The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 12

12 THE AGE, Wednesday 14 January 1987 LETTERS Access Age 671601 Anti-terrorist or racist? EDITED BY PATRICK HAYES Duck shooter is waterbirds' greatest friend Please write letters of no more than 300 words. Shorter letters will receive preference. All letters should be signed and the writer's name and address should be written clearly. Telephone numbers should be provided so that letters can be verified. A letter may be edited for reasons of space or clarity unless the writer specifies that it must be published in full or not at all.

Illogical issue Gabrielle Haire (Access, 131) wants Catholics to respond to the RuxtonTutu issue. With a longtime tradition of second-class citizenship and a sense of humor enabling them to laugh at themselves, old Australian-Celtic Catholics are not likely to tumble into a public debate characterised by unsurpassed illogicality and a dearth of realism. BRIAN LANG. North Balwyn. Tarnished efforts I feel very sorry for the war veterans who have had their splendid efforts tarnished by the outburst of Bruce Ruxton and for the many confused people who will withdraw their support for the RSL as well as their attendance at the Anzac Day March.

RODERICK BATTLE. Mitcham. motor vehicle offenders incarcerated within Turana Youth Training Centre have been actively involved in a traffic safety program conducted by special teachers who work in the institution. Sadly, when 'The Age' editorial opinion (31) calls for better education in respect to traffic safety, this program is in danger of being wiped from the special education curriculum at the centre because of the lack of financial support by agencies such as the Australian Schools Commission and the State Government There is little doubt that adolescent motor vehicle offenders who represent in excess of 25 per cent of Turana's inmate population are highly vulnerable to themselves and others in our current traffic environment. They not only possess a number of high risk characteristics such as the lack of drivingriding skills and experience but, above all, they lack an appropriate attitude towards the safe and lawful use of the motor vehicle.

Adolescent motor vehicle offenders most often drive at night and at high speed, unlicensed and in the company of one or two co-offenders and usually under the influence of drugs, alcohol or both. Apprehension normally takes the form of high-speed police chases resulting in considerable property damage, physical injury and in some instances even death. remote and incomprehensible document like a printed constitution seems to have no connection with life as it is actually lived. This appearance is misleading. "The Constitution has everything to do with life as it is actually lived in Australia." The opportunity to join the ranks of those few Australians who have an up-to-date copy of their Constitution is still open by writing to or phoning the Constitutional Commission, toll free (008-023103) for a free copy.

I. G. CUNLIFFE, Sydney. Nazi search from F. Knopfelmacher When confronted with a transparently bogus campaign one is faced with a familiar dilemma: if you keep mum, they get away with it If you answer every bit of their effort you promote it This is sharpened by the distant nature of events in wartime Europe, unfamiliar in detail and boring to most Australians after 42 years.

Since the Loftus-Aarons article was published ('The Age', 81), I have seen Soviet Novosti telex items sent to mainline Australian newspapers actually naming and identifying "war-criminals" in Australia. I wonder who they will name next. Good hunting gentlemen. FRANK KNOPFELMACHER, Gardenvale. After 14 years teaching at Turana Youth Training Centre, it is my opinion that incarceration without the provision of treatmentrehabilitation programs is not the answer to this particular youth-oriented problem.

Continuity of the existing Traffic Safety Program is an absolute must and must be supported by the State Government DICK UMBERS, Parkvllle. Constitution lives from I. G. Cunliffe, secretary of the Constitutional Commission. Alan Fitzgerald, who boasts his family has two slightly dated copies of the Australian Constitution, says: "We should consider ourselves lucky that we live in such a happy nation that we can afford to ignore the Constitution as being peripheral to our real lives" ('The Age', 2712).

Indeed we should. But is our Constitution peripheral? Melbourne University's Professor Colin Howard, who has written books on constitutional law, says: "Few countries can be so dominated by a printed document as is Australia by its Constitution. Few peoples can be so plagued with constitutional problems in their daily lives as are the Australians. "Mostly the problems are not recognised as constitutional. A dull.

banned then the shooters will not be around to protect these wetlands and the animal liberationists will have left for the next emotional cause. Unprotected, our wetlands will be depleted, and along with them the duck population and more importantly the many other water-birds who far outnumber ducks as a percentage of the swamp inhabitants. I appeal to our legislators, ornithologists and naturalists to take a balanced view of duck shooting, as the duck shooters remain the only serious defenders of our wetlands. ROBERT L. LEWIS, Beaumaris.

from R. L. Lewis The total banning of duck shooting would seriously deplete the water-bird population of Victoria. "Perhaps the hunter is the greatest friend of the animals hunted, not excepting the Humane Society," wrote the 19th Century naturalist Henry Thoreau. Although Henry Thoreau had given up hunting at the time he wrote that, he realised that preservation of habitat is more important than pressure of hunting if wildlife numbers are to be maintained.

The duck shooters are the only effective group that works hard to keep our wetlands from being drained or turned into salt-retaining basins. If duck shooting is Some of the people who criticise Archbishop Tutu are not racists, just against terrorism, a reader says. Others, however, say that tjuch criticism is still unfair and unwarranted. It's not racism The word racist is over-used, a cop-out avoiding the real issues. The African National Congress and Desmond Tutu are criticised for their terrorist connections and philosophies, not color.

If a person is above criticism, because he is black, who is the racist? KAREN MCKENZIE, Healesville. Man of love At last week's Uniting Church Christian Youth Conference, I was privileged to hear Archbishop Tutu speak on several occasions. I witnessed a man who protrayed great love, compassion and humility. With people like Arch, there is still hope. STEPHEN KINGRADE, Werribee.

Anzac march Contrary to the belief of Tom Spencer (Access, 131), the Anzac Day March is organised and conducted by the Anzac Day Commemoration Council. Only two of the 13 members of the council are RSL representatives. KEITH ROSSI. Ivanhoe. True-blue Australian Bruce Ruxton may be rough and tough, but he is a true-blue Australian, who fought for his country and is still fighting to preserve our Australian identity.

Archbishop Penman is a foreigner trying in many ways to force us to change, not always for the better. JUNE BORBIDGE, Ocean Grove. Bleeding hearts I wish Bruce Ruxton would ask all those who support him in his dispute with the bejewelled Archbishop Tutu to join him on Sunday, at say Ballarat. Melbourne would be deserted on that day, save for a few bleeding hearts, who certainly don't live In Springvale or Richmond. WALTER LANE.

Toorak. Violence and trouble Would all those anti-Ruxton Access writers take their heads out of the sand and look at the real world. If we fill Australia with black Africans and Asians, we will have the same violence and trouble as the Ukraine and the United States. JAN JENIT, East Bentleigh. Smokers are a dirty, dangerous minority I would rather share my home, if not by bed, with a leper than a smoker.

Transmission of leprosy requires prolonged close personal contact. A leper will not stink or burn me or my home, nor irritate eyes and nose and increase the risk of several fatal diseases, even from a distance. LLOYD MORGAN, Bendlgo. of my handbag, in which I already carry for a day out keys, cosmetics, credit cards, etc and any current medication. I am also resentful at having to mend my husband's pockets which have been worn through by these same heavy coins.

Why can't they be made smaller, thinner and, possibly, of a lighter alloy? Such a wholesale change in the coinage may cause complications for the vending and entertainment machine industry, but must we put machines before people? BETTY CURTAIN, Williamstown. Cricket crusaders from P. Appleby An Australian court of law decided in favor of Kim Hughes against the Australian Cricket Board for restricting his right to play professional cricket in South Africa. Why then this continuous' cacophony of sound and displeasure repeating the rebel image and all that nonsense? Is it because the media generally, and letter writers to 'The Age' in particular, are suffering a reflex action of disbelief? Or, is it because we are becoming basically a nation of ockers, and fail dismally to give the other fellow a fair go? In my opinion, Kim Hughes and his fellow cricketers are better described as crusaders. They defended their right to play cricket anywhere, and more importantly, they have stood up on our behalf for a principle, namely the right to play sport free from political restriction.

PAUL APPLEBY, Wangaratta. Vulnerable drivers from D. Umbers, deputy principal of the special education facility at Turana Youth Training Centre In recent years many adolescent Access letters must be 50 words or less. Lines are open between 8 am and noon, 1 pm and 4 pm weekdays. Catholic attitude Gabrielle Haire (Access, 131) has exposed her ignorance of the attitude of Catholic bishops to apartheid.

"In some ways, the Catholic Church has led the way, they were way ahead in opening their schools to all races" (Archbishop Tutu, 'The Advocate', page 1, 81) RINA TURSI, Macleod. Cynical disapproval We know the Aussie knocker is always with us, but Ken Gaffney (Access, 121) takes the prize with his cynical disapproval of the America's Cup and our dedicated contenders. There seems to be no pride in holding this very prestigious trophy with all its glory and added bonus of riches for Australia. RUTH WILLIAMS, Metung. Support the Prince Those who admire the decision made by Prince Edward should write to him and show support.

Brought up in a naval tradition of great standing, it was not easy to be honest enough to say he felt un-suited to the position after at least trying the experience. Honesty under pressure is to be admired greatly. LORNA HOOPER. Balwyn. The product of fertilisation can suffer developmental arrest the cells cease to multiply and growth stops and the cells are lost by the woman at menstruation without her knowing that fertilisation has occurred.

Conversely, the product of fertilisation may grow, but without any embryo development taking place, resulting in the formation of a tumor. This condition is known as a molar pregnancy which occurs in about one per thousand pregnancies and is not clearly recognisable as such until about 14 days after fertilisation. A molar pregnancy may pose dangers to the mother because of the possibility of becoming malignant and subsequently life-threatening. This shows that there is no single discrete event that allows us to say when a new human individual comes into existence. This also shows that it is arbitrary and inappropriate to place that point at five hours from the beginning of fertilisation.

KAREN DAWSON, Clayton. Coins too heavy from B. Curtain. I am dismayed and indignant at the creeping conversion of our lower denomination notes to coins, with the consequent increase in weight in our purses and pockets. I have travelled widely in Europe as well as the US and have encountered nowhere coins which ha- added so much to the weight When life begins from K.

Dawson, scientific research officer with the Centre for Human Bioeth-ics. Monash University The claim by Mr Tonti-Filippini of the St Vincent's Bioethics Centre that a new human individual begins existence five hours after the start of fertilisation ('The Age', 31) is difficult to defend. At this stage the male and female contributions necessary to the formation of a new human individual have not yet combined to form the single individual; they are still separate. Furthermore, the presence of the sperm inside the egg after penetration does not ensure that such combination will follow. The male or female contribution, or both, can simply dissolve or they may not move close enough to allow such an event.

The entire argument of Mr Tonti-Filippini is based on the assumption that sperm penetration leads to fertilisation which is followed by embryo development and the subsequent birth of a baby. Even if the fertilisation is successful, there is still no assurance of embryo development occurring. TEXT FOR TODAY Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. PH1LIPPIANS 4:6 (GNB) almost 60 per cent overall prefer a total smoke-free atmosphere. Experience has shown that segregated smokingnon-smoking sections in carriages are not effective, and the only complete way of satisfying the preferences of the majority of our passengers is total restriction in a carriage.

It is not simply a matter, as Mr Barrett suggests, of adding another carriage. That would be far from being economically sensible, and that is what VLine is aiming to be. Following the market research, smoking was prohibited in all first class cars on country trains and on all country road coaches. Passengers travelling in first class cars still have the option of smoking in the vestibule of first class carriages, and economy passengers are able to utilise the separate smoking carriage. On the interstate rail services, first class passengers, who prefer to smoke have the facility of the club car where refreshments are also served.

Otherwise they can smoke in the sleeper cabins or in selected first class seats. There has been no change to the economy class accommodation. L. J. HARPER, Melbourne.

from L. K. Morgan E. G. Barrett (51) and his provoking friends indignantly resent appearing to regard them as second class citizens, social lepers.

One day, if smoking does not kill him sooner, he may accept the reality that smokers are second class citizens who should have their Medicare tax levy tripled. They are a dirty, dangerous minority, unduly inconsiderate of non-smokers' comfort and health, now seldom requesting permission to smoke, as was customary in my youth. I hope to live to see "do not smoke" signs disappear because they became as superfluous as the ubiquitous "do not spit" signs of my youth. Public spitting in Australia, except in the Test cricket arena, is socially unacceptable. Smoking is becoming so.

Two of my Canberra nieces have finally given up smoking, not because they are pregnant and their mother has just died of lung cancer, but because their habit is no longer tolerated in the homes of most of their friends. My smoking children love to come home as often as is practicable, but accept the restriction that they must go outside before lighting up. Smoke-free travel from L. J. Harper, general manager of VLine passenger services division.

I refer to the letter from E. G. Barrett of Prahran (15) regarding the banning of smoking in first class carriages on VLine country trains. The decision to extend the restriction on smoking on country train services (previously prohibited in the economy car with catering facilities and in one half of the first class carriages) was not taken lightly. Indeed, the decision followed comprehensive surveys of all VLine customers, which showed that 71 per cent of train travellers and 78 per cent of road coach travellers do not smoke and EDITED BY Mrs MIKE DALY Box office view of African affairs English, Greek musical styles meet on stage REPORT JOHN CAMPBELL INTERVIEW JASON R0MNEY commitment of the '80s.

The best of many plays dealing with the impotence of white liberals was Mitzi Booysen's "The Time of the Hyena. Booysen illustrated superbly the arid soil in which this option is now rooted between a burgeoning and contemptuous black po-liticisation on the one hand, and hostile Afrikaner nationalism on the other. Most black theatre seemed to conform to playwright Matsemala Mana-ka's injunction that "theatre should construct a people's history and cultural 'Sophiatown' certainly did, exposing the fabrications in the "official" history of the most tragic and brutal of the forced removals. It is thrilling, moving theatre, that charts the final days of a vibrant black community right up to its replacement white suburb, obscenely named "Triomf" (Triumph). Concert Hall tomorrow night which she will dedicate to the Spanish poet Fre-derico Garcia Lorca, Ms Farandouri will concentrate on his poem, 'Roman-cero Hitano', and his descriptions of gipsy life.

"It will not be a show in the standard way of singing stars," she said through her interpreter. Ms Farandouri does not move on stage; rather her songs are presented through what she describes as ritual, like the ecclesiastical liturgy of Byzantine music. "The expression comes from stillness. They are the type of songs that don't demand much else," she said. Ms Farandouri says themes of love in her songs will mix with concern for social issues like pollution and peace through the songs of Brecht and others.

"Once the times demanded that my songs be political because there was a continual struggle against the dictators in Greece. Now that has changed. "I believe the sensitive person must try to understand the problems around them. The biggest problem today is the demand for peace which is very intense in Greece. The war is outside our front door.

We have different problems in Greece now, so our songs must express the need for friendship between nations. Ms Farandouri performs at the Melbourne Concert Hall tomorrow night, accompanied on guitar by festival director John Williams. Theatre is left as one chink in the edifice of news control THEATRE might not be the front line of resistance to apartheid but the cast of 'Asinamair could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. On tour in Natal last year they were attacked by right wing vigilantes and a member of their stage management was murdered. A play about community struggle which played to full houses all over South Africa, some people were so threatened by it that they were prepared to go to any lengths to prevent it being staged.

But this dubious recognition of theatre's power is not universal; the ANC's Joe Slovo, has said that "the radicalising role of drama or any other art is If Siovo's observation seems, at first to reveal a hasty trivialisation of the issue, then a 'Financial Mail' survey on 'The Rich at Play' recently lent credence to his words. David Williams, its theatre critic, noted that "the uncultured rich are seen particularly at opening nights, because that for them is the excitement of theatre and they love rubbing shoulders with actors and directors These are the audiences that flock to commercial theatres to lose themselves in Broadway schmaltz and West End farce; to forget, for a few hours, about the state of emergency, the border war, and the crisis in black education. When they aren't being required to laugh themselves into catatonia at the latest offering from Alan Ayckbourne or Neil Simon, they are asked to ponder questions of fidelity (Harold Pinter's 'Betrayal'), the connection between language and meaning (Tom Stoppard's 'The Real Thing) or the tawdry path from being gay at Eton to spying for Russia (Julian Mitchell's 'Another Country'). Weighty issues, all of these, but played for the laughs and infinitely preferable to political mayhem at the back door. A few short kilometres from the opulent commercial managements are venues that promote non-racial, indigenous work.

Both the Market and newer Win-dybrow theatres often succeed in communicating the anger, fear and tension that the press can no longer report. The briefest survey of 1986's homegrown work shows how immediately it reflects, not so much hard news, but the fierce undercurrents and conflicts of South African politics. So English-language theatre has recorded both the recent popularisation of radical views, as well as the confusion and paralysis that has been this group's peculiar contribution to political change. Robert Kirby's "The Bljers Sun-bird (presently playing in London) is a good example of the former, contrasting the ineffectual Individualism of the '60s with the more disciplined Ideological MANIC English charm met soulful Greek philosophising yesterday when week two of the Melbourne Summer Music Festival was launched at the Arts Centre (actually heralded by a genuine summery day). Greek protest singer Maria Faran-douri took the stage with English bagpipes master Alistair Anderson for an exhibition of widely different styles.

Mr Anderson, 38, jigged and talked while periodically squeezing his instruments in demonstration. He said his English-style concertina, looking like a cross between a robot arm and a 16th century torture instrument was the oldest of the concertinas. "You just push the buttons and it does all the rest itself," he declared, pumping out the joyous ditties with cavalier abandon. "The concertina is very good for bright, fancy music but you can also play very expressive music on it" And what of the Northumbrian bagpipes? "People do not realise that throughout Europe and the Middle East there are many different types of bagpipes," Mr Anderson enthused, by now having strapped the pipes to his waist and fingered his way through some merry dance numbers. "The Northumbrian pipes are more confined, but it has a very specific tonal quality.

Play right and it can really set up the hairs on the back of your neck just because of the tone of the instrument And it can do very fast articulated runs. It is the only bagpipe you can play staccato on," he said. A former student of the late Billy Pigg, a noted piper, Mr Anderson has been a professional musician since 1971 and now makes regular tours of Britain, Europe and North America. But his interest in folk music began way back with the rhythm and blues of early Rolling Stones tracks, he said. And is there a special interest for Mr Anderson in Australia? "I am really looking forward to the folkloric concert on Saturday (Melbourne Concert Hall, 8.15 pm).

There is a very wide selection of music and dance from all over the world. And an immense variety of music within Australia, and mainly from groups who live here in Melbourne; music from Brazil, Chile, the Ukraine, China and Ireland," he said. Mr Anderson's interest in the special skills needed for the Northumbrian bagpipes has rescued the instrument from near extinction. Indeed, his interest in a whole range of music from the north of England, as well as the instruments, has been timely. "(Interest in the music) certainly got pretty thin.

When I first heard the Northumbrian pipes in the early '60s, we were down to the last 30 people who Picture: MARK WILSON Maria Farandouri: ritualistic presentation of songs. BRIEFLY Gcina Mlhope's 'Have you seen was gentler but no less powerful. It was a simple exposition of a typical black childhood growing up, sweets, school, boys then forced removal back to the "homeland" at the age of 16. "Politicisation in the black community is not the result of the play says, "but of our everyday Afrikaans writers were in a more introspective mood. Reza de Wet's 'Diepe Grond' explored the terrible consequences of the Calvinist family structure, while Deon Opperman's 'Die Teken' was an innovative investigation into sexual shibboleths, religious myth and the South African urge to conformity.

He contrived for all three to collide at the point where a small-town girl's illicit pregnancy is claimed to be the Second Coming. Both plays provided some insight into the complexity of the ruling group's national psyche. None of the plays outlined here were censored (although perhaps the puffad-der, as Etienne le Roux once called its. was merely sleeping). Thus theatre is left as one chink in the edifice of news control through which to catch a glimpse of the realities outside.

Perhaps Slovo is wrong. Certainly more could depend on increasing numbers from the establishment shuffling down-town to the alternative venues than box-office incomes. Indepeadent Alistair Anderson: bagpipes master. played. Now, a conservative estimate is that between 3000 and 5000 people play, which is probably more than there ever has been.

And there are so many youngsters very good players taking it up. But I don't think things should be preserved just because they are old. It should be because people have fun playing it and hearing it" Maria Farandouri, who left her 15-month-old baby son in Greece for this trip, spoke quietly in Greek through an interpreter. A sore throat she acquired during her recent plane trip from Athens would be no problem for the concert; nothing a spot of syrup and some vitamins couldn't fix, she said. A veteran world performer who has visited Australia three times previously and often worked with festival director John Williams, Ms Farandouri is renowned for the emotional vibrancy of her performances and the political content of her repertoire.

Previous Australian tours have included songs on Greek riots and police brutality, Nazi concentration camps, prisons, and the victims of oppression in Chile. In her performance at the Melbourne THE Minister for the Arts, Mr Mathews, has announced a number of minor capital grants worth more than $400,000. The Victorian Tapestry Workshop is to receive $23,000, the Victorian Print Workshop $22,000, and the City of Northcote $5000 for the development of stage two of its open air theatre. The Arts Access Society will receive $7500 and the Library Council of Australia will receive $10,000 towards the cost of installing Viatel throughout the State's Library network. Within regional Victoria, an initial $25,000 will be contributed towards the development of Wangaratta's Community and Performing Arts Centre, while the Shire of Robinvale will receive $29,000 for the upgrading of its Community Arts Centre.

A grant of $60,000 has also been approved to enable the Castle-maine Art Gallery to extend its storage space. Other regional arts facilities to benefit from minor capital grants include the Sale Regional Arts Centre Warrnambool Art Gallery Ara rat Art Gallery ($850) and the Paramount Arts Activity Centre at Echuca The old Courthouse Theatre at the Ballarat School of Mines is to receive an initial $17,500 to assist with the installation of new seating, while $15,000 has been allocated to the Horsham Theatre. IHIIND IN The Willows', adapted from the children's story, will be performed from Tuesday to Friday at 10 am and 2 pm until 27 January. Admission is by free ticket only. To obtain tickets (one adult per two children), forward a stamped and self-addressed envelope (stating two preferences for dates) to FEIP.

Wind In The Willows, GPO Box 739, Melbourne, 3001. This production will be presented in the form of a promenade-style journey through the Royal Botanic Gardens. A PIANO GROUP organised by the Adult Education Association of Victoria, and which meets monthly to play and talk about music, seeks new members for its meetings at the Council of Adult Education, 256 Flinders Street Melbourne, on the last Saturday of each month at 2 pm. The next meetings are on 31 January and 28 February. For information, phone Andrew Frederick on 211 1541.

JQLITHE SPIRIT', Noel Coward's comedy currently at the Playhouse, has set new box office records for the Melbourne Theatre Company, which announced the play would run an extra week (to 31 January). Director of the MTC, John Sumner, said: "The play is the biggest dollar spinner we've staged at the Arts Centre. It beats Zoe Caldwell's 'Medea' and it's one of the outstanding successes in the company's 30-year history." HEIDE Gallery exhibition until the 22 February, 'Friends And Relations', presents 66 works by artists including Pablo Picasso, Patrick Caufield, Sidney Nolan, Albert Tucker, Ken Whisson and Fred Williams, that bear witness to the truism that you can choose your friends but not your relations. Heide Gallery, at 7 Templestowe Road, Bulleen, is open between 10 am and 5 pm Tuesday to Friday, and 12 pm and 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday..