The Avenue
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WHAT a great idea to close The Avenue to traffic and open it up to pedestrians.
If this goes ahead, I sincerely hope they change the by-law regarding loading zones.
Too many times you see people using these zones for their own convenience.
A simple solution is to have a recognisable badge beside the number plate of delivery vehicles only and only those to be allowed the use of such zones.
By closing off The Avenue there is going to be 13 less meter spaces,one truck zone and two loading zones lost to the CBD.
— GARY LONG, Hadspen.
Greyhound Racing
WE are all disgusted to the core at the practice of live baiting used by some in the training of their greyhounds, and join the call for an immediate investigation into the industry Australia wide.
I commend the ABC’s Four Corners program for their investigative prowess.
Let’s face it, the ABC is currently operating on a shoe-string budget, yet were able to expose this appalling practice where so called industry `regulators’ on high salaries were unable to.
Keep up the good work aunty.
— ROBERT LEE, Summerhill.
Fossil fuel
WOULD those in positions of power and influence please realise that if we burn all the fossils fuels available in the next 50 years the temperature of the Earth will rise by about 12 degrees.
It is generally accepted that a rise of more than another two degrees will cause changes so extreme that lives across the globe will suffer large impacts.
School level arithmetic shows that we can burn less than a quarter of the fossil fuel reserves available to us, and we are going to leave the rest where it is.
Economics tells that the fuel we will select will be the fuel available most cheaply.
The future for shale oil and fracking grows dim.
— ROSS LINCOLNE, Hobart.
Boycott Bali
WITH all the emotion about what is happening in Indonesia concerning the two drug smugglers Chan and Sukumaran and the threats by potential holiday makers to boycott Bali, I am curious as to where they will now holiday. Perhaps China or the US.
Two countries, among a great many others, that have no problem in state sanctioned murder of their own citizens, and to which Australia conveniently turns a blind eye.
What is surprising is that Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, consents to such a boycott.
And one final point, I wonder how many young Australians would have died on the back streets of St Kilda or Kings Cross if Chan and Sukumaran had got away with their lethal intentions.
— BRIAN LEE, Riverside.
Food contamination
WE ALL know the need for clear and accurate food labelling.
Whenever it has been raised by concerned citizens it has always been met with a mediocre response from the relevant authorities.
The recent recall of contaminated berry fruits highlights the result of that disinterest and should be a wake up call for government bodies, state and federal, to get off their backsides and rewrite the labelling laws and dramatically improve inspection and policing of imported food products.
The fact that the berries were contaminated because of faecal matter is disgusting and one can only wonder how many other people have been effected by this and other forms of contamination in the multitude of other products we import and not realised the source of their illness.
The one positive I see coming from this incident is that the message to buy Australian has never been clearer, so rather than concentrating on the price, have a think about your health and that of your loved ones, and at the same time helping local growers.
— KERRY FOLEY, Launceston.
Roundabout
THE photograph by Paul Scambler on page 4 (The Examiner, February 17) shows the roundabout at the intersection of Lawrence Street and Elphin Road where a B-double failed to negotiate a turn.
The photograph also shows numerous previous damage to the stone garden wall built on top of the roundabout which would have caused considerable damage to the vehicles that struck it.
All the above damage, including the B-double getting stuck, could have been avoided had the roundabout been left flat.
— A. R. TROUNSON, Needles.
University fees
BILL Carney (Letters, February 17) has made misleading statements about University fees.
Mr Carney has stated that Australian students, their parents and grandparents cannot afford to pay university fees, so if "they are not well off" they cannot receive tertiary education.
This is scaremongering that wrongly inflicts unnecessary anguish on those that read and believe it.
No person in Australia is required to pay a single cent for their university education whilst they are doing their course.
Every Australian citizen automatically qualifies for a Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) that funds the actual course.
It is only after they complete their course, acquire meaningful employment and earn more than $53,345 that they do start repaying money that tax paying Australian citizens have loaned them.
They receive an interest rate advantage over almost every other recipient of loans in Australia; only paying an indexation equal to CPI.
The repayments start at 4 per cent of their income at $53,345 (just over $2000 per year) and the highest repayment obligation for those earning more than $99,000 is 8 per cent or just under $8000 per year.
— LARRY DIGNEY, Frankford.
Forestry
CLOSED for Business - unless you are a government supported enterprise such as forestry.
Come and legally buy a mill site left derelict by Gunns, invest your own money and we can offer you an inquiry into just how you managed to squander your millions in pursuit of a dream that would employ many people and hopefully be a tourist hub for the hundreds of people we want to come to our state.
Why would other entrepreneurs eagerly invest in any scheme?
Just say all your projects involve forestry and wait for the government coffers to open and money flow your way.
Otherwise, you might buy something that our taxpayers dollars will look into and find that Tassie doesn't need you and your money.
— GLENNIS SLEURINK, Launceston.
Councils
IT IS very interesting to see an Alderman speaking out on council amalgamations in The Examiner.
Alderman Ted Sands makes an excellent case for proactive council amalgamations and the evidence he presents is rather compelling.
Realistically, Tasmania doesn’t need more than one local government ‘council’ but how that might look demands close community engagement.
In truth, however, it may be a bridge too far to go to a single council for Tasmania’s 500,000 people, albeit that it works well elsewhere.
Consequently, consideration probably needs to be given to say just five, mirroring the current state and federal electorates.
The fiscal savings to be made, and the social advantages to be won, from a radical reimagination of local government are enormous.
There is no imperative to have the three tiers of government structured and administered precisely as Tasmania currently does.
However, getting councilors and aldermen, general managers and so on to see the benefits relative to their constituencies will be more than difficult.
Their losses will be their constituents’ wins and gains.
No matter what, there will be plenty of work for the efficient, effective and accountable representatives and administrators.
In the meantime the state government could put all of Tasmania’s councils into administration and build from there.
— RAY NORMAN, Trevallyn.