48 NT NEWS. Friday, July 5, 2013. www.ntnews.com.au PUB: NT NEWS DATE: 5-JUL-2013 PAGE: 48 COLOR: C M Y K On this day IN THE TERRITORY 10 YEARS AGO: Alice Springs shoppers could pay more for their food under a proposal to increase rail freight charges by up to 70 per cent. 20 YEARS AGO: The Northern Territory has the highest rate of accidental death among children in Australia. 25 YEARS AGO: The Esplanade Gallery tenants had until the end of this week to decide if they would accept one of the two lease options offered. Letters to the editor should be kept to 175 words or less. Send your letters to GPO Box 1300, Darwin, 0801, or email [email protected] You must include your name, home address or PO Box number. Name and address will be withheld on request. The Northern Territory News reserves the right to edit letters. Responsibility is taken by the Editor, NT News, GPO Box 1300, Darwin, NT, 0801 FRIDAY, JULY 5, 2013 Peris has to prove worth NOVA Peris has finally broken her silence after the return of Kevin Rudd to the Labor leadership. Julia Gillard’s ‘‘captain’s pick’’ had been silent for more than a week since Mr Rudd’s return as Prime Minister. Some had queried if her candidacy would go ahead after Ms Gillard’s knifing. But the Senate candidate assures us that she will still be running. Many people in the NT — and within NT Labor — are still angry at the way Ms Peris was selected. Long-serving Territory Senator Trish Crossin was unceremoniously dumped to make way for Ms Peris — a political novice. At the time, Ms Gillard argued Australia needed an indigenous woman in the Parliament. But there were far better credentialed candidates, such as former deputy chief minister Marion Scrymgour, who could have been chosen. Ms Peris now has a huge challenge ahead of her. She needs to convince Territorians that she is a candidate of substance, not just a political stunt. To do this she needs to stop hiding behind minders and spin doctors and get out among the public. She needs to show her understanding of Labor’s policies and sell those policies to the voters. Otherwise her candidacy can only be viewed as an act of tokenism. ... and another thing TERRITORIANS will no doubt turn out in huge num- bers for Saturday’s clash between the Gold Coast Titans and Penrith at TIO Stadium. The NRL has done a great job marketing the game in the Top End. Perhaps the bosses at the AFL should take note. Letters Fireworks are explosives. They are dangerous. Such events should be under supervision — SEE LETTER BELOW THERE’S A LOT OF HOT AIR ABOUT WEATHER JIMMY Cocking of the Arid Lands Warming Environ- ment Centre predicts Alice Springs will be too hot to live in by 2070 — a wild claim so far in the future very few of us will be alive to verify it. I was delighted to see NT News print the counter claim by William Kininmonth, who for 12 years was head of the Bureau of Meteorology Nat- ional Climate Centre. For far too long government-funded institut- ions have conducted a global warming scare cam- paign based on little or imp- recise evidence. With their snouts in the public funding trough these ‘‘scientists’’ have issued wild claims of huge sea level rises, a world too hot to live in, gla- ciers disappearing etc. (In the 1970s these ‘‘scien- tists’’ were predicting the next Ice Age would arrive by the year 2000!). Today, in 2013, there is strong evidence the world is actually in a cooling trend with the British Met Office issuing the statement, ‘‘Glo- bal surface temps haven’t ri- sen in the last 15 years . . .’’ The world has been warm- ing and cooling for millions of years and will continue doing so for as long as the Earth exists. We need to stop frighten- ing our children with un- proven claims of a world too hot to live in. Chris Sweeney, Coolalinga MAYBE TAKE CARE OF THE BASICS FIRST CAN the City of Darwin please purchase its next $7000 funky, quirky ping pong table after we get the faded white lines on the roads in Wanguri repainted? Thanks. Rob Hudson, Wanguri TIME FOR THIS IDEA TO JUST FIZZLE OUT IT IS the desire of Adam Giles to retain cracker night for self-government day, probably on which day most of the current participants weren’t even alive. However, there were 400 fires which had to be at- tended by firefighters at pub- lic expense. There were 10 people injured. Darwin was like a war zone. I was shocked twice by ser- ious bangs, and who knows how many others were affec- ted adversely in some way, not to mention pets. So the carte blanche decis- ion by Adam Giles is not only short-sighted but also irresponsible. Fireworks are explosives. They are dangerous. Such events should be un- der supervision. So, while retaining the supervised, public displays such as at Mindil, the sale of fireworks for private use should be banned. Private sales put fireworks into the hands of irrespons- ible children and adults who are casual in their attitude to precautions and set them off outside the legal times. By all means we should have specific so-called crack- er nights, but keep them to supervised government displays only. Why Mr Giles or indeed any government needs to be spending millions on cele- brating Territory self- government in such a way is dubious anyway. We should be concentrat- ing on getting statehood for North Australia, or Kings- land (a name which was pro- posed for this region back in 1912), and hopefully under a much better Territ- ory government than the one we have now. HM King Roman, Coconut Grove WHY JUST LET DRUNKS WANDER THE STREETS CONCERNING drunken be- haviour and drunks in public places in general. Watched the TV show cal- led Highway Patrol tonight (July 2) and in it a bloke who was walking down the street in Victoria late at night drunk was arrested and ta- ken to the watch house, kept there overnight, then fined $475 for being ‘‘drunk in a public place’’. Maybe that approach could help up here. The Lone Ranger, Darwin CRACKER OF A PROJECT FOR NASA TO TACKLE WERE any pictures taken of the Top End from outer space on Monday night? Crikey, it was like Ar- mageddon all round! Sound- ed like all hell breaking loose, starting from the re- hearsals about 4.30pm. AMB, Woolner The Fixer WHAT: Streetlights are out on Hook Rd, Winnellie. WHO’S RESPONSIBLE: PowerWater’s power networks acting general manager, John Greenwood. CONTACT: (08) 8982 2307. DO YOU know of something in the Territory that needs fixing? Give The Fixer a call on 8944 9750, email [email protected] or follow on Twitter @NTNTheFixer Email: [email protected] Text: 0428 NTNEWS Fax: 08 8981 6045 Letters: PO Box 1300, Darwin NT 0801 VOTE LAST WEEK’S VOTE Your Say Should hoons have their car confiscated permanently? Should people be forced to quit smoking before having an op? To cast your vote go to www.ntnews.com.au Yes 69% No 31% Thanks a lot, mate WALLET’S RETURN RESTORES MY FAITH I JUST want to thank the person who found my wal- let on Rapid Creek Rd last Sunday morning and handed it in to the Casuar- ina police station. Everything was still in it, including the money. When things like this happen, it helps to restore my faith in the people in our community. Ryan, NSW COUNCIL HAS ALL THE ANSWERS THROUGH your column I would like to give some ac- knowledgement to the Darwin City Council. Recently I have had some very diverse re- quests and have been given prompt, courteous and satisfying answers. So thank you, City Of Darwin. Brian Hilder, Darwin FIREWORKS SHOW MADE MY NIGHT THANKS to everyone who invested in fireworks on Monday night. I’m from the UK where we can buy fireworks all year round. As a result, they aren’t seen as all that special. Watching the whole city of Darwin and Palmerston light up from the ninth floor was amazing. A great night. Jules, The Gardens