Letter ‘body shames’ refs
IN REPLY to Paul Kerr’s comments on the ability and standard of referees in Group 9 in his May 26 letter.
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Mr Kerr’s comments are not needed nor appreciated by many members of the public.
These referees put in and give up their time to do this sometimes thankless and unappreciated job.
Referee numbers will again take a hit due to his comments.
Getting people to referee and officiate on games is difficult at the best of times and the comments that Mr Kerr has made will no doubt further erode the confidence, if not completely drive people away from this valuable service, as many people have said over the years “if there are no referees, there is no game”.
I hope that Mr Kerr’s view from the luxury of the sideline is not hindered any further or blocked out by the “oversize referees” who are trying to improve themselves, gain fitness and also provide a service to the sport of rugby league.
Many different areas of society are well aware of the effect these comments can have on women; the same effect can be thrust upon males also.
Comments such as Mr Kerr’s can do untold damage to a person.
I certainly hope the Group 9 referees do not lose any of their members due to these comments, which constitute body shaming.
Is Mr Kerr prepared to get out there and put his hand up and take up a whistle to begin refereeing himself, having to contend with the abuse and belittling directed at the referees from the crowd, and sometimes the players?
Along with that, they are forced to make split second decisions without the back-up of the bunker, a luxury afforded to the NRL referees have.
I ask him to keep his opinions to himself as those comments are in no way beneficial or constructive.
If Mr Kerr has any issue with the standard of the refereeing in Group 9, then he should approach or contact the Group 9 referees association to voice his concerns or offer his assistance.
Andrew Symons
Tumut
Form a sneaky trick
I FIND it quite concerning to have received a postal vote application from Michael McCormack, our federal member.
Concerning because the (easy option) return address is to the office of Mr McCormack!
It’s no doubt funded from his parliamentary expenses for the election.
This application requires personal information to be completed. There is no envelope with the form.
So unless you seal it yourself with sticky tape, it will arrive at Mr McCormack's office unsealed.
This means your information is open to be copied and there is no privacy guarantee from Mr McCormack to state otherwise.
Are we to assume that these won't be opened and information copied?
Are we really that silly?
What assurance do we have that they will be sent prior to the cut off date or that the security and privacy of the information will be dealt with properly by Mr McCormack's office?
Even Australia Post has a disclaimer on the form that it cannot assure the security of the information.
Mr McCormack has nothing of the sort written on the form, only an advertising spot for himself.
Of course, you can send it directly to the AEC or go online, but the problem here is the default reply paid address is Michael McCormack's office.
This is open to abuse and a privacy breach and it is simply unacceptable Mr McCormack.
The form needs to be removed from circulation immediately.