Many items in this paper refer to the increasing population on the Peninsula which is obviously good for some but there is a lack of any mention of the quality of life on the Peninsula.
It is becoming very difficult to cross the road in many instances or to find a parking space when shopping. Mention has been made of the long hold-ups on each of the four roads leading to the Ocean Beach Rd roundabout, particularly in summer. Some people maintain that their roads are like parking lots, which makes driving and exiting their property more difficult. The ABC’s Four Corners program addressed this problem last week regarding the lack of infrastructure in keeping up with the increasing population. For me, the program demonstrated the fact that governments and big business have been very successful in brainwashing everyone in Australia into thinking that the economy and jobs, jobs, jobs are the paradigms of our existence.
There was no mention of the fact that we live on a finite planet. There was no mention of the word water. There was no mention of the fact that we are just one of the animals on this planet. The program failed to tell people that Australia is not a wide, open space just waiting for humans to fill. Australia is full of the most amazing life, both flora and fauna, much of which is under threat due to human activities. Australia still has much of its bio-diversity left and humans will not continue to exist without this functioning ecosystem. We do not know yet just how far we can go in sending other species to extinction but sometimes the walls of our existence are going to not just crumble but fall down. One extinction means that there is a gap in that system. We are already troubled by mosquitoes and bugs partly because we have not encouraged the small birds to stay around.
Most gardens attract only the bully birds like kookaburras, magpies and noisy miner birds because there are only lawns surrounded by shrubs and trees. There are no thorny or low bushes in the middle for the smaller birds to hide. The elephant in the room which no one, not the ABC or even this paper, is willing to discuss, is overpopulation by homo sapiens. We just cannot continue like this. We desperately need a public conversation on this matter. Anyone who does not think that we are just an animal species should just watch the evening news or Question Time in Parliament.
Email, 20 Mar 2018 Margaret Lund, Woy Woy