TIME FOR TRANSPARENCY
Under Australian Parliamentary regulations, federal politicians are required to register their financial interests in property and shares or their interests as a director of a company.
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This information is then recorded in the Federal Parliaments Registrar of Members Interest.
With the ever increasing cost of water, and the lack of publicly available information to determine who owns water rights, combined with a distinct lack of regulations surrounding requirements to register water rights in the Federal Parliaments Registrar of Members Interest, I question how often conflicts have arisen over the past decade as $13 billion was poured down the Murray-Darling Basin?
I am also wondering are the high water prices we see now a result of members of Parliament who failed to notify their water interests when a foreseeable conflict may have arisen?
I agree with Kay Hull and Helen Dalton, we need a public register of water rights.
Greg Adamson, Griffith
TRUTH MUST PREVAIL
Cardinal Pell must now appeal to our highest court in the land particularly seeing as the decision on August 21 was two to one.
Had it been unanimous then it would have left no room for doubt. However as it was presented, one judge gave a reason for an element of doubt and this in itself paves the way for closer scrutiny of all the evidence.
When one knows they are telling the truth then they must continue to fight for the truth otherwise they lose their morality.
We saw the evidence of this played out with nationwide divisions during the Lindy Chamberlain case.
The odds were stacked against her considered proven done and dusted and let's not forget how she was persecuted.
She hung in there until she had exhausted all legal avenues available to her, the Cardinal must do the same at all costs.
There is a principle for justice involved here the same as there was for her. Religion occupied both cases, different reasons but never the less it played a role.
As they say when the going gets tough, the tough get going. One could never say the Cardinal hasn't run the gauntlet of one accusation after the other.
But not all is lost for despite all that has transpired he must continue to run the race that has been set before him to its' finale.
Keep in mind that the goal that lies ahead is the ultimate truth of the matter.
All the pain to reach it must be endured, for truth must prevail no matter the cost.
Yvonne Rance, Griffith
NO TIME FOR HOLIDAYS
Reading an article in your paper dated August 30, three gentleman stated seeing that irrigation farms would have no water to grow crops this year, it would be great time to connect with family and go on that holiday or fix up a few jobs around their farms.
I feel that was an insult not only to irrigation farmers, but also dry area farmers.
These clowns must think that money falls out of trees or the sky.
Don't forget these irrigation farmers have to pay for the right to have water whether they get it or not, plus educating children, paying rates and insurance etc.
While dry area farmers don't have this cost they still have to foot the bill for everything else. How else these fellows seem to think that a drought is a great time to have a holiday is beyond me.
I have been a dry land farmer for 63 years and by God I could never get away even for a weekend having to cart water, feed stock and trying to keep everything living.
Maybe these chaps could come to farms and take over while we could have a holiday.
We farmers are just fed up with people telling us how to run and look after our land and the politicians are on the top of the list.
Not being an irrigation farmer, I need someone to tell me why they (the government) had to separate water from the land.
I have been through many droughts and it's not for the faint-hearted; trying to keep the wolves off your door, rescue bogged stock in dams after crows and foxes have had their meal.
These people should get a life or get real.
Greg McCarten, Griffith
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