twt201217book

4 THE WEEKLY TIMES Wednesday 20 December, 2017
Dear Sir,
I didn`t think anything
could compare with the
Pester Power of the Home
Ice Cream Van going
around every second Saturday
(sometimes morning
and evening, sun or rain)
ringing the life out of the
bell for the sake of the almighty
ice cream...but no I
was wrong!!!
It's bad, but angelic compared
to the Bennelong
pestering antics of pollies
pretending to care in order
to get voted.
Recorded phone messages
by the millions, endorsement
letters from former
Prime Ministers by the
millions, pics of opponents
looking 'evil' in brochures by
the millions, and of course,
the sacred Privacy Act destroyed
by the trillions all
for the sake of the almighty
vote.
So glad the turmoil is over
for now. Well, till I`m reminded
of Pester Power via
an overused ringing bell in a
future Saturday.
DAREN RICHARDSON
Ryde
Dear Sir,
I write with a blunt
warning. Tragically crystal
meth/ice is having a
shocking impact on many
suburbs and areas of Australia.
It is true to say now that
in many parts of Australia,
crystal meth/ice is now
cheaper to buy than even
a takeaway pizza. It is very
disturbing.
I write to warn readers of
this most dangerous drug
and to highlight to readers
that it is never worth dabbling
with a drug like ice. It
is so dangerous and so addictive.
Ice is tearing a massive
number of families apart.
This sadly includes damage
to a massive number
of Indigenous communities.
In some communities,
HUNTER’S HILL COUNCIL
HUNTER’S HILL COUNCIL
NEW YEARS’ EVE ROAD CLOSURES
The Hunters Hill peninsula will be closed at Church
Street overpass from 1.00pm on New Years’ Eve
Sunday 31 December, as in other years, until 2.00am on
January 1, 2018.
A limited number of entry passes are available for friends
and family of residents and commercial business on
the peninsula. Residents will need to show proof of
residency, for example a driver’s licence or rates notice
to obtain a pass, with a maximum number of two passes
per household and two additional, if off-street parking is
possible on the property.
Passes are only available from the Council
Customer Service Centre until midday this Friday
December 22
The Administration Centre will be closed from 12.00pm
Friday 22 December 2017 to Monday 1 January 2018
inclusive. Normal business hours apply on Tuesday 2
January 2018.
emergencies only
and can be contacted on 0408 461 996.
Garbage Collection days will be as normal, and will begin
at 4.00am. Urgent requests concerning garbage and
recycling should be directed to the Council Contractor,
United Resource Management (URM) on 1300 136 460.
The Council and staff wish everyone a joyous and safe
holiday season.
Letters
grandparents, parents and
children are all using crystal
meth.
There is a very big misconception
in the community
that alcohol is the
big issue for Indigenous
Australians. Nothing could
be further from the truth.
Close to 100% of our clients
have been impacted
by ice and shock TV ads
seem to be having no impact.
You can buy ice in many
parts of the country for as
little as $5. We want to see
governments everywhere
developing rapid response
teams to deal with a problem
that has frankly got
out of hand. People aren’t
getting the help they need
at the speed that is necessary.
The answers lie in the
development of rapid response
teams.
The under-reporting of
ice is at a huge level. This
problem is much bigger
than people realise. People
are being touched by ice
everywhere.
Young people are so vulnerable.
One of the biggest
issues is that crystal meth
is so potent, it does not
take much for people to become
addicted.
People end up feeling like
they are bullet proof and
invincible. This is just one
of the dangers of this drug.
We are asking governments
everywhere to take
action because of the scale
of the problem.
I would also like to highlight,
people can get more
information about my organisation
by visiting www.
adac.org.au.
I would like to wish readers
a safe and happy
Christmas and New Year.
SCOTT WILSON
CEO, Aboriginal Drug &
Alcohol Council
Dear Sir,
In the Bennelong election
electricity pricing is a
big issue.
Fact is Turnbull and Abbott
have done everything
Barry Smith
GENERAL MANAGER
LETTERS
Welcome
TWT welcomes letters
from our readers. Full
name, address and
telephone number
MUST be supplied, even
if not for publication.
Send to: TWT PO Box
123, Ryde 1680 or email:
c o n t a c t u s @ w e e k l y
times.com.au
in new technology and new
clean generation.
The carbon tax, which encouraged
new investment
and was having a real impact
was abolished.
Then there was the Warburton
review into the Renewable
Energy Target,
although even he as a climate
skeptic had to admit
that the RET put downward
pressure on prices.
ment
they sat on the report
ducing
the target.
In spite of all of this renewables
are picking up
again, so now Turnbull has
announced the National
Energy Guarantee. Interestingly
enough, this saw AGL
and Origin shares increase
in value.
Our coal generators are
old and worn out, we need
new generation, and more
competition.
Renewables are big employers,
and don't pollute
our soil and water. They
can be built quickly and
with batteries can run 24
hours a day.
So why must Australia
always lag behind while
China and Europe move
ahead? With our great solar
and wind resources, both
of which are free, we could
be an energy superpower.
It's time to look forward.
ROMI DHANI
Tennyson Point
Dear Sir,
For many Australians,
the festive season is one
of joy and connection,
where friendships and
family are celebrated,
food is shared and holiday
plans are made.
Yet for others in our
neighbourhoods, that
sense of togetherness,
warmth and belonging will
not be felt, and rather an
acute sense of loneliness
will take hold.
Christmas Day might be
lunch for one, sleeping
rough or spent with the
paralysing uncertainty of
not knowing where family
is, after being separated
There is hope. At Red
Cross loneliness is not
something to be ashamed
of. We’re there for people
who have nobody else:
calling and visiting, driving
them to appointments, offering
one-to-one support
to those struggling with
mental illness, or giving a
warm welcome to those
seeking safety from violence
or persecution.
We know loneliness
doesn’t discriminate. It
stealthily creeps into our
lives, no matter our age,
gender or ethnicity, and
takes hold when tragedy
happens, like losing
a loved one, a divorce or
losing your job. And if you
don’t catch it early, loneliness
can reach chronic lev-
But it’s bigger than that.
When there’s no one by
your side, and you’re feeling
deeply isolated, communities
start to become
less trusting, there’s more
fear and places start to feel
less safe.
It’s time for Australians
to change that. Red Cross
is calling on you to make
this the Season of Belonging,
by taking simple steps.
Be kind on social media,
say hello to your neighbours,
volunteer or check
on someone you know is in
trouble.
A donation to Red Cross
will also help us continue
on our mission to work with
half a million of the most
socially excluded Australians
to build the vital connections
they need. You
can help: redcross.org.au/
act.
JODY BROUN
Director, NSW & ACT
Australian Red Cross
Hi all at TWT,
Thanks for supporting
the Joubert Singers for another
year.
Your help advertising our
concerts has been brilliant,
and I am sure brings in extra
people.
ence,
as we can only barely
cover our costs.
Yesterday's concert was a
great success, and we were
proud to acknowledge you
as a supporter of the choir.
Best wishes for a happy
Christmas and another successful
new year.
MARK ALLERTON
Publicity Dogsbody,
The Joubert Singers
Dear Sir,
Discrimination against
women is certainly rife at
the moment.
The Friends of Lane Cove
National Park recently
gathered to celebrate
Christmas and 50 years
since the formation of the
National Parks and Wildlife
Service.
We were shattered to
learn that our beloved
Area Manager, Michele
Cooper, had been retrenched.
Her only fault was that
she was “too close to the
tributes
one would’ve
thought most people in positions
of authority would
aspire to.
Many people would remember
Michele’s promotion
of the Opening of the
Kukundi Discovery Trail at
Lane Cove National Park
Headquarters in 2015.
was not Michele’s only
achievement. Others included
the LCNP Plan of
Management, the Chase
Alive Discovery Program
and the Volunteer Policy.
She has been with National
Parks for 25 years in
various roles and as Area
Manager for 5 years.
The restructure carried
ronment
and Heritage is
endless.
Many valuable and ex-
their jobs and Rangers are
fore
Christmas is heartless.
One would think we need
more women in managerial
roles and not removing
those who have been
so capable, experienced,
popular and supportive of
We and the environment
are the losers.
NOELA KIRKWOOD
West Pymble
IN OUR age of politically
correct euphemisms,
in which toilets
become “bathrooms”
even when there is no
bath in sight, death becomes
“passing” and
euthanasia becomes
“assisted dying,” we
desperately seek to
take the hard edges
of the truth with softer
verbal packaging.
In this same world
where we seek to anaesthetise
reality so that we
can somehow remain
comfortable, in control
and germ-free, we avoid
the use of the word “sin”
as if the sinful part of life
has gone out of fashion.
We can then justify
everything we do that
once fell under the heading
of the seven deadly
sins!
Well I’m sorry to disappoint,
but sin is as alive
and well as ever it was.
When we hear this, we
may immediately divert
our attention to acts of
terrorism, racism, domestic
violence, oppressive
policies, all of which
are caused by “others, “
who in the moral lexicon
of Donald Trump are “the
bad guys.”
* * *
WE LOOK in the mirror
probably each day and
see the signs of ageing,
weight loss or gain,
tiredness, spots bumps
and all manner of deterioration.
We seem to have no
trouble attending to
these with our lotions,
injections, creams and
masks!
The Administration
Centre will be closed
from 12.00noon on Friday
December 22 and
will be open for Business
as usual on Tuesday
January 2, 2018.
Clearway New Years’
Eve restrictions apply
from 1.00pm on December
31 and entry
to the peninsula will be
restricted to residents
and to entry passes
To The POINT
With
Fr KEVIN BATES SM
look into the mirror and
view the state of our own
soul.
Our many euphemisms,
along with our
preoccupation with
work, entertainment,
wealth, appearance and
status, serve to save us
from looking at our souls
too closely.
It’s a sick society indeed
that runs for cover
whenever the signs of
our wounded self dare to
surface.
It’s a wonderful paradox
that a healthy, joyful,
liberated self can emerge
from a good honest visit
to the heart of things,
within ourselves and
among ourselves.
Standing face to face
with our sins, (and I can
easily lend you some if
you are a bit short!), we
are stripped naked and
our defences are gone.
However, in that moment,
we discover that
we are not alone.
It’s then we come faceto-face
with that Love
which conceived and
birthed us. It is that Love
which breaks through
into our sinful self and
sinful world for which we
wait during Advent and
which we celebrate each
Christmas time.
When this Love breaks
through, our sinful self
has nowhere to hide and
nothing to fear.
Our sinful self is held in
the arms of utter forgiveness.
Nothing is brushed
with a Disability parking
permit will be able
to access the peninsula
without an access
pass issued by Council,
however this will be
up only.
Revised Northern
District Plan
In late October 2017,
the Greater Sydney
Commission released
5 draft District Plans for
public comment with
the exhibition closing
on 15 December 2017.
Council considered the
revised Plan which references
the need for
more open space and
importance of schools
as a social connector,
however it does not
identify the schools or
a priority for expansion
due to population
growth. Both the original
and revised district
plans rely heavily on
collaboration between
under the carpet and
nothing is beyond the
embrace of this love and
mercy.
In this utterly truthful
encounter, there is no
need for euphemisms,
avoidance or distractions.
* * *
THIS LOVE is more
than enough to hold our
gaze, heal our wounds,
satisfy our deepest hungers.
So loved and forgiven,
we cannot help but become
bearers of this
Love for others.
It is now our turn to
give birth to this Love
at every opportunity. It
doesn’t have to be trailblazing,
exciting, mindblowing
or awesome or
any of the other epithets
we love to use to describe
today’s peak experiences.
It can be something
as simple as a humble
birth in a stable full of
the dung of life and the
warmth of innocence
such as that provided
by the animals at Bethlehem
so long ago.
Dare we visit our sinful
selves this Christmas
and encounter there the
Love that alone makes
all things new?
Father KEVIN BATES
SM is Parish Priest of
the Holy Name of Mary
Church at Hunters Hill.
A Time For Celebration
As we celebrate
this festive season,
we are mindful of
all those in our local
HUNTERS HILL HAPPENINGS
with Mayor MARK BENNETT
community and
beyond for whom
Christmas may not
be a time of good
news and celebration
with family and
friends. I hope that all
of us, in some practical
way, can share
the joy of Christmas
with those who are
lonely or in need.
On behalf of Council,
the Mayoress and
holders only. Visitors
my fellow Councillors,
I wish you all a very
councils and state authorities
to achieve the
happy and peaceful
Christmas, and every
vision of the district
blessing in the New
plans.
Year.
The recognition in the
plan of the importance
Council Closure
of Sydney harbour and
scenic and cultural
landscapes reinforces
Councils continued
scenic riverfront areas
from inappropriate development.
Council will
lodge a submission to
the Greater Sydney
Commission, addressing
the revised draft
Plan.
Clr Mark A. Bennett
MAYOR