Step up on access all areas
Goulburn Mulwaree management, staff and councillors (existing and prospective) need to comprehend that people with disability are not within a subset of traffic management, especially in time of electoral renewal.
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Local people with disability need to be consulted with regard to any planning decision as a part of a whole community.
Council needs a comprehensive disability action plan, with respect to employment as well as providing access, physically and intellectually to as many people from this community as possible including those people with disabilities.
As I understand, the current status quo at council is that a half-baked action plan is looming, and there are no plans to form a local disability committee.
Parking for people with disabilities is certainly an issue, as are the quality of footpaths, gutters, roads. However disability access to the new performing arts centre as well as to parks and recreation facilities are required as well.
It is no good just consulting one person with one type of disability, because his or her needs may be different to another person with a different disability, a range of people with a range of disabilities and lived experience are required.
Certainly council has been falling well short of the mark lately, so there is time for change.
Stuart Mawbey, Goulburn
Nothing to love about it
I was very pleased to see the council spraying African Lovegrass on the Mountain Ash Road near Goulburn.
This grass is a very aggressive, undesirable weed that first grows on roadsides being spread there from seeds carried on vehicles.
It then invades farmland and bushland and is unpalatable for stock with the potential to dominate these areas.
African Lovegrass, once established, is difficult to control and eradicate and only enhances bushfire danger. African Lovegrass is becoming more prevalent in the Goulburn area, and has the potential to ruin our productive farmland and natural bush like it has in nearby areas like ACT and Monaro.
It good to see the council taking measures to control African Lovegrass and I would hope that it is part of a larger plan to prevent the invasion of this plant pest
John Buma, Gundry
Equality for constituents
THE time has well and truly come for Angus Taylor to stop taking cues from fringe factions of the Liberal Party and start listening to his constituents when it comes to marriage equality. This whole thing has gone on long enough.
With Labor, The Greens and Nick Xenophon banding together to stop a plebiscite, there’s absolutely no chance the legislation will pass through the Senate. So, we’re essentially right back where we were 12 months ago.
It’s time for the federal parliament to do its job and represent the views of 76 per cent of Australians who support marriage equality.
Last year we presented the local member with a petition – signed by more than 1300 of his constituents – calling on him to advocate for a free vote on the issue or to cross the floor if his party refused to unbind him.
Instead, he championed an expensive, unpopular and potentially harmful policy that was basically designed as a political get-out-of-gaol free card.
The time for buck passing is over. Mr Taylor must either support equal marriage rights for all Australians or tell us why two and a half million taxpayers aren’t as equal as their neighbours. We just want a little bit of honesty.
The local member has had four years to engage with his constituents on this issue. He hasn’t. He hasn’t done any polling. He’s routinely avoided any local forums. But now he wants to spend $160m to hold a non-compulsory public vote that even he admitted could deliver a skewed question.
A plebiscite will not only put a strain on the budget bottom line – at a time when the treasurer is warning we could be headed for a recession – but it also threatens the social fabric of our increasingly cohesive society.
While there are those who would turn the plebiscite debate into an issue about free speech or bigotry against LGBT people… the truth is somewhere in between.
This isn’t about hate speech versus free speech. It ultimately comes down to responsible public discourse. Why do we need to start a divisive national debate about whether or not same sex couples deserve equal legal rights and status? Why even pose the question?
By simply telling young or vulnerable people that they aren’t equal, you are reinforcing this archaic myth that there is something wrong with them. That they’re different. That they’re less deserving. You don’t think that has an impact?
Gay teens are six times more likely to commit suicide than straight teens. The rates of self-harm amongst transgender kids is even scarier.
We know from the shared experiences of other nations that have attempted to pass gay rights legislation by public votes that the “no” campaigns have a significantly negative impact on mental health. It’s even worse when the reforms are voted down.
Then there are those who suffer in silence. For many people, of all ages, their sexuality is a source of great personal turmoil. It’s a daily struggle. They feel imprisoned by it. They can’t talk to their friends and family. They have nowhere to turn. And if we have a plebiscite, they’ll have nowhere left to hide.
People over the age of 40 remember what it was like to grow up in a country that didn’t feel like their own. They remember what it was like to be sworn at, spat on, beaten up… persecuted for simply being themselves. They remember what it was like to be a criminal by birth. And they’ve fought their entire lives to give the next generation a better life than they had.
We can’t allow cynical politics undermine their legacy. To belittle their suffering. We’re better than that. The time for equality is now. Australia is ready. Hume is ready. Goulburn is ready.