Letters: How long should Christmas lights be displayed?

I am unsure how long Warrnambool City Council plan on leaving the Civic Green Christmas lights on, but now into our 112th night post Christmas, as well as post Valentine's Day, Saint Patrick's Day, and Easter, I am wondering if they will continue to light up for ANZAC Day, and the King's Birthday?

When the council was questioned about this, it was suggested the lights would be turned off at the end of Easter - well, we still continue to sit, wait and watch.

I have friends and family who have visited Warrnambool over the summer months, and now ask regularly as to the status of the lights - people even telling friends that Warrnambool still has their Christmas lights on and to check it out when visiting.

I am unsure this is what we would like to be known for? Unless Christmas is all around all year in town.

Nicole Goldson, Warrnambool

It is clear that there are serious issues facing our schools, if your front page article on 'Teacher Exodus' (The Standard, April 17) was entirely accurate with the correct emphasis. Urgent action is obviously required.

What occurs to me is that it is surely the responsibility of the teaching profession itself to be constantly identifying and correcting problems that arise. I'm not sure why politicians, psychologists, commentators and the like external to the classroom, need to feel that they have the solutions to practitioner issues.

As far as I am aware, working conditions in schools are governed by legally-enforced enterprise agreements between employer and employees, perhaps statewide with application to be decided at the local level. For teachers, enterprise agreement must include hours of teaching, preparation and assessment and community contact. Tasks expected outside of these areas can be refused.

I am attracted to the idea of each school employing more administrative staff to assist with non-teaching duties such as the organisation of camps, excursions and meetings with parents, follow-up on student support, production of community newsletters and many others too numerous to list.

Teachers have a complicated professional workload that should be accommodated at each site by negotiated and cohesive enterprise agreements. Independent, qualified and experienced professionals need to be in control of their own work to meet the needs of their public; it is a weak argument indeed to suggest that workload consists of an endless list of tasks determined by someone else.

Dr Neil Hooley, Essendon West

I write in response to a letter in last Saturday's The Standard about the blue green algae problems occurring in the Curdies River.

I'd like to reassure the Peterborough community that there has been no leakage of sewage or treated effluent from our sewage treatment plant to the river or estuary. Aerial photographs taken in the past few weeks confirm this.

We actually commissioned the Peterborough Sewerage Scheme in 2008 to alleviate health and environmental concerns with failing septic systems in the town. These had been causing issues for many years, particularly with nutrients entering and impacting the lower Curdies Estuary.

The town's sewage treatment plant has three lagoons - a primary treatment lagoon, maturation lagoon and winter storage lagoon. They are all lined with compacted clay that is typically 600 to 800 millimetres deep in accordance with the requirements of our regulator, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA). This material acts as a barrier, preventing sewage and treated wastewater leaching from the ponds onto the surrounding land or into the groundwater table.

The winter storage lagoon is large enough to store the town's treated wastewater supply each year. It was also designed with extra capacity to meet the needs of future residential and commercial development in Peterborough.

The plant operates under an EPA licence which ensures we have a mandatory obligation to treat the sewage to a quality that is fit for irrigation. The plant is fully compliant with the EPA licence and regulations.

We routinely sample the water, including prior to irrigation, and conduct regular site visits and inspections of the facility to ensure its structural integrity. We also have several bores across the site to monitor water quality of the shallow groundwaters for compliance with EPA regulations and to ensure there is no impact on the environment.

Wannon Water is also represented on the Curdies River Coordinating Committee which was established by the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority in 2022 as a platform for knowledge sharing, consultation and collaboration. We look forward to continuing that important work.

Andrew Jeffers, managing director Wannon Water

Research commissioned by Dementia Australia and undertaken by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 2023 shows the number of Australians living with dementia is expected to nearly double by 2054.

In 2024 it is estimated there are more than 107,600 people living with all forms of dementia in Victoria. This figure is projected to increase to more than 216,400 by 2054.

No one should have to face dementia alone.

Dementia Australia is here 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. If you or a loved one have a diagnosis of dementia, or mild cognitive impairment, or you're concerned about changes to your cognition or that of a loved one, call the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500.

Maree McCabe AM, CEO Dementia Australia