Where do you think you came from?
I was interested to read the letter by Dr Sarah Russell (“Go back to where you came from”, Letters, 1/9/26). It was great to see her calling out the issue of anti-migrant sentiment.
It flabbergasts me that in a country like Australia that people express anti-migrant sentiment. Unless you are of Aboriginal origin, where do you think you came from? Your forebears were migrants to Australia.
We came from European countries, mainly England, Scotland and Ireland, in the early days and brought our culture and religion. We did not adopt Aboriginal culture, religion and language. We just imposed ours. You could say that our success in assimilation was appalling. Pauline Hanson expects migrants to drop their culture, something we did not do ourselves. So, no pats on the back to us.
A recent hospital stay made me realise just how dependent we are on migrant skills and expertise. In all areas of staffing, a huge proportion were of migrant origin. If migrants went back to where they came from I think our health system would collapse. Waiting times would blow out. And I was impressed by the skill and care I received. I suspect the same is true in many fields.
People from other countries are at heart, the same as us. They have the same feelings, hopes, fears and needs. The experience of being alive is the same for all people. And the suffering is the same too.
We do not have a migrant problem. Rather, as I heard elsewhere, we have a planning problem. There is enough for all if the planning is right.
Janet Turnbull, Mornington
Rupert response
In response to Rupert’s letter (“Paying more for less”, Letters, 15/9/26), I have a one word answer. Obsolete.
That one word describes how one is viewed/treated if you are included into the category of older or frail people.
Because of father-time and/or circumstances, you become the easiest target for council to handle when making purposeful cost-cutting decisions.
Your “use by date” has been recognised and therefore your ability to “rock the boat” is seen as minimal and only temporary.
This situation is used at every level of government. Where is due respect and reward for all that has been given by this group of our population especially the many hours of “Volunteering” within our community?
Joan Martin, Safety Beach
Community transport
Your correspondent Rupert Steiner is over-pessimistic about the future for non-drivers when the Shire Community Bus service closes (“Paying more for less”, Letters, 15/9/26).
There is another service available to non-drivers, and drivers who are unable to drive due to short term issues such as a cataract operation, or simply that they no longer feel safe driving to e.g. the city.
That service is Peninsula Transport Assist, a registered charity made up almost exclusively of volunteers, of which I am one.
We are all police checked and subject to a regular driving test. We handle over 200 drives each month. Our service is only limited by the number of volunteer drivers we have available at any time. We always need more.
Drivers make themselves available for one or more days a week. They will then be invited to take a drive which they can accept or decline.
Most bookings are done with at least a week’s notice. It’s not hard work, it is enormously rewarding and is very flexible.
Funds are available to cover fuel costs on a per km basis for drivers. If we can get more drivers, we can service more drive requests.
So, what’s making it difficult to get enough volunteers? Are you someone who enjoys driving, and enjoys interacting with people? Do you have a day or two each week to be available to accept drives? If so, please get in touch and we’ll have a chat (9708 8241), or meet us at the “Get Active” Expo on 19 October at the Somerville Recreation Centre.
Jack Wheeler, Mornington
Animal threat
I was saddened to read that the habitat of the beautiful Powerful Owl, a threatened species under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act, is at risk of being lost through the proposed sale of more than 1000 hectares of the HMAS Cerberus site (“Cerberus land sale could impact rare owl species”, The News, 15/9/26).
Australia has approximately 300 vertebrate species that use tree hollows, and Powerful Owls require large hollows in very old trees, often 200 years or more in age. In this day and age, every remnant of old native bushland providing habitat for threatened species should be protected.
Animals need houses too.
Maggie Cowling, Coburg North
Conservation problem
The government has decided to cash up excess defence land which includes HMS Cerberus surrounding land where the Powerful Owl has its territory and is resident on the land where it nests in hollows of trees (“Cerberus land sale could impact rare owl species”, The News, 15/9/26)
As with many land sales where developments can and want to happen suddenly there is a rare bird or animal which resides in the proposed sale or proposed development.
In the past developers who wish to build housing who have purchased land and suddenly there was discovered the earless dragon and the land has been declared a conservation zone to protect it so the housing development will not go ahead.
Jess Wilson the leader of the opposition in Victoria wants to expand Melbourne to fix the housing crisis and of course this will include green wedges and farms being developed to create new suburbs.
The Carroll government wants to build high-rise around public transport hubs where existing services exist and not expand Melbourne such as the Suburban Rail Loop corridor.
The coalition says supply is needed to to fix the housing crisis and it is not only immigration and therefore land is required for development.
Small farms are now up for sale along the Cranbourne Frankston Road to cash in on the housing shortage.
A decision needs to be made as to whether conservation should become a priority or housing as we cannot have both.
Of course as far as Cerberus is concerned councils and the state government has no power over the sale of HMAS Cerberus land.
So it will be interesting to see if Jess Wilson’s housing will end up being totally bogged down by conservation and giving local government the power to stop developments and giving residents power to appeal to VCAT.
Russell Morse, Karingal
Election time
It is springtime and there must be the smell of an election in the air. Why else would a failed Labor candidate put pen to paper and get on about her pet subject?
Anybody or anything who is not a Laborite will be reminded by Marg that they have skeletons or such in their cupboard.
It would appear that One Nation is selecting “Joe Blows”, and ex-druggie, and even lawyers and other forward thinking people who will fight to keep Australia from becoming a future Islamic country.
The Labor Party are ex shop stewards, with no real job experience.
There needs to be a mass exodus of the whole judicial system to replace the current Labor appointees in every state.
When the High Court of Australia cannot tell the difference between a person who sits down to pee or a person who stands up and leaves the seat up then we have no hope.
Marg D’Arcy, give it a rest.
Graham Griffiths, Rye
Road to nowhere
Oh dear! One of the first lessons I learnt about these letter pages is the five or six day gap between writing the letter and the actual publication.
Someone who has just learnt that lesson is Marg D’Arcy (“Pot holes not the only priority”, Letters, 15/9/26).
Marg had many choices of subjects when trying to make a silk purse out of the pigs ear that is Victorian Labor like how homelessness on the peninsula has gone from 105 to 157 in 12 months, $15b allegedly rorted from the Big Build, hospital ramping and so on but chose to try and put a bandaid on potholes.
On the day Marg’s letter was published the papers were still full of the death of a motorcycle rider caused by a pothole and worse, Marg singled out the Princes Hwy as, in her words, being “quite good”.
Problem being the RACV had just released a report with Victorias top 20 most dangerous roads and there at numbers one and two were sections of the Princes Hwy with another section also in the top 20.
Marg also mentioned Labor’s commitment to renewables. With Labor’s signature off-shore wind farm on hold through lack of finance, The Western Renewables Link has now been put on hold because “of increasing concerns over costs”. Enough said.
M. G. Free, Mt Martha
Interstate experience
I AM pleased Marg D’Arcy had the opportunity to travel on the roads through several states. However, her claims Victoria is no worse than other states indicates she had a very different experience to me (“Pot holes not the only priority”, Letters, 15/9/26)
I travelled to Adelaide, then through the Mid-North and Flinders Ranges in SA, then across to outback NSW. I found the standard of roads in SA and NSW to be almost pothole-free, and consistently much higher than in Victoria, where potholes are numerous – and often large – even on major highways. Additionally, a high percentage of Victorian road surfaces have started exhibiting “crocodile scales” – the surface cracking that immediately precedes the break-up of the entire road surface.
Sadly, this negligence of our roads by the Victorian state government has now caused the death of a motorcyclist on the Western Hwy at Trawalla, and my thoughts are with his family and friends. It is unbelievable – and unforgivable – that road maintenance has been neglected to this extent on a major inter-capital highway.
This neglect of taxpayer assets, to the point that lives are at risk, clearly demonstrates that the current state government cannot be trusted to manage either public money or assets.
Marg also mentioned climate change and suggests that the current state government offers hope. This government couldn’t care a hoot about climate change and seems happy to ignore the threat of more and larger bushfires.
Our front-line bushfire-fighting service, CFA, has had its annual budget cut by the state government in real terms for each of the last five years. In many cases, volunteer firefighters are driving around in old trucks that belong in museums, not on the front line.
With an imminent mega-El Nino summer, what excuses will Ben Carroll roll out to justify the inevitable consequences of his government’s neglect of the CFA?
Eric Collier, Somerville
Pothole art?
Perhaps if the authorities responsible for our road maintenance are too short of time and money to repair our burgeoning potholes they could enlist time rich “Taggers” with assorted colours of spray paint. These graffiti virtuosos could then travel our bitumen tracks and decorate each pit they come across, saving lives and costly repairs and creating a feast for our eyes!
Bruce Wearing-Smith, Somers
“BRY-tuhn”
Our roads compete with Brighton for repairs.
Point Nepean Road sits in the same road maintenance contract region as state roads in Brighton, Dandenong and other Melbourne suburbs. That is an enormous patch, stretching from inner Melbourne to the tip of the peninsula.
The Auditor-General’s latest figures should worry everyone who drives across the southern peninsula, particularly on Pt Nepean Road.
Around Victoria, 48 per cent of state roads were rated poor or very poor for remaining useful life in 2024.
Pt Nepean Rd was worse: more than 56 per cent was poor or very poor, including nearly 40 per cent rated very poor!
So where’s Point Nepean Road in the queue?
The audit found the government department doesn’t always document why it chooses some roads over others. It also can’t show that it regularly checks if contractors’ monthly maintenance programs reflect its priorities.
I can’t say a Brighton road is repaired at the expense of Pt Nepean Road. The audit doesn’t say that. But our roads compete for scarce funding inside a system that can’t really explain its decisions.
Much of Pt Nepean Road feels dangerous to drive on, and we should have an explanation for the delays. We deserve a published timeline for its complete repair. I intend to keep asking until we get one.
Kim Robbins, Safety Beach
Independent candidate for Nepean
Pothole problem
The current general complaint is the proliferation of potholes across Victoria. Why aren’t they fixed? Why aren’t the roads made safe?
Without moving into the contract business for road construction, cheapest tenders, questionable inspections, etc. let’s look at roads generally.
Our roads are rock based, and finished in bitumen, which is a mix of fine gravel and tar. The depth of rock or road base, the elimination of water erosion points, and the gravel are all done to minimum spec. to save money, hence the failures. The tar is another matter.
In recent letters I have been accused of supporting fossil fuels warming the planet. Others say electrics, biofuels, and bioplastics can do it all. None of these other options make roads. We make roads of tar. Tar comes from Saudi heavy crude.
A barrel of Saudi crude weighs 144 kg. Depending on the oilwell source, three to five per cent of a barrel is tar, or about four kilograms. The rest is fuel and a small feedstock for plastics and detergents. A square metre of road requires about 12kg of tar, or three barrels of crude, leaving 400 litres of fuel behind to be disposed of.
An Olympic swimming pool is 2,500,000 litres or 6250 barrels of fuel required for 2083 square metres of tar road, or 260 metres of eight metre wide roadway. So four Olympic pools of volatile fuel to the kilometre. We cannot keep building Olympic pools to store it up. We have to burn it.
You can have a green planet with potholes, or global warming without potholes. You choose.
John Dusting, Mornington
Gambling laws
Our local parliamentarians should be ashamed of themselves (“MP defends gambling reforms”, The News, 15/9/26).
Dunkley MP Jodie Belyea and Flinders MP Zoe McKenzie both voted for the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026.
Despite the late Peta Murphy MP and a cross-party committee handing down 31 recommendations to reduce harm, these politicians failed to deliver a full ban on gambling advertising.
Despite around 80% of Australians supporting a total ban on gambling advertising, the Labor and Liberals parties failed to act in the national interest and deliver a full ban on gambling advertising.
If Jodie and Zoe were so supportive of the 2023 Murphy Report, why didn’t they cross the floor and vote against this inadequate Bill as two Coalition politicians did?
103 politicians from Labor, Liberals, Nationals and Liberal/Nationals QLD voted “aye” in favour of the flawed Gambling Reform Bill 2026 while 14 Independents, Greens, Centre Alliance and Liberal/Nationals voted “no” against the Bill.
$666m is lost by Australian gamblers each week – $36b lost in the twelve months to March 2026.
This is not about some “fun” or “flutter” or “backing a winner” as Zoe McKenzie MP stated in Parliament on 12 August 2026 in an attempt to balance the negativity of gambling.
This is moral failure from our elected representatives. This is the power of gambling lobbyists influencing our politicians to vote against their own constituents.
Our politicians need to introduce a full ban on gambling advertising, ban inducements like “free bets”, establish a national gambling regulator and implement all recommendations from the Murphy Report.
Our politicians must stop putting commercial interests ahead of responsibilities towards their constituents and their children.
Dale Stohr, Crib Point
A return to values
A senior Liberal MP said recently: “the Liberal Party risks sleepwalking into a decline and marginalisation”.
The reason is the loss of confidence in the party’s values, policies and brand.
Senior members of the party are quoted as saying that the party has plenty of values, but they do not expand on or explain what these values are.
The observation is made that some/many people do not understand the concept of value, and have little or no understanding of the values of the Liberal Party.
One MP said: “the need for a policy review is urgent”. This MP backs the party’s core beliefs, “i.e. the power of the individual; the power of democracy; the power of private enterprise. You’ve got to trust your values”.
Another said: “Our values are terrific, but we haven’t translated them into meaningful policies”.
Another MP said: “Successful politics is rooted in good policy. What is needed now is the re-affirmation of the long-standing principles of the party”.
Tony Abbott said (inter alia) that the focus should be on “serious research”; such as better schools, making the health dollar go further, cutting red tape that smothers economic activity, greater emphasis on hard science and practical trades, addressing unaffordable home ownership etc.
So what are values? Values are principles or moral standards that define someone’s behaviour and judgement about what is important in life.
Values define desired attitudes in organisations.
Value refers to the worth, desirability, or utility of something.
Core values form the spine of the values statement. They espouse principles which the party/organisation deems to be important. They should be memorable, actionable and timeless.
Core values in our present system of government include: belief in democracy; the rule of law; tolerance; equal treatment for all; and respect for one’s country and its shared heritage.
Michael W. Small, Mornington
Accident waiting to happen
There are two terribly overgrown roundabouts on Jetty Road. One is the responsibility of the state government and one is the responsibility of Mornington Peninsula Shire.
The weed growth is so high, if you are in a normal car, vision is blocked of cars on the other side, and turning.
School holidays are about to start, as you know, and this will be trecherous!
One of the girls at the council had driven by, and put it as urgent. The contractor phoned me to say he had to send VicRoads paperwork to get the go ahead. He left something small off and they rejected it.
Now he has to send paperwork again, and he said this will delay it until the end of September, or October!
He said it’s a big job, and there will be machinery, and they will poison etc.
It’s an accident waiting to happen.
Deidre Holicka, Rosebud
Beach pollution art
Hats off to the students who, through their photography, are highlighting the plastic pollution washing up on our beautiful beaches at The Nook in Mornington (“Students hold photo exhibition to showcase beach pollution”, The News, 15/9/26).
They are doing more to draw attention to this growing problem than the Albanese government.
While we all share responsibility for managing our waste, the government’s decision to abandon mandatory national packaging laws is extremely disappointing.
Businesses, consumers, scientists and environmental organisations all agree that companies should take responsibility for the packaging they produce.
If these students can see the problem, surely our political leaders can no longer ignore it.
Larni Dibben, Glen Iris
More than just coffee
Following up the letter to the editor from Ken Anderson (Coffee culture, Letters, 15/9/26) about local coffee shop morning gatherings I wish to make the following observations.
These inclusive groups in many peninsula villages offer friendship, a helping hand, a sense of belonging and no less important, a laugh as stories are swapped and opinions aired.
Thank you Ken for your elegant and fun descriptions of some of the characters you have met at Mt Martha Village.
I see many similar groups in my travels around the peninsula, calling coffee shops “area offices” as they are often where I arrange meetings.
These groups have been given names, often by shopkeepers, ranging from “Grumpy Old Men” to “Retired Super Models” and “Guardians of the Galaxy”.
The best part is stopping for a chat, local knowledge and feedback is always quickly given!
Love to hear more about YOUR local coffee group in further letters.
Cr David Gill, Coolart Ward
BarleyCharlie@90
22nd September 2026, half-way to 91. Change, for the better, for the worse?
Artificial intelligence could wipe us out, better to go down innocently, smiling, with our friends, our mates, our enemies?
The urge at 90+ to join the majority crowd, ignorance is bliss?
Half birthday thoughts; passing, as in bye bye birdie, being life begone. Facts: aunties, uncles, cousins, friends, almost all, gone, including direct family, almost alone.
The question: Who to say nice things at my funeral? Tape/film a goodbye, naming the rotters over the years? Unimportant, ignore, a fleeting thought, once in that blue moon.
Switch as in Welcome Aboard Foxtel, super rich on luxury liners, mostly old rich people, every conceivable service head to toes, the evils of the big 4 (Putin, Trump, Zelensky, Netanyahu) barely a passing thought. And Albo, our six monthly exorbitant cigarettes tax; remaining hopeful, common sense before the mafia of the Cancer Counsel.
Saturday; alone 10 am, likely no visitors until Wednesday lunchtime; positivity a necessity, don’t think, DO!
Choices; shower, shave, dishes, washing, nap; Scarlett’s, ‘Gone with the wind’ “I’ll think about that, tomorrow?” To the cot; and later, one beer, RSL.
Father and mother never a word, their past, private people beyond comparison, why?
Current thinking attributed to my 90th year? Self-pity a danger, particularly plain selfishness. Old age outwits intentions? It could be my feet, refusing to let the blood run free?
No, a nap, definitely a nap; thanks Scarlett. Finally, at Club, a Melbourne visitor, next to my “spot” raging on against homosexuals. Why me? Worked with them all my working life. Get a life buddy.
Aussieland; hope and glory, tired Wankers on radio, Triple M Footy, no mighty magpies? Doom and gloom to the backline, the “can’t wait” catchcry, Magpies, March, 2027.
Cliff Ellen, Rye
