LETTERS
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday April 1, 2011
Hindsight shows the benefits of light railIt is hard to imagine parts of George Street being free from cars and buses ("All change for light rail," March 31). Twenty years ago, Swanston Street in Melbourne had two lanes each way and was the main light-rail route through the city. The traffic lights along Swanston Street would turn green-red-green in unison and it was a local competition between drivers to see how many blocks they could move in one set of lights.Today Swanston Street has limited vehicular access and thrives with pedestrians, activity and local economy. There was no flow-on traffic congestion, if anything, it reduced traffic in and around the CBD.In Seoul, an expressway was removed to reinstate a historic river and its lively riverbanks. The traffic system survived. In Portland, US, the installation of light rail has seen land values adjacent to the corridors increase fourfold.While it is tempting to continue our path of increasing the road network to alleviate congestion and traffic growth, there is proof in other places of an enlightened path to reducing reliance on cars, especially in our CBD.Jonathan Prendergast AlexandriaSpeedy workI'm barking mad over the oppression motorists have suffered under the Roads and Traffic Authority in the guise of road safety ("Stoner brings back room for error on speeding," March 31). Congratulations Andrew Stoner for stopping the tail from wagging the dog. A choker collar and some obedience lessons would be some good next steps.Paul Ainsworth SeaforthPublic serviceHow fitting that the first public servant to fall was the head of the NSW Department of Education, Michael Coutts-Trotter ("Labor 'cooked the books'," March 29).This recalcitrant had the temerity to lead a department that actually spent some money on public schools. Surely this man must understand that no funds are to be spent on public schools until independent and Catholic schools have an Olympic size swimming pool and music conservatorium each. May his early retirement be a salutary lesson to so like infidels.Garry Carroll MaroubraEpidural lessonsThe tragic story of Grace Wang and the injection of the wrong substance into her epidural space causing paraplegia was due to a fundamentally flawed technique ("Call for ban follows horrific epidural error," March 31). The correct protocol is that no drug for injection should be drawn up from a galley pot, where the drug has to be poured into the galley pot from its identifying ampoule, as this allows identification errors.The correct technique is that any drug is drawn up directly into the syringe from the ampoule, with its contents and expiry date checked by both the anaesthetist and the nurse assisting. It then becomes irrelevant where the antiseptic solution is placed, or its colour.As an anaesthetist, I would argue that some responsibility for this tragedy must be borne by those teaching trainee anaesthetists flawed techniques.Dr Rod Binsted VauclusePart 3A prioritiesBarry O'Farrell may face formidable obstacles in reforming the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act but he could start by instituting an audit of all the Part 3A developments held by Planning NSW ("Pistol-packing pachyderms have other plans for O'Farrell," March 31).In what is now very marginal Labor territory on North Botany Bay, Orica has a Part 3A application to fill and cap an 18-hectare floodplain site for warehousing. Submissions on this closed in September 2009, but because of the flooding and traffic impacts Planning NSW has not been able to produce a determination.At a recent meeting, experts from Orica confirmed the clean-up of their contamination in the Botany aquifer will probably take hundreds of years. Orica needs permanent access to public land at Port Botany for containment and monitoring but is not prepared to recognise that its own site should remain undeveloped until the clean-up of the aquifer is complete.Lynda Newnam La PerouseChemical exposureThe evidence in Vietnam shows that widespread birth defects from herbicides often only become apparent two or three generations after exposure ("North coast babies linked to birth defect 'cluster'," March 31).The herbicide atrazine, used extensively in the Lismore/Tweed area, has been shown in various university tests to cause sterility in 75 per cent of male frogs at low doses. After recent exposure by The New York Times there is increasing pressure to ban its use in the United States.Despite being banned by the European Union in 2004 as a known mutagenic agent and carcinogen, it is still widely used on Australian food crops.The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority relies on studies commissioned by the chemical's manufacturer, Syngenta, which found no evidence of sterilisation, to support its use in Australia. Given there are many other far less toxic herbicides available to farmers one must question why the authority would consider the continued use of this highly suspect chemical poses a known but acceptable risk to the Australian people.Its risk management criteria seems somewhat flawed.Tony Snellgrove UkiRace to the bottomPeter Costello reckons the NSW Labor government is "the most incompetent government in living memory" ("NSW's big Ponzi scam has finally collapsed," March 30). I'm still living and I remember the Askin Liberal government in NSW and the Bjelke-Petersen government in Queensland, Labor governments in Victoria and South Australia that managed to lose billions running state banks, and Burke Labor in WA. I don't remember any particular governments in Tasmania but allegations of corruption and incompetence are not unknown there either. Some state governments have delivered for their people but all states have suffered from the venal and stupid. Either you have a defective memory or you are a lot younger than you look.David Harvey DrummoyneWhen Peter Costello claims the Labor Party is corrupt by saying "one [MP] resigned after visiting a gay sex club", the homophobia that makes this comment utterable and publishable is a far bigger worry than any Labor Ponzi scheme. This country's politicians need to stop equating gays and lesbians with perverts.Veronica Tello EdgecliffDrawing a lineMost lines in the sand here on central coast beaches are the work of dog-owners trying to cover the deposits of their pets ("Lines in the sand over beach plan for dogs," March 26). Almost all central coast beaches are designated 50/50 for dogs and people, with 25 per cent of both ends of each beach for dogs off-leash 24 hours a day. The middle 50 per cent, around surf clubs, for people. Unfortunately dogs are not able to read the signs and stay where they are allowed.Good luck to all the beach lovers at Warringah. I do hope your dog lobby is not as strong as it is on the central coast.Dean Hartigan UminaAnglican heritage too dear to keepHenry Wan and Alan Melrose hit the mark on how the hierarchy within the Anglican Church has little time for the maintenance or relevance of heritage buildings or traditions (Letters, March 30).At St John's Anglican Church, Raymond Terrace we have a beautiful 1842 rectory that has been in continuous occupancy since that time. It is now deemed unsuitable because it no longer satisfies the diocesan requirements as a rectory. To repair or renovate, the parish must find a minimum of $200,000 so as to meet diocesan requirements and attract a new incumbent.The parish has now been forced into a position where its only value as a marketable commodity is to sell the rectory.Set on almost an acre of land within 200 metres of the central business district, the rectory and its heritage-listed Norfolk Island pines (one, the tallest in the southern hemisphere) will not only be a loss to the parish, but also to the local and wider community should the sale proceed.Ken Hoy Raymond TerraceWhen all else failsWell, well, well, Gerry Harvey. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! ("Harvey Norman in web reversal," March 31).Rose Panidis Indooroopilly
© 2011 Sydney Morning Herald
