Yes, religion and religious intolerance has played a part in this present slaughter but if reports are right ultimately the killings were promoting white supremacy.

As an Australian I am shattered to know that these horrific events were perpetrated by someone identified as Australian.

Hopefully, many Australians will think about how we, as a nation, allow this type of hatred to manifest itself within our own communities. We need to call it out for what it is!

White or pale skin is a very recent human characteristic. The word Caucasian was coined in the 1780s.

Anthropologists researching ancient remains have managed to sequence the genomes of ancient populations isolating five genes associated with changes in diet and skin pigmentation that underwent strong natural selection.

Science journalist, Ann Gibson, writing in The Science Magazine wrote "the team found ... three separate genes that produce light skin...European's skin evolved to be much lighter during the past 8000 years."

Most of the early tribes and then the hunters and gatherers all lacked two specific genes, causing skin colour to be dark.

Early migration from the East and then interbreeding saw the rise of two gene markers for pale skin.

Gibson puts it this way; "they carried both genes for light skin.

As they interbred with the indigenous hunter-gatherers, one of their light-skin genes swept through Europe, so that central and southern Europeans also began to have lighter skin."

There is much more to this story which can be followed up by using the link below.

What can science tell us? White skin was never the default setting. What can history tell us? Hatred leads to barbarous behaviours.

Let's hope we never see another Christchurch.

* (www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/04/how-europeans-evolved-white-skin)

We must stop calling these deranged killers "Terrorists".

It's an easy handle for media and for attention-grabbing politicians to use, but it gives them undeserved status and can makes them Freedom Fighters to some.

By giving these freaks the publicity they crave we only encourage others in the same fringe areas.

"Terrorists" is a term that divides the community and is used by governments worldwide merely to curry support from voters.

Ethnicity, religion, belief systems or culture have nothing to do with it.

They are unhinged murderers and they exist everywhere. Let's not call them anything else but what they are.

Now that both sides of NSW politics have declared their election campaign promises, it's clear that the proposed Southern Highlands Community Hospice (SHCH) is not about to be funded, either by the government or the opposition.

And rightly so. A viable case - in terms of need and finances - has never come close to being made for a stand-alone, community-run, self-sustaining hospice here in the Highlands, or anywhere else in NSW for that matter. Instead, both sides of politics have sensibly supported much-needed upgrades to Bowral Hospital and greater provision of home-based palliative care.

Meanwhile, the futile pursuit of a SHCH has entered its 10th year, and continues to erode the charity dollars that would otherwise go to worthwhile causes in the Highlands. The latest figures (June 2018) recently published on the ACNC website reveal a improper picture. Their four shops are returning a trading profit of just $242,000 on turnover of $661,000 - and that's with all floor stock donated.

SHCH has now pulled in four million dollars' worth of charitable giving from local donors, spent two million, and has just two million left in hand. What is there to show for all this expenditure? Nothing save for a bundle of architect's plans for a grandiose $12 million hospice on land they don't own.

The money has largely gone on shop rent ($212,000 for the year) and salary for a General Manager ($137,000 annually). Money spent on 'Project Costs' so far is $173,000, mostly for consultants. And last year, the SHCH spent $34,000 on a 'feasibility study', which has not been released to the public. So much for transparency, yet the fundraising goes on. It's obvious where this money should have been better spent - on supporting and expanding our proven facilities for end-of-life care.

The SHCH project must stop now - or change direction.

READ: Anglicare services to go mobile throughout the Highlands

It's on. The election scrum outside the polling booths.

A scrum of candidates and supporters pushing how to vote forms onto early voters. Not pretty.

Voters survive by taking a how to vote form from everyone or none at all. They do this not to learn how to vote, but to simply get through the scrum intact.

Voters wanting policy information today are best served by picking up the phone, sending an email or attending the candidate forums that pop up before election day.

Millions of how to vote sheets are printed, millions.

Most are returned and reused then discarded after polling day.

More are printed than are ever needed, just in case. All this costs, money and trees and energy. Time to blow the full time whistle on these scrums.

Let's adopt a simpler, more equitable and effective approach.

At each polling site simply display on the windows or walls, or perhaps on a custom frame - display a copy of each party's candidate, a short election statement and their preferred voting details.

Voters can simply read the details required and vote accordingly.

Democracy is maintained. It's not that difficult.

So, we call upon the NSW Electoral Commission change the system.

Let voters vote in peace, stop the hassling of voters, stop the printing of millions of unnecessary leaflets, save a few trees and let the party faithful sigh in relief and go home.

Letters on election issues must bear the name and full address of the writer(s). Responsibility for election comment in this issue is accepted by Southern Highland News masthead editor Jackie Meyers. Writers should disclose any alliance with political or community organisations and include their phone number for verification. Election candidates should declare themselves as such when submitting letters.

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