DEAR News Of The Area,

AN audience of over 200 people attended an interesting and thought-provoking forum in Coffs Harbour recently, addressing ‘The Erosion of Democracy in Australia’.

The highly informative views of Kerry O’Brien of the ABC and the recent Indi Independent MP, Cathy McGowan, fully captured the attention of all in attendance.

It was particularly startling to hear Kerry O’Brien’s historic summary of the decline within Australian media reporting in terms of truthfulness, in both printed and social formats.

He clearly outlined the danger that unchecked statements present for any democratic society (sadly only eight percent of the world enjoys a democratic form of government), and cited the USA as a current example of polarisation based around untruthful reporting.

The consolidation of our Australian media into greater foreign ownership has loosened our grip on independent reporting.

Fortunately, our strong grass roots newspaper ‘News Of The Area’, our local radio stations and the regional ABC are also important suppliers of factual information.

Their integrity and balanced opinions are critical for greater unity, harmony, and progress of Coffs Harbour as a democratically governed regional area.

I encourage each citizen to fact check what you read and hear – do not allow falsehoods to be spread by others, in whatever form.

Our elected local, state, and federal representatives should be of the highest integrity and committed to providing a true voice for all our citizens, not just the lobbyist, the wealthy, the powerful and the larger cities.

They should always engage respectfully with others.

Think carefully and well before you step up to vote.

Our democratic well being depends upon it.

Sincerely,
Trisha LENG,
Coffs Harbour.