TRANSPORT BACKLOG (Weekly, August 27)
■ Our state government celebrates “growth” but fails to raise enough revenue to provide the basics in the growth corridors.
Comprehensive reform to provide infrastructure where it’s needed
is usually done by adding more people, or economic growth to increase
cash flows. It’s a spiral of growth, and then debt, and more growth is
needed to cover the debt.
The route to escaping this growth cycle and decline is a stable
population. Instead, the “improvements” of Victoria and its services are
being bogged down by perpetual growth.
TONY B VIA WEB
■ Terry Mulder and his cronies haven’t done a thing
to help public transport in this state, and now they want to waste
$8 billion on the east-west toll road, which will ensure there is no
spare money for at least the next 10 years.
PAUL VIA WEB
SPRINGS STATION (Weekly, August 27)
■ [The state government] doesn’t have money to build a
station which already had tracks and a road? Just put a shed there for
now. We need a train station desperately.
VINCENT VIA WEB
■ I’m in Melton South and start work at
8am in Richmond, but there is absolutely no access by bus or train. We
should have buses to and from Watergardens due to the amount of people
from Melton who work there. That would save so much time, instead of
having to go to Sunshine and then up to Watergardens. No more stuffing
around.
Ranee VIA WEB
AMBULANCE DELAYS (Weekly, August 27)
■ Increased resources is the tip of the iceberg – if
transfer times at hospitals are not improved, the paramedics are still
stranded away from their area. Give them the pay rise they so deserve or
we won’t have experienced paramedics to man the ambulances.
DEBBIE VIA WEB
FIT EXERCISE INTO YOUR DAY
■ Baker IDI has released the results of a large study
tracking weight gain over 12 years. It revealed people aged 25 to 34
stack on the kilos the quickest.
This is a time when rather than being run off your feet at a
casual retail or café job, many of us transition to a desk job. Some
start a family and sacrifice exercise. Some buy their first house, with a
longer commute to work.
VicHealth’s indicators survey of 25,000 people shows two in five
25 to 34-year-olds spend seven hours or more sitting and one in five
drink soft drink every day. This is particularly true for men. So what
can we do to prevent the kilos creeping on?
Try to get some activity into your day, no matter how small.
Squeeze in a quick jog or walk the dog. Walk to work, or to the shops.
Visit your workmates instead of sending an email. Take the stairs
instead of the lift. And don’t buy soft drink.
Our weighty woes are often blamed on staring at glowing
rectangles, but technology can benefit your health. Check out
VicHealth’s TeamUp smartphone app, a marketplace of hundreds of sports
and physical activities to join in when and where it suits you.
There is no reason why exercise shouldn’t be the highlight of your day, you just need to discover what moves you.
Jerril Rechter VicHealth CEO
