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Canberra Today 13°/16° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

‘Unrepresentative’ tribunal doles out pay rises

ONCE again the completely unrepresentative ACT Remuneration Tribunal has given large increases to senior public servants and politicians that will flow on to other officials.  

And to make things worse, the government cannot change a determination by the tribunal because it is supposedly “independent” despite the fact that the tribunal’s own remuneration is determined by the chief minister.   

The tribunal itself is completely unrepresentative of the general populace with its members all ex-senior executives of the public service and other Commonwealth and associated bodies. There are no heads of charities such as the Salvos or St Vinnies or Rotary to be seen anywhere.

I repeat previous calls that this body be abolished and if the government wants pay rises then it should go straight to people who elected them.  Even better, considering the popularity of Royal Commissions at the moment, maybe we should have a Royal Commission into these salary-fixing bodies at state and federal level to see how they make their decisions, whether they take the current economic climate into consideration, whether they consider the level of normal workers’ incomes and pay rises and whether there is a “you-scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours” approach to determining salary levels and associated perks.

Ric Hingee, Duffy

Government’s plan to abolish diversity

I CANNOT understand why non-government schools should not be allowed to employ staff who share their ethos.

It’s fair enough not to discriminate against pupils.

However, despite added expense, my families are sending their children to Christian schools in order that they be educated by teachers who share their values.

As a Christian, I was brought up to be kind to everyone, regardless of faith, belief, race, or any other difference. This is not the case with LGBTIQ folk.

There is a website that names and shames homophobes and bigots, and the degree of hatred and venom directed against me or anyone else who dares to stand up for what God says in his Word is amazing.

Surely Canberra is big enough to allow diversity.

Thankfully, I live in a multicultural part of Canberra where people care about one another regardless of race, faith, creed or whatever.

This is not reflected in the ACT government’s plan to abolish diversity.

Rewa Bate, Coombs

Thank you, Canberra

THANK you to the people of Canberra for their extraordinary show of support during our recent Memory Walk & Jog event.

On Sunday, February 24, 550 people walked or ran at Lake Burley Griffin, Barrine Drive in support of those living with dementia in the local community. An incredible $58,000 was raised and these funds will be used to boost dementia education services and support delivered by Dementia Australia throughout the Canberra area.

In 2019, there is an estimated 5500 people living with dementia in the ACT. Without a medical breakthrough, the number of people living with dementia is expected to increase to an estimated 18,500 people by 2058.

Everyone who participated in Memory Walk & Jog can be confident the money they raised will have a direct and positive impact for the members of their community who are living with dementia.

Maree McCabe, CEO, Dementia Australia

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Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

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