Downsize an option
I heard on TV over the weekend that someone has the innovative idea to provide more houses for the younger generations by helping the elderly to down size.
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It's not a new idea by all means. What's new is that all three levels of government are asked to come together to help the elderly to down size.
An extension of the current program of home care for the aged, if one could call that.
The Federal Government would provide the financial incentives; the State Governments would release more suitable land and build more smaller but accessible houses; and the local councils would speed up the approval process and provide the infrastructure.
The bigger houses would be made available to the younger and growing families.
Good ideas for housing would not become reality unless all politicians have the will to make them happen.
Ernest To
Medowie
Trees are not the problem
Every day around the Bay area, I’ve noticed trees being cut down and destroyed.
It is obviously a thriving business in the area. Just recently a magnificently huge and healthy tree was cut down and turned into garden bark.
I would estimate that the tree probably took 200 years to get to the size it was. Two days and it was gone.
What is this paranoid obsession people have that trees are a danger?
Maybe they should live in a city devoid of trees as they are obsessed with the destruction of our natural environment here.
Kelvin Dobson
Nelson Bay
No lights needed
I write in regard to the no right turn from Town Centre Circuit to Bagnall Beach Road.
Whilst this temporary provision has once again proved to be an excellent initiative, it is very disappointing to see in your article (Examiner, February 23) that it is destined to only remain pending completion of civil works within the precinct.
Why?
Surely it is the most effective and inexpensive form of guaranteeing a smooth traffic flow not just in the peak tourism season but throughout the year.
I understand that consideration is being given to the installation of traffic lights as a remedy – however, it is costly and we do not need further traffic lights.
As for the locals, we are surely capable year round of managing the other existing options for access to Salamander Way.
Please make every effort to convince Port Stephens Council that the current set up is in every way the most viable (and inexpensive) option available.
Peter Cowling
Soldiers Point
Children deserve more
Six-year-old Yousra is the same age as the war in Syria. All she has known is war and when my colleagues met her, she was playing hopscotch among the bombed-out buildings of Aleppo.
War cannot kill the imagination of a child. But it’s depriving millions of children like Yousra of a childhood.
This week marks an unfortunate anniversary whereby the people of Syria have now endured an armed conflict that’s lasted longer than World War Two.
Imagine what it’s like for Yousra and her friends to live through 2,190 days of war.
All kids deserve a childhood and a chance for a bright future. We can all do something to make that possible, whether it’s giving to the Syria appeal or just being kind to those who have fled the war. Syria is now everyone’s crisis and every one of us can help.
Find out how at redcross.org.au
Peter Walton
Director International, Australian Red Cross