One park - at last

Ever since, the Victorian National Parks Association and other community groups have worked towards a vision of one national park, with one owner, one management plan and one management agency - Parks Victoria. The state and federal Labor governments supported this vision and committed themselves to the quarantine station's transfer to ensure a protected future for Point Nepean National Park.

They may be about to make history. By transferring the land, removing the community trust, and allocating millions of dollars to its protection and management, they will create a vision long supported for this spectacular area.

Megan Clinton, Victorian National Parks Association, Carlton

The people's park

WHEN will the state and federal governments stop wrangling over Point Nepean? We, the people, have made it clear we want the area saved for the people. The site will always be a burden on the public purse, despite what commercial initiatives may be implemented.

Considering the fear some of us had about the Point Nepean Community Trust, we have been impressed with the way it has explored and developed possibilities for the site, and engaged expertise and sub-contractors who are familiar with it. What a loss to Victorians if this disappears with the pass-over to an unwilling State Government. Let the Federal Government continue to lead and secure a permanent trust to manage this precious area.

How could Steve Bracks have let the people down when he reneged on his election promise to save Point Nepean? John Brumby and Gavin Jennings refuse to hear our call.

Joanne Nairn, Frankston South

Protect our heritage

IN 2002, the late former premier Dick Hamer and I stood on the steps of Parliament House with a crowd of Point Nepean advocates. We urged the Commonwealth Government to hand over the remainder of the Point Nepean defence land to the people of Victoria. Our aim was to complete the creation of one, well-resourced, integrated Point Nepean National Park, under the custodianship of Parks Victoria, open for the enjoyment of the people and free of private developments.

In 2009, if your report (The Age, 4/4) is correct, state and federal environment ministers, Gavin Jennings and Peter Garrett, will soon reject the disastrous Howard Nepean plan (never a vision) and instead implement the Victorian people's preference for one integrated national park - a national park that will recognise and protect this priceless piece of Australia's heritage.

Such action would be true environmental leadership.

Joan Kirner, former Victorian premier, Williamstown

Families' lost dream

AS A parent of a child with a disability, I was devastated to read that the Point Nepean respite project is unlikely to proceed. I know of many families who have never experienced the joy of holidaying together.

One mother cried as she expressed her simple wish: to go away as a family. They, like many, choose between a short break with some members of their family or nothing. This means delivering her child with a disability to a residential care facility and waving goodbye as the others head off, or leaving one parent at home to care for the child.

Many people with a disability have high-care needs. Benefactor Peter Gunn understood this and the need for affordable, respite accommodation. With his generous $10million donation, the dream of many was to become a reality. It is hard to believe a federal-state divide could allow this wonderful opportunity to slip away.

Lisa Thomas, Highett

Country kids need medical care, too

I CONCUR with Dr Peter Eastaugh that the Royal Children's Hospital is "manifestly inadequate" in catering for rural children (The Age, 6/4). My daughter has received treatment there in the past 18 months. We were required to travel 330kilometres, often at short notice. She had two operations that required follow-up visits within a week. In both cases, we were told to bring her back "next week", which prompted me to inquire: "You want us to travel over 300kilometres just to have some stitches out?" Also, cancellations often happen at short notice, throwing the family into chaos: for example, re-organising accommodation and time off work.

However, the McGinness family featured in your article can claim compensation for travel and accommodation, despite their son not being hospitalised. They can make a claim to the VPTAS (Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme) within six months of treatment if they had to travel more than 100kilometres for specialised medical care.

Please understand, I have no criticism of the care my daughter received. It was exemplary. I fear, however, that unless problems are addressed, those of us who live in rural areas will be further relegated to second-class citizens.

Pam Walker, Hamilton

Why R&D matters

PETER Doherty has some great ideas about ideas (Comment & Debate, 6/4). Good inventions will not only be important in helping Australia recover from the global downturn they will be crucial for long-term growth in living standards. We may be credit-crunched now, but the fundamentals of the economy are rock solid: Australia has a solid capital stock and dynamic labour force. Average real incomes will not fall.

But, in the long run, what matters are ideas. Any new technology or technique that improves productivity will ultimately increase the average real wage, bringing benefits to everyone over time. The only regret is that our government is not investing as much as it could in education, research and development. We need more people like Professor Doherty.

Brad Ruting, Castle Hill, NSW

A solar vision

RE "REPORT finds solar power policy flawed", which appeared in the same edition as "Visions for Melbourne" (The Age, 4/4). Might we - who installed solar panels in the misguided belief we would get credit for the power we generated and used, and before we understood that Labor's scheme allowed energy companies to claim solar power installed by householders as their own carbon reduction - suggest the following vision for Melbourne?

Every rooftop is encouraged to install solar panels as part of a gross feed-in tariff scheme that gives credit for power generated and used. We would show the world how a city could produce renewable energy and, at the same time, cut greenhouse emissions.

We also nominate Age reporters Royce Millar and Adam Morton as Premier and Environment Minister. They, along with Liz Minchin, have done a magnificent job investigating this issue.

Anne S.Walker and Elizabeth Carew-Reid, Carlton

How do we live?

HAVING lost our home, everything we owned and our business on Black Saturday, the only ongoing financial support we are receiving from the Government is $405.40 weekly. This will be reviewed after 13 weeks. Our family is expected to survive on this until our business is generating income, as well as deal with the associated trauma of the fire and rebuild our life. Why can they spend $43million on a royal commission to investigate the fires, yet leave people like us, who are unemployed, to live on a pittance? We feel overlooked, unsupported and nervous about our future.

Bonny Francis, Upper Plenty

No demand? Really?

LYNNE Kosky's spokesman says "there doesn't appear to be much demand" for an airport rail link (The Age, 6/4). I've got an idea for the Transport Minister - she could determine demand for reliable and affordable public transport by providing it.

Currently, in addition to the $16 each way Skybus service, there is a cheaper option - a bus service from Broadmeadows station to the airport. It takes 20minutes and is covered by a Met ticket. The problem is it runs only every two hours. An improvement would be to run an express bus service from Broadmeadows so that it meets every train. It would also service workers in the airport precinct, for whom a return trip on Skybus every day is out of the question.

The new 401 bus service from North Melbourne to the hospitals and university has shown how successful services can be when they are fast, frequent and direct. Run the Broadmeadows trains and buses every 10 minutes and I reckon the Transport Department would have another success story - something it sorely needs.

Janet Rice, Footscray

You're on your own

I AGREE with Peter Wight's "jobless or not" comments (Letters, 6/4). If your spouse/partner earns more than $36,000, you are on your own. I know of several people in my position, over 60 and unemployed, and there must be many others. So much for the accuracy of official unemployment figures. The best you can do is live frugally on your savings, and your superannuation is off limits till you reach 65. This situation is grossly unfair to the thousands affected, and distorts the overall picture of the economy.

Graeme Brown, Surrey Hills

When lying is the

only choice

I EMPATHISE with Peter Wight. Despite the fact that I am undertaking a two-year, full-time masters program, which is essential for my registration as a professional in my field, Centrelink does not consider me to be a student because my partner has a job. His five-figure salary means he is forced to financially support me through my studies or end the relationship. We chose the former. I don't receive a penny from the Government, nor will I benefit from the financial bonus aimed at students. The Government's stance shifts financial responsibility for the unemployed, students and the disabled onto their partners and families. It is little wonder that so many friends, living with their partners, lie to Centrelink and say they are flatmates.

Thea Gumbert, Redfern, NSW

Facts behind figures

PETER Wight, the unemployment figures are not taken from the number registered with Centrelink, but from a telephone survey conducted by the Bureau of Statistics. Several thousand people are contacted and asked if they have worked for at least two hours during the previous week. If they have, they are deemed to be in full-time employment. That is why former treasurer Peter Costello crowed about Australia having one of the lowest jobless figures in decades. The true figures have always been higher, but few realised that during the supposed boom under Costello and John Howard's watch.

Con Vaitsas, Lakemba, NSW

Oops

I AM not sure the factory workers will see the funny side of Holden's advertising campaign for its new V8 cylinder displacement technology. It reads: "At Holden, we've never done things by halves ... Until now." With production cut from 620 to 310 cars a day last week, doing things by halves appears, unfortunately, to be contagious.

Tim Beissmann, Carlton

A tragic waste

IT IS extremely disappointing to learn that the Yarra River is going the way of the Murray River: in constant need of water to replenish wildlife and native growth, even though it was promised by the State Government in 2006 (The Age, 6/4). It baffles me how the crises with the Murray could be set to be replicated here, when the example has been so disastrous. Removing water from the Yarra for domestic and commercial use is such a waste it is one of Melbourne's attractions. Furthermore, the quality of the water will deteriorate if not regenerated, and will then be useless for anything.

Shirley Kidd, Forest Hill

Pardon the noise

FURTHER to Peter Arndt's problems with the Melbourne Recital Hall (Letters, 6/4), we heard Geoffrey Robertson speak there last week and were very disappointed with the sound system. I heard only about 85per cent clearly, and my husband heard even less, although we were sitting four rows from the front of the stalls. We also plead for comfortable seating in both foyers - bench seats are fine, but only if they have backs.

Nicola Williams, Glen Waverley