Letters and Opinions

These above points are made by one of the oldest Indian Resident Families in the Clarence since 1885

Yours Sincerely Rex Tory Yamba

We’d love to hear from you!

loadedness of comments and interactions that could otherwise lead to full-blown altercation. There is a wonderful old Middle Eastern saying, “Five minutes of silence can bring you 10 years of peace.” The moral of which, is to keep a tight lid on your emotions and responses that can otherwise surge into non-retractable words when you sense opposition of any kind.

In the same vein, American author Alison McGhee once said, “You are most powerful when you are most silent. People never expect silence. They expect words, motion, defence, offense, back and forth. They expect to leap into the fray. They are ready, fists up, words hanging leaping from their mouths. Silence? No.”

For too long, humanity has interpreted a person’s silence as a form of weakness, but in fact it is often the ultimate sign of strength; the ability to shut an argument down by saying nothing at all, is a quality we should all value, if not implement much more than we do. Being able to conjure moments of solitude is one of the ultimate expressions of selfcontrol and care that we can afford ourselves and others. As such, the Czech poet Rainer Maria Rilke once said, “I hold this to be the highest task of a bond between two people: that each should stand guard over the solitude of the other.” Which is a lovely way of saying, be sure to give your loved ones the space and ample place to quietly be whoever they feel they need to be.

Fittingly, the 13th Century Persian wordsmith Rumi once discerned, “In Silence there is eloquence. Stop weaving and see how the pattern improves.”

CLARENCE RIVER URGENCY

I would make the following points:

• Yamba, ‘Mouth’ of the Clearance, needs urgent Dredging as in the late 60’s and now recognised on the Tweed and has been addressed. Also Romiaca, Shallow Bay, Oyster Channel, Lake Woolaweh and up River to Grafton on the Clarence needs to be Dredged. This inaction of Dredging at the mouth of the Clarence just encourages water backup in major flood times as well as effecting the River Fishing Industry by Ocean inflow/ outflow.

• Save the Koala’s Program needs urgent National Park’s Road Clearing by RFS to enable early cut-off’s of Bush Fires. If this happened prior to the last Major Fire in Yurigur and Bundgalung National Parks, we would have saved

RFS Volunteer lives and Wildlife including 10,000 Koala’s. National Parks need urgent Funding to make this happen. Believe me, these Fires will most probably happen again.

• The ‘Stop the Fill’ Campaign needs to be redirected to the problems associated with the above.

1) The Whole East Coast of NSW needs fill and of course Dredging is the best option. CVC and others addressing the needs of Housing on Flood Plains in desirable areas like Yamba etc: have no option but to cart the fill.

2) The whole Clarence Valley needs to address Major Housing shortage for Employment Opportunities as was done to places like Crystal Waters, which was a totally Dredged Area, in Yamba years ago.

DEAR EDITOR

I am pleased to say that with the help of more than 41,000 Australians – including your readers – we did it. We saved the Medicare Heart Health Check.

The Australian Government has heard and understood the importance of this vital Check to the heart health of Australians and is funding a two-year extension of the Check in the 2023/24 Budget, ensuring they remain available beyond 30 June this year.

We estimate that this means a further 250,000 Australians will be able to see their GP to learn their risk of heart disease before it’s too late.

More than 41,000 Australians signed the petition to save the Checks in just five weeks. Many sent letters to their local MPs, who in turn took up the issue with the Government.

Heart disease is mostly preventable but it is a silent killer. As Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler acknowledged in his announcement, the

Medicare Heart Health Check is our most potent tool in compelling people to pay attention to their heart health before it’s too late.

The Check is available for people aged 45 and over (30 and over for First Nations) and looks at your cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, family history, amount of exercise and what you eat, and provides you with an understanding of how likely it is you will have a heart attack or stroke in the coming years.

We extend our gratitude to the Heart Foundation’s extended family: our sector partners, donors, volunteers, and supporters, many of whom worked tirelessly to advocate for this life-saving initiative.

Thank you. Your efforts have helped improve the heart health of many Australians and we are grateful for your unwavering commitment to this cause.

And finally – now that you have fought so hard for this Check, we urge you to please take it up if eligible. For more information speak with your local GP or visit www.heartfoundation. org.au

Yours truly David Lloyd CEO, National Heart Foundation of Australia