West MacDonnells blaze: sorrow and questions
Thank you Fiona, Kieran and Erwin for this extensive coverage of the fires west of Alice, their devastation, causes and conditions.
I am in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and have been hiking in remote country. Now in a place I can get WiFi, I have checked in with Alice Springs News to find out what’s going on at home.
I am heartbroken. It is hard to be so far away at a time like this, when so many people are feeling as I do – shock, loss. Real grief.
I hope for community conversations with key agencies funded to protect country from this kind of devastation by fire.
We need to be talking and working together as a whole community.
Thanks for such a comprehensive report Fiona.
I know how deeply connected and committed you are to country. And to Alice Springs News for your commitment to reporting issues in depth.

Torrent of toxic Facebook posts after Mall melee
We need to stop and think about why these young people are so angry, and ask, where is the support and social cohesion necessary for them to make a way forward (in 2 world’s), into education, jobs, a stable life?
Many are bearing the scars of generational trauma, racism, alcohol abuse and domestic violence.
The only way forward for this town is to invest in children and families, build a stronger community from the bottom up.
The approach must be strengths-based, giving young people the chance to address this trauma and marginalisation, and to access the kind of education and training that will link them to jobs.
If we don’t invest in healing, strengthening and skilling up young people, nothing will change.
So come on Dale, lead the way.
This is the time to get it right for young people in Alice.
We can’t go on ignoring what they need, and polluting the environment with blame-the-victim, racist vitriole.
Come on Gunner, Wakefield. Come on Alice.

Fracking OK, but under ‘strict laws’ – Gunner
What a sell-out on every level. Not in my name. Never.

The magic Certificate III: How does Batchelor stack up?
@ Just another Rort: “Give them physical work on farms”?
Your comment is offensive. The “they” and “them” to which you refer are Aboriginal Australians … who are committed to education in a system that – overall – lacks equity and access, and fails to meet their needs.
It would be refreshing to engage in a deeper conversation, and leave throw-away lines and thinly disguised racism for the scrap heap.

You can vote No with love: Alice priest
Father Raass, you are mistaken if you think your article does not offend people. It does.
You fall in line with a minority of people who believe that same-sex attracted people are morally inferior.
You assert that to give someone like me the freedom to marry, there is a serious risk that it will lead to depraved behaviour, and the abuse of others.
You allude to pedophilia, incest, polygamy, sperm donation and the breakdown of the moral fabric of society – all of this if same-sex couples who love each other and commit to a life together are allowed to enjoy the same legal and civil right afforded my marriage.
Surely not! This is thin ice. What percentage of these abuses are committed by heterosexual men?
I have lived in Alice Springs for 25 years, in a long-term, committed same-sex relationship.
My partner and I are involved in the community through our work and commitment to this wonderful place we call home.
We are voting Yes because the vote is essentially about human rights.
Its scope reaches way beyond us, and beyond marriage. Australia prides itself on being an egalitarian and increasingly diverse society, and thus it is time to catch up with other nations who respect and offer same-sex attracted citizens equal rights under the law.
Many of my heterosexual friends choose not to have children. They contribute to society in other ways. This is their choice.
It is acceptable, yes?
They do not receive church-sanctioned moral comment or public vitriol, nor are they denied the right to marry if they refuse to procreate. Society accepts this diversity. This is a double standard.
Rumbling around deep underneath this debate, is fear of difference, which – whether it is racism sexism, or homophobia – should no longer be tolerated.
You have sought and put forward, an argument (marriage = procreation = man and woman) to justify denying others their equal civil rights.
This is out of step with society, which is moving continually towards greater equity and equality for all citizens.
It is out of step with social views on marriage, and with movements towards diversity and inclusion.
To echo instead your reflections on love … if marriage is about love and love is the most important thing – love, respect, kindness – then there can only be one vote. Yes.