Big barrier bungle
Brendan Rees’ article (Residents call for removal of ‘unjustified’ road barriers, The News 18/12/24) is a balanced summary of the bewildering “Full Metal Motor Racing Circuit” treatment of Red Hill’s 60kmh hub. The shire seemingly forgot the Harvard Business School’s aphorism, “Consultants like to solve problems and can create them if none exist.”
Somebody will have to develop a super-creative vindication if BITRE (Bureau of Infrastructure & Transport Research Economics) assesses the Arthur Seat Road Black Spot project’s presumed benefit-to-cost ratio and actual crash data.
Best of luck with that.
Russell Kenery, Red Hill
Important issues
Several readers have expressed frustration over the lack of local letters in print, suggesting that national and political commentary should be reserved for larger outlets.
Local stories are more than just fillers; they are the heartbeat of a community, highlighting the unique concerns of residents and the ever-changing agendas of local councils.
These stories often provoke a mix of passion and debate within the community. Overlooking these aspects may lead to the loss of lively conversations that define and sustain the essence of local journalism.
Anne Kruger, Rye
Christmas effort
It was fantastic to see so many Mt Eliza residents and friends attend the “Christmas Carols in the Park” at the new location. The entertainment was great and a big thank you to the local chamber for the coordination of this successful event.
Likewise a BIG thank you to Sue Manson and her “40 Helpers” for again decorating the 70 trees in the village retail precinct. What an amazing effort! This was the third year for this volunteering group. Each participant adopts a tree and thus each decoration is designed specifically for the shape of their tree. This great band of volunteers created the easter display in 2022, and in 2024 they added the “Fairy House” project to their list.
Planning for Christmas 2025 is underway and hopefully in addition to the carols and tree decorating we can have a Christmas tree and some festival lighting installed in our great village. Thank you to our community for supporting these wonderful events.
Stephen Batty, Mt Eliza
Rude drivers
Why are the holiday people so rude on the road and especially supermarket car parks?
The number of times I have seen and berated these ignorant drivers for entering the car parks the wrong way is way to many.
Do they drive the wrong way up in their own area? I bet they don’t.
Doing u-turns on Pt Nepean road to go to the car wash is another of their entitled life practices that they think is ok.
I will continue to berate these ignorant people and shame them.
Gail McMillan, Rye
A noble cause
In response to Nicholas Green (South Beach rubbish, Letters 17/12/24), you did not fail.
I never want to hear or read you or anybody say they failed when they were trying to make a positive difference. We’re all on this planet together and together hopefully we will leave it in a better way than we found it for the next civilisation.
Call me idealistic but anything’s possible if we try together. Use litterstopper.com to make even more of a difference by feeding back data to industry.
We are all stewards of the land and the sea. Potentially every single item of rubbish you have removed for the last eight precious years has given the chance to innumerable living things to survive.
Please don’t say that you failed. It’s just that at this moment in time you can’t measure how much you’ve succeeded.
Think global and act local – you are living testimony to that and as Desmond Tutu suggested, “do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world”.
God bless you Nicholas Green and all volunteers. If it weren’t for all the volunteers in Australia, the country would surely crumble.
Susan Young, 3931 Beach Patrol Mornington
Join up to help
We invite Mr Shorter (Neglect, Letters 04/12/24) to join the McCrae Coastal Group to learn about the natural environment along the McCrae foreshore and Bay Trail and at the same time contribute to the upkeep of that fragile coastline which the McCrae Coastal Group has been doing for 27 years.
He can contact us at:
mhcg@mccraecoastalgroup.org.au
Margaret Wilson, McCrae Coastal Group Inc.
Kunyung reservoir
One hopes that calls for the preservation of the Kunyung Road reservoir are successful (Calls for decommissioned reservoir to be saved for community use, The News 17/12/24).
Australia has a deplorable record of preserving our natural habitat and even though this is a created habitat, nature has taken over the site and it is a peaceful oasis in the middle of suburbia. One, however, cannot help but be a little cynical in the interest shown by Liberals Crewther and Newbury in saving this site. The Coalition has rarely shown any interest in preserving nature, usually siding with interests of business, and one cannot help but think that this show of interest is directly linked to the forthcoming election.
Dr Ross Hudson, Mt Martha
My despair
I despair for the children, animals, plants and our planet itself.
As my end draws ever closer I feel ashamed for what our world has become, our legacy for life in all its forms.
Led in part by liars, criminals and sociopaths, presiding over powerless or self-possessed communities, the innocent suffer and die while the wealthy prosper and accrue ever more power. Take a stand, you’re vilified and crushed.
Gaza, Somalia, Putin, Trump… violence and hate everywhere and on it goes.
The world around us is on the verge of a terminal disease. Where is leadership wise, courageous and powerful enough to intervene on life’s behalf?
I fear we are at the point of no return.
Oh, how I despair.
Bruce Wearing-Smith, Somers
Great wall opposition
Tim Costello is opposed to the Great Wall of Frankston along Nepean Highway where he lives nearby because he does not like the designs of the buildings and also because the developments do not have social housing or affordable housing in them.
There is clearly self interest. Would the designs improve if there was social and affordable housing as part of the developments? Of course not.
Tim Costello should be more active in rooming houses in Frankston that house mostly drug addicts, mentally ill, recently released prisoners including sex offenders who reside a stone throw from primary schools such as the Karingal Heights Primary School.
Occupiers of the suburban rooming houses are being rent gouged at the pleasure of Consumer Affairs and rooming houses are not subject to land tax but landlords are still increasing rents.
Tim Costello is the martyr for the poor and under-privileged but where is he when it comes to poor quality housing where occupiers are being rent gouged?
Russell Morse, Karingal
Paddle… faster
Was it misogyny, John Pesutto and Moira Deeming? Perhaps not, either way John was not fit for leadership. Then again neither was Matthew Guy, twice. Yes, my bias is showing, as is everyone else if they’re honest?
The Arden 57 storey tower has 609 apartments, 116 car parking spaces and 738 bicycle spaces; thus upgrading my free-standing humble unit with single garage in downtown Rye to luxury status.
Settle down my biassed children, the state debt (some half of Henry Bolte’s when I was a boy) is a result of the combination of COVID expenditure and much needed upgrades.
Remember Jeffrey Kennett (thankfully not a Collingwood supporter); sackings left right and wherever?
OMG, a bombshell, as in a female treasurer, the shock, horror!
Reminder for 2025. Behave like a duck. Keep calm and unruffled on the surface, but paddle like the devil underneath.
Cliff Ellen, Rye
Promises, promises
Every councillor promised transparency and consultation in their candidate statements. What is one of the first thing the majority do? Vote against transparency and consultation. Looks like a fun four years.
Joe Lenzo, Safety Beach
Chalk and cheese
Never has the saying “chalk and cheese” been more applicable than in regards to the CSIRO Gencost report as touted by your correspondent, (Fire risk, Letters 17/12/24) as “shooting holes through Duttons nuclear idea”.
What is not stated is the scope of the report, which, quite simply, was to compare the cost of generating the equivalent amount of power from wind to nuclear and was based on a land based wind farm with road access.
First problem being that’s not what’s proposed to be built. The largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere (over 7,000km2) is going to be built 30 kms out to sea in Bass Straight with all the additional extra costs.
Second is transmission costs. Farmers have to be compensated. High voltage transmission lines constructed undersea and on land and all of the proposed towers needing parts replacing every 15-20 years. Stack this up against a nuclear plants life of 80+ years with zero transmission costs and zero emissions and you get a much clearer picture of why major countries around the world are heading down the nuclear path.
M. Free, Mt Martha
