Get out the big guns to halt the destruction

Get out the big guns to halt the destruction

It is most pleasing that Parks Victoria is proposing a cull of deer in three parks on the edge of Melbourne's eastern suburbs (''The culling fields'', 5/3). However, I beg to differ with Parks Victoria's Craig Bray, who says, "I think we are getting onto this fairly early". There is a vast population of uncontrolled deer, which for many years has been ranging through the forests further east in the Yarra Valley national park and state forest. The obvious damage these animals are causing is a deep concern. Deer are big animals, similar to cattle; their hooves wreak havoc on moist forest floors. This causes terrible erosion along streams and the upper Yarra River. This, in turn, ruins the habitats of native creatures - platypus and lyrebirds, for example. Deer are systematically destroying our protected forest environments by eating out the hearts of tree ferns and sullying waterways. Deer do not have a place in our natural environment - they are introduced, feral.

If this problem is not dealt with soon, it will likely become unmanageable throughout the forested areas of the Yarra Valley and beyond. Parks Victoria needs to radically expand their culling program, and use helicopters and professional shooters to herd and cull the animals en masse. One way to deal with the resultant meat, which is of high quality, is to transport it to Melbourne Zoo in refrigerated trucks and feed the carnivores.

Illustration: Michael Leunig.

Illustration: Michael Leunig.

Megan Wallens, Warburton


Hunting must be safe

Parks Victoria's proposal to cull another 130 deer in Yellingbo Nature Reserve misses the mark. They have been using contract hunters to cull deer in the reserve for the past year. I have lived beside a reserve for the past 35 years and have seen small groups of fallow deer of maybe four or five; now they have gone. We do not want shooters using high-powered rifles in a bush area where the shooters may not know where houses are located; with 54 hunters permitted, someone may get shot. The current system of two people is better than 54 individuals shooting any time of day or night.

Bruce Johnson, Monbulk

A chance for renewal

Parks Victoria has authorised a cull of 220 deer in parks around Melbourne on the basis that the animals moved into the areas after Black Saturday and are now destroying native vegetation. In the days after Black Saturday, I heard of a fallow fawn found wandering the roadside at Kinglake, lost in smoke, crying for his mother. The residents of Kinglake, reeling from their own recent shock and loss, took the baby to receive veterinary care. The fawn, named Bambi, became a symbol of hope for those who survived the fires on that dreadful day. Bambi was taken to the safety of Edgar's Mission animal sanctuary, where he is now a strapping buck who brings joy to visiting children. How sad these deer will not be given the same chance to rebuild their lives, that Parks Victoria has not chosen to invest in a relocation program, but instead will allow people to shoot these gentle creatures. Why fight through battles like Black Saturday only to turn our backs on others?

Joanna Randall, Carlton

Living and a-working …

Whew - at least we can now breathe a sigh of relief about the loss of jobs in Victoria. The state government, in their wisdom, is now making it possible for us to live off the land - deer hunting in nature reserves, fishing in marine parks, even gold detecting in national parks. All we need now is permission to collect our firewood in old-growth forests and we are set.

Iain Harrison, Lilydale

Getting the push

Your well-balanced editorial on party preselection strife underlines a lovely irony (''Grassroots grow on both sides of the fence'', 6/3). The angst among some Liberals results from the Kew outcome having been arrived at democratically, while ''distress'' and ''outrage'' in Labor stems from the party heavies continuing to over-ride local wishes. Abortion law reform is unlikely to have been a factor in the Kew result, but Mary Wooldridge's support for needle vending machines in the City of Yarra was unlikely to get support in Kew.

The bottom line is that grassroots members do not like being pushed around and supported a local, who had been in the picture for some time. Meanwhile, if Labor is to reform, it will have to stop ''parachuting'' in celebrities and union heavies over local candidates, and do better than the drawn-out circus to elect the Opposition Leader, where the choice of the grassroots across Australia was easily gazumped by the factions in parliament. Business as usual.

John Morrissey, Hawthorn East

The plot is simple

I thank The Age for amusing me with what I count as the third conspiracy theory regarding the Liberals' Kew preselection (''Stranger than faction: behind the battle for Kew'', 6/3). While a machiavellian narrative about Liberal preselections might titillate and reassure Labor and Greens members about their own party dysfunction, I suspect, in this instance, the reality is a little less complex.

Let us assume Liberal Party members are sympathetic to the core Liberal ideology and they are committed to the primacy of individual's thoughts and actions. It follows they'll reject direction as to how to think or act, and the high-profile personalities you've linked to this would understand this after many years in the organisation. That the Premier backed his minister is understandable, and that local Liberal members made an independent decision between two exceptional people is far more realistic than the way you've portrayed it.

Blair Barker, Box Hill North

Mad situation

Josh Gordon hits the nail on the head with Denis Napthine and Daniel Andrews (''Unease for Napthine as voting season looms'', Comment, 6/3). Dr Napthine has been spectacularly beige as Premier and is unimpressive. Fortunately for him, Mr Andrews is the Opposition Leader and even more unimpressive. He is reminiscent of Alfred E. Neuman, with his constant empty mantra of there being no plan.

Maybe Mr Andrews will have some more pull when the Labor Party apologises for such fiascos as myki and the desalination plant. Until then, it just sounds like ''what, me worry?'' from Mr Andrews.

Douglas Potter, Surrey Hills

Ask right questions

To say that every major transport project in Melbourne undertaken in the past 60 years has taken a lot of time doesn't answer the question: ''Why can other places do it more efficiently'' (''Time seemingly not of essence with big projects'', 6/3). Similarly, to say that ''transport projects benefit some people'' does not answer the question: ''What transport projects would benefit the most people?'' This sounds like a real GIGO (Garbage questions In, Garbage answers Out) consultancy that the state government has commissioned.

Carolyn Whitzman, professor of urban planning, Melbourne University

Rail diversion

Recent reports on an airport monorail are a distraction to weaken opposition to East West Link (''Plan for monorail to Melbourne Airport'', 4/3). A Public Acquisition Overlay already reserves a strip for heavy rail near Airport Drive in Tullamarine, where it would join the existing Albion to Broadmeadows line (which takes passengers north-east to Seymour and Albury).

As Melbourne already has two independent networks of steel rails operating at different voltages, why add a third system? Why try to send a monorail over the three-storey ring road interchange, and wrap it around Essendon Airport? A seven-kilometre rail link within Tullamarine would satisfy the state government's ''get to the airport quicker'' slogan, if they valued moving people over moving cars.

Simeon Branca, North Melbourne

Locals come first

I am concerned that our local real estate market is not being protected (or secured) for first-home buyers or families (''Foreign house buyers a vexed issue'', BusinessDay, 6/3). A trend by investors from China to purchase properties here is pushing prices up and reducing supply. In 2012-13 alone $5.9 billion was invested in Australian property by overseas buyers.

These days it is difficult enough for young families and other first-home buyers to buy their own homes. The Australian government needs to secure our local market so Australians get priority over other countries' property investors.

Carol Marshall, Moonee Ponds

Apple hogging the pie

If Apple shifts $8.9 billion in untaxed profits from Australia (''How Apple shifts its billions out of Australia'', 6/3), what we're really saying is that this highly profitable US multinational is riding on the back of every unemployed or sick person whose benefits are cut, every dilapidated and under-resourced government school, every underpaid ambo ramped at an understaffed public hospital, every sardine on inadequate public transport (if they're that lucky) while playing with their i-devices. And we think this is OK - otherwise we'd do something about it.

Margaret Callinan, Balwyn

Not up to it

It isn't surprising that US President Barack Obama, the sometime Chicago law professor and community organiser, has been found wanting in his dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB lieutenant-colonel specialising in European affairs. The West would be better off now with a gritty Richard Nixon-type president, versed in realpolitik history and able to command the respect of the Russian leader. Instead, we have glib throwaway jests from Mr Obama about Mr Putin's criticisms of ''fascist'' elements in Kiev and personal foibles. The unlikeable Mr Putin may be wanting as a democrat; but he knows that many Russians have long memories of those WWII Ukrainians who co-operated with the invading Nazi forces. Unlike Mr Obama, he knows about Europe's complexities.

Jon McMillan, Mount Eliza

Making a contribution

I refute suggestions that Attorney-General George Brandis personally intervened in the selection process for conferring Australian honours in a partisan way during recent meetings of the Council for the Order of Australia (''Brandis in firing line for role in gongs list'', 4/3). Senator Brandis' attendance at one of two days of council meetings was in no way unusual. It has been the norm over the past decade for parliamentary representatives to attend council meetings.

Like all council members, ex-officio members are entitled to put forward their views and it is important all members participate in the deliberations. To assert that Senator Brandis was attempting to influence the deliberations to ensure honours are skewed in favour of Coalition-friendly individuals misrepresents council discussions. Senator Brandis in no way ''politically interfered'' with the deliberations and to suggest that he did is not correct.

Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, chairman, Council for the Order of Australia, ACT

Restorative result

Here's a suggestion, Rodger Hyde (Letters, 5/3). Close the detention centres. Work with the Indonesian government to set up a refugee processing centre in Indonesia, run by the UNHCR and funded by the Australian government. Return any ''irregular'' arrivals to Indonesia and the boats would stop immediately. People seeking asylum at our door would be treated with dignity instead of being demonised and left to rot in offshore prisons, and those with the greatest need would end up at the front of a comparatively orderly queue. Combine that with a substantial increase in our refugee intake and we might even restore our international reputation as a champion of human rights.

Brian Collins, Cardigan

Mind your manners

When ALP frontbencher Mark Dreyfus addressed Bronwyn Bishop as ''Speaker'' in the House of Representatives this week, she quickly reminded him that the politically correct language of the 1980s had not really caught on with her. ''It's Madam Speaker to you,'' she said. To which he replied meekly, ''Madam Speaker''. Welcome to feminism 2014-style, Mr Dreyfus.

Rod Wise, Glen Iris

And another thing...

The environment

Tony Abbott was going to plant trees to combat climate change. Now he threatens them by his cavalier attitude to our national parks. The ''green army'' will face confusion.

Jean Tansey, Berwick

I think it is time we sent Mr Abbott the Dr Seuss book The Lorax.

Bob Greaves, Mount Eliza

Next Mr Abbott will be telling us the Japanese whalers are the ''ultimate conservationists''.

Annie Wilson, Inverloch

Change, variability (''Environment boss quits, drops bucket'', 6/3) … With the documented effects on weather patterns, oceans, ice caps, vegetation and fauna, it is clear that the correct phrase is climate crisis.

Michael Pitcher, Richmond


How many jaws broke on the floor when the PM revealed he had reversed his Howard-era opposition to paid parental leave when his daughters became potential beneficiaries?

John Hayward, Weegena, Tas

You just know it's going to end in tears with Peter Costello in one corner and Michael Kroger in the other (''Stranger than faction: behind the battle for Kew'', 6/3).

Grant Nowell, Cumberland Park, SA

We helped invade Iraq and Afghanistan, and don't quite know where Indonesia ends, and we're admonishing Russia?

Peter Curtin, Brighton

Come home, Kev, Vladimir has enough trouble (''Kevin Rudd reportedly lending a helping hand on Ukraine situation'', 5/3).

Doug Perry, Mount Martha


Alan Joyce says the airline is ''extremely healthy''. So glad he is not my local GP.

Gary Bryfman, Brighton

Don't expect too much for Christmas this year, kids. With deer being culled and Qantas in strife, Santa might have a logistical problem with his delivery of presents.

Bryan Fraser, St Kilda

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