next "great sporting event"?
Perhaps they could carry cheese.
Ian Jannaway, Monash
Please explain
How is it that the estranged wife of a Perth bikie, convicted of drug-dealing, has her home confiscated under the proceeds of crime legislation, while James Packer sleeps in own bed with the $8 billion from the sale of his money-laundering casinos?
And why is it fine for taxpayers to pay the tax-dodging PWC to be the voice of the executive but not for First Nations people to have their voice to the executive enshrined in the constitution?
Humphrey McQueen, Griffith
No surprises here
Your article "Alarming e-scooter stats" (canberratimes.com.au, May 28) was hardly a revelation. The fact that 51 users required hospitalisation over 10 months, and that 20 per cent of these were clinically intoxicated, is no surprise.
Perhaps the only surprise was the estimate that "only" 34 per cent of riders were not wearing helmets. Any survey of riders through O'Connor would suggest helmet-wearers are definitely in the minority.
The article also suggested that in December 2020 and November 2021 police had a "blitz" on e-scooter offences, resulting in 20 and 27 offences, respectively, for these months.
In your May 13 edition you reported how Brisbane police issued 90 e-scooter offences in a one-day blitz in the CBD. What is the point of having significant fines for offences if they are just not going to be enforced?
Stephen Barnett, O'Connor
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