Dear editor,
America may be perceived as a ‘friend’ by some in Australia, but this is not the story across the world.
The belligerence, bullying and threatening behaviour practised by present and past US governments are resented by many in the global community.
American support for Israel along with that of other Western countries and organisations (European Union for example) has aided and abetted the genocide that is happening in Gaza and the expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Israeli IDF spokespersons and members of the Israeli Knesset have no shame in telling lies as distinct from the truth.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boldly stated: “There is no starvation in Gaza”, whilst images relayed across the world speak the truth.
In the Israeli parliament in recent days right wing parliamentarians and settler groups held a conference titled ‘The Gaza Riviera from Vision to Reality’, outlining potential development plans for Gaza once the Palestinian people are removed.
Whilst this is happening Jillian Segal, the special envoy appointed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, released her report compiled to address the causes of antisemitism in Australia, with not a passing reference to what is happening in Gaza today and Israel generally.
Her report is a call to action for the monitoring of antisemitism in schools, universities, workplaces, public gatherings, newspapers, the media, etc., with what many people consider to be draconian consequences for those who do not comply.
What is of great irony is that some in the Murdoch press who vociferously opposed the Indigenous Voice to Parliament via the 2023 referendum, support the powers Gillian Segal would be given to monitor the nation if her report is endorsed by the Labor Government.
Racism and bigotry are abhorrent in all forms, but we cannot pretend that we live in a vacuum.
What is happening in Gaza undermines any of the progress we may have made in promoting international norms for a better world.
I understand how former prime minister, the 100-year-old Dr Mahathir Mohamad, felt when he stated that he is appalled at the deterioration of human rights across the world, and states in regard to the suffering in Gaza, “I hide my face away”.
In regard to the lack of real action to condemn Israel with our Prime Minister Anthony Albanese basically batting away the issue, he and Gillian Segal should be alert to the words of Gideon Levy, the great Israeli journalist, who commented: “What happens in Gaza does not stay in Gaza.”
Kathy Bradley, Louth Bay
Desals’ part in state’s marine disaster
Dear editor,
The need for desalination to water-proof Eyre Peninsula has never been disputed, despite many years of inaction by SA Water.
As the algal bloom rages on without any end in sight, and is tipped to reappear, the part desal plants just south of Adelaide and Kangaroo Island play cannot be dismissed.
The government’s claims of ‘look away, nothing to see here’ are mystifying.
Since early this year, the Lonsdale desal plant has come into full operation, producing 300 million litres a day for the first time since being built in the late 2000s.
The massive amounts of hypersaline water, plus the cocktail of toxic chemicals needed to clean the desal filters, are pumped into Gulf St Vincent hourly.
What effect does this have on a marine environment already stressed by the bloom? Or did this stress the marine environment to allow the bloom to start and then rage out of control?
SARDI/PIRSA/state government has no answers.
Several eminent Australian marine scientists, plus credible international papers, point to the dangers and high risks of desal plants discharging into shallow areas with poor water movement.
Some choose to say “desal discharge cannot be proven as having any connection with the algal bloom”.
In this case, SA Water/state government, as the polluters of desal discharge, need to prove by accredited independent science that it is not, and aquaculture and fishing will not be affected.
Until this can happen, all work at the planned desal plant in shallow Boston Bay, Port Lincoln, should cease immediately.
The risks to Port Lincoln, Eyre Peninsula, and the state are far too high.
Glen Ingham, Port Lincoln
Medical services are vital
Dear editor,
The provision of locum doctors, nurses and allied health workers has become necessary, particularly in regional areas, to ensure that residents have access to the medical services and care they are entitled to, regardless of their location.
To procure locum medical staff for regional areas, practices have to take into consideration that the cost can fluctuate based on location, specialty, experience and demand when compared to metropolitan locations.
Whilst it may appear to some that paying locums over $3000 for serving in country hospitals is extravagant, ‘Locums’ $3800 a shift’ (Sunday Mail, July 27), rural residents believe that it is money well spent and is vital for the consistent delivery of adequate health services to both regional and remote communities.
Locum services were initially introduced to address the chronic shortage of doctors in country areas, a situation that has existed for well over 20 years and continues today, but now applies equally to metropolitan locations, as it provides communities with consistent access to medical services.
Without the regular employment of locums, access to both urgent and necessary medical attention would be denied, and the limited number of doctors and allied health staff would be severely overworked due to the chronic and ongoing staff shortages.
The lives of people in the country are equally important as urban dwellers, and they deserve the same level of service and accessibility regardless of the level of funding required.
Ian Macgowan, Ceduna
