The Beast’s Monthly Mailbag – August 2016

By Dan Hutton on August 10, 2016 in Other

Always Have Been a Cock
Thanks for the reply Mayor D’Souza (Who’s The Cock Now Gus?, Letters, The Beast, July 2016). I want to say thank you for the urgent clarification that Randwick Council is not sponsoring professional sport and agree 100 per cent with the need to inspire the next generation. However, I am still waiting for a response on erecting a sign at Thommo’s, but I acknowledge that there are more important things to do. To The Beast editors, thank you for the heading, which pointed out the obvious – I have always been a cock, am a cock and will always be a cock.
Gus Bennett, Coogee

Hospital to Lose Funds
Dear Beast,
Prince of Wales Hospital stands to lose about $450,000,000 (yes, about half a billion dollars) of funding over the next 10 years. Why? The Coalition health cuts introduced by Tony Abbott, kept under Malcolm Turnbull, which will be sneakily phased in over the next 10 years. To learn where these numbers come from, and to do something about it, Google ‘community run Prince of Wales’. This is no partisan political pitch. Demand that your local member guarantees adequate funding for our local hospital.
Caleb, Coogee

The Time Has Come
Dear Beast,
The time has come for some serious money to be spent on Waverley Cemetery. Restoring and maintaining the cemetery was one of the reasons Council fought so hard for a rate rise in 2011. Many residents have been waiting, negotiating and working constructively with Council for the funds to be finally assigned to this iconic heritage listed site. Some works have begun. However, no one expected June’s savage storms, and the gully near the walkway has suffered significant damage. Mind you, for years it was used as a tip site approved by various senior Council employees and it is this rubbish that has fallen into the sea.
Not only does work need to be done to ensure that the graves near the gully do not fall into the sea as well, but the long promised business plan needs to be forthcoming.
Marie Persson, Bronte

Waverley Cemetery Preserved
To the Editor,
Well it looks like the quiet, isolated zone in front of Waverley Cemetery will finally be left in peace. Council voted last week to follow the engineers’ advice for remediation of the gully and repairs to the coastal walk footpath, which means that the pavilion idea has been relegated to history.
We’ve always believed that the natural zone in front of the cemetery should be left untouched. There’s about a kilometre of coastline between Bronte and Clovelly that doesn’t have any beach, houses or shops, so it’s very unusual in this city. It feels very remote and wild and undisturbed. It’s a home to various raptors and other birds and wildlife, and it’s a fine line that separates the beautiful Waverley Cemetery from the seemingly infinite vastness of the Pacific Ocean. We at Residents for Waverley Cemetery (RWC) all agree that the most respectful and sensitive way to respond to it is to leave it as it is.
Open, empty natural spaces are becoming a rarity in large cities and we must resist the constant attempts to fill them with objects and commercial activities.
Chris Elliott, RWC

Fishing is Barbaric
I would just like to thank Pedro for his letter in June’s edition of The Beast (How Do We See Sea Life, Letters, The Beast, June 2016). And thanks also for the corresponding cartoon.
Thank you for broaching the subject of fishing as a sport and for putting so eloquently how barbaric it is. These beautiful wild creatures of the ocean deserve so much more respect.
The fight is hardly sporty, as it is totally unfair, cowardly and a big propping up of man’s ego.
 Fish, as all animals that man decides to consume, suffer terribly.
A creature that fights for hours at the unfair hands of many a hunter equipped to the eyeballs with fishing equipment, wants to live. Probably as much as we do, if not more. There seems to be little gratitude or consideration for the life that has been given up, and a lack of respect for its habitat and the balance that is required to keep it healthy for all.
Ariane

Local Pub Gives Talent a Go
Just thought I’d drop a line to make you aware (though you might be already), and to give an acknowledgement to a local pub giving upcoming, talented musicians the opportunity to showcase their talents.
As the weather turns cold, the refuge of a cozy, warm pub is a welcome thought. The fact that you can be entertained by local bands and solo artists is a real bonus.
The Robin Hood Hotel in Charing Cross had BALKO in residence every Thursday night in June. They were supported by other local bands such as Cosmic Flanders, Mesmerisor, and Oscar and the Grouches. The mix of talent and music was second to none and it’s on our doorstep for the taking.
BALKO mixed it up with their own original tunes, as well as a mixed bag of covers. The guys have a stage presence that keeps you wanting more and the clean sound they produce is worth a listen. They draw a mixed crowd, from 18 to 80!
Finally, hats off to the Robin Hood for giving these talents a chance to share their music with the local community.
Keep an eye and ear out for these guys; you won’t be disappointed.
DK, Waverley

Overflowing Garbage Bins
I’d love to see if Council could make a rule that people who overfill their garbage bins and have heaps of excess rubbish have to put it in front of their own place and not the neighbours’.
It is most annoying to come out and check your bin on garbage morning and find the neighbours’ rubbish all over our lawn, and the blackbirds hanging around the bin and the dirty nappies, which have to be cleaned up immediately.
I would rather a neighbour that partied all night to the rubbish dumper who treats the garbage collectors like dirt, as well as their neighbours, and has no respect for property. People should realise they are able to purchase a large garbage bin from Council. If you can afford alcohol, you can afford a large bin at a reasonable price.
Suzanne Marshall, Randwick

Reply to ‘NSW Power Trip’
In regards to Mario Abdel-Sayed’s letter in The Beast in July (NSW Police on a Power Trip, Letters, The Beast, July 2016), I can understand your anger as I have had a few strange encounters with police behaviour. The female police officer stating that “the police are exempt from the law” – what?! When did that happen? I have heard this before from the police, but I thought no one was above the law including the police. What are they being taught in police training? If there are police who think they are above the law, and believe they can do and say whatever they want to, we should be very afraid.
I have dealt with plenty of police in my work and they are generally good, decent people, but then you come across some who have this oversized ego and say some really stupid things. They try to intimidate you by overreacting and using aggressive language and big headed behaviour because they are in uniform, carry a gun and believe they can get away with it. They leave you feeling a bit rattled by their behaviour and I suspect that they do it because they can.
In one incident we were having a party that got a bit loud and a bit late, so naturally there was a complaint and the police were at our front door. The moment I came to the front door I decided it was better to keep the screen door shut and locked. The female police officer was really angry, stating that she had to ring the doorbell four times to get our attention, so understandably she was annoyed. We were too loud and I agreed with them that we needed to quieten down. It was the young police officer who really concerned me. I could see he was chomping at the bit to have his say. He started yelling at me, doing a jumping up and down movement, with his hand on his gun! You might say that sort of took me aback.
In another incident I was booked for going over the speed limit. The road had no traffic on it except for the car in front of me, which kept slowing up and then accelerating. He kept doing this and at one point when he slowed down he started moving over to the side of the road, so I thought he was going to park. I decided that I would overtake him while he was making his move and as I overtook him he accelerated again. I should have pulled back, but as he was now starting to annoy me I made the wrong decision and decided to keep going, so I ended up doing 65km/h in a 50km/h zone. As a note I am not in the habit of speeding, but it was just one of those days when your attention span and tolerance is just above zero. I actually thought it was a 60km/h zone, but as fate would have it a police car was up behind me with his lights and siren on. There was no problem with his parking ability as in Mario Abdel-Sayed’s incident, but this officer was not a happy person. I do understand and have empathy as it must frustrate the police when people speed, but I think this one really got out of the wrong side of bed. He called me lazy and stupid! Gee, thanks Mr Police Officer, I am certainly foolish for not obeying the speed limit and I should have paid more attention to the speed zone, but I am not lazy and stupid!
I’ve been a registered nurse for a long, long time (we won’t go into how many years) and I have my own nursing business. I really wanted to say it to him, but I didn’t because I was in the wrong and I felt like if I even coughed he would have had me in handcuffs. He just could have handled it in a different way. I think some officers need to remember that many of the people they are talking to are intelligent beings and the police using their position of power to make people feel like they are worthless morons is really not in the best interests of anyone.
This is not a letter to ridicule the police – on the contrary I have enormous respect for them and I have dealt with many good and professional police. Some of the situations they have to face would be absolutely horrifying, frustrating, and very dangerous. As a registered nurse I have seen this coming through the emergency room. The things the police see must cause some of them a bad night’s sleep.
I am concerned, however, that there does seem to be a fraction of them who seem to treat the public with contempt and really need to be pulled in to line. This element can unfortunately leave you feeling a bit distrustful of the police. With exception of the minority, people are good and law abiding citizens, and intelligent. Simply because they do an illegal left hand turn or on the odd occasion don’t abide by the noise laws does not make them criminals. If they did the left hand turn at 80km/h and on two wheels I would agree that they are an idiot, but there are some police officers who think they are all-powerful and view it as part of their job to treat members of the public in a rude, aggressive and humiliating manner. All it takes is one to give the many a bad name.
If the incident played out as Mario described then all the officer had to do was discuss what Mario had done in an intelligent and non-aggressive manner, then issue a ticket. Perhaps if he had been less aggressive Mario would not have felt the need to get out of the car and therefore the officer would not have felt the need to call back-up support. How ridiculous. Mario may not have been too pleased about the ticket, but he would not have left the scene feeling so upset, angry and somewhat humiliated. It was just all so unnecessary.
Grace, Coogee

Follow the Road Rules
Dear Mario Abdel-Sayed,
Cheers for your essay – so there’s four minutes of my life I won’t get back. Ever.
Stupidly I persisted reading your letter hoping to learn fantastical tales of police brutality or racial profiling and abuse at its worst. Alas, I was let down (like most lovers who leave my humble home at two in the morning after a Bondi Hotel pick-up).
Luckily I was multi-tasking and on the loo when I read your sob story (with no real point), so I’ve not lost too much sleep. I actually found I was more interested in the lack of workmanship in the tiling on my bathroom floor than your note.
Follow the road rules, simple as that.
Gargamel the Smurf Hunter, Bondi Beach

Listen Up, Pearl
So Pearl was inspired by the “saccharine literary effort” of Kyly to write of the Kremlin-looking building in Macpherson Street, which is undertaking a $63 million upgrade (Kyly Boldly Backs St Cath’s Development in New Book, Pearls of Wisdom, The Beast, July 2016). Looks like the Kremlin, acts like the Kremlin – even has its own Puten-esque sports car driven CEO!
And as for the fear of Bankstown hoons? Pearl could join the elderly putting up posters about forthcoming meetings. Then Pearl could experience the well-educated bogans of St Catherine’s chasing her in their P-plate autos, aping their mothers as they scream at the elderly to f**k off. Noice!
Regards,
A DeNIMBY(Definitely Not In My Backyard)

Democracy in Traction
I attended the recent Waverley Council meeting on Tuesday, June 22. I can’t recommend highly enough attending one such meeting, especially for any of you who believe in the integrity of our Liberal-dominated council. A more astonishing display of blatant disregard for truth and justice you’ve never seen. With the notable exception of one Liberal councillor, Joy Clayton, all the others seemed to vote in a block just for the sake of it. They vote and argue, but not for any principle in which they believe. It’s all tactics, bullying, interruptions and gagging of the truth.
The night’s petty and time-consuming argument was over the minutes of a meeting that took place in May. The hot topic, which brought the community out in force, was the Bondi Pavilion Restoration and Upgrade project.
That May council meeting was a fiery one. The public gallery included many of the same people who were at the previous month’s meeting. After keeping the gallery waiting for six hours, the mayor moved a motion to adjourn the meeting, stymieing the probing questions that were forthcoming. The vote was counted and Cr Betts proclaimed the adjournment. Cr Clayton loudly corrected the mayor to state that she had voted against it and was roundly ignored. Cr Betts then left the meeting with her Liberal colleagues – perhaps an honest mistake, perhaps not.
The minutes then recorded this incorrectly as an agreement of adjournment. This was witnessed by more than 40 members of the gallery, as well as the Labor, Greens and Independent councillors. The argument was about trying to correct the record so that the minutes reflected what actually happened. The vote on June 22 was lost – with one Liberal councillor (who had not attended the May meeting) allowed to vote on the accuracy of the minutes, giving them the numbers.
Folks, you gotta see this to believe it. Democracy in traction.
Tina Harris, Bondi

Dear Eastern Suburbs Royalty
Dear Eastern Suburbs Royalty,
First of all let me thank you from the bottom of my unworthy heart for allowing commoners to even be in your presence let alone occupy the same parklands and suburban carriageways as you and your privileged brethren.
Nothing pleases me more than having to cower single file as we creep past your esteemed selves spread in resplendent glory across the boardwalk with your fulsome entourage (in more ways than one), accoutrements, and gargantuan baby carriages in tow.
Please know that your humble servant expects nothing more than a sneering disregard of my intention to pass anonymously by as you stand unyielding and oblivious to all that surrounds you, as is your wont. Your expectation to remain unmolested by the barely tolerable unentitled folk in your midst is forever safe with me.
Yours cringingly,
Davide, Randwick

More Open Space at Bondi Beach
I support the proposed underground car park at Bondi Beach because removing the cars would give us a lot of extra parkland, trees and pedestrian space. You only have to look at the concrete eyesore that is Queen Elizabeth Drive (QED) and imagine it covered in grass and shaded with trees to see the benefit.
If you look at an aerial view of the beachfront it’s clear the overground car park takes up the same space as the greenery of Bondi Park! Converting all that asphalt and bitumen into parkland and pedestrian space is the equivalent of doubling the size of Bondi Park. All that extra space means we can have more playgrounds, outdoor gyms, barbecues, tables and seating. There is more space for people to lay down a picnic blanket and kids to play. There is also the increased safety of not having a roadway divide the park/pavilion from the beach.
Sydney’s population is forecast to double in the next 50 years. However, the amount of beaches and parks is not doubling. This means more and more people will visit Bondi. If people are complaining about the crowds and lack of space now, just wait. Walking on the pedestrian boulevard on a Sunday afternoon will be like squeezing onto a packed train. Therefore, it is surely a no-brainer that if there is the chance to acquire more open space we should take it.
And what are the arguments against the proposal? The inconvenience for some drivers of walking an extra five minutes to their favourite spot on the beach! You must be joking? I myself park on QED and am happy to put up with this ‘inconvenience’. That is because I recognise that extra open space will benefit current and future generations. I also recognise that the majority of people visiting the beach come via public transport, walk or cycle. Those are the modes of transport that should be encouraged. Also, most drivers find parking on nearby streets. The people who regularly park on QED are a small fraction of beach users. Plus, they will still be catered for with an alternate car park. In 50 to 100 years, with increased density, a lot of local driving will be untenable anyway. The reality is we’ve got to move away from encouraging everyone to hop in their cars.
In 1929, when the QED was built, the population of Sydney was 1.2 million. It is now 5 million. What was appropriate urban design in 1929 is not appropriate in 2029. It strikes me as the height of selfishness that a handful of drivers want to scupper a doubling of the recreation space because of the ‘inconvenience’ of not having their favourite car spot. How can that take precedence over the vast majority of beach users? Removing the overground car parking and replacing it with trees and open space will benefit current and future generations.
Mark Hersey, Bondi