Funds for glamping not a priority
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Strike me pink! Stop this world, I want to get off.
What I am about to say will not be popular with the vacuous, cafe latte set of non-critical thinkers who abide in Queensland these days. Queensland, where a critical housing shortage exists, where disadvantaged people with young children are living in cars because of this shortage, where people are obliged to pay $700 a week for a rental property in Beerwah, a town with no public transport and limited employment opportunities available, because of this accommodation shortage. Queensland, where the focus of the government is on some date in 2032. When the well-paid elected can aggrandise themselves, in facilities built for a two-week Olympic festival, which will then sit and rot under-utilised, until the next unicorn burp to emanate from George Street.
Why in all reason is our government using our money to subsidise commercial enterprises to the tune of $1.5 million for holiday accommodation? What about using the money to construct low-cost accommodation throughout the state to alleviate the crisis? This subsidy to the Woodford Folk Festival of $1.5 million is the second one of these subsidies we have heard of in the last 18 months. The other one is Australia Zoo at Beerwah, which also was gifted $1.5 million. Private enterprise is supposed to fund its own money creation projects. Those people forced to live with their toddlers and teenagers in their cars must feel secure in the fact that the registration they are paying on those cars is going to a good cause, funding a glamping experience nearby.
Rod Houston, Beerwah
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E-scooters pose dangers
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Your item on e-scooters is most timely. Recently, my wife was knocked to one side of the footpath in Beerwah shopping centre. Aged people being hit with these have little hope of a comfortable last years of Life. Signage means nought, no council inspectors, the speed they travel at is ridiculous, they are often outside control, fining them does not heal broken bones, the law-abiding public have no protection. When will something be done?
Name withheld, Peachester
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Rigorous enforcement needed
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In promoting the use of particularly electric scooters, it appears that no thought has been given to safety of pedestrians. Before the advent of bikes being permitted on footpaths, the main thing to worry about was the occasional dog. Now, we have to contend with more bikes, electric or otherwise, and electric scooters, all travelling at excessive speeds and without warning. There are also a small number of bikes with petrol motors fitted that can travel just as fast, if not more so. At least one can hear them as they make quite a racket.
We regularly walk to the Kawana shopping centre and it is quite common to see one of these. Then there are vehicles exiting from Dan Murphy’s car park onto both Nicklin Way and Point Cartwright Drive, who are so intent on getting onto the road that they completely disregard pedestrians even though there are marked crossing at both outlets.
It’s all well and good to get bikes etc out of the traffic, but where is a safe place for pedestrians?
New regulations regarding the use of these scooters is welcome, but without rigorous enforcement they are useless.
There are unmarked police vehicles to catch road offenders, maybe we need plain-clothes police on scooters.
Peter Kaszas, Minyama
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Bridge walk is a hazard
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Birtinya is busy with children (with no adult supervision), teenagers and adults on scooters and bikes rather quickly along bridge and footpaths. The bridge on Regatta Street has a small sign stating you’re not allowed to ride a scooter, bike, skateboard etc but no one follows this.
Older people walking across bridge (that’s me walking and I do it twice a day) must be very careful as kids, teenagers and lots of adults on bikes, scooters and the like don’t seem to take notice of the sign. So it won’t be just the younger generation getting injured, it will be older people requiring hospital treatment too.
Jan Roggli, Birtinya
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New law will ease suffering
From January 1, terminally ill Sunshine Coast residents experiencing intolerable suffering will have the ability to seek access to a highly regulated system of voluntary assisted dying.
The landmark law enabling this end-of-life option, the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act, was passed by the Queensland Parliament in September 2021 when 61 out of 93 state MPs voted in its favour.
Those supporting this major law reform knew that the VAD law delivers something very important – it gives those who need it the choice to end their life on their own terms to reduce their suffering.
The new law does not affect anyone who is not a supporter of VAD, and it will not result in a single extra death. But it will alleviate a lot of suffering.
As in other states, Queensland’s VAD Act was the result of decades of campaigning by a range of individuals and organisations.
But in the end it took the support and courage of MPs across the political spectrum to become a reality, including Sunshine Coast MPs Sandy Bolton, Brent Mickelberg, Jason Hunt and Rob Skelton.
Their compassion and foresight should be recognised as we mark the important January 1 milestone.
David Muir, Chair, Clem Jones Trust, Brisbane
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via: news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.
