Bill Shorten has none. Neither has Premier Daniel Andrews.

These men are blatantly seeking to destroy the family as the basic foundation of society in keeping with the crazy ideas of Marx and Engels. 

I believe in social justice but socialism has gone mad. Look what the Victorian Attorney-General Martin Pakula is putting before state parliament.

He wants men who ‘feel’ they are women to be able to go to Births, Deaths and Marriages and have their birth certificates changed to how they feel, as distinct from the physical facts of their bodies.

This is same-sex marriage by stealth.

What does it say to women in shelters from violence by men and in women’s gymnasiums and girls in public and school toilets? 

A person does not have to be religious to be opposed to the attempting imposition of this damaging ideology.

We only need a bit of common decency and respect for women and girls in particular and Australian society in general to know and be outraged at these determined political ploys to impose this abuse upon us all.

Stop the ‘feel-good’ mentality and come back to clear reality – male is male and female is female. 

ROBERT WORTHINGTON

Warracknabeal 

TRAVELLING to and from Melbourne more frequently by public transport, our anger is rising rapidly.

When will our region be rid of the disgusting ‘Kennett Legacy’ and have a complete train service to and from our capital and the South Australian border, providing ease and safety for all travellers.

Witnessing all passengers, particularly the older and disabled, struggling to climb the steep stairs on and off the bus link is horrendous (our thanks to V/Line staff for their help to passengers). Will it take a bad injury or death for politicians to demand rectification of this most important infrastructure plan to happen now?

IAN and MAUREEN PEACOCK

HORSHAM

VICTORIA’S peak farmer organisation has vowed to make sure the state government makes good on its promise to cut red tape across the agriculture sector and protect a primary producer’s right to farm.

The Victorian Farmers Federation is calling for a seat at the table before the government makes any moves to shake up the state’s planning regulations following the Intensive Animal Advisory Committee report rte;eased on Wednesday. 

The planning system affects the whole farming sector, yet there is still much to be considered before implementing any recommendations in this report.

Primary producers are the foremost stakeholders of this process. It is vital that the main focus on amending the system is removing ambiguity and protecting a farmer’s right to farm.

In responding to the report, the government supported, either fully or in principle, 31 of the committee’s 37 recommendations, including a permit requirement for all pig, egg and poultry production and additional support for local councils in making planning decisions.

The federation has concerns some of the committee’s recommendations could place unnecessary red tape on farm production.

We need the government to recognise that farming zones are, by nature, areas used for production purposes and we have concerns that the report’s recommendations could make the system more complicated.

It is critical that people understand that this is the area designated to produce the food and fibre to meet the needs of a growing population.

The federation was also concerned the committee’s classification of intensive and extensive industries, based on energy consumption by livestock, was needlessly ambiguous. 

We already have clear land use terms in place for industries – like pigs, eggs, chickens and feedlots – so there’s no need for these ambiguous definitions of intensive or extensive farming to continue.

This is a prime example of where the government can slash red tape to benefit the farming sector and we urge them to do so.”

DAVID JOCHINKE

VFF President

PEOPLE caring for someone with cancer can join a free Cancer Council Victoria webinar on Tuesday, October 18 during National Carers Week. 

More than 2.8 million Australians are in a caring role, whether they are caring for a partner, a parent, a child, a friend or a neighbour.

Many carers balance this valuable role with other demands such as work, family or study and often feel unprepared and unsure of where to go for information and support.

Cancer Council Victoria’s free webinar will discuss ways carers can manage their own wellbeing, while providing the best support to the person they are caring for.

For more, call the Cancer Council Victoria information and support line on 131 120. 

KATHERINE LANE

Nurse Manager, Cancer Council Victoria 

A PICTURE that appeared on page 7 of the October 7 edition of the Mail-Times was incorrectly captioned.

The caption should have read Allan Baudinette. 

The Mail-Times apologises for the error.