Letters: 'Very sad': Warrnibald art prize needs to return

Not only does it give the artist the opportunity of having work displayed in the gallery, but it brings people to the gallery to view portraits of friends or family. People who otherwise would rarely frequent the gallery.

It is a wonderful way for young artists to see a variety of style and techniques.

Several years ago the gallery had 40 entries for the Warrnibald but unfortunately only displayed 16 of these entries. This did deter a number of people from entering again.

Last year the exhibition was bought forward and it wasn't very well publicised leaving many people insufficient time to do their portrait.

It is very sad that this excellent exhibition won't be happening at the gallery this year.

Val Ryan, Warrnambool

Re the story scientists debunk offshore wind myths, The Standard May 16, 2024: No offshore wind has aligned with people's views on the project. Public awareness has been key, informing voters on plans being rushed through with little consultation for such projects. The scientists finding it offensive quotes "there is no evidence in the world". That is the point. No evidence. Of course the turbines do not kill whales, that is cods wallop but they will displace them, and they will go elsewhere. The benefits spoken about financial and environmental are mythical. The strongest economy the ocean can provide locally is tourism, fishing and recreation which it already does well. None of the no offshore wind farm members are climate change deniers. But is science smart basing our future power supply on something unpredictable like we are told the climate is?

Wind farms have a place and it is not in the ocean. The go-green mentality only starts counting the carbon credits after projects are built, be it an electric car, solar panel or wind tower. All the items being built for this electriified world are short-life items. The pollution from making all these items and the landfill waste from their demise will far out way the benefits. We have houses with roof-top solar, paddock turbines not spinning, storage is the issue, not supply.

Our local reefs and sanctuaries rival the barrier reef and they will be decimated by pumping concrete into the ocean. It will never be the same. Towers will be an eyesore. Yuk!

Richard Conlan, Port Fairy

A huge thank you to Phil Cunningham and the entire Camperdown FNC community for hosting us during the recent WorkSafe Country Club Week.

Kicking off on Thursday night at club training with Tom Boyd, some Melbourne Vixens and a chat with our inspectors, it was great to be back at Leura Oval for Saturday's big home derby against Cobden.

While the home side just fell short in the seniors netball, it was fantastic to see the senior footballers kick start their season with a big win.

WorkSafe wishes the club all the very best for the remainder of the season.

Sam Jenkin, Executive Director, External Affairs, WorkSafe Victoria

Mr Tehan, your 'information' letters continue to conflate important issues. That "hundreds of violent people" were released from detention (weeks ago) is a lie, misleading and fear mongering...

When in government, you didn't have the care or thought to combat real reasons for fear. The outrageous behaviour of Australian men in our society, murdering their intimate partners and their children, weekly. The fact that laws were never changed to address this. The fact that you never made it easier for women to take up positions in your party, so that women could at least be presented with an opportunity to influence decisions in this regard.

This domestic violence crisis is real and could have been addressed much earlier. It is real domestic terrorism that happens on a daily basis. A crisis that is truly frightening for all women and all children. Where is your party on this now?

What are you doing in your own electorate of Wannon about domestic and gender-based violence?

Mr Tehan, what we see in the newspapers and on the TV is just a fraction of what is being perpetrated on women and children in Wannon and throughout Australia.

One violent act by the man who was unlawfully detained for years is too many but it does not equate to "hundreds of violent people", and it most certainly does not in any way equate to the tsunami of gendered violence, ignored by you and your previous government, for years.

Genevieve Grant, Voices of Wannon, Rosebrook

I wish to express sympathy for the survivor mentioned in an article in The Standard, Wednesday, May 8, describing his dismay at the recent celebrations held in Warrnambool, to mark the 150th year of the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat. Held at St Josephs church, included were photos of past bishops, at least one of which was extensively questioned by the Royal Commission on sexual abuse.

The survivor explained he found it triggering and as a survivor myself, of double figure perpetrators as well as being a Catholic, I can honestly say I know how that feels. Over time though, I became aware that there was another way to live, one without all the struggle and the pain, one that took the control out of the hands of abusers and gave it back to the victim, restoring their sense of personal power and re-establishing their personal boundaries. I forgave those who abused me.

Now, I don't mean I downplayed or in any way ignored the damage they had wreaked upon my life, but in choosing to forgive I re-gained the upper hand, they no longer had any control over my life, which testified graphically to the ultimate healing reality of forgiveness, not of the sin, but of the sinner. I came to see that 'unforgiveness' only wounds the 'victim', it never touches the perpetrator, they just get on with their lives, oblivious to, and uncaring of, our absolute despair.

Forgiving breaks all the bondage we are in to our abusers.

Sandra Laird, Dennington

May 20 each year is International Clinical Trials Day, and I would like to say thanks to the staff at South West Healthcare Warrnambool, for their ongoing commitment to improving treatments and outcomes for people diagnosed with breast cancer, through their participation in the Breast Cancer Trials research program.

More than 20,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer across Australia this year alone. That is 54 women per day. But while we still have a long way to go before we have a cure for every person, more women are surviving this disease than ever before.

Over the past three decades survival rates for breast cancer have increased by more than 30% and clinical trials research has made a significant contribution to this.

My team and I at Breast Cancer Trials would like to extend our deepest thanks. We would not have been able to achieve what we have without you, and we look forward to what will be achieved together in the years to come.

Soozy J Smith PhD, Breast Cancer Trials