LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Send them home

Australia’s policy for immigrants who fall foul of our laws, serving time in our prison system, determines they must be deported.

This policy the New Zealand Prime Minister disputes, but it protects our citizens at home from potentially further crime.

What changed, when it came to the 22-year-old Somali, who has done prison time in 2019, caught trying to leave our borders to join ISIS?

Released on bail, with his ankle tracker device removed, he was shot dead after an altercation with Gold Coast police on the M1 Motorway.

Should he not have been given his marching orders to return to Somalia, upon release?

Why was this different from every other criminal deported?

Granted, we have enough criminal elements which challenge our law and order systems, but why this rogue ex-criminal, determined to cause havoc and harm, was not deported is a mystery.

“The horse has bolted” and there needs to be an explanation why Australians were put at risk by the release back into the community of one radicalised immigrant.

Please explain!

Eloise Rowe, Tannum Sands

Rates freeze

The first priority if I am elected as mayor will be to freeze any rate increases for 12 months to give rate payers of our region some relief from the challenges created from the COVID virus that has seen many businesses shut down and jobs lost.

How I intend to fund the freeze is to look closely at waste reduction and creating savings for the rate payers.

Areas to look at saving rate payers money are: mediation procedures to avoid costly legal action, competent management of council operations, and the use of consultants reduced to the bare necessities and a review on suppliers of goods and services.

I believe that there are many savings to be found and as a business owner that started my business off from nothing, it is a daily practice of improving operations by reviewing costs and obtaining the best value.

I believe the council needs to be able to give ratepayers a good return on investment to ensure the battlers in our region can live a better life.

Let’s start with a well deserved rates freeze, for the people of our great region.

Leyland Barnett, North Rockhampton, Mayoral Candidate for the Rockhampton Regional Council

HARRY’S VIEW ON CROC CAUGHT IN THE FITZROY RIVER

SMS TO THE EDITOR

RATEPAYER, ROCKHAMPTON. To me, 17 running for mayor is ridiculous. Also my opinion is that councillors should have to resign to run for mayor. They already have one vote on council and this will not change by becoming mayor. Only difference is their payrate will increase. If one of the councillors does get elected there will have to be another expensive election for said councillor. Being a ratepayer this is not what I pay rates for; to be wasted in this way. I will be voting for Chris Hooper whom is the rightful mayor and was cheated out of it by useless politicians whom didn’t in their opinion was not clever enough. So vote just one mark with his name against it.