A recent letter by Robert Gibbons (Leader, Wednesday, July 22) pointed out several failings by the Morrison and Berejiklian governments regarding betterment's and infrastructure in 'The Shire'.
I need, once again, to remind Shire residents and Leader correspondents that nothing will be done by our political leaders, both Federal and State whilst the Shire is a safe political seat for the incumbents. Why would our local politicians, while in government, want to spend anything more than a few crumbs when they know that, at every election, they will be elected with a substantial majority.
To get any money spent in Shire electorates, we must become marginal seats. To achieve that aim, voting for any electoral candidate other than the sitting Government politician is the only way for them to sit up and take notice of their electorates.
Kevin Gowen,
Caringbah
Michelle Ford, a great kid who showed promise
It was my great pleasure to have Michelle as a pupil in my class in 1974. She was a quiet kid already showing promise as a swimmer. I well remember talking to her mum and dad at parent-teacher night. Her dad posed the question as to whether she appeared to be a bit sleepy in class. Some teacher advice is sound, some not so useful and some decidedly hopeless. My response to mum and dad was of the last type: hopelessly off the mark.
I remember so clearly opining that while she was an above-average swimmer, she would not be a champion so best to miss the early morning training, have a good night's sleep and all would be well. I still cringe when, as in the Leader photo, she holds up her gold medal. Some 46 years after I gave such terrible advice, I trust that if not forgotten have been forgiven.
I still have the 74 class Christmas card given to me. As was my habit, all my class had nicknames, and after their proper names, their nickname was bracketed. Michelle followed suit and after Ford, in brackets was "pills". In 2020 the connection between Ford and Pills will be lost. And Michelle is no doubt delighted that this link has gone.
All the best to you and your family. You were an absolute champion and at the time, I delighted in your success and enjoyed being proven so wrong.
Trevor Somerville,
Illawong
Craig Kelly seems to be ignoring Hughes
Craig Kelly made 199 posts on Facebook between June 1 and July 16.
Craig did not once post about Hughes, or anything relevant to Hughes.
I decided to compare this to other sitting members of parliament. As can be seen below, Craig posts significantly more than other members of parliament from all sides of the House of Representatives. Every other member that was recorded posted less than half as much as Craig, including Zali Steggall.
Liberal party frontbencher Angus Taylor posted 42 times on Facebook in the same period as Craig Kelly, which is about a quarter of Craig Kelly's posts. However, 36 per cent of Angus Taylor's posts were about his electorate whereas Craig had 0. Similarly, Zali Steggall used her Facebook profile to post about her local electorate in 25 per cent of her posts.
Additionally, Liberal Party frontbenchers Angus Taylor, Paul Fletcher and Ken Wyatt all posted about COVID-19, new government policies, and to offer help for their electorates. Craig did not post about these important topics, and instead denied climate change and complained about how Donald Trump is treated unfairly by the media. Craig did not use his social media platform to inform people in our electorate of new coronavirus cases or testing clinics in the area.
It is obvious that Craig does not care about keeping our electorate safe or about representing our needs. I think our job is to make sure every voter understands this come election day. Hughes Deserves Better.
Connor Peters,
Yarrawarrah
Happy retirement Doctor Joshi
Thank you and best wishes for a happy retirement to Doctor Joshi at Eastbrooke Medical Centre Carlton. Doctor Joshi, previously a family practitioner at Blakehurst, has been a dedicated, caring doctor serving our community for many, many years.
Janice Archer
Gymea
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