MY wife and I (and about 20 others) witnessed a frightening motor vehicle “accident” on Athllon Drive, Wanniassa on Saturday morning.

A car used the right turn lane at a busy roundabout to turn left at high speed, attempting to overtake a number of cars already turning left.

In attempting this reckless manoeuvre, the driver of the offending vehicle lost control, veered on to the wrong side of the road, briefly recovered then badly sideswiped a car being driven by an older woman with her grandson in the rear. Most of the damage to her car was immediately alongside the child’s position in the car, including a smashed window.

The offending car then left the scene, again at high speed, and disappeared through the Wanniassa suburbs. Triple-0 was called, the situation explained and the police requested.

Apart from appearing severely shocked and shaken the woman driver of the smashed car appeared in no immediate need for an ambulance. A short time later the police rang back the witness who had rung 000 (my wife) and asked if the victim’s damaged vehicle was drivable and could the woman please drive her car down to the police station (Tuggeranong)!

Are we in such a sorry situation in the ACT where there are better things for police to do than have a patrol attend where there has been such an obvious and dangerous incident – and offenders on the loose.

The offenders’ car’s make and number plate were noted, as was the direction in which they fled, not knowing or caring what damage or injuries they had created.

Is it appropriate for anyone who has just experienced this type of trauma to be asked by police to “drive down to the police station”?

When we left the scene 25 minutes after the accident, the police had still not arrived. I am not sure if they ever did. There are 20 other ACT residents, also shocked at witnessing such an incident, who I am sure share the same disappointment in our local police force.

Name and address withheld

Policy of ‘disintegration’

REFERRING to migration policy (CN, November 20), Collis Parrett asks: “Is our integration working?” Unlike the Danes, we actually have a policy of disintegration, and how is that working?

Find the percentage of each migrant group in the general population and compare it with their percentage representation in criminal cases or long-term welfare dependence. It should then be easy to see whether all cultures are equally admirable, or some are a liability to society.

However, it is not easy to extract this information from context-free ABS data such as: “The most common birthplace for (migrant) prisoners in NSW was NZ”.

Data on the “Australian-born” category are the most useless, since a high proportion do not identify with Australian culture, but with that of their ethnic group. It is then left to the curious to draw conclusions from the most frequently appearing surname types in crime reports, and the fact that special police squads have to target particular ethnic groups.

So yes, Mr Parrett, as far as can be judged our disintegration policy is working.

1. Edwards, Holder

Michael’s the man

WE are in the completion stage of a build and I cannot say enough about the excellent service and ability of Canberra/Queanbeyan builder Michael Hogan, director of Hogan Homes.

Of late, you only hear about the bad builders and not enough about the good builders, and I believe it needs to be brought to the attention of the public that it is not all doom and gloom when finding the right builder.

Tony Carnovale, via email

Humbled by the help

AS the festive season approaches and as we reach the end of our centenary year, I am reminded of the wonderful work of our Red Cross volunteers, who give hundreds of hours each year to help people in crisis, not only in our local community but right around the world.

I am also constantly humbled by the generous public support we receive for our everyday work.

Regular donations to Red Cross help provide a healthy breakfast for kids who might otherwise go to school hungry, allow us to make a phone call every day to check that elderly or isolated people are okay and help ensure remote communities in the Asia-Pacific have access to clean drinking water.

We also work in communities to help vulnerable families cope with the pressures of life, build pathways out of homelessness and work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

However, despite our best efforts, there are always new families that need our help each year, new communities that find themselves in crisis, and a growing number of lonely, elderly people who find themselves cut off from friends and family.

At this time of the year, when the generosity of all Australians shines through, I would like to urge everyone to put a little something aside for people and families in crisis.

To give to the Red Cross Festive Appeal go to redcross.org.au or call 1800 811700.

Wenda Donaldson, executive director

ACT/SE NSW, Australian Red Cross