Letters to the Editor
MICHAEL SCHILLING: Australia should never compromise on its animal welfare standards to accommodate religious and cultural practices. Nor should we accept a situation where making a dollar through live animal exports takes precedence over assuring the humane treatment of such animals.
We should start to plan now for a ban on the export of live stock for slaughter the way New Zealand has done. All of this requires time, effort and money to adjust an important part of the economy and to ensure that farmers can make the transition with the least amount of pain. But a ban is inevitable if the government wants to avoid constant political pressure and a continuing drip feed of drastic footage of the mistreatment of animals overseas.
If a poll were to be conducted now, the vast majority of the Australian population would want animal welfare to be assured. But that is clearly not possible with live exports, no matter what.
CAROL FAULKNER: Planning Minister John Rau wants us to believe there are only two choices for Adelaide’s future urban landscape – increased density or more urban sprawl (Adelaide’s density barely changed in 30 years, InDaily, 7 November 2013).
Wrong. Stop trying to attract population growth. No population growth, no need for further infill or sprawl.
What’s that? Our population is growing naturally? Wrong again. The government is creating population growth through some very specific actions.
It seems some homework is in order. Read your government’s population policy for a start:
What’s that? We need to attract more people because of our ageing population?
Ah, well now at least you’ve acknowledged population growth is being deliberately sought and I’m sure you agree a debate about the pros and cons of doing that is appropriate. But you ought to know that even the Productivity Commission discounted immigration as a solution for the ageing population because it “makes little difference to the age structure of the population in the future, with any effect being temporary” Elementary, because migrants themselves age.
Then there are critical considerations regarding water, infrastructure, congestion, depletion of natural resources and more, but the good folk at InDaily do have a word limit, and it’s time to turn the debate over to you, Mr Rau.
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