Letters to the Editor, July 19, 2018

TODAY’S LETTERS: Readers have their say on LNP candidate Trevor Ruthenberg’s medal mix-up, the proposal to reform abortion laws in Queensland, and the vaccination debate.

LNP candidate for Longman, Trevor Ruthenberg, is embroiled in a war over his military medal. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt) NO ARCHIVING

I WRITE in defence of LNP Longman candidate Trevor Ruthenberg, who incorrectly cited on his CV that he had been awarded the Australian Service Medal when he had been awarded the Australian Defence Medal (C-M, Jul 18).

There’s not much difference in the nomenclature.

Over my military career, I was awarded six medals.

As an exercise, I tried to accurately identify my medals.

I managed to get three right. These were the ones for Vietnam service, so that’s not surprising.

Ruthenberg never wore the ASM. The error on his CV is clearly an honest mistake, one which Labor will milk right up to the day of the by-election.

Ruthenberg needs to be cut some slack on this one.

Longman voters need to consider party policies when choosing who to vote for.

Chris Kondratowicz, Bribie Island

I SERVED in the Army for two years as a national serviceman.

I did not serve overseas but I was awarded a service medal.

Another person served similarly in the military, in this case the air force, for four years and received a different, some say lesser, medal.

I don’t understand the difference. Time to get over it.

Ross Klinge, Caboolture

I SPENT 43 years associated with the Australian military, and the medals I wear indicate my military service to most within the armed forces.

However, until this debacle over Trevor Ruthenberg, had you asked me the correct names of all of them, I would have been at a loss to do so.

Give the guy a break.

By the way, I am a paid up Labor supporter.

Adrian Surplice, Dayboro

I DON’T live in the electorate of Longman and have no idea who Trevor Ruthenberg is, apart from what I have read in The Courier-Mail.

But I do have both medals.

Ruthenberg served in the RAAF but apparently not overseas. At least he served, not like the wannabes who parade around wearing medals they did not earn or were not entitled to.

Because of his service, Ruthenberg is entitled to the medal he has.

Whether he got it mixed up or worded it wrongly, I don’t know. But he has apologised for his error or choice of words and that should be the end of it.

Tony Miles, Chermside

IT IS difficult to believe Trevor Ruthenberg’s protestations of innocence, because when somebody receives an award or decoration for service from the Department of Defence, it comes with a letter that specifically names the medal.

So if Ruthenberg fails to appreciate the difference between an ASM and an ADM it can only mean that he was either careless in the preparation of his state parliamentary biography or he knowingly claimed to have earned the more prestigious award to enhance his personal credentials. Either scenario is not befitting an aspiring federal MP.

The same could be said of Labor's Susan Lamb, who caused this by-election.

She too failed to ensure she met all the prerequisites of becoming an MP.

Surely, the people of Longman deserve to be represented by competent people in Canberra.

Frank Wolber, Tingalpa

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SUPPORT GIFT OF LIFE

I REFER to your Editorial (C-M, Jul 17) on abortion law reform, which would make it legal to abort a healthy foetus on demand until 22 weeks gestation.

This could open the way for a business opportunity in the field of abortion.

You state that “most women would already say the decision to terminate a pregnancy is the hardest choice they would ever make”, and rightly so.

This open opportunity to terminate a pregnancy up to 22 weeks gestation may place many women in a lesser position of being able to resist the urging of other parties to go ahead with this procedure.

Terminating a healthy pregnancy, whether to the advanced stage of 22 weeks or not, needs to be balanced with the moral responsibility to the defenceless unborn future citizen.

Would it not be better for MPs to find ways to support the pregnant woman to continue with the pregnancy, and then to endow a waiting woman who craves a child she cannot have herself, to adopt a healthy, loving child?

Christa Elliott, Currimundi

PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk may well consider that passing the Termination of Pregnancy Bill, allowing induced abortions up to 22 weeks gestation, will be a “proud day” for Queensland.

However, many thinking people would disagree that the wanton destruction of human life is either ethical or morally defensible.

A proportion of women who have had abortions regret it for the rest of their lives and suffer psychological distress.

The proposed legislation is irresponsible since it would require ethical doctors with conscientious objections to refer women seeking to procure an abortion to doctors having no such moral qualms, forcing many medical practitioners “against their will” to be complicit in the destruction of human life.

Such a legally enshrined requirement may cause guilt, sorrow, sadness and depression among doctors forced to act contrary to their ethical and moral beliefs.

The first tenet of ethical medical conduct is “Primum Non Nocere – First Do No Harm”.

Gregory Boyle, Jamboree Heights

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VACCINATION QUESTIONS IN NEED OF ANSWERS

I COULDN’T ignore columnist Kylie Lang’s condescending tirade (C-M, Jul 17).

I am not anti-vaccination. It’s just that I fail to understand the timing and/or the necessity for some vaccinations.

Wouldn’t it make sense to vaccinate children before they reach puberty rather than give it to babies less that 24 hours old, especially since they have an immature immune system?

There is a seething anger between pro-vax and anti-vax groups. It is clear that this opinion divide is due to the lack of tangible information and data from the government, health departments and the medical fraternity.

My understanding is that people want reassurance that what they are being forced to do (by way of restriction of benefits etc) won’t harm them or their children. Is the testing conducted on vaccines inferior to that demanded of everyday pharmaceuticals?

It depends on which article you read.

However, we must be mindful that even with the strictest testing and peer reviews of studies failures have and will continue to happen.

Many people remember drugs such as Thalidomide and Vioxx and the devastating effects.

Additionally, it has been written that some vaccines contain substances derived from products that may be deemed unclean or sacred to some religions.

Have the studies gone far enough? Probably not.

Those who have the power need to provide and start distributing the data and the facts with supporting documentation.

To make a statement that something is safe is clearly not enough for the thinking public of today.

The questions I regularly hear are: How many vaccinated and unvaccinated children have contracted or died from any of the diseases on the vaccine schedule, and how many have been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Get off your high horse and try and understand where they’re coming from.

Jim Simpson, Rosewood

KYLIE Lang’s statement that unvaccinated children should be home schooled does not go far enough.

The two greatest health discoveries in my lifetime of 87 years have been vaccination and contraception.

Parents who do not have their child vaccinated should be charged with child neglect.

Beryl Holmes, St Lucia

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