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Letters / What sort of men are these?

RE Kay Beagle’s letter (CN, November 9) showing a sign outside Leeton “Welcoming New Settlers Migrants and Refugees”.

We keep hearing about the “refugees” on Manus Island (they are not really refugees as this is not the first country in which they landed and they were safe in Indonesia, so they are economic migrants).

We are told how there are rapes and beatings in the camps and we should set them free and bring them to Australia.

Canberra along with a number of other places or organisations offered to take them in. If they are so violent and lacking in moral ideals then do we really want these rapists and violent people in Australia? It is common knowledge that the incidence of rape by Muslims and Sudanese has increased in recent years. The jails are full of people serving sentences for breaking the law. Why are these people on Manus Island so different?

They have been given the option of going back home but they refuse to go. If Malcolm Turnbull allowed them to go to NZ, they have won and can very easily come into Australia like all New Zealanders.

Does nobody wonder why there are so many men and far fewer women? If they have families back home what sort of men are they that they leave the families behind if it was so unsafe?

Vi Evans, via email

What is it about Andrew Barr?

Finally I can agree with Jon Stanhope (“Time for auditor-general to probe tax stress”, CN, October 19) despite the fact it was his party that tried to reduce funding to the auditor-general.

What is it about Andrew Barr that he cannot see that at a time when consumer spending is at a low ebb, his various taxes, charges and levies are reducing the discretionary consumer spending of ACT residents, which results in closures of businesses that are exposed to declines in such spending such as cafes, hairdressers, entertainment venues, etcetera?

Complaints by residents about high charges and taxes have had little impact so it is time the small-business lobby started to pull its weight.

Ric Hingee, Duffy

Bad things happen with housing

FOR a past chief minister, Jon Stanhope’s opinion piece (“Time for auditor-general to probe tax stress”, CN, October 19) was disappointing.

Pollyanna could not have done better in seeing the bright side and ignoring the reverse.

If you look back at housing since self government was foisted upon us some very bad things have happened to our would-be house owners and renters.

The first is public housing. We have sold off around 3000 units. The arrangement with the Federal government was that we would build a replacement unit before we sold off an existing unit. This has not happened. The Federal government has told Andrew Barr that he will not get the money from sale of public assets till he meets his obligations regarding public housing.

At the moment they are measuring up community land in every suburb to use for public housing.

The next bad thing that a predominantly Labor series of governments did was take away the over-the-counter sale of land and put an inadequate stock of land up for auction.

This has resulted in the price of land more than doubling over two decades.

This in turn has resulted in Canberra having the second highest number of homeless people in Australia.

The promises that have been set out as undertakings by this present government on past history will nowhere near meet the amount of housing that would replace the public housing they have sold off.

Howard Carew, Isaacs

 

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One Response to Letters / What sort of men are these?

Len Goodman, Belconnen says: 21 November 2017 at 1:07 pm

Howard Carew, in commenting on Jon Stanhope’s article re ACT housing pin points some of the glaringly obvious issues impacting on a sensible housing policy. Our ACT Government talks a lot about affordable housing and keep on telling us how the ACT is the best in Australia – but I agree with Howard that one does not need to look beyond the land auction system to see why sale prices are so high and form the major component of housing costs. However, while
ever the spoils are filling the government coffers methinks any contrary comment, even via so called public consultation, will fall on deaf goverment ears!

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