Woolmers
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WHY on earth would you spend so much money on a Woolmers visitor’s centre and car park underground.
The house itself could use that to keep it in pristine condition and the outbuildings.
Build a visitor centre to tone in with the original building with heritage appearance and just put in a bitumen car park to take more cars.
There is plenty of space around the property to do this, or a gravel car park to keep up with the old style look. Such a waste of money.
— VICKI HAY, Kayena.
Technology
IF Jack Sonnemann (Letters, March 13) believes wireless internet is "the future" or that wireless technology is capable of servicing large population centres, then he might wish to brush up on the real-world limitations concerning available bandwidth in the wireless spectrum.
Unless we discover new laws of physics, wireless technology (which relies upon wired infrastructure anyway!) will never do what FTTP can.
— PAUL CUMMINS, New Town.
Deceit
CELEBRITY culture is all pervasive.
Facebook in its own way captures the child in us that continues to say, well into adulthood: 'Look at me'.
From Anders Breivik to Jake Bilardi there is a familiar thread: seclusion, the internet, a festering and nurtured anger that ultimately determined a very violent and very public denouement. Celebrity of a different kind, but one that nonetheless commands instant and dramatic attention.
It just may be that is not the cause in this instance but the ultimate vehicle to consummate a deluded, juvenile and selfishly constructed deceit.
— TONY NEWPORT, Hillwood.
Woolstore
I’VE been watching the Woolstore being demolished these last few days.
A perfectly sound structure, wonderfully attractive, full of Launceston’s economic history and heritage.
An act of pure barbaric vandalism.
Everyone involved should hang their heads.
— JIM DICKENSON, Launceston.
TT Line
I COULDN’T believe what I heard on the evening TV news (March 10) regarding the TT Line Ferry upgrades.
A spokesman said, ‘‘We want to drag as much money out of the passengers as we can’’.
It’s meant to be a ferry service; an extension of the National Highway Network; not a cash cow or cruise ship.
Their vision should be to efficiently transport as many people as possible over Bass Strait at minimal cost.
Maybe they should run one of the two ferries at an austerity level to see what the public really want?
— TONY IMISON, Exton.
Wilderness
I AM not a deep green eco terrorist. I am someone who moved to Tasmania to live in a state that has some of the best landscapes and accessible wilderness in the world.
It has been recognised internationally, parts of our island have been deemed worthy of world heritage.
Now the state government wants to ignore all this and cash in on the values and significance this wilderness has to offer.
They are treating this asset as if it was theirs to dispose of as they want.
This wilderness obviously is not theirs to do with at will, it certainly is not just mine, it is ours to administer and pass on to as yet unborn generations as a wilderness, one of the few left in the world.
If you would like to be involved, even if you may never set foot in the rainforests of Tasmania, now is the time to be heard.
The Draft Tasmanian Wilderness Management Plan is open for comment.
Have your say, as an Australian, make it count.
— PHIL AND JILL LONG, Margate.
Media
THE media did not hound Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard as claimed (Letters, March 12).
In fact they glossed over and pushed many of their disasters under the carpet, like the fact that more than 1200 people drowned at sea and 2000 children put in detention, both of which got very little attention while Labor was in power.
But the current government is criticised even after stopping the boats and reducing the number of children in detention to less than 200.
The relentless media campaign against the Abbott government borders on ridiculous, any slip of the tongue or wink of the eye is better headlines than the financial state of the country.
If the media stuck to reporting stories rather than trying to create them, we would all have a clearer picture of the true state of affairs.
As for my “beloved” prime minister, I do not blindly follow any politician or party, they all have faults, however, unlike some, I am able to recognise those faults, as well as their qualities.
I also take the time to read between the lines of all politician’s statements to understand their full meaning.
— KERRY FOLEY, Launceston.
Asylum seekers
HOW wonderful to have someone of the calibre of Julian Burnside championing the plight of the asylum seekers in Manus Island and Narau.
Now that the boats have been stopped, one aspect of the present government’s policy has been achieved.
The humanitarian approach to those held in detention still has to be addressed.
With boredom, hopelessness and questionable treatment, it is little wonder that rioting occurs.
For Mr Burnside to have three boxes of letters addressed to asylum seekers in the hope of lifting their spirits (sent at personal expense) returned unopened is beyond belief.
He had run a similar letter writing campaign in the 2000s and was told by refugees it lifted their spirits.
Surely the processing of the present detainees could be hastened and those seen as genuine asylum seekers freed to any accepting Australian community.
Tasmania has already signalled its willingness with a suitable site ready to receive them and a
community ready to offer a welcome and support.
These people have already suffered enough and deserve better treatment from us – they are not
criminals, have come here in the genuine hope of a better and safer life as they struggle with the
effects of the devastating trauma they have experienced.
Surely we as a community can support Mr Burnside’s efforts.
— M. CAMPBELL-SMITH, Newstead.
Bringing them home
I NOTE the Federal Opposition's interest in backing calls for Australia's war dead to be brought home from Malaysia, (The Examiner, February 20).
Late last year Major General David Ferguson AM, CSC, wrote to our Prime Minister begging him to have our soldiers repatriated from the Terendak Garrison Cemetery in the Malaysian city of Malacca.
It seems ludicrous that this country would expect next of kin to fund the return of a veteran’s body to Australia, yet this is what occurred at the beginning of the war in South Vietnam.
There are 18 of our Diggers who were killed in Action in Vietnam interred in the Terendak Cemetery, plus others who died of wounds and/or accident.
At the Kamunting Road Christian Cemetery in Taiping, Malaysia, 28 Australian Diggers who fought the Communist Terrorist threat during the "Malayan Emergency", have laid there in four different locations since the 1950s.
Even though proper commemoration is difficult because of the graves' locations, the National Malaya and Borneo Veterans Association is proud to conduct a Poppy Service at Kamunting Road every year in June, and in 2014, the association also visited the Terendak Cemetery.
These cemeteries in Malaysia are not official Commonwealth War Graves Cemeteries, however, the Office of Australian War Graves has accepted responsibility of looking after them, but my belief is, our Diggers should be brought home.
— KEN MCNEILL, Beauty Point.