Parra News 30 November 2021

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Tuesday, November 30, 2021
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Issue 54
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Editor’s Note
troy.dodds@parranews.com.au
Troy Dodds
@troydodds
Memorials, COVID and footy
Stop swinging at Oatlands
I cannot imagine the grief that the Abdallah
and Sakr families have felt since
the night that changed their lives on February
1, 2020.
The shock following the tragic crash that
claimed the lives of Abdallah siblings Sienna,
eight, Angelina, 12, and Antony, 13
and their 11-year-old cousin Veronique
quickly turned to a search for justice.
Justice, if you can call it that, saw the
drunk and drug affected driver that
mowed down the children, Samuel Davidson,
sentenced to at least 21 years in
prison.
This story rattled the entire country. It
was easy for any parent to put themselves
in that situation – an innocent summer
walk for ice cream ending in the worst
possible ‘wrong place at the wrong time’
scenario.
This story has taken a somewhat ugly
turn in recent times as the families fight
for the installation of a permanent memorial
to the children lost that summer
night almost two years ago outside Oatlands
Golf Club.
The club has rejected proposals for a
memorial on the edge of its land, while at
the same time pushing for a unit development
at the site.
I accept Oatlands Golf Club is showing a
severe lack of compassion.
But it is also within its rights to do so.
If a tragedy such as this happened out
the front of your place, you have no obligation
to house a memorial and put future
developments at risk.
In all the punches being thrown at Oatlands
Golf Club in recent weeks, it’s important
to remember that the club is not
responsible for this tragedy.
Sure, the club may be cruel and heartless,
but I’m not convinced getting the
likes of Prime Minister Scott Morrison
and Premier Dominic Perrottet involved
is where we’re at here.
To be honest, given the severe lack of
compassion shown in this matter, if I
were the family I’m not sure I’d want the
memorial there now anyway.
The community can offer its verdict on
the behaviour of Oatlands Golf Club in
many ways, including cancelling memberships
and eating and drinking elsewhere.
I’m not sure dragging them kicking and
screaming to the table over the memorial
is where we should be heading, nor am I
convinced it’d feel like a win regardless.
Let’s keep calm on virus variant
I suspect two things when it comes to
the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
First, governments around the world
don’t want to be accused of being slow
to act, so as a result they’re being overly
cautious in their response.
Second, the media is getting very
excited because it’s got some juicy news
to report at an otherwise mundane time
of the year full of stories about Christmas
hams and postage delays.
We need to take this seriously, of course,
but let’s also keep our heads.
A balanced approach is needed. Of
course we need people to understand
the variant is out there and potentially
more dangerous, but the mental struggles
many will face if talks of more border
closures and lockdowns ramp up must
also be considered.
The challenge facing women’s sport
Gender equality may be the dream,
but in reality it is almost impossible to
achieve – reality and circumstance will
always play their part.
You can manufacture it, of course.
Quotas, procedures, policies... the list
goes on.
But the truth is the perfect set of
circumstances will almost never align to
offer true equality.
This issue is one of serious discussion
in sport at present around pay packets,
particularly rugby league where the
Queensland Rugby League recently
committed to paying its female State of
Origin players the same as male Maroons
representatives.
It puts pressure on the New South
Wales Rugby League to follow suit with
the Blues, and the NRL and its clubs will
also likely face this issue with the NRLW
competition as it continues to grow.
The case for equal pay is that our female
players are professional athletes often
putting in the same time commitment as
the men, if not more given they also have
to juggle work commitments, given the
NRLW runs for only a few weeks and is far
from a full-time gig.
The case against though is the reality,
harsh as it may be, that the female game
is not as popular as the men’s game.
Maybe one day it will be, and certainly
I’ve enjoyed the NRLW and Women’s
State of Origin more and more each year,
as the quality continues to improve.
But the broadcast revenue, sponsorship
dollars and ticketing income generated
by the women’s game is a fraction of what
the men’s game generates.
I’ve always defended the high pay packets
often earned by rugby league players
because it is the players that deserve the
biggest chunk of what the game generates
in revenue, not people in suits and ties
behind desks.
But the players only deserve the income
if the game is generating it above them.
I couldn’t be happier that the women’s
game is growing.
But it took something like 80 years of
rugby league for the men’s game to reach
a point where we had full-time athletes
being paid significant money.
Nobody is suggesting the women should
wait just as long, but we also shouldn’t
put the cart before the horse.
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Alan Mascarenhas is currently on leave
Index
News.............................................1-22
Horoscopes................................23
Business.........................................24
Entertainment ..................25-36
Business Directory........37-38
Sport .......................................39-40
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