Firearms
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ONCE again A.R. Trounson omits facts from his correspondence (Letters, July 21), this time about the shotgun used in the Lindt Café Siege.
According to evidence given at the inquest, that shotgun was in fact an illegal weapon that had had its barrel shortened and butt modified.
To even begin comparing it with legal weapons is disingenuous in the extreme.
And to try and use the tragedy of the Lindt Café Siege as a vehicle as a means of doing so, is very distasteful.
— GEOFF McLEAN, Launceston.
Politicians
WHERE did our politicians go wrong?
We once had governments who cared for their population.
They planned for the future, consulted with the public regularly and in an intelligent manner.
Today they speak at you instead of to you.
They say a lot that is unintelligible using weasel words, referred to as ‘‘political speak’’. Many are professional politicians, unfamiliar with having to face the reality of having to budget and allocating their finances, instead use entitlements as a continuous monetary reserve.
The Coalition appears autocratic, portrayed as puppets or apparatchiks, seemingly predisposed by big business, personal wealth or media popularity polls.
Labor seems to have ignored their core supporters and appear devoid of pragmatic policy becoming reactionary to individuals.
Greens transpire as dinosaurs with an endearment to embracing trees, talking to fishes and insects and longing for a return to the past.
Surely the answer must be more real life experiencing independent members, chosen by and answering to the people, instead of pandering to the party politic, media barons’ or wealthy individuals and corporations.
— WALLY REYNOLDS, Perth.
Heritage
LAUNCESTON has been named the garden city and we are fortunate to have such a picturesque place with historic significance due to the preservation of unique and interesting buildings and sites which speak of our early settlement.
Having visited Italy and Paris I witnessed many people paying to take photos of the buildings and churches there.
Last weekend my family walked along the riverbank past the Seaport with its recently built sympathetic architecture.
We were then affronted by the large concrete monolith - a block structure with no thought or style being constructed in the site of the Inveresk Railyards.
This site is frequented by many as they enjoy a weekend stroll to the Museum or view the city across the river including the old buildings which have character.
These buildings speak of a time when artisans and specialised trades people took time to make aesthetically pleasing and functional places that last.
In contrast, the concrete slabs and rapidly built structures which are being constructed have no real design - rather a functionality which could be found in any place in the world.
What was wrong with the original University only five minutes from the city centre which has purpose built areas for specialised education with millions of taxpayer money already spent?
Will the new behemoth remove the history and flavour of the city area?
What will become of the Alanvale site?
Is it part of a strategy to relocate more of our University faculties to Hobart?
Hopefully the developers will partly redeem themselves by integrating the existing railway and unique buildings and make some effort to landscape the area with trees and shrubs of worth, or even some native plants, or include something of Aboriginal significance rather than the modern trend of rows of ubiquitous flax plants.
— LEE BESWICK, Trevallyn.
Aged
WILLIAM Ovenell’s letter (Caring for the aged, July 21) makes a number of colourful but inaccurate statements and worrying suggestions about aged services in Tasmania.
Mr Ovenell suggests that older people are being “rounded up like sheep, put into convenient depositories run for the sole purpose of making huge profits”.
In Tasmania, over 90 per cent of aged services are provided by non-profit, church, charitable, community-based and State Government organisations.
Our highly dispersed population (Tasmania is the most geographically dispersed state in the country) presents significant challenges for organisations delivering aged services and may not be particularly appealing to large foreign investment companies seeking to enter the sector.
Therefore, our sector is dependent on our not-for-profit organisations in providing services to older Tasmanians.
In Tasmania, we have a number of specialist home care organisations, and Mr Ovenell’s suggestion that this should be provided by the LGH is severely lacking in any common sense or foresight.
Hospitals are focused on reacting to and providing medical treatment for chronic conditions, illnesses and accidents.
They provide and understand acute care.
The focus for home care organisations is to support older people to age at home, and where possible, to have their health, well-being and independence restored.
Home care providers understand the requirements of older people living in their own homes.
To suggest that hospitals and emergency rooms are an appropriate environment for older people to receive the services they require, is to completely ignore the positive and innovative work being achieved by our specialist aged services organisations across the state, whose focus is on improving the quality of life for older Tasmanians.
— DARREN MATHEWSON, Aged and Community Services Tasmania chief executive officer.
University
UNSURPRISINGLY, in a recent survey, nearly 50 per cent of the Bass electorate are against the University relocation to Inveresk.
How puzzling, in times of fiscal restraint, there is such haste to abandon a hard won tertiary education facility and willingness to spend millions.
Purpose built as the new Teachers College, opening with great fanfare, on July 26, 1968, by both Bill Neilson and Malcom Fraser, the respective State and Federal Education Ministers since it was a joint State and Federal Government venture.
The site was chosen for the large tract of open land, easy reach of the city, room to expand with the vision of later encompassing the bordering Brooks High School site.
Progressively growing to the TCAE then the TSIT, with the establishment of the Nursing School opened by the Queen, hence a thoroughfare named ‘Queen Elizabeth Walk’ and the innovative School of Aquaculture.
Later the development of a community meeting centre called ‘The Sir Raymond Ferrall Centre’ as a legacy to a leading figure in Launceston’s development in the 20th Century.
Together with the Institute, Sir Raymond and local businesses donated funds to establish the centre prior to joining the University.
In 1990 it became the UTAS Northern Campus, and like many amalgamations it has not always been an easy fit.
By stealth, over the past 25 years its significance has been eroded.
Now one asks - What then becomes of the Australian Maritime College?
— LISA McGUINNESS, Launceston.
Health
RECENTLY I continued my research on why we are losing our specialists doctors from North-West and Northern Tasmania.
It was suggested that a locum flown in from the mainland would receiver approx. $2000 per day plus a car and accommodation, where a specialist travelling from Tasmania would have to use their own car, and receive far less than the fly-in specialist.
This being so, is it any wonder that we lose the specialists.
With so few specialists available to Northern Tasmanian and North Western patients, it is clear the “ one health” is a failure.
When I did personnel management (at University Tas.), one had to consider not only salary but work conditions.
Every specialist doctor is entitled to have family time, and should be rostered accordingly.
Having spent at last eight years in study, they are entitled to an adequate reward, but “one health” is not meeting these requirements.
In fact “one health” is under staffed, with the Liberal government whinging saying they have no money. A sign of complete incompetency.
We should never have returned any of the health system to Hobart, rather it should have been located on the North West Coast and in Launceston.
There are too many specialists located in Hobart.
It’s time for change and that includes better work conditions and better salaries.
— JIM CAMPBELL, Ulverstone.
Visionary
COURAGEOUS describes the decision taken by Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten in admitting he was wrong and the government’s policy right in regard to their ‘stop the boats’ policy.
Visionary describes his intent to significantly increase, if elected to government, Renewable Energy Targets.
Compassion describes his wish to seriously increase refugee intakes.
Foolhardy describes the governments decision to restrict investments in Solar and Wind Power by the Clean Energy Finance Cooperation.
Ridiculous are recent comments by Messrs's Abbott and Hockey regarding aesthetics of wind farms while hypocritically ignoring the beauty of toxic plumes, full of all sort of nasties, belching out from stacks of Australia’s coal fired power stations.
Shortsighted the approval by Environment Minister Hunt of the NSW Shenhua mega coal mine right in the heart of Australia’s food bowl flying in the face of climate change.
As a politically aware genuine swinging voter, with no political allegiances, I listen to statements and policy decisions emanating from Australia’s political leaders and, after due consideration, I will vote accordingly.
— JIM COLLIER, Legana.