Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb for accountability, credibility and transparency. Preference will be given to letters of 100 words or less.
- Read the story: Former outfall pipe used as sewage overflow in extreme weather
Rather than arguing the case to retain an old sewage outfall to handle overflows during bad weather events, wouldn’t it make more sense to locate and seal all stormwater entry points into the sewers?
Perhaps Mr Rhett Duncan and the Unitywater staff should get off their collective arses and fix the problem right away.
Keep our oceans clean.
Name withheld, Currimundi
- Read the story: Specialist labs to take innovation to new heights
It is obvious that the artificial intelligence bandwagon is now a juggernaut.
Very clever researchers, through facilities such as this, are gaining knowledge and more ability to support and promote commercial entities. Therein lies the conundrum. ‘Commercialisation’ means one thing: money/income for developers, researchers and promoters.
While the vast majority of results gained will prove beneficial to the community at large (at a price), temptations will occur with unscrupulous operators.
As the UniSC Innovation director Jasmine Vreugdenburg said, each lab would be underpinned by a comprehensive activation strategy that included targeted support for start-ups and scale-ups to develop their products, refine business models and connect with investors. There will also be workshops and seminars offered.
Not once did I read the most important underpinning of all this acceleration of technology: the importance and placement of ethical standards and who is responsible for selecting these standards. This should be the first cab off the rank for each of the labs proposed.
It is concerning that it appears not being a major thought in any potential commercial undertaking or educational processes thus far.
Phil Broad, Nambour
- Read the story: Ashley Robinson: great parenting smackdown
I understand Ashley is a regular contributor and a prominent local voice but his views on disciplining children are so wide of the mark it’s not funny.
Yes, he’s referencing a different era, but if he’d written an article about how good the time was when women couldn’t vote or drink in pubs, would SCN have published that?
Jordan Ryan, Landsborough
- Read the story: Australians to cast federal election vote on May 3
I feel our politicians, in the run-up to polling day, are ignoring the elephant in the room: the Israeli genocide of Palestinians.
We are told over and over that the cost of living is the major issue. Why is it that I feel Australia’s acceptance and support even for a genocide is, and should be, the major issue? Not popular with the greater populace could be the reason.
This election, be mindful of who you’re voting for: with a small, short-lived saving on your fuel, a smaller tax burden or the support of the kidnapping, rape, torture, starvation and murder of an oppressed, corralled, unarmed population and destruction of all their infrastructure?
J. Gregory, Mountain Creek
Defence is a major policy issue in the election. The politicians are looking to increase its budget but the cost is not just in money and materials.
If our leaders truly examine their consciences, the cost is also in the lives of the men and women fighting to defend us and to their loved ones when they return as a shattered shell of the man or woman who departed home.
Legendary wartime leader Winston Churchill was haunted by his advocacy for the Dardanelles campaign in WW1.
His conscience was seared by the catastrophic losses of men, including our Diggers, on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Fear of it being repeated on a larger scale led him to oppose the D-Day landings on Normandy in WW2.
I was reminded of the human cost of war when my girlfriend and I were barbecuing at twilight under a seaside shelter. A scraggy figure caught my eye and, as he approached me turning a chop, I invited the homeless man to share dinner.
Zac joined us to share more than food but glimpses into his life. He spoke of being used to hunger as he experienced it in Afghanistan as part of the Australian forces.
I said I did not know a lot about that war but had written a book about the bushmen who became Anzacs in WW1. Many returned home promised a land fit for heroes but became lost souls.
It struck a chord with Zac, a bushy from South Gippsland, that I might have glimpsed his wandering soul under the camouflage of a mosaic of tattoos, piercings and tough guy demeanour.
As we farewelled at sunset, Zac shook hands with my girlfriend and broke free of language to give me the tightest man hug.
When we commemorate Anzac, we can not only turn the pages of century-old history but reach out to the modern warriors drifting on the fringes of our society.
Hopefully, our politicians will examine their consciences on the true costs of war not only for our warrior defenders but the innocent families who become more than collateral damage here and abroad.
Garry Reynolds, Peregian Springs
- Pot hole compensation
For goodness sake, will council please fix the pot hole on the north end of Peregian Springs Drive.
It has been the same for weeks and after calling council to have this fixed still nothing has happened. I have been swerving to miss it for weeks and finally hit it and the pot hole blew my tyre. Why do you constantly ignore requests to have it fixed?
I have run-flat tyres on my car that will cost around $800 to replace. We pay rates; I called the council and was ignored. What do you do with requests to fix things for ratepayers? File them in the bin?
- How nuclear power benefits a community
In the 1960s, the village of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England, there was much apprehension as the government and British nuclear energy were planning to build a power station.
Consultants were sent to all the local villages, including my village of Whitminster, to explain how everything would work out.
When the construction started it became very evident that all the contractors would need accommodation and this pleased the locals very much as B&B signs appeared outside many homes. The pub landlord moved into the old stables so that he could let three extra bedrooms and a bathroom. He also employed three extra bar staff and a cook. The local cafe expanded and employed two extra waitresses and a cook and the local shop expanded into a supermarket plus extra staff.
The nearby Sharpness dock was extended and the land behind became a very large industrial estate. The two school buses became six after two years and two teachers became six after three years. The teachers, like so many of the contractors, bought family homes in the area, which were new builds due to demand.
Many of the local villagers worked for British nuclear energy and were happy to have had a long and secure employment.
Roger Adams, Bribie Island
- An open letter to the producers of Home and Away
Foster children are precious, just like all children. Yet, your recent portrayal of fostering (Eliza Sherwood’s storyline in Home and Away, beginning in February 2025) seems more focused on turning people away from becoming foster carers rather than shedding light on its true nature.
You must realise that depicting fostering as overwhelmingly difficult, dangerous or heartbreaking risks discouraging potential carers from stepping forward. This is deeply concerning, as there is an urgent need for compassionate individuals to support these vulnerable children.
My husband and I have been foster carers for many years. Yes, there are challenges, but the children we have cared for are not burdens – they are incredible, resilient and full of potential. They bring joy, laughter and energy into our lives. Their stories deserve to be told with care, not sensationalised for drama.
Sandra Mobbs
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb for accountability, credibility and transparency. Preference will be given to letters of 100 words or less.
