Danielle Slade letter disappointing
The letter from Danielle Slade (Letters to the editor, April 2) is disappointing from a number of perspectives.
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When she arrived on the scene and nominated as a Labor Candidate, many of us viewed the fresh new face with a great deal of hope and expectation.
The recent letter to the Star attacking Councils CEO, and her Consultant husband appears to me to be misleading, and demonstrates at best ignorance, and at worst malicious deception by Ms Slade.
Anyone with knowledge of industry, understands that Consultants, or Project Developers have a payment protocol which generally equates to around 20% of the project cost, this covers a host of charges including, planning, pricing, supervision, meeting regulatory guidelines, acquittal, etc.
I have absolutely no knowledge of the matter in question, however if anyone is paid $400,000 in fees, it equates to managing a $2 million project.
Personally I would hope that Council can attract much more than $2 million in Government funding each year.
Finally, I believe that Council do employ an engineering team, looking after Council work, however being awarded Government Grants is a hit and miss experience, and having another $250,000 a year engineer as suggested, waiting for a Government Grant which never arrives seems a great waste of ratepayers money.
Ron McCullough,
Mount Isa
Animal rights activists respond
On Wednesday animal rights supporters in Victoria, Tasmania, NSW and Queensland are holding peaceful disruptions inside and outside numerous slaughterhouses and other businesses which profit from animal cruelty and exploitation.
These actions have been a collaboration between multiple groups around the country, to mark the one year anniversary since the documentary, Dominion, was released. The documentary catalogues the legal, standard practices employed daily in Australian farms and slaughterhouses, that remain unknown to most consumers. The Queensland action at the Carey Bros slaughterhouse coincides with the release of new hidden camera footage from the kill floor.
The activists encourage anyone who is curious about these coordinated actions to watch Dominion and educate themselves about the realities of animal agriculture in Australia, to enable informed conversation about the issues it raises.
The documentary joins a growing library of evidence to suggest that not only is animal agriculture unethical, it is also an unsustainable practice. It is for this reason that last year the United Nations stated that tackling the industry is the "world's most urgent problem".
The large number of socially conscious and compassionate people who have come together for today's action show that animal rights is no longer a fringe movement, but an evidence-based and urgent one.
In a letter accompanying the actions, sent to state and federal agriculture departments, the activists call on the government to review the evidence themselves and stop facilitating the deception of consumers about the industry and the effects it has on animals, human health and the environment.
"It is time for an informed national conversation about what we're doing to animals. Industry and government have been desperately trying to frame this as an issue of farmers vs. vegans, or farmers as victims, to keep the animals out of the conversation. They know that most Australians are opposed to animal cruelty, and that the systemic cruelty in these facilities is now undeniable, so their response has been deflection, fearmongering and threats.
Chris Delforce,
director of Dominion