LETTERS: Cane fires ruin the washing

I AM getting really peeved off with Bundaberg cane farmers burning their trash after harvest

Letter writer Bill Napthali says he is frustrated by the soot from cane burning. Picture: Jonathan Reichard

Our burning issue

I AM getting really peeved off with Bundaberg cane farmers burning their trash after harvest.

Several times in the last month black burnt trash has floated into my motel during the evening.

The next morning with a breeze blowing the black ash swirls around the units leaving soot on the freshly laundered linen whilst servicing the rooms.

Half an hour of my time is spent sweeping and vacuuming the soot up.

I noticed on the 6/08/2018 while driving along Goodwood Rd there were two large piles of bailed trash.

I can only assume these bales were for mulch or for farmer drought relief.

Within a kilometre of these bales was a paddock where the trash has been raked into rows and burnt (cause of my problem).

Can someone tell me why cane farmers are allowed to wantonly burn cane trash thus polluting our beautiful town of Bundaberg every year?

BILL NAPTHALI,

Bundaberg

Unions or kids?

ONCE again we have seen the Palaszczuk Labor Government put the unions ahead of Queensland children.

During Estimates, an RTI revealed that the Queensland Teachers Union has been secretly lobbying the Palaszczuk Government for the scrapping of Independent Public Schools since January.

What's worse, Labor's Education Minister kept this communication hidden from Queenslanders for more than four months.

This is wrong.

Our Independent Public Schools give principals, teachers and parents a say in their children's education.

If Labor goes through with its plan to scrap Independent Public Schools it's clear that they are owned lock, stock and barrel by the unions.

Labor needs to come clean with Queenslanders about any secret union deals to scrap or significantly change the Independent Public Schools program.

JARROD BLEIJIE

LNP Shadow Education Minister

Don't trash plan

IT seems that Wayne Mulvany in his letter (N/M 4/8/2018) has tried his hardest to convince readers the new town plan isn't working and that further investment presumably in the form of high rise development will be the answer to our dreams.

I find it a bizarre call of action to "trash" the Town Plan and undertake an immediate review.

All at the same time when a nine-storey development application is currently with council, proposed for Bargara where five stories is the limit.

If his understanding that the new Town Plan is nothing more than a combination of the previous plans, then ratepayers have been "ripped off".

In actual fact the new Town Plan (Planning Scheme) came about after extensive public input and cost and replaced the four planning schemes that had previously been in place.

Furthermore, Council implemented planning scheme measures "to protect and enhance the local character of each area".

In simple terms, that's why there are different maximum building height restrictions across our local government area.

Bargara is not a Bundaberg City, as it is not a Childers or a Woodgate.

The writer also comments that opponents stayed quiet until the last minute and states that substantial monies have been spent bringing a project of this size to this point.

Why make such statements when he should be aware the community was denied the opportunity for consultation and objections and the Planning Scheme is quite clear about the maximum height levels in the Bargara location, so therefore the developer had a choice not to proceed?

I believe the public should be very concerned if council disregards the intent of it's own Planning Scheme or in fact suddenly amends it in order to open the door to such developments, being nine storeys or even higher.

Many other local government areas throughout Australia have managed to maintain sensible height restrictions in their coastal towns by not "bowing down" to those accusing them of stifling investment.

Tourism itself can boost the economy of an area and you only have to talk to the visitors to know why they keep coming back to our unique coastline.

Karen Tulk

Bargara