Letters to the editor | Central Western Daily letters to February 4, 28, 2023

There are two obvious spots for this.

The middle of the roundabout on Summer Street and Hill Street.

Or a large 20:1 scale statue bridging the highway entering Orange.

Rodney Ville

Please don't be seduced by all the hype and publicity surrounding a new greyhound facility in our community, when in reality, it is one of the cruelest of all racing industries.

Official greyhound industry statistics reveal the true extent of the ongoing cruelty.

In 2021 and 2022, 348 on-track deaths and 20,787 track related injuries occurred, with hundreds of injured dogs having to be euthanased after succumbing to their injuries.

These beautiful animals deserve a better future; a life not to be exploited to satisfy the gambling pleasures of humans, nor threatened by injury or death, in the name of "sport".

We are well aware of the many racing greyhound owners, breeders and trainers who love their animals, but unfortunately the fate of the animals is often out of their control when in training or when racing.

We call on Orange and Bathurst City Councils and our local Member of the NSW Parliament, and the Member for Bathurst, to reject the current proposal for a replacement track and facility in the Central West, and to put the welfare of greyhounds ahead of the vested interests of the gambling industry.

As many countries throughout the world move to ban greyhound racing, we live in hope that Australia will soon do likewise.

KISS is an acronym that most people are familiar with.

In my opinion, it certainly applies to what is happening to the Voice discussions.

Those people demanding more and more information, need to take a cold shower ... perhaps a long one for Peter Dutton.

Prime Minister Albert Albanee, summed it up perfectly when he recently said, "A Voice to Parliament will not be a funding body. It will not run programs. It will simply be a source of advice to government".

That's all I need to know to vote "yes" at the referendum.

All the details that people are demanding, will be with various, consulting committees and then of course, Federal Parliament, as it should be.

"Keep It Simple Stupid."

The recent burning of the Quran in some European countries is another sad reminder of how far we still need to go in our quest for universal respect and tolerance for all beliefs.

It is becoming fashionable for politicians of a certain ilk to gain attention by committing such a highly offensive act, one which is carried out with the sole intention of provoking a reaction.

While carried out under the garb of "freedom of expression", such acts need to be denounced as hate crimes.

No religion can sanctify such an egregious expression of disrespect, nor any civil code. An act such as this goes against our human sensibilities for it is designed to inflict pain.

I call upon the Federal Government to condemn these acts and ensure that such hateful practices find no takers on our shores.

Last year, the Labor federal government, true to their word, legislated for Australia to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent by 2030.

How, many ask, are we going to get there? Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, recently released proposed reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism, Labor's signature climate policy.

The Safeguard Mechanism covers the facilities that emit more than 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per annum.

These 215 entities will be required, by law, to reduce their baseline emissions by 4.9 per cent each year until 2030.

Incorporating large emitters like the fossil fuel producers Santos, Woodside, and Chevron, this is a vital piece of Australia's emissions reduction challenge.

Unfortunately, under the current proposal, these companies will still be allowed to buy unlimited carbon offsets to meet requirements.

In the face of climate-fuelled extreme weather disasters, the world needs absolute emissions reductions.

To safeguard the future, the Albanese government must ensure wealthy corporations are unable to pay to continue their polluting ways.