YOUR SAY: Fight to keep cash in society hits home with many

I have been shopping after severe storms where there is no internet connection which means you can't pay by card or get cash from an ATM, several times. I have stopped for petrol in a country town and the internet is out. If I hadn't had cash I'd have been in trouble as it was a long way to the next town ... It also angers me that banks take away facilities and then charge you to use the facilities they do provide. This is absolutely unacceptable but you have no choice but to pay. Yvonne Young Read more at The Senior I try hard NOT to use my credit card and if possible only ever use cash. That way I can keep and eye on what I am spending and on what. Irene Poulton Banks are closing branches everywhere, even in busy areas, stating that the majority of people are using online banking and digital payments, but this argument is found to be not quite correct when one visits banks and sees many elderly people queuing for advise on how to overcome their banking problems. I feel that the above ... [is] discrimination against the elderly... something has to be done about it. Adrian, via email I am a former Bank Employee and I have to agree with you that Banks are impossible to contact. In my day we took ownership of a comment/complaint and followed it from "Birth to Death". Today lodge a complaint either in person at a branch, on line or via the phone and you will only get a generic response which says little or nothing and does not directly answer the complaint. In support of Banks closing branches, they are totally correct. 'Queues of Elderly people' usually mean 10 or 20 out of a Branch customer base of 20,000 or so people is not reason to keep a Branch open. Free to use withdrawal facilities are always available with minimal travel. Deposits are not quite so easy. Just because some body cannot enter a 4 digit PIN then press withdraw ... is no reason to keep a branch open just for them. It is not discriminatory, regrettable but not discriminatory. Phil Dale, SA Read more from The Senior: A shortage of housing simultaneous with that of tradies, as we are experiencing nowadays, is not a new situation. Many migrant families arriving from the Netherlands in the 1950s, for instance, lived in "tent city" which is now an upmarket caravan park at North Narrabeen, thus enabling them to save for a deposit on a house of their own. I was one of a family of seven living there for four years as from 1951. The crate which had contained all our 'goods'n'chattels' became Mum and Dad's bedroom within the confines of our tent home. Once a family managed to move out, they often let part of the house or its garage to help pay the mortgage. This allowed another family to move on to more comfortable surroundings, with water, gas and electricity - what a luxury! This was true pioneering but we five children thought it was paradise, what with the lagoon, surf and public pool all at walking distance; and we were content, living within our means, without government support or even a credit card in sight. After all, the sun was shining, kookaburra and magpie choruses singing their welcome to newcomers to a country at peace. And they do still. Marianne van de Voorde, NSW Sad Situation We have been totally Shut Out (Nan and Pop the Losers in Family Wars, May) of seeing our grandchildren for 6 months so far. Our daughter-in-law and her family have taken the kids away and totally indoctrinated them against their father and us. She has raised a Family Violence Intervention Order (FVIO) on our son that may take up to 2 years to contest in the courts. We are devastated. Anonynous, VIC Why Deny Them My only surviving grandparent lived on the other side of the world and saw me just three times during her lifetime. A smile on her face and love in her heart were clearly evident each occasion. Who deserves the right to be denied that? Michael Woliters, NSW Changing from burning fossil fuels to renewables to create energy is a huge challenge for many world governments, including Australia. But the benefits of a successful conversion would change the entire world in an extremely positive manner. Think of a world free of melting sea ice and rising seas, free of continual heat records being broken, reduced pollution, climatic conditions return to normal, where the duration and frequency of droughts return to normal, where the children and adults of the world can look forward with confidence to living in a world free of human caused climate change. Brian Measday, South Australia The illegal and irresponsible riding of the silent scooters on Melbourne's footpaths puts pedestrians at considerable risk of injury. Particularly for older people. There have been incidents where pedestrians have been hit by scooters, resulting in people being hospitalised. The views of Melburnians who do not want the scooters are being totally ignored. Dennis Walker Got something to say? Email your Letter to the Editor: EDIT@TheSenior.com.au Or send a letter,The Senior, PO Box 130, Wyong NSW 2259. *Letters may be used in part or edited for grammar and spelling by ACM.