Your Views: Letters to the Editor
This week, InDaily readers respond to the near collapse of disability employer Bedford and the state and federal governments’ cash splash to deal with South Australia’s toxic algal bloom.
Responding to Why the Bedford situation is a major wake-up call
I was a casualty of Bedford’s ill-fated expansion into Victoria about eight years ago.
Our business (Hi City disability services) was “rescued” by Bedford in 2017; we were going broke until Bedford bailed us out.
The surprising thing to me was how much Bedford was spending on MBAs and overqualified staff who weren’t necessary.
Anyway, after two years, Bedford decided that they had to let us go, 80 disabled and 20 staff, so in Christmas 2019, we were all redundant. – Mark Russell
There is no doubt that Bedford Industries is important to our community and especially for people for whom it is their workplace. To suggest a business plan is not needed for this enterprise is to miss the point entirely. If the business plan had flagged this breakdown in finances, or better still, taken action to avoid it, it would have saved this unhappy disruption and disappointment that we have seen played out over the past week.
A diligent board with a competent CEO should have acted sooner to avoid this upset. It seems they didn’t have a viable business plan, and they either didn’t know it or they did and lacked the acumen to save themselves. – PA and Elizabeth Keam
Responding to SA disability employment services provider to collapse
We had no communication from Bedford until we went to pick up our daughter from work at 3pm and saw all the media there. – Prue Kearvell
Responding to Details revealed for algal bloom cash splash
You might like
A “cash splash” sounds good, but it can’t cover up the government’s pattern of secrecy and delay when it comes to marine and environmental disasters.
In 2024, over 200,000 snapper fingerlings and barramundi broodstock died at SARDI’s taxpayer-funded West Beach hatchery, along with most of the state’s oyster spat lines. This happened while a government-approved dredging trial was running just offshore. No public warning was issued, and water sampling didn’t begin until weeks after the die-off began, making it nearly impossible to trace the cause.
The public only found out months later, and when the findings were released in April 2025, they were inconclusive due to missing early data. Despite this, no independent inquiry was called, and the minister stayed silent for weeks.
We saw the same inaction in the years-long snapper fishing closure, where stocks were allowed to collapse before strong measures were taken. Now, with the algal bloom devastating fisheries and marine life across Gulf St Vincent, the government again insists it’s “natural”, without sharing clear scientific evidence.
Support packages are necessary, but without early action, transparency, and scientific leadership, South Australians are left to deal with one environmental crisis after another with no accountability. – Sandra Harrison
Responding to Protestors call for Santos to foot the algal bloom bill
I wonder how much money Greens politicians and supporters put into supporting those affected by the algal bloom? It would be nice to see them put up cash! – Bill Hecker, Forestville
How many protesters drove? How much fossil fuel use went into Robert Simms’ Port Lincoln photo opportunity? How much global impact does Santos’ output have?
Looks like a lot of posturing to me. – Tony Dawkins, Glenelg
So, they want to blame Santos for the Murray flood!! Idiotic. – Noel Allen
Responding to Cuttlefish catastrophe feared from deadly algal bloom
There’s nothing anyone can really do about this algal bloom. It’s going to travel with the wind and tide, and you can’t change that. A lot of people and sea life is going to suffer. All we can do is clean up the washed-up carcases and wait this out. It’s awful to see. I live on the coastline, and it has already impacted where I live. – Damien Heal
Responding to Desal plant costs blow out by more than $100 million
Stay informed, daily
Come hell or high water, the government were going to build at Billy Lights Point because the land was owned by SA Water (cheaper).
The community consultation was a farce conducted with a closed mind.
The experts overrode local knowledge, and guess what? No longer the cheaper option, plus an environmental time bomb.
Heads must roll. Where is accountability? – Ned Luscombe, former presiding member of the EP Water Planning Committee
Responding to Cafes, small businesses fear brunt of surcharge cut
Again, it’s the lobbyists who do the complaining because they feel they have to. The punters won’t even notice because it’s the total cost that they look at, as for its components (e.g., surcharge or sans surcharge), they couldn’t care a jot. And the lobbyists know it. – Andrew, Prospect
Responding to Why high house prices might drive down divorces
I came to the same conclusion some time ago, and selfishly thank heavens I am not in an abusive or unhappy relationship.
We are in our fifties and renting. My very intelligent and capable husband does not have a job. Our plan of buying a home with our Super when we reach retirement age has gone down the drain, because our Super balances, despite being sound, are insufficient to purchase an average home that meets our needs. We both have health conditions that mean townhouses with stairs are not appropriate. You can’t keep chickens in a high-rise apartment. I despair about our future. – Lyndal Beer
Responding to Doctors make call on strike action after fresh pay offer
What will the government do for nurses? We’ve seen the paramedics rewarded for getting Malinauskas elected; now, doctors are given a reasonable go. I can tell you, after all the hard work, nurses got just three per cent with no back pay after Covid. That was three years ago. The offer this year is three per cent. What a joke. Nurses are not valued in this state, and are probably still seen as a young female’s job. Victoria gave its nurses a 28 per cent pay rise. Put up Mr Malinauskas. – James Baker
Responding to Visionary developments strengthening South Australia’s future
It is great to see diverse housing recognised in the UDIA awards. Congratulations to DASH Architects for the conservation and adaptive reuse of Fort Largs for Peet Limited, to Hames Sharley architects for the design of the Banksia Apartments at the Cedar Woods Glenside development, and to Tridente Boyce architects for their work with the YWCA, Moto Projects and Commercial & General group to deliver the Adelaide affordable housing project.
These developments provide South Australians with access to excellent architecture that improves liveability, fosters community, positively impacts the environment and offers housing diversity at a time where this is sorely needed.
Congratulations also to the design teams involved in the other projects recognised in the UDIA awards. So many varied skills are required to deliver excellent projects, and design consultants – architects, engineers, energy and environmental specialists and others – should be celebrated along with the developers and contractors involved. Collectively, they make these projects a reality. – Nicolette Di Learnia, executive director (SA) of the Australian Institute of Architects
Responding to Ida Tirimacco’s Best Life
Great article, and what an awesome person. This warmed my heart, and thank you for sharing this with your readers. Have a wonderful day. – Jason Robinson
