Letters, October 11, 2023

Dangerous

THE 12km River Road/Strathalbyn Road heavy vehicle bypass around Hahndorf is a dangerous option.

River Road is narrow and winding with two difficult intersections at each end.

The northern intersection with Mt Barker Road is narrow and vehicles struggle to negotiate the corner.

As a result, it has a patchwork of repairs due to vehicles running off the edge of the bitumen.

If an articulated vehicle turns right onto River Road, the trailer will cross over the opposite lane as it follows the prime mover around the corner.

This situation would be quite frightening for a driver wanting to turn out of River Road.

At the southern end of River Road, the intersection with Strathalbyn Road is wider but is often covered with water in winter due to a lack of drainage.

There is also a large sign declaring this intersection as a ‘Black Spot’.

Over the years the CFS has attended a number of accidents at this intersection.

Surely a fit for purpose bypass, a quarter of the distance, travelling around Hahndorf between River Road and Echunga Road is a cheaper and safer option.

This bypass can be built to the ‘PBS Level 1’ standard to cater for 19 metre long vehicles.

River Road/Strathalbyn Road is not anywhere near this standard.

Ian Hobbs, Mylor

EV sales drop

MICHELLE Harvey should think more about buying a second hand electric car (The Courier, October 10).

There has been a big drop in EV sales in the UK.

Rising interest rates along with a big drop in resale prices after the usual two year contract (40-60%), have stalled new sales of EVs in England.

Also the cost of insurance has rocketed (to about $9000–$10,000 a year) with many insurers refusing to cover.

Germany, the US and China have seen sales drop.

There is increasing anxiety about the cost of repairs, even for minor collisions and undercarriage damage on rough roads.

As the return from used EVs drops this increases the need to sell second-hand EVs into other countries.

Remember what is said about used car salesmen (and politicians).

As for making a difference for the environment, beware the hype.

The Harris Ranch Supercharger between San Francisco and Los Angeles provides plenty of charging spots (98) for folks making the six-hour journey between the two cities, but one journalist found that the site isn’t connected to any claimed solar farms and that the superchargers are supplemented by a diesel plant (hidden from those thinking that they are “saving the world”).

G. Inkster, Mt Barker

Vale Geof Motley

IT was with sadness I learned of the passing of a well decorated sportsman.

Geof Motley played 250 games for the SANFL Magpie, plus 28 for the State, four times best and fairest, a Magarey Medal and nine premierships from 11 grand finals. How’s that? All this in 13 seasons.

Some time ago now I was talking with Geof at the Murray Bridge Community Club and I found him quite a decent human being actually.

He told me a couple of funny stories which I can’t put word for word in this letter.

I always recognised his car when I saw it too.

I am not a Port supporter actually, but I recognise a top sportsman when I see it.

Fittingly, a player’s race at Adelaide Oval was named after him.

We have lost a lot of the older players now, sadly, but Geof stood out on the field with those ‘bow’ legs of his.

Geof retired after the 1965 Grand Final, which Port won by three points over Sturt.

He was the type of guy Port Power need around the club actually.

Thank you Geof for the memories.

To anyone who knew Geof and his family my condolences to you all.

Robert Fladrich, Murray Bridge

Road safety

YET another article in your paper about road crashes and motorbikes.

Anyone can read the Government stats on this site: bitre.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/road_trauma_2022.pdf.

I understand that there are 225 billion vehicle kilometers travelled (VKTs) annually in SA.

Motorbikes make up only 0.003% of those VKTs.

However, the fatality rate for motorcyclists per billion VKTs is absolutely alarmingly out of proportion.

In 2022 it was 90.5 whereas for cars that same statistic was 2.9 fatalities.

In 2021 it was 3.8 fatalities per billion car VKTs vs 121.9 for motorbikes.

If this problem pertained to helicopters or Toyota Corollas, they would be banned.

Perhaps, at the very least, motorbike drivers could be legislated to wear hi-vis suits to render them extremely visible, like Australia Post posties.

Also, the vast majority of motorcyclists who die are men riding alone.

It is nothing to do with dangerous roads, I would suggest. Most people can negotiate the tightest bends and blind intersections with good care.

The problem is dangerous drivers.

Maybe someone can find the figure relating to single occupancy motor bike fatalities too?

Caroline Johnson, Aldgate

Big difference

IN “Looking back” (The Courier, October 4) Bob Innes compared the 1967 referendum to the current one, but there could not be a bigger difference between the two.

The 1967 referendum was about uniting Australians as equals, the upcoming one is the complete opposite.

The No camp is asking for details and accountability.

The Yes camp is hanging its hopes on people’s emotions.

Constitutions are based on fundamental principles not emotions.

Militant speeches from the likes of Noel Pearson or Marcia Langton are reasons why the Yes vote is losing support. But the booby prize must surely go to Ray Martin.

Not only has he insulted anyone with alternative views through childish name calling but claimed “details don’t matter”. Our constitution is a contract between the people and the institutions that govern.

I wonder how many contracts Ray signed where details don’t matter?

Instead of condemning these comments, Anthony Albanese endorsed them.

No matter which side wins, Australians are more divided than ever because of this referendum and that is what people will remember.

K. Stachovic, Meadows

Voice of reason

BEFORE we all rush out to potentially change Australia’s most important document on October 14, I urge readers to set aside the feel-good arguments and carefully consider the changes being proposed.

Our forebears had good reason to set the bar high for constitutional change and we owe it to current and future generations to get this right.

The Government is claiming the race-based Voice will be the magic wand that solves Indigenous problems, yet unfortunately the detail behind the smoke and mirrors is absent.

What is needed instead is a needs-based solution where those in need are provided with practical initiatives including education and economic participation opportunities that will be effective in breaking the vicious cycle of victimhood that exists within Aboriginal communities.

These issues can affect all Australians, so they also deserve support no matter the color of their skin.

The Government claims the Voice is a “modest change”, but the permanent addition of an entirely new chapter in the Constitution is hardly modest.

Not only does point (iii) of the proposed changes grant Parliament power to change any or all aspects of the Voice without a further referendum, but also control the representatives of the Voice via handpicked selection rather than election. This is an attack on democracy itself which demands that the will of the people prevail.

A body intended to provide advice to Parliament does not need to be enshrined in the Constitution.

Clearly the Voice is nothing more than a political ploy to grab power.

What we need to do is hold the Government accountable for the power it already possesses rather than grant them more.

The Government must be accountable for $40 billion of direct Government expenditure that already flows to Aboriginal groups but clearly isn’t being distributed to those in need.

Darren Kelly, Handorf

Well said

I THANK you for the story on Page 1 of The Courier on October 4, ‘Changing a Life’.

I thought at first glance that it would be the not uncommon and forgettable road safety tale of woe.

I was completely wrong.

Credit must go to the reporter, Scott Murphy, and especially to the crash victim, Yudhi Mohan-Ram.

The story is most striking – it is told with a clear eyed poignancy that allows an indelible lesson for us all to be conveyed with amazing impact.

There is no trace of bitterness or self-pity in his words, simply a steadfastness on the part of Mr Mohan-Ram to move forward; he has conveyed a simple message without brow beating anyone.

I believe he and Scott Murphy have done just that, and done it brilliantly well: as Mr Mohan-Ram says – it is all about the attitude you bring to the road environment and road safety.

I wish Mr Mohan-Ram all the best in his continuing recovery. To tell his painful story with such calm thoughtfulness deserves our admiration, and our attention to his message.

Bruce Mouatt, Hahndorf

Voice of reason

BEFORE we all rush out to potentially change Australia’s most important document on October 14, I urge readers to set aside the feel-good arguments and carefully consider the changes being proposed.

Our forebears had good reason to set the bar high for constitutional change and we owe it to current and future generations to get this right.

The Government is claiming the race-based Voice will be the magic wand that solves Indigenous problems, yet unfortunately the detail behind the smoke and mirrors is absent.

What is needed instead is a needs-based solution where those in need are provided with practical initiatives including education and economic participation opportunities that will be effective in breaking the vicious cycle of victimhood that exists within Aboriginal communities.

These issues can affect all Australians, so they also deserve support no matter the color of their skin.

The Government claims the Voice is a “modest change”, but the permanent addition of an entirely new chapter in the Constitution is hardly modest.

Not only does point (iii) of the proposed changes grant Parliament power to change any or all aspects of the Voice without a further referendum, but also control the representatives of the Voice via handpicked selection rather than election. This is an attack on democracy itself which demands that the will of the people prevail.

A body intended to provide advice to Parliament does not need to be enshrined in the Constitution.

Clearly the Voice is nothing more than a political ploy to grab power.

What we need to do is hold the Government accountable for the power it already possesses rather than grant them more.

The Government must be accountable for $40 billion of direct Government expenditure that already flows to Aboriginal groups but clearly isn’t being distributed to those in need.

Darren Kelly, Handorf

Not proud

COLLET Barker, after whom this district is named, was a great friend of both the Iwadja, in the NT, and the Noongah of WA, when he was the commandant of settlements there, and before he was tragically speared to death at the Murray Mouth in 1831.

Perhaps he would take some pride in the lush district which now bears his name. He certainly would not be proud to learn that the Peramangk of the Hills were driven off their land just twenty years after settlement. And he would certainly not be proud to learn that a considerable number of the present population campaigned to deny the recognition that they ever even existed.

Bob Innes, Mt Barker

No vote

I HAVE decided to vote No in the referendum.

I would like our children to live in a country that gives everybody equal opportunities no matter their race, religion, gender, et cetera. The quasi-apartheid proposed in the Yes vote, in my opinion, is not a good idea.

The No vote looks like winning, thank goodness, and hopefully soon this very ugly divisive time will be behind us.

If, however, the Yes vote wins, I’ve decided to lift my spirits by believing that the extra level of bureaucracy that the Voice will bring on top of our Federal, state and local governments will be another nail the coffin of our dysfunctional Federation.

Micheal Jones, Bridgewater

Promoting fear

COMMENTS made by Warren Mundine at the Canberra Press Conference shows the ridiculous extremes he and his companions will use in their negative scare campaign.

A Yes vote will fulfil a long overdue process that should have been written into the Australian Constitution in 1901, recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the First Peoples of Australia and giving them a say on issues that directly affect their lives.

How is truth telling and having a seat at the table going to create war?

Glen Chenoweth, Goolwa North