Annoying Calls Will Continue

Illawarra Mercury

Saturday April 8, 2006

I MAY not be the brightest candle in the church, but it didn't take me long to work out the long overdue legislation to prevent the never-ending barrage of annoying calls from telemarketing groups has been well and truly stuffed up before the "do-not-call-me" register has even got off the ground.

There are so many exemptions to the so-called protection that all the telemarketing groups have to do is say that they are going to make a donation to a charity if you sign up with them, and from that moment on it's annoying business as usual and they cannot be prosecuted.

A "do-not-call-me" register should be exactly that and have no exemptions whatever.

- DAVID M COX,

Corrimal.

Let's see real plans

BEFORE Wollongong council releases all the new land at West Dapto, it's to be hoped that the town planning department will fully plan all suburbs in the manner of Canberra which is still using street plans drawn by Walter Burley Griffin.

To date all our planners have done is allow developers to do the street design and dictate block sizes. This has resulted in Wollongong having some very poor to dreadful urban design.

It's time for council to tell developers how these new suburbs will look.

Let's see some real suburb design before a sod is turned. We want to see house blocks, parks, schools etc properly laid out, not just acres of "future release" with no detail as to date.

The developers will accept this if they want to participate.

- DENIS BOYLE,

Keiraville.

Try a mother's lot

TO all the men who whinge about paying child support.

It is so sad to hear them complaining about having to "fork out" money for children they happily helped to conceive. They talk as though the money is for the mother of the child to spend on herself, heaven forbid.

Being a single mother is the hardest job in the world with very little thanks.

I wonder how these men would feel if they were in the mother's shoes and all of a sudden had to give up the career they loved and the income they were used to and found themselves working seven days a week for nothing.

The little bit that you do give begrudgingly normally goes towards allowing the child to be able to do the little things that other kids do, like swimming lessons, sport and maybe going to a movie now and then.

So next time you are sitting at the pub spending all your money on beer and the pokies, spare a thought for your child going without swimming lessons and the mother of your child going without a life. Maybe you could stop complaining for a change and instead, thank her for doing your job!

- MANDY WALKER,

Woonona.

Here's a study tip

IF Wollongong councillors want to study garbage they don't have to go to Denmark to do so.

They can study it any morning in lower Crown St or in lower Market St or on the Picton Rd. Instead, why not use the money to repair some potholes in our roads, such as the one on the corner of Governors Lane and Young St.

It's been there for months. I can supply a list of potholes that need repair if that would help.

- IAN MACKRETH,

Wollongong.