It has been verified by a ballot assistant that my name is on the register for postal voting and that obviously the left hand is not working with the right hand and my ballot paper has not been posted.

When asked it was also noted that my stepson’s ballot paper had also not been posted. I wonder how many more voters are in the same predicament and will not be voting through no fault of their own.

This to me shows a gross incompetency and makes me wonder how this can be deemed a fair election.

To think these candidates want our votes to push for certain agendas when they cannot even send me a ballot form.

P Roberts, Bega

The Federal government is cutting $2 billion in funding for aged care, with the cuts targeting people in residential aged care with the highest care needs.

As one of Australia’s largest not-for-profit providers of aged care services, UnitingCare Australia is deeply concerned at the impact of these cuts on the health and well-being of frail older people.

Our modelling shows that the average resident will have the funding to meet their needs cut by $6650 a year, and the frailest by as much as $18,000 a year.

Of equal concern is the flow-on effect of funding cuts of this size.

Public hospitals will face even greater pressure as older people wait longer to access residential care, with aged care providers forced to reconsider admitting people with complex health needs.

The aged care workforce will also suffer, as providers will be compelled to review, and potentially reduce, staffing levels.

This will affect nurses, allied health professionals and administrative staff and comes at a time of greatly increased demand for aged care services.

People in residential aged care are already suffering from a range of conditions such as dementia, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease and mobility impairment.

They don’t need to suffer more as a result of these unfair cuts to aged care.

Martin J Cowling and Peter Bicknell

UnitingCare Australia   

Many developed countries around the world have not fluoridated their water supply, or have fluoridated their water supply and then ceased fluoridation or in some cases used an alternative form of supplementary fluoridation.

Some these countries have reported steep declines in dental caries that parallel declines seen in largely fluoridated countries. 

Dental caries is related to many factors including diet – particularly sugar and carbohydrate exposure, oral hygiene, bacterial mouth flora, access to fluoridated toothpaste and other sources of fluoride.

Fluoride has effects on cells responsible for bone formation and there have been some specific investigations into a possible relationship between fluoride exposure and bone cancer. A study by Bassin (Bassin, Wypij et al. 2006) reported a five-fold increase in risk of osteosarcoma in optimally or highly fluoridated areas compared with areas that had low fluoride.

The risk of even just one teenage death from the highly aggressive bone cancer is not acceptable to allow somebody else to delve into sugar with the belief of being protected from tooth decay, which could also be prevented by properly training in tooth brushing.

Studies have examined intelligence quotient scores in children exposed to significantly higher fluoride levels than those used in Australia– the majority in China. 

A 2012 review of previous studies (Choi, Sun et al. 2012) suggested the possibility of an adverse effect on children’s neurodevelopment.

Dörte Planert, Tathra