Letters: Shark drum lines removal becomes political war

Today readers have their say on the removal of shark drum lines in Queensland, discipline in schools and climate change indoctrination.

Shark drum lines are to be removed from Queensland’s top beaches.

COLUMNIST Peter Gleeson ( C-M , Sep 19) is correct.

The news that the State Government lost an appeal to use nets and drum lines to catch and kill sharks on the Great Barrier Reef is a ludicrous decision.

I would not put one pinky finger in that body of water knowing that large sharks such as tiger, bull and possibly white pointers were in the vicinity.

As Gleeson highlighted, nets and drum lines have been in operation on the Gold Coast since the 1960s and there have been no fatal shark attacks on those beaches.

While it is “pot luck” to a degree when you step into any body of water, namely coastal waters, where we know we share the water with these deadly sharks, sadly they don’t know the difference between human flesh and other sea creatures.

This Federal Court decision smacks of green political jingoism.

North Queensland can ill-afford any reason for tourists to stay away from these areas. This decision alone could easily cost a foreign or domestic tourist their life.

No amount of naysaying from conservation zealots that it is in the best interests of the shark population can sway me from thinking they

may, in the future, have somebody’s blood on their hands with this ridiculous ruling.

Paul Henderson, Wynnum

THE decision to ban drum lines from some areas has produced an extraordinary comment from Tourism Minister Kate Jones.

She claims that unless the Federal Government intervenes, the PM will have blood on his hands. By her logic, those killed in road accidents are the fault of the transport minister.

Jones would be better off finding alternatives to drum lines.

Tony Miles, Chermside

KATE Jones has never wasted an opportunity to either promote herself or bag the LNP and the Federal Government.

However, she now has the unmitigated gall to call for help from Prime Minister Scott Morrison over the shark drum line court ruling.

This follows Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s appeal to Scott Morrison to provide funding to purchase a super-size 737 firefighting water bomber.

The Premier has also never been shy to attack the Federal Government, particularly over the issue of coal mining

Just another day in politics, I guess.

Blade Johnstone, Victoria Point

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A teacher disciplines students.

SCHOOLS FAIL IN BEHAVOUR MANAGEMENT

FORMER teachers Clive Greensill and Carol da Costa-Roque (Letters, Sep 19) risk raising the ire of modern thinkers when they praise the worth of corporal punishment.

Behaviour management, which replaced discipline, has had over 20 years to prove itself but it has been an abject failure, except in the minds of those who know no better.

I retired early from secondary teaching, largely because I could see a decline in acceptable behaviour, occasioned by modern methods.

However, I am still in regular contact with many former students who express appreciation for the interactions that we shared when they were students.

Bill McCormack, Tarragindi

THE ongoing debate about the conditions in our schools is a healthy one, but a belief that we need to revert to past practices is misguided and unhelpful.

As a principal in secondary schools over a period of 20 years in both rural and urban contexts, it was painfully obvious that the dynamic in our schools was becoming more complex and challenging.

The abolition of corporal punishment was necessary and the notion that its reintroduction would somehow solve our problems simplistic.

The decline in student classroom behaviour cannot be attributed to any one factor.

The values that underpin our society have changed due to such issues as the decline of religion, family stress and increased materialism.

In addition to this, we do not value education as highly as other counties as indicated by resourcing and limited community support.

For this to turn around we need to target education as our No.1 priority.

The profession of teaching will again become attractive if graduates feel they are valued and respected for their role in the classroom.

There is no quick fix for these matters but to ignore them is reprehensible.

Steve Jenkins, Sinnamon Park

PUPIL-teacher ratios didn’t seem to be a problem in the days when I was being taught by a single teacher in a room of 35 pupils with bare floorboards, no carpet and no fans/airconditioning.

We sat up straight and listened to the teacher and we did not dare utter a word unless asked to by the teacher.

In the morning we said the Lord’s Prayer, sang God Save the Queen and recited our poem of the month.

We then rote-learned our tables and spelling and then our teacher began the formal lessons for the day.

The teacher had full control and at no time did I feel that he looked overburdened with his high pupil-teacher ratio.

While I do not wish for us to go back to those “good” old days, today’s ratios of no more than 20 to one would have been heaven sent if they were available then.

Emmanuel Alexion, Oxley

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CLIMATE INDOCTRINATION

I REFER to Andrew Bolt’s column ( C-M , Sep 19).

If anybody poses a distinct threat to the welfare of our children, it’s not Bolt, but his accuser Tim Flannery.

I have been led to believe that some children are becoming very anxious regarding what they are being seduced into believing, that the end of the world is nigh.

And when former US president Barack Obama grants child activist Greta Thunberg an audience who can blame our children for slumping into the depths of despair?

I find it disgusting that climate change zealots choose to brainwash children in order to bolster their cause regarding such a complex and scientifically debatable matter.

My generation grew up with the threat of nuclear war hanging over our heads, but as I recall the adults never allowed hysteria to permeate our young minds.

And remember, a nuclear holocaust was far more of a reality to us than any climate change armageddon could be, thanks to the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima that ended World War II.

However, climate change activists today appear happy to allow angst to flourish in the minds of our young.

Surely in the matter of climate change, children should have been taboo, but as rational debate is also taboo to these zealots, why should we be surprised?

Crispin Walters, Chapel Hill

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