AGED SOCIAL EQUITY  
Dear editor,

The exposure that there are multitudes of elderly people waiting for aged care beds in hospital wards is a disgraceful smear on this so-called “lucky country”. Previously, there was a social contract by which a person worked hard for most of their life and, in return, received a dignified retirement in the form of the pension and a home.

The utter depravity of the last 20 years of centrist governments has seen this contract torn to shreds and thrown in our elderly citizens’ faces. Furthermore, the shallow, selfish policy of capital gain and negative gearing tax breaks – consequently raising  property prices to benefit “moi” at the expense of others (housing affordability for working and other classes), is also now a source of national shame. Wake up Australia!  These policies are utterly destroying the social fabric of our country. I call on every person who votes for these policies to actually think about the consequences of their deplorable actions.

Dylan White,
Coolum Beach.
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NEW BIG TOURISM 
Dear editor,

Famous for its ‘Big Things’ – Prawn, Bull, Guitar, and as an economy boost through tourist dollars, could Australia promote the Big Digs and Big Rigs as more of these coal and gas giants are predicted to cover the landscape? Try to imagine travels to ‘the centre of the earth’, with lumps of coal and gas masks as souvenirs, etc? Fair dinkum!

Margaret Wilkie,
Peregian Beach.
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CHRISTMAS ROAD LIGHTS  
Dear editor,

As Queensland races toward a record road toll, we are approaching a dangerous time of the year on our roads.

The Christmas rush exaggerates a driver’s mindset where traffic lights seem to take longer to change to green when they are in a hurry. They become trapped in a dangerous illusion that lengthens the perception of duration, feeding their impatience, and edging them towards the precipice of road rage and rash decisions that can prove fatal.

We see it in the fraction of a second between the lights turning green and the driver behind beeping because someone hasn’t got off the mark fast enough.

Science says that when a driver is late, their heart rate rises, and their mind ruminates over perceived lost time and that other drivers are conspiring to impede them.

Distracted drivers cause gnashing of teeth when they ‘short stop’ well before the lights. This prevents sensors from detecting vehicles at the red and delays the green light for people in the lengthening queue, stoking impatience.

Among the most dangerous drivers are those who illegally treat the amber as ‘the other green’ and accelerate through to beat the red.

To reduce high-speed fatalities at intersections, a technology called ‘Hold the Red’ has been adopted in Queensland. When its radar predicts a driver is about to run a red light, the opposing red lights are extended, reducing the chance of another vehicle entering the intersection.

Technology aside, it would help if we took a mental chill pill before we get behind the wheel so we can all celebrate Christmas safely.

Garry Reynolds,
Peregian Springs.

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ROAD SAFETY TARGETS  
Dear editor,

Can we support another costly failure of human lives due to failure to act, enforce and inform?

Despite grand ambitions and repeated commitments to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030 and to eliminate road deaths and serious injuries by 2050, Australia’s current Vision Zero roadmap risks becoming another well-intentioned slogan that falls short of reality.

Internationally, countries like Sweden, the Netherlands, and Spain have demonstrated that Vision Zero is not just rhetoric but achievable through clear leadership, rigorous enforcement, strategic infrastructure upgrades, data-driven targeting, and sustained community engagement. These nations have seen major reductions in fatalities—up to 40-50% declines—through systematic, accountable, and well-funded approaches.

By contrast, Australian road safety strategies remain fragmented, under-resourced, and often symbolic. Our roads continue to claim over 1,300 lives annually, with hospitalisations stubbornly high and increasing in some states. Enforcement efforts, though intense in parts, often lack the focused intensity and coverage seen in successful jurisdictions. Infrastructure upgrades on high-risk roads lag severely, especially outside metropolitan centres. Critically, progress reports and data transparency remain limited, undermining public confidence and political accountability.

The time for symbolic policies has passed. Australia must enact radical and accountable change grounded in evidence and global best practice. Only then can the 2030 objective and Vision Zero for 2050 remain credible goals rather than aspirational slogans, honouring the lives lost and protecting the communities still at risk.

Colin Caudell,
Coolum Beach.
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ASBESTOS AWARENESS  
Dear editor,

In light of National Asbestos Awareness Week 2025 and in the wake of the recent scare of asbestos being identified in children’s play sand, now more than ever, parents need to understand that with asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) remaining in 1-in-3 Aussie homes, if these materials are not managed safely, they can pose a significant health risk to families.

There’s no doubting Australia’s passion for renovating. We love the challenge! But what many don’t know is that they could be risking their lives and the lives of their loved ones (including their children) if they fail to respect asbestos risks and ensure asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) are managed safely.

It’s heartbreaking that around 4,000 Australians die needlessly every year from avoidable asbestos-related diseases – that’s three times the national road toll. With 51% of current mesothelioma deaths directly linked to home renovations, the number of Australians who will lose their lives is predicted to rise if we don’t get serious about asbestos awareness and how to manage this potentially deadly material safely.

What homeowners need to know is that asbestos wasn’t only used in the manufacture of flat and corrugated sheeting materials. It was used in the manufacture of more than 3,000 building and decorator products that remain lurking in one third of homes, including brick, weatherboard, clad homes and apartments.

ACMs were commonly used in wet areas such as bathrooms, kitchens and laundries, but this potentially deadly fibre could be in places renovators might not expect. It could be lurking under carpets, linoleum, vinyl and ceramic floor and wall tiles, external and internal walls, ceilings, eaves, roofs and fences. Asbestos could be in any residential property, in any town or city across Australia, if the home was built before 1990 and in any commercial property constructed before 2004.

Visit asbestosawareness.com.au to learn how to identify, test and safely manage asbestos because it could save your life or the life of a loved one.
Cherie Barber,
TV Personality and National Asbestos Awareness Ambassador.
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DRINKING IN AUSTRALIA  
Dear editor,

Australia’s relationship with an endemic “drinking culture”, has severe consequences for drivers caught driving over the .05 limit.

Alcohol is the socially acceptable drug of choice. it appears to be a normalised part of our culture. It’s difficult to fathom how drivers become nonchalant about getting into a car with drugs or alcohol in their systems, oblivious to the drug effects still in human systems, often without displaying any negative or obvious signs of incompetence.

Not many drunk drivers believe they are over the limit, even when the police show them the results. This is more common than we realise, especially as they get into cars as a matter of routine, for work, etc., putting all other drivers automatically at risk. But nothing seems to reduce the road toll and injury statistics, because drinking is an acceptable social norm, regardless. Some do control their intake, without being over the limit, but for P-platers, it’s zero, or lose their licence automatically.

At the end of the  twelfth school year, with the alcohol drinking culture the “rite of passage” for young adults, it is assumed: “Monkey see; monkey do!”  Children learn what they live. And so we have a large part of our police force dedicated to reducing the road statistics by monitoring drivers and catching the irresponsible on a regular basis, who won’t stop at one drink or depend on drugs to see them through the day. With holiday periods, some celebrate occasions with more than normal volumes of alcohol just to be social. It is history repeating itself year after year.

E. Rowe,
Marcoola.
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SALVOS CHRISTMAS WORDS 
Dear editor,

With Christmas upon us, I have begun to notice a strange phenomenon. Although Christmas is a time of joy and hope for so many, I have also noticed a heaviness, a stress, a pressure that has started to come to the surface in people’s lives.

At The Salvation Army, we notice these pressures firsthand. They are the pressures that are placed on individuals and families at Christmas, which can turn a time of joy into a time of distress.

One of the most obvious pressures is the financial pressure people face. It is the choice between paying for food and affording presents for their children or being able to go to the doctor instead of a special Christmas Day meal.

Christmas also illuminates other pressures, like relationship tensions as family conflict is heightened, or time pressures due to the busyness of the season.

But one of the more hidden pressures we see people facing, although often one of the most damaging, is the pressure of comparison with those around you at Christmas time. Pressure to spend a certain amount, look a certain way, buy a certain number of gifts, have all your friends over for a meal, the list goes on.

We see firsthand the damage this can create. The stress placed on a family trying to ‘keep up’ with those around them can be debilitating, not just for individuals and parents but also for children.

This is why we want to encourage Australians to rethink how they approach Christmas this year, so as not to fall into the trap of comparison and ‘keeping up’ with those around you.

Aim for connection, not perfection. Being with others is so much more valuable than stressing about creating the perfect Christmas, whether it be with family, friends or the Salvos – there’s no need to be alone this Christmas, we’re here for you.

Share the load. Ask others to chip in, encourage everyone to bring a plate or help out in another way. You don’t have to be everything to everyone.

And finally, if you are struggling this Christmas, please don’t be ashamed to reach out for support. We want you to know that we have your Christmas taken care of this year – providing gifts for children, hampers and meals for Christmas Day, and a place for connection where you can belong.

If you need help this Christmas, or to donate to The Salvation Army’s Christmas Appeal, which is aiming to raise $29 million, please visit salvationarmy.org.au or call 13 SALVOS (13 72 58).

From all of us at the Salvos, we wish you a very happy and hope-filled Christmas.

Colonel Rodney Walters,
The Salvation Army.
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