Short-sighted
THE City of Perth is very short sighted with its cuts to senior citizens services.
It is clear to all that we are now living in an era where more people are retiring and officially entering the “seniors” age band.
That will mean more services are required and there will be more demand for local governments to carry a proportion of that load.
We all know that is going to happen, so why is the City of Perth starting to change its approach and confuse people?
The City of Perth should be consolidating on promises made to seniors that services would not be cut.
When a wealthy city council makes penny pinching cuts to the most vulnerable in the community, we all should stand up and say something.
When a wealthy city council approves a half million dollar “audit” but cuts seniors’ activity programs…well that’s something to scream about.
Perhaps we should start to track local councillors as they themselves enter old age and we might see just what services they avail themselves of.
The supreme irony might be, themselves trying to access a service that they participated in cutting while in political office.
We all know that people feel less inclined to physically “protest” when they get older.
It’s harder to get to the place of protest, the old body may not be able to take the jostling and even the mental health is strained about it all.
But of course, governments of all persuasions take advantage of this and try to screw down the elders.
Frankly, it’s embarrassing and insulting.
Colin Scott,
Deague Ct, North Perth

Squeaky wheel
THE call by some councils and a very small minority of individuals to change Australia Day does not speak for the majority of Australians or me.
These minority individuals say they are speaking on behalf of Australians and Indigenous or culturally sensitive people; well, that’s there opinion.
These people are trying to rewrite history and next they’ll be wanting to do away with Anzac Day, Christmas, Easter, etc.
Indigenous people have been born, raised, housed, schooled and received medical treatment from Australians for the past 100 years or so, and it’s about time they finally accept that they are Australians just like the rest of us.
Why should I/we be held responsible for what happened 150 or 200 years ago: we weren’t around then. It’s time to move on.
If councils or state governments want to change Australia Day, then put it to the people and if rejected then you personally pay for the cost of having the vote.
Why should ratepayers/taxpayers have to foot the bill for a few minority individuals.
It is well overdue that Indigenous people realise that they have been living under Australian privilege for the past 100 years (not too many have been around for over 100 years).
They are only wanting compensation for something they have no claim to.
Nowadays a large majority of Indigenous people live within major cities and towns and have received special benefits that the rest of us have not.
There should be no more them-and-us society.
It will be a great day when our government stops treating Indigenous people as a separate group and treat us all as Australians.
So to all those radical lefties, and trouble makers who like to protest at anything, please remember you are only an individual and you can’t force your opinion onto me or think you are speaking on behalf of me and other Australians because you don’t.
Let’s remember history and move on to make Australia a better place to live, work and enjoy the facilities that has shaped Australia since Federation.
Every country has things in their history that they would like to forget or are ashamed of; should it stop a nation from growing?
Hell NO.
I am an Australian born and raised and proud off it.
Steven Cruden
Witts Lane, Kwinana
The Ed says: Regardless of the Australia Day debate, to suggest that discrimination against indigenous Australians stopped 150 or 200 years ago is patently ludicrous. It’s alive and well. And Indigenous funding doesn’t goes straight into their pocket, most goes to wages of white bureaucrats. In fact, this is such an ill-informed letter it’s hardly worth going on.

Wedding bells
THOSE who oppose same sex marriage are still living in the dark ages or another planet.
Research into humane countries that have accepted same sex marriage and you will find that the sky didn’t fall.
Many things were not acceptable in the past but they are now because of our critical thinking and our secularism.
Many children adopted by gay couples are found to be happy as long as they are given unconditional love and not stigmatised by society as they used to do with children born out of wedlock.
Gay marriage made the two per cent of the population who were gay as happy as the 98 per cent who were heterosexuals, and was approved by 60-70 per cent of the population.
Isn’t that wonderful?
Our ideologies and definition should evolve with time and not resort to the medieval definition of every thing and absurdities of religion. Lets give way to humanity, equality, progress and modernity.
Alex Mulla
Smith St, Highgate