Letters: We must be prepared for more bushfire emergencies in Queensland

Today readers have their say on the Queensland bushfires, former chief justice Tim Carmody’s retirement and the cashless welfare card.

I’M SURE the hearts of everyone go out to those who have lost property in last weekend’s fires in southern Queensland.

Thousands of people around the world will mourn the loss of Binna Burra. And our admiration and thanks go to the firefighters who have prevented even more extensive damage, perhaps even loss of life.

Fire authorities have spoken of “unprecedented catastrophic conditions”.

Is this the “new normal”, as suggested by Inspector Andrew Sturgess of the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (C-M, Sep 9)?

It seems a shocking thing to say, but all the indications are that the new normal is for bushfires to increase in number and intensity in the years ahead.

That’s the inevitable consequence of the climate crisis that is now upon us. Burning fossil fuels anywhere in the world means greater carbon emissions everywhere. Greater emissions mean a hotter and dryer climate, leading to parched bushland and even rainforest ready to ignite.

The only way to avoid this frightening reality is to rapidly manage an orderly transition away from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas towards a carbon-free economy.

We already have the technology to do this. What we need is the political will. If ever there was an issue that transcends party politics, this is it.

Dermot Dorgan, Ashgrove

BLIND Freddie and I were discussing the disastrous bushfires in south-east Queensland and northern NSW.

Freddie was making the point that we are living in a time of global warming, while being continually affected by severe droughts and flooding rains.

Then why, asked Freddie, don’t our state and local governments make adequate bushfire protection laws such as compulsory sprinkling systems for all buildings, both private and commercial, which are within a bull’s roar of bushland and otherwise dense scrubland?

Freddie thinks that such properties should have as part of their building/development approval a suitable underground water tank

of not less than 25,000 litres connected by pump to roof sprinklers and self-sealing rainwater downpipes.

In this way, Freddie suggests, nearby dry grass and flying embers would be prevented from igniting valued homes, sheds etc, thus saving millions of dollars in property damage as well as precious lives.

But I said, what about the cost?

His reply was: What is a life worth?

If governments can make laws about motor-vehicle safety, swimming-pool safety and

cigarette-smoking heath safety, why not property fire safety?

Freddie made a good point, I thought. And consider the savings in insurance premium costs the rest of us would make because of significantly fewer claims.

I wonder how many politicians and insurance company CEOs would agree with Blind Freddie.

Richard K. Tiainen, Holland Park West

WILL our Government now finally introduce water restrictions in south-east Queensland after the devastating fires?

It is irresponsible that we have not been conserving water when nearby towns are about to run dry and there’s no sign of rain, while the population continues to grow.

How do we fight fire without water? How do we grow crops? We cannot survive without this most precious commodity.

Mary Milanovic, Middle Park

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Former Queensland chief kustice Tim Carmody.

CARMODY’S FATE PREDETERMINED

COLUMNIST Peter Gleeson (C-M, Sep 9) listed bullying and harassment, among other things,

that forced the former chief justice, Tim Carmody, to resign his position after only 12 months in the job.

I have never met Carmody and I’m sure he is “thoroughly personable”, as Gleeson suggests.

However, the rumblings within the legal fraternity from day one against the impending appointment of a chief magistrate who had only been in the position for nine months, over the conventional wisdom of appointing more deserving and/or longer serving candidates, makes me wonder why he accepted the position from then-premier Campbell Newman in the first place.

Valdy Kwitowski, Salisbury

PETER Gleeson failed to mention that before his appointment as chief magistrate, Tim Carmody was a sitting judge of the Family Court, and thus came to the Supreme Court with considerably more judicial experience than the majority of his colleagues on that court.

Despite being ranked equally in the judicial pecking order, Supreme Court judges have traditionally viewed their brother and sister judges on the Family Court bench as being somewhat inferior, and this no doubt contributed to their disgraceful treatment of Carmody.

John Tunn, Coorparoo

IN WRITING about Tim Carmoody’s retirement, Peter Gleeson failed to mention one of Carmody’s “cardinal sins”.

He rose to the top of his game in spite of attending the wrong school.

My opinion of Carmody is not biased by the fact that he married my cousin, Robyn. We don’t always like our in-laws.

He has demonstrated his ability, drive and, above all, immense integrity many times over.

Bill McCormack, Tarragindi

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CASHLESS CARD WORTH IT

AUSTRALIAN Council of Social Service director of policy Jacqueline Phillips has condemned the cashless debit card concept (C-M, Sep 9).

She says this card is “unnecessary, expensive, stigmatising and impractical”.

However, I am in the process of proving that a cashless card can be practical and useful.

I’m no wowser. I enjoy a drink and play poker machines.

However, on the minority of occasions I have come out ahead of a poker machine it frustrated me that I might pour my winnings back into the poker machine.

I see other people constantly doing this.

So what I do now is to invest my winnings into a cashless gift card which I can use to purchase a range of goods, which admittedly might include alcohol, but excludes poker machines of course.

I am urging an elderly friend who endures hunger and faces possible eviction, as a result of his addiction to poker machines, to do the same.

Therefore I question the assertion that cashless cars are “expensive” or “impractical”.

Phillips’ sweeping condemnation of the cashless welfare card strikes me as being an example of those who shrug their shoulders when confronting a problem, then sit back and criticise those who at least attempt to do something.

My elderly friend is unable, due to his addiction to gambling, to listen to my advice.

But should severe misfortune befall him as a consequence of his human failings, at least I will know that although I failed to prevent his misfortune, I did my best to prevent it.

Crispin Walters, Chapel Hill

I’M SURE there will be some “right-thinking” people who believe that welfare recipients being mandatorily tested for drugs is nothing but common sense.

Well, the same common sense about those benefiting from government largesse casts a pretty wide net.

Obviously all politicians and public servants, being directly paid from the public coffers, will require testing, as will pensioners.

Some might argue that part-pension recipients might be exempted from some testing, but given self-sufficient retirees have received tax benefits (ie government money) to achieve that status, I’m sorry.

And the list goes on. Get a family tax benefit – test.

Government rebate on private health insurance – test.

Got a kid in public school – test (including the kids?).

Some might say this is ridiculous, but the reality is that those in favour of this measure claim it is based on principle but don’t want to have themselves included in the suspect group.

Funny how principles sometimes do that.

Stephen Morgan, Carina Heights

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