Some drought relief at last but red tape a problem


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Steve Davidson (Letters, July 31) reflects male privilege when he expresses such confidence in law enforcement. In Queensland a woman’s address was accessed by a police officer, who gave it to her violent partner and provided advice on how to intimidate her. The system is so flawed that it’s impossible to imagine it will not be abused by law enforcement. Which sex do you think is more likely to die when their information is inevitably released by the police to violent partners? – Samantha Chung, Newtown


I signed up for health insurance decades ago. The government of the day wanted young adults to get it, by legislating a monetary penalty for older Australians signing up. I have not needed to fill in forms each time a renewal is needed, listing my health conditions. I have not done any deceiving by not declaring relevant aspects of my medical history (Letters, July 31).
Pre-existing conditions are only relevant in usually the first year, or sometimes less than a year.
Health insurance is not like travel insurance, which bases premiums on your health, or lack of it. What I pay for my health insurance is basically the same as for anyone else my age, single, and joining in the same year. – Jan Syme, Newington


I have just received a birthday card from a department store in another state. I can’t recall giving them my details. But what if I had fallen over in that store, broken my hip and was hospitalised? I hope the emergency treating doctor could access my medical records with the same efficiency as that department store computer. Yes, I probably have matters in my medical records I don’t want broadcast, but in the long run I want to be treated properly and, if on the off-chance I was allergic to some drug, then I would want the doctor to have at least some chance of getting it right. – Peter Walsh, Casino


Spineless stance on Cambodia


Monday night’s Four Corners program showed the Cambodian leader Hun Sen, while visiting Australia, threatening to kill the children of the widow of one of his recently murdered political opponents. Surely it is time for our government to sanction this murderous, corrupt regime rather than bribing it with a fistful of bloodied dollars to take refugees off our hands. Why are we supporting this dictatorial thug (“Australia ‘weak on gangsters’ “, July 31)? James Ricketson is languishing in a vile prison cell while our government continues to avert its gaze from the appalling actions of the Cambodian dictatorship. – Philip Bell, Bronte


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