Outrage over Anzac Day march cancellation

Geoff Williams, Warrnambool

It seems that Genevieve Grant (The Standard, March 5) and Tony Delaney (The Standard, March 26) are part of a cruel 'brigade" to condemn innocent neighbours of wind farms to a life of pain and suffering through sleep deprivation and turbine sickness.

Renewables are necessary, however Justice Richards noted in her recent determination of the Bald Hills Wind Farm court case "there is not a binary choice to be made between the generation of clean energy by the wind farm, and a good night's sleep for the neighbours".

Wind companies need to take heed - turn your machines off at night to protect a person's common law right to sleep in their home without disturbance or suffer the consequences of the many noise-savvy people skilling up to fight you in VCAT or Court.

Innocent Australians living near wind farms cannot be dismissed as irrelevant. The systematic persecution of these people must stop.

And political puppets, pushing their cruel and heartless populist agenda, need to take a step back and consider the health and wellbeing of their fellow citizens, or is it that they just don't care?

Viva-Lynn Lenehan

We remember the boxer, Jeff Fenech, arriving back in the country, 'The New' title holder, carrying life changing prize money and benefits. Media would put camera and microphone before him.

Shortly as the questions became difficult he would look at the camera and shout "I luv yh's, I luv yh's all".

We are all citizens of an "electorate" which is represented by a professional politician. Electorates are not "difficult". A Federal electorate needs 174 thousand residents/people and boundaries will move easily as people move - achieving the quota requirement.

Macarthur represented the electorate of Corangamite - named from the lake at its center. In his time our 'national borders' were opened, manufacturing died. Foreign ownership of processing, land....... De- regulation - the pol'ie code for "Thrown to The Dogs".......

People need work - as well as somewhere to live. People moved from western Victoria. Electoral boundaries moved with them. Regular shouts of, "I luv yh's" but no-one could see the change to Macarthurs's 'safe seat'.

An election. The Labor party only nominated an admin clerk from their office. But 'new voters', WaurnPonds, Marshal ........ Cheezeman, by just 200 votes, had position, salary and benefits beyond his wildest dream - "I luv yh's". But nothing changed.

Sarah Henderson was a 'retiring' TV camera person with no other 'broadcasting industry' skills, nor private enterprise skills, so she grasped at politics.

Success with salary and position as voters shunned Cheezeman. "I luv yh's'. But nothing changed.

Now just to find 174 thousand people the "Electorate of Wannon" extends from the S.A. border to Winchelsea. From Warrnambool to Ararat in the north.

People moving looking for work; and needing a place to live; So the Corangamite Electorate, named after the Lake, now extends from Winchelsea to Queenscliff. The main voter 'presence' Marshal, WaurnPonds and, what was a quiet seaside resort, Torquay, suddenly cities in their own right and linked suburbs of Geelong.

Corangamite dumped Henderson for a school teacher from Barwon Heads. She had not 'risen' in 'teacher' ranks and her only experience of private enterprise lasted seven and a half months.

But now, salary, position benefits "I luv yh's."

The future is of interest.

Gary Ryan, Colac

Due to an oversight and not taking due diligence I wish to correct my letter concerning cat registration fees. (The Standard, March 26)

On closer inspection of my mother's registration renewal notice, in very small print, it does identify a pension discount, the normal registration fee is $43.

While that is still $29 less than Warrnambool City Council's fee the thrust of my original letter loses some of its edge. The sentiment, however, remains the same.

Why is our registration fee $29 more than Ballarat's and surely the fee could be a bit more reasonable and in line with other Councils. I apologize for my error in my original letter.

Craig Homberg, Warrnambool

At a time when housing affordability and accessibility is such a huge issue in South West Coast, it is mind-boggling to think a development in Warrnambool is facing significant delays due to a VCAT backlog.

The Heatherlie Homes project of 13 houses for the elderly could have been completed by September. Now its hearing won't event take place until October, and then there will be another wait for a decision.

The government says the impact of Covid-19 is behind the current backlog in the VCAT system. Telling us what has caused the problem isn't actually relevant - it's the actions taken now to fix the issue that count.

The fact remains Victoria is the worst-performing state on so many different benchmarks - VCAT, the courts, surgery waiting lists, ambulance call-outs, the list goes on and on. The government was able to open new VCAT hearing sites in Frankston and Bundoora this time last year. Great news if you live in Melbourne, but it will come as no surprise that regional and rural Victoria has been ignored again. It is a hallmark of this government - focus on metropolitan Melbourne while regional and rural Victorians are treated like second-class citizens.

The government needs to act to fix the VCAT backlog. Clearly more resources are needed in regional areas to ensure fair and expedited processes are in place to give certainty to projects like Heatherlie Homes.

Roma Britnell, Member for South West Coast

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