Singh
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IF YOU have ever wondered who really runs the Labor Party the dumping of Senator Lisa Singh for some Trade Union Labor Party hack answers the question.
— MICHAEL SCOTT, South Hobart.
Dementia
THIS is in response to an article in (The Examiner, August 22) on page 28 titled "Stable dementia figures queried".
The article uses inappropriate and demeaning language when it refers to people who are living with dementia as "7 per cent of people over 65 suffer from some form of dementia".
As a person who is living with dementia, I (and many others) are both offended and stigmatized by referring to us as suffering from dementia.
I do not suffer from dementia; I live with dementia and I have a good and happy life.
That statement puts the disease before the person and is entirely inappropriate for a major source of news in Northern Tasmania to use.
— LEO WHITE, Legana.
Against the rules
IT’S gutless, against the rules, claims Eric Abetz.
That is the political definition of selective memory.
It is very clear in everyone’s minds how it was within the rules for Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd from Mr Abetz and Co. when he was in opposition.
What goes around comes around.
Something about glass houses and stone throwing.
Suck it up.
If you can’t take it, be careful about giving it.
— WALLY REYNOLDS, Perth.
Pollution
INTERESTINGLY, Seafish Tasmania has pleaded guilty to pollution charges over the illegal disposal of wast water at its Triabunna plant, effectively breaching the Environment Protection Act.
The action is no doubt serious and as the director of the Environment Protection Agency states "the circumstances warrant the laying of charges”.
I say, does this now put into question Seafish Tasmania’s continued push for an operating license of a super trawler within Tasmanian waters, claiming no significant impact on any of the state’s fish stocks?
It’s a fair question.
— ROBERT LEE, Summerhill.
Letting shotgun in
OF any state Tassie knows full well the horror of quick-firing weapons, yet we see our so-called representatives doing a grubby deal to allow the Turkish A110 shotgun in.
Talk about selling their souls except it’s our souls they have sold.
So how about naming and shaming those who have done this?
I can guarantee there will be the usual Senate suspects advocating this gun lunacy.
— PETER TAYLOR, Midway Point.
Catamaran
ON reading the article (The Examiner, August 24), I was bewildered at the negativity of both major party's to the proposal put forward by Senator Lambie.
With the high port costs of Melbourne I thought a cheaper alternative would be worth a look at.
The Spirit pulls into the heart of Melbourne adding to transport woes, where Geelong is only 70km away giving good access to Melbourne and the rest of Australia.
Also there are over 80,000 nomads wondering around at any given time.
They all go north for the winter and all come south for the summer, with the cost on the Spirit ranging between $1000 and $ 3000 return to get a motor home or caravan across most stay on the mainland, so a cheaper alternative should be looked at.
Even if a small percentage came over, the benefit to our regional towns would be huge
— GARRY BUDGEON, West Launceston.
Employment
RE THE jobless rate article (The Examiner, August 24), figures are so rubbery.
I wonder if Treasurer Peter Gutwein would come up with 6.7 per cent unemployment if he was in opposition, or would either Cassy O'Connor or Bryan Green have the figures at 18 per cent if they were premiers?
Perhaps this generation of unemployed youth would be employed if Labor had been able to increase employment opportunities when they were in power.
Something does need to be done, and now, to avail people of full time productive employment.
So perhaps the three parties could pool their resources and come up with a solution instead of tearing each other down.
One hours paid work a week is not really considered employment is it?
Surely to be considered employed one needs to be earning a live-able income.
A company CEO may be considered employed with one hours work because that may give them a live-able income.
How many politicians could afford to live on one hour a week paid employment at the basic pay rate?
— PAULENE BLAKELEY, Scottsdale.
Senate
AS A loyal supporter of the Labor Party for 40 years, it saddens me to hear of the latest “factional deal” in the Tasmanian senate pre-selection process.
The deal between the Left and the Right was basically stitched together to keep the non-aligned Senator Lisa Singh out of the senate race at the next federal election.
To most fair minded people this just does not make sense, and because of this the issue has become a national controversy.
Lisa Singh is young, hardworking and supports the progressive proposals put forward by the Left.
Right wing Senator Polley, on the other hand, opposes these proposals and works hard to make sure they don’t succeed.
No wonder people are asking what is going on with Tasmanian Labor.
Instead of creating divisions within the Party, they should be out in the community selling the message that a Labor Government has the fairest and most progressive policies needed to tackle the huge problems that lie ahead not just for Tasmanians but for all Australians.
To do this, we need the very best to represent Tasmania in both houses of Federal Parliament.
— FAY GERVASONI, South Launceston.
Drugs
THE use of the drug ice is an epidemic that seems to be spiralling out of control, and it seems that authorities are powerless to stop it, or find effective ways to rehabilitate addicts.
Instead of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted, they should be trying to get the message across in as forceful a manner as possible "Don’t try it”.
Young people tend to think that they are 10 feet tall and bulletproof and immune to addiction, but they soon find out otherwise.
Peer pressure is also one of the hardest forces to resist, but unless a campaign is made to warn people off it before they start, attempts to cure the effects may be futile.
— MALCOLM MCCULLOCH, Pipers River.
Benefits
SELF-FUNDED retirees, that group of Australians which costs the Federal Government very little, are finding their futures under threat with a range of contractions in the support they receive.
The Seniors Supplement has gone, there is an ever lessening subsidy for health insurance, deeming rates at 3.25 per cent are higher than the official interest rate and their contributions to aged care in home or residential facility have increased considerably.
And to cap all of this, the taper rates for part aged pensions are to increase from 2017, with many to lose their part pensions.
Not a bright future, made even less so with other contractions being considered and likely in the coming years.
It seems the only 'safe' groups these days are aged pensioners and the very rich.
Numbering nearly 1.3 million Australians and with this figure growing rapidly, self funded retirees are a significant group saving the social welfare budget billions of dollars each year.
Many self funded retirees feel that their frugality over their working lives and their careful planning for retirement incomes have been betrayed by Federal Government changes over recent years.
Their anger may well be reflected in the ballot box.
— CHRISTINA HOLMDAHL, President, Northern Tasmanian Branch Association of Independent Retirees.
Marriage equality
P. A. GROUT, Summerhill, asks why is there a push for marriage equality?
By applying the word marriage to heterosexual couples only, the non-heterosexuality of a couple is automatically publically broadcast when the word marriage is not able to be used.
A child is faced with, ‘your parents aren’t married they must be gay and you are different”.
Whether a couple is heterosexual or not is no-one’s business other than their own.
They are forced by the language to reveal information that should be private.
A heterosexual couple who are not married can always chose to marry if they are concerned about prejudice against unmarried couples, a gay couple do not have that luxury.
Just as ‘Ms’ was introduced to allow females to chose to announce, or not to announce their marital status, so the coverage of the word marriage needs to be extended to allow gay couples to control the broadcasting, or not, of their relationship status.
— M. FYFE, Riverside.