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Canberra Today 21°/24° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Letters / Tardy help when net went down

I READ with a sense of incredulity the article by John Griffiths lauding the service of iiNet (“Speed comes to the slopes”, CN, February 18) last week. This is so far removed from my experiences with iiNet since it took over Transact that I could not help but respond.

quillIgnoring constant billing issues and the sending of invoices out on Christmas Eve with the threat (real threat) of disconnection if not paid in two weeks, it appears it has no concept of customer service.

Several months ago I lost connection at the time of some demolition next door. iiNet advised that no work was being done in the Kingston district, but after purchasing a mobile hotspot I ran into a technician in the car park. He advised he was from Transact (iiNet) and they had disconnected all local premises that morning – they had just reconnected the network.

I am now in my sixth day of no network connections after losing all connections. iiNet advised that it appears an exchange or line issue. The best it can do in terms of technical assistance is have someone arrive some 7.5 days later. And this is after they “appreciate it is a business”. Heaven help the poor residential customer.

So, here I wait hoping to see a technician tomorrow – and no offer of any reduction on my bill.

Alex Gosman, via email

The mind boggles!

THE mind boggles! If the push to remove “mother” and “father” from the birth certificate (“Finding ‘justice’ in a birth certificate”, CN, February 25) succeeds, how will the police appeal for help in identifying a “gender diverse” person of interest?

Ken McPhan, Spence

Speaking truth to foolishness

SPEAKING truth to power is generally regarded as a career-limiting move and Nick Jensen, writing about the “Justice Legislation Amendment” Bill (CN, February 25), will probably find that speaking truth to foolishness is equally unrewarding. In this Age of Spin, it is a wonder the amendment wasn’t called a “reform”.

Likewise, deceptive titles such as “anti-bullying campaign” are given to ideological indoctrination of schoolchildren. Pigs in pokes are sold as “innovations” and if they are questioned, slanted opinion polls are run to get the required answers, while unfavourable information is suppressed.

Now, the moral improvers are all about feelings, not facts. There are even commissions that tout for business from people whose feelings have been hurt and a slew of pop-up groups that try to short-circuit representative democracy by shouting down those less enlightened than themselves.

It is small wonder that children’s rights (including knowing who their parents are) take a back seat to the self-centred and self-righteous.

Glyn Myfyr, Weston

Don’t fear relaxing helmet laws

I DON’T understand what columnist John Griffiths’ problem is with helmets (“Hard arguments around helmets”, CN, February 25).

Does that level of risk averseness extend to walking, cooking or using power tools?

Don’t be so scared of life and let people make these decisions for themselves. Cycling is relatively safe and if relaxing the mandatory helmet laws manages to increase riding by even a small percentage then that’s a good thing for the entire community.  

Also, I thought the couple riding helmetless in the advertisement directly below John’s article looked great. Not really possible in John’s world though.  

Andrew Simson, via email

 

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