Do The Nationals share DNA with dinosaurs?
I REFER to the letter in the Guardian (November 5) by Peter Clutterbuck, expressing concern about the anti-vaccination position allegedly held by Anne Webster, Nationals MP for the Mallee, evident by her support for a petition against vaccination.
It is unfortunate that Anne has created this inconsistency – she should end the debate by simply expressing her view either for or against mandated vaccinations.
Yet the real problem I suspect is not Anne Webster, because by all account she is a nice person, but the issues about her flip-flopping, inconsistency, and lack of judgement is probably caused by her head office masters.
Types like Barnaby Joyce in the National Party, who continue to wallow in mud from a past bygone era that puts them out of touch with modern society and reality.
We, the constituents of the Mallee, simply need better representation.
During this era of climate change and the issues affecting Pacific Islanders and Australia, The Nationals have dragged their feet without any convincing proposition or statement about the future.
Extraordinary green energy opportunities lay dormant in the policy making process of The National Party.
Anne Webster and other Nationals are hanging onto outdated hackneyed views, as per a quote from them saying, “Solar panels don’t work in the dark and neither do our windfarms.”
Yet during this global emergency I have not heard one positive suggestion by the Nats, no reference to technology or new clean energy options.
No reference to plasma-created cheap energy efficiency options.
As we see small towns in the Mallee close down with job losses, there exists significant green energy options and wind technology opportunities to create jobs and strengthen communities.
And the Nats’ reliance on coal and other dirty fossils seems to mean nothing.
Because theirs is about a philosophical position, just like the anti-vaccination crusade by zealots in the far right.
With The Nationals, progress and innovation are an anthema – so lets do a DNA test on their MPs, just to see if they are dinosaurs?
Alan Hollway, SWAN HILL.
Bus shelter wanted on Stradbroke Avenue
I HAVE received notice from the SHRCC that the bus shelter proposed for Stradbroke Avenue would not proceed, even after Public Transport Victoria approval.
I am very disappointed for the residents in that area.
They are being denied a service already received by a majority of other residents.
The need is urgent and becoming more so during delays.
They will, still, have to face the frustration of walking long distances to the medical clinics, due to parking congestion in streets adjacent to these facilities.
There are bus stops, right at the clinics!
Access to shopping in high peak periods, and being able to socialise, will remain inconvenient, in addition to many other social benefits taken for granted by those fortunate enough to have a bus service available to them.
An alternative plan has been submitted to council, which would prove less costly, would not intrude on existing services, and will cause less disruption to traffic during construction.
Thank you to all the people who assisted in signing petitions, and still enquire about the Stradbroke Avenue bus shelter.
I regret to inform you we still don’t have that service.
The new suggestion will have the proposed bus shelter on the football ground side of the road.
Margaret Cooper, SWAN HILL.
Concern over Premier’s pandemic policy
THE outpouring of anger at the Premier’s latest pandemic power grab speaks volumes.
I’ve been inundated by thousands of distressed Victorians outraged at new legislation Daniel Andrews recently rammed through the Labor-controlled lower house of State Parliament.
The legislation – if passed by the upper house – will give the Victorian Premier of the day the power to control the lives and livelihoods of all Victorians.
This Bill allows the Premier to make a statewide pandemic declaration with the power to suspend people’s rights – even when there’s no trace of disease in our state.
Labor’s Bill has no mechanism for the Parliament to have any oversight of the government’s decisions.
When one of the state’s top lawyers says the “Stasi police would have been more than happy with the range of powers” this Bill confers, all Victorians should be worried.
The Nationals vehemently opposed the Andrews Government’s Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021 when it was voted on last week.
There’s some good news: the Bill is yet to go before the upper house, so it’s not too late to have your say.
I’m urging all regional Victorians to speak up against the Premier’s power grab by visiting www.laborspowergrab.com.au
This is not about whether you like or dislike Daniel Andrews.
It’s about the unlimited power handed to just one individual with no checks or balances.
Peter Walsh, LEADER OF THE NATIONALS and MEMBER FOR MURRAY PLAINS.
