LETTERS

Go and meet the councillors and mayor

I WENT to the Kilkivan Meet the Mayor and Councillors meeting last night. Eight from council, nine locals plus three from Gympie - my two friends and myself.

They made sure they were heard, led by a gentleman who, in a question to Mick Curran, said, "I only knew this meeting was on because I walked past and saw some people here”.

The man wasn't impressed that he had not heard about it.

I mean there is a council office there. Who is the "mum” of council who knows everything that is going on? There has to be one.

They ended up saying it is a culture at the council where they don't see anything beyond what they have to.

They could have stapled a lost dog pamphlet to a telephone pole and had more people turn up.

The only notification has been in the Roundup newsletter. I didn't even receive one.

I told the meeting that also. Not good enough. I mean they have a council office in Kilkivan and nothing was sent out of there or posted there. Bad business practice.

Out of the locals, all spoke at some stage, and the meeting was very polite, no anger, mainly disappointment at the feeling of being left out and Gympie getting all the attention.

There were four prominent speakers who covered the main problems, rural roads, and dangerous rural roads, the road to the tip which is dangerous at the turn, the bad water, being bore water and not filtered adequately, as it is a heavy mineral area, they said.

The man said he has been there 12 years and replaced two toilets twice, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, anything the water touches at least three times in the 12 years they have had to replace.

Another man said they would never use the water in their coffee machine. They won't drink the water.

They buy water for drinking yet they pay water rates. I regard that as unfair.

That lady was ill for months and on going away for a holiday for five days she recovered, but on returning diarrhoea again and antibiotics.

This is third world.

Cr Dodt said that's just one person. In front of her. The other people said no - no one can drink it.

I said to the whole meeting, well, it appears to the people that you are not advertising the meetings so no one comes. It looks deliberate.

So I encourage residents throughout the region to go to these meetings and have your say.

The next one is at 5pm today in the Theebine Memorial Recreation Centre, 6 Old Cleveland Road, Theebine; 5pm tomorrow in the Mary Valley Memorial Hall (Imbil RSL Hall), 127 Yabba Road, Imbil, 5pm on Monday, June 5, in the Wolvi and District War Memorial Hall, 1358 Kin Kin Road, Wolvi, 5pm on Tuesday, June 6, in the Gympie Civic Centre, 5pm on Wednesday, June 7, in the Amamoor Hall, 35 Busby Street, Amamoor.

Kathy Little Walker,

Gympie.

Lindt Cafe siege

THE Lindt Cafe siege highlighted several issues.

First, the Keystone Cops could have handled it better and the coroner's request was a failure, and showed how weak our legal system is, and has been, in bailing suspects who obviously pose a threat to the community.

The inquest failed to recommend the disciplining of a high ranking NSW police officer who said negotiators had been in touch with Monis. Hostages told how no one had contact with Monis.

It is unacceptable that the police sniper didn't shoot Monis when he had the chance. The reason: they weren't sure of their rights to shoot-to-kill.

The deaths of hostages could have been prevented by early intervention when Monis was in full view. It looks like police were instructed not to act early in the siege.

At the next similar situation competent officers need to be deployed and no fake news reports published.　

Jay Nauss,

Glen Aplin.