Mr Blackmore's comment related only to lever action shotguns, not pump action shotguns, which are listed as category C firearms.

Indonesia

IT IS all very well to suggest sanctions and boycotts against Indonesia but these rarely effect the politicians making the decisions.

Those who are bound to be disadvantaged are the taxi drivers, waiters and those in the accommodation industry, all trying to support themselves and their families.

— A. CARTER, Mowbray.

Birds

I HAVE just been reading about the need to eradicate Mynah birds.

When is someone going to do something about the bigger menace and that is the sparrows?

We must have thousands of them around our area, making a mess of fencing etc and carrying disease to domestic fowl, yet no-one lifts a finger to eradicate these flying pests.

— ELIZABETH HARDY, Railton.

Suspended sentence

WHILE Geoff McLean believes suspended sentences are an effective tool in preventing crime, every other day in The Examiner we read where someone has breached their suspended sentence and re-offended, in some cases “three or four times”.

— A. R. TROUNSON, Needles.

Commemoration

LEADING a national commemoration, Prime Minister Tony Abbott reflected on the preventable tragedy of 298 civilian deaths, innocent victims of a foreign civil war in The Ukraine, and hopes for “a more just world”.

Why not start here and  now, with the resettlement in Tasmania  of  innocent asylum seekers who came by boat two years ago and proved to be refugees, together with their innocent babies born while in unnecessary and cruel Australian immigration detention in PNG and on Nauru.

— FREDERIKA E. STEEN, Chapel Hill, Queensland.

Thank You

A MONTH ago I fell while in town, near the car park in York Street.

I hit my head rather severely and several people came to my rescue, called the Ambulance Service, and looked after me so well while waiting.

They were so kind to me, and I would just like to say thank you to them.

I was in hospital for three days, had a mighty big headache until just recently, but I am recovering well.

I am also grateful to the Ambulance Service for the mighty fine job they did, and the LGH who managed to find me a bed the same day, thank you one and all.

— SYLVIA BURRIDGE, Kings Meadows.

Entitlement

WE WERE told by the LNP that "the age of entitlement is over", but is it?

It appears to me that it may be over for the unemployed, the young, the old, the disadvantaged but not for the members of LNP.

It appears that "some animals are more equal than others".

Perhaps our representatives both Labor and the LNP need to be  asked; who elected them and whom do they represent?

— ELLA MILLER, Exeter.

Bishop

I WOULD like to point out that in the case of Bronwyn Bishop’s $5000 helicopter ride, she doesn't really expect the people to accept that she looked at the amount and thought it high and offered to repay it does she?

We all know the reality is she was exposed and offered to repay under pressure after the fact, if as Mrs Bishop stated she was within her rights to charter a helicopter to a state Liberal fundraising function then it should be all cut and dry and nothing to repay.

— SUSAN GOEBEL, Invermay.

Politics

I DO not agree with much that Bass Liberal MHR Andrew Nikilic says, but he's spot on re Senator Helen Polley's claims for over $20,000 for chartered air travel between Hobart and Launceston.

Barring some satisfactory explanation, she surely deserves the tag of arrogance that Mr Shorten attached to Bronwyn Bishop and she should not dare seek re-election.

Tasmanian taxpayers and voters will not forget.

Her actions will cost votes to every ALP candidate and the ALP Senate team and should not be too smug about her Number two position.

We can vote below the line.

— A. R. JACOBS, West Hobart.

Homelessness

I NOTE in the story about homelessness (The Examiner, July 20) that absolutely nothing was mentioned about the high rentals that are forcing people out on the streets.

I believe that private rents are so high that single income families or single people for that matter cannot afford

to be paying up to $500 for a three bedroom abode, the average is in the high $200 to $300 range for a one/two bed flat.

But as I was told by a government worker there is nothing the government can do about private enterprise.

How about greed Mr politician?

No matter what employment the government can come up with, it's not going to get around having to

pay out more than the abode is worth, and some of these $375 per week houses are real shockers.

They were built post war for a pittance, but rented and sell for a fortune.

— D. PITHAM, Beauty Point.

Compassion

IT SEEMS clear to me that compassion is a quality which is shared by those on both sides of the death and dying debate.

It comes from the heart, and compels us to respond to the needs of others.

However, wise decisions require the involvement of the head as well.

Reason and the gathering and evaluation of Information, are essential for arriving at wise decisions.

So far many attempts to legalise euthanasia have failed, not due to lack of compassion, but because experience elsewhere has revealed that the step over the line to permit doctors to kill their patients is a step too far.

— PAT GARTLAN, Battery Point.

Polley

ONE question must be asked of Helen Polley regarding her plane trips to Hobart.

She has tried to justify the expense on diary commitments, therefore how much actual time would she have save by flying to Hobart than by travelling direct from her home or office to the destination in Hobart?

Taking into account the time to get to the airport, board the plane, prepare for take-off, air travel time, landing and disembarking from the plane then travel arrangements to her destination.

We must also take into consideration that two lots of vehicle travel have to be arranged for her trip.

Taking all these points into consideration, very little time would be saved and the only winner was her ego.

— KEVIN LATTIN, Westbury.

Liberals

I DON’T mind paying taxes to fund education and hospitals, in fact I'm happy to contribute.

Using our hard earned tax dollars to fund travel to a liberal party fundraiser is a gross misuse of public funds.

The Liberal government is reducing services to mental health, domestic violence, the arts and treats those who are unemployed as if they are burdens.

Yet somehow, Bronwyn Bishop feels that it is ethical to use the same pool of money that might be spent on ordinary people, to travel to a liberal party fundraiser.

The fact that she did this, and does not feel any shame, tells us all a lot about the way the liberal party feel about everyday people.

Her actions are a window into the liberal party mindset.

— MEGAN SHORT, Mowbray.

Gun reform

THE headline for Barry Prismall’s Editorial Opinion (The Examiner, July 17) says it all - ‘Wise gun reform won’t hurt anyone’.

Mr Prismall refers to the ‘commonsense test’ in his opinion piece and then goes on to ask why they (antique firearms) need to be operational at all and that the reforms will make us safer - a classic nanny state comment.

The question to satisfy Mr Prismall’s ‘commonsense test should be - is it necessary to disable (and by doing so physically damage) antique firearms?

My opinion is no for the following reasons:

1.  Lack of need - to my knowledge there have not been any firearm incidents involving an antique firearm;

2.  Lack of capacity - antique firearms were designed and made before modern powders were developed and to different calibres - you cannot buy off the shelf ammunition to use in these firearms; and

3.  Lack of suitability - if someone intended to do harm with a firearm, then antique guns are a poor choice.

The commonsense test suggests that all the proposed changes will do is physically damage antiques, dramatically reduce their value and add another regulatory burden.

The rate of gun crime in Australia has been trending down for many decades, starting well before the Port Arthur massacre and gun law changes, and that is also reflected in countries that did not bring in restrictions - such as New Zealand.

Regulated gun owners are not the people committing crimes, there is no need for reform and the wise course of action is to do nothing.

— TONY GRAY, Norwood.