Queanbeyan Age Letters to the Editor | November, 2016

They say emphatically that all Australians have the same rights, but the truth is they don’t.

I’m straight, and I have the right to marry – lucky me. A gay person doesn’t have the right to marry. They have the right to be gay, that is perfectly legal, but they don’t have the right to marry the person they love. 

I am no expert on law or the constitution or religion, so what I will say now will probably reflect on that.

Some of the laws in our constitution were written because they were strongly held religious beliefs at the time, and some religions state that marriage is between a man and a woman. 

But in Australia, we have the right to believe in any religion we choose, or even no religion at all. So if the law states that a marriage is between a man and woman, and that law is based on one or more specific religions, but if I don’t follow that religion, as is my right, then why is our government forcing a belief from a specific religion(s) on all Australians, even those Aussies who don’t follow that religion?

What if a person follows a religion (or no religion at all) that doesn’t specify that a marriage should be between a man and a woman, then why are they being forced to follow the belief of a different religion that does state that?

The simple answer: no prime minister will push this through because they value their own jobs over the rights of all Australians, they think it will be “political suicide” for them.

Their pay packets and their huge pensions are worth more than the rights of gay people. 

Giving all Australians the same rights is the right thing to do, but the politicians don’t do what is right for all the people of Australia, the politicians only do what is right for their own career. 

And the politicians wonder why we don’t believe them or trust them.

Keda, Queanbeyan

Asbestos is a killer that continues to claim the lives of Australians including men, women and young adults years after it was banned in Australia in 2003. 

To save lives we’re on a mission to educate more Australian’s than ever before about potentially dangerous asbestos products still lurking in one third of Aussie homes.

As ambassador for Asbestos Awareness Month, former DIY renovator and tradie, I’ve met many, many people who like me, have lost someone dear to them and been unnecessarily exposed to asbestos fibres. 

Asbestos is not a thing of the past. 

It remains an ever-present danger.

If managed safely and products remain undisturbed, sealed and in good condition asbestos doesn’t pose a health risk.

However, asbestos remains in one in every three Australian homes and if disturbed releasing fibres that can be inhaled, lives can be at risk.

Asbestos is not just in fibro homes. Any brick, weatherboard, fibro or clad home, even apartments built or renovated before 1987 will contain asbestos in some form or another.

Asbestos could be lurking under floor coverings, in walls, behind wallpaper, under floor and wall tiles, in eaves, garages, carports, sheds, bathrooms, kitchens, laundries, roofs, fences and even concrete paths.

With the popularity of DIY and home renovations increasing, now more than ever before Australians must take the warnings seriously to prevent this avoidable and tragic loss of life and “Get to kNOw Asbestos” this November. 

Visit asbestosawareness.com.au today to learn what asbestos products might look like, where they might be lurking in homes and how to manage it safely. It’s not worth the risk.

John Jarratt, Asbestos Awareness Month campaign ambassador