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Last week we asked the question: What do you think about Cairns hosting another Indigenous arts festival? Here are some of your comments.

I think if the organisers of Shine on Gimuy can get the sponsorships, the artistic talent and the prices right for the ticketed events, then it will add to the city and region’s reputation as an events destination.

John, Manoora

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION

Hints to drive on range roads safely

WE are lucky in Cairns to have many natural attractions on the Tablelands behind the city and surrounds.

To access these areas necessitates driving up either the Kuranda Range Road or the Gillies Highway which are both reasonably steep and have many curves to negotiate.

A lot of drivers are hesitant to drive these roads and when doing so lack confidence and technique.

I offer some hints to make these drives both safer and more enjoyable.

If drivers thrash up the hill, braking hard at every corner and accelerating away, the result is very heavy fuel consumption and the chance of ending up over the double lines or off the road.

If drivers speed down the hill and constantly use/ride the brakes then the brakes work hard and overheat with the chance of brake fade, increased brake pad and disc/drum wear and understeering on tight corners (the tendency of the car to go straight ahead) This is not good for the car, the driver and other road users.

Appreciate the width and length of your car and any towed load. When travelling uphill maintain a steady speed subject to road conditions but do not go over the limit.

Change gear down so that your engine is comfortably revving between 2000-3000 revs per minute, stay in that gear and control your speed with throttle manipulation and/or light braking before, not through corners.

If you travel at a safe speed you should not cross to the wrong side of the road.

When descending hills, again change down the transmission and maintain your speed with throttle manipulation and light braking before, not through the curve. There is less stress on the car, driver and passengers and lets them enjoy the drive while not been thrown from side to side and being apprehensive or car sick.

If your car has “sports” mode then engaging this makes it easier to hold the car in a specific speed/gear range.

Ross L Grant, Manoora

Abolish inequitable stamp duty ‘tax’

THE Queensland Government needs to replace stamp duty with a more equitable, reliable and affordable income stream.

The one thing economists can agree on is that stamp duty is an inefficient, unfair and outdated tax, and I call on the Queensland Government to phase it out.

While city parks are dotted with tents, a typical homebuyer in Queensland still pays an unjustified $12,715 in stamp duty on a median property worth $597,000. Stamp duty on the purchase of an $800,000 home is $21,850.

Stamp duty is an inefficient, duplicative, inequitable and unreliable tax.

Do you think cruise shipping adds value to our tourism industry?

@cairnslocalnews

If the state wants deliver the services and infrastructure Queensland needs, then there are far better and fairer ways to finance it. Stamp duty impacts inequitably on first homebuyers, people moving for work, and those looking to downsize or scale up depending on changing household and family needs.

It is a big hit on grandma when she sells the old family home and moves into a new accessible unit block –hopefully just down the street or closer to the grandkids.

It is also a harsh extra cost for those who have no choice but to move out of a home, like a divorcing couple.

The cost of collecting and administering stamp duty as estimated by Federal Treasury is 72 cents in the dollar.

In comparison, GST costs 19 cents per dollar collected, and land tax collection and administration costs are almost zero.

While there is no silver bullet, inefficient taxation at the state level must form part of the suite of reforms, alongside increased land supply,

Another Indigenous arts festival for Cairns? Firstly, I believe it is a waste of money. How many are needed? That’s a serious question. A smart person would join them all together and have a super festival. With so many Indigenous festivals being held – and still wanting more funding - I see it as lining the pockets of the organisers.

Bevo, Cairns

My concern is can Cairns justify a planning reforms, promotion of diverse home styles in communities, and more general industry red-tape reduction as broad reforms required to deliver long-term solutions to the current housing crisis in Queensland.

Michael Roberts, Queensland executive director of the Housing Industry Association

Help older people look after the aged

AGED care homes are suddenly closing. They say they can’t get the required nurses and care workers to meet the new standards mandated after the Royal Commission.

But the answer to this problem could be to listen to the workers and employers themselves.

Betty is a 75-year-old dementia care nurse. She’s worked in aged care for 31 years and she’d work more if she wasn’t penalised so harshly.

She loses 50c in the dollar on her earnings above the pension work bonus limit.

second Indigenous event with CIAF well established. Have they got the funding to run the event. They asked Cairns Regional Council for $250,000, but only got $25,000 this year. What other income streams have they got?

Chris, Brinsmead

I wish Shine on Gimuy all the succcess in the world but there are so many unanswered questions. One can only hope these will be answered at the launch next month.

Jess, Gordonvale

I like the proposal of Australian Idol winner Royston Sagigi-Baira being invited. How about Christine Anu, Naomi Wenitong, David Hudson, Xavier Rudd, Wilma Reading? Susan, Palm Cove

That’s $11,800. (It was raised from $7800 per year after the Jobs Summit. But it drops to the lower figure on December 31.)

She needs a calculator to work out her optimal hours and she must report to Centrelink. That’s another level of bureaucratic pain. Oh, and she pays income tax on top of the pension penalty.

Her employer says there are plenty of others like Betty on his payroll who tell him they would work more if the system was simpler and fairer.

In our budget submission National Seniors says we should help the tens of thousands of care workers and nurses like Betty by exempting their work income from the pension income test.

Just let them pay tax. This will encourage them to work more or return to the workforce.

A survey we conducted found 20 per cent of pensioners would consider returning to work, so we are talking big numbers.

Ian Henschke, chief advocate National Seniors Australia

The popular Tanks Makets return on Sunday 30 April. Held the last Sunday of the month from April to November, the Tanks Markets showcase local arts and crafts, produce, vintage clothing, collectables and natural-health products and treatments, as well as food and drink stalls, and live entertainment.

Staged in the Tanks Art Centre and Botanic Gardens precinct, Sunday’s markets are from 9am to 2pm.