Speak up if it's not right
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In 2014 I attended a conference about crime prevention and communities. One speaker was Karyn McCluskey who, at the time, was Director of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit. Her approach was similar to that discussed in your article but she went several steps further.
She understood people involved in the personal service industry (hairdressers, beauty therapists, tattooists etc) often hear or see evidence of domestic violence and can give advice about how to access help. In her initiative she also extended the training about how to recognise the signs of domestic violence to veterinarians and dentists, for example. Why these people? A person might bring an injured cat or dog to the vet with an injury and the explanation of how it happened is not consistent with the injury. Did a partner kick or otherwise injure the animal? With dentists it may be broken or missing teeth and an inconsistent explanation as to how it happened. Did the partner punch her in the face?
But in the end the problem belongs to all of us. We hear the screams and the thumps, we hear the children crying and the animal in pain. The first feeling is that we don't want to get involved but the next feeling must be but what if it continues and gets worse. How will I live with that? If you are aware or have suspicions, try to have a friendly word with the person to see if they are OK and you should also report it. Our police have dedicated officers who have been trained in dealing with these issues. They are sensitive and discrete.
So if you think something is not right in a relationship you need to "have a conversation". It's not about blame it's about stopping a problem before it escalates and thereby helping two people to break out of a pattern of behaviour which all too often leads to violence and sometimes death.
David Thurley, Lavington
Nationals, please explain
Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie says regulating the industry would hurt our dairy farmers ('Dairy bill gave false hope', letters November 18) but it's actually the lack of regulation that has led to decline of the dairy industry in Australia.
Countries with thriving dairy export industries are heavily regulated. For example, California, the largest dairy state in the largest exporter of dairy products in the world, is heavily regulated. Its industry has a floor price for milk based on the end use, so there is a different floor price for fresh milk, milk that will be used for cheese, or skimmed milk powder. New Zealand's largest export is dairy, and it is heavily regulated, with a floor price set for milk every six months.
Now, the Minister knows all about the regulation of milk in the world, but she persists with the fiction that no one wants a base price for milk, by milk region, to reflect the cost of production.
Last week, my Protecting Australian Dairy Bill 2019, was considered by the Senate. My Private Senator's Bill was narrowly lost in a vote of 30 for and 31 against, and now the Nationals are under pressure to explain why they did not support the Bill. That is also a question I would like answered.