Jobs and growth will not help the Peninsula

Jobs and growth appears to be the mantra today.

I wish that someone would explain just how we can have constant growth on a finite planet.

I also believe that the "jobs, jobs, jobs" idea is not feasible, since many jobs are going offshore or to technology and the human population is growing exponentially.

The effects of constant growth are visible on the Peninsula.

It's become difficult to find parking, the roads are clogged and tempers are frayed.

It's made worse now there is the battle going on concerning the underpass.

Seats on trains are often difficult to find.

There are many more, hard surfaces, so flooding is frequent and taller buildings not only block the light and views but sometimes cause wind tunnels.

There will soon be less green space and denser housing, even though it is well known that overcrowding leads to more delinquency.

Many young people cannot afford TAFE courses and anyway TAFE is being phased out and private vocational colleges are taking over.

Many of these are simply manipulating the system to their own advantage and the students are not getting what they paid for.

This will mean that more tradespeople will have to be found, probably on 457 visas.

They are cheaper.

Where is the research or evidence that private companies are more efficient than government?

Surely privatisation is simply an ideological view.

Shareholders must also receive their dividends.

The workers in both private and public companies are the same homo-sapiens so there will obviously be good and bad in both systems.

We constantly hear that trade unions are corrupt but we seem to be surrounded by corruption.

Even this week there has been the case of two privately-educated young men who have been found guilty of insider trading.

Two hundred and fifty years ago pregnant women and children of seven were working down the mines in Britain, pushing heavy carts or opening doors in the tunnels.

We would probably still be in that position if it were not for unions.

Again there's good and bad everywhere.

Donations to governments are very effective as shown on ABC's Four Corners program recently.

Is it this which has led to leachate draining from the Mangrove Mountain tip into our drinking water?

And to large residential developments about to be built on wet-lands on the Central Coast such as at Mardi and Chittaway.

We must realise that the amalgamation of councils was at the behest of developers: They will have fewer bureaucracies to deal with to get their developments through.

With the new bio-diversity plans being discussed more and more of our unique Australian flora and fauna will be lost, some forever.

So surely the mantra for all governments is really, money, yes and more money.

Email, 20 Jun 2016

Margaret Lund, Ettalong