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WITH the impending drought, and the lack of water to generate our own power, those illustrious visionaries who stopped Tasmania’s dam building have now condemned us to a life of high power bills using coal fired generation from the mainland.
Top marks for forward thinking Bob Brown and co.
— KEN TERRY, Bridport.
Crayfish
IN 2011 we were buying crayfish locally at $40 klio, at Christmas in 2014 our local, national supermarket was charging $150 per kilo.
The current quote is $118 per kilo.
I am being told that the reason for this increase is because the Chinese are willing to pay virtually any price for this product, and all produce is being exported.
Is this what a trade deal means, denial of our produce unless we pay overseas prices?
To me there seems something morally and ethically wrong with this concept.
Pensioners have no hope of eating this product ever again
— PETER ARIS, St Helens.
Marriage
I STRONGLY suggest that those politicians in our state who support same-gender ``marriage” re-visit their text books on human anatomy and rediscover the physical characteristics on why male and females are different, and maybe they will understand why traditional marriage must stand alone.
For I am offended by those that claim to represent all Tasmanians on such an issue as changing the definition of marriage.
The maths is simple (and most definitely fundamental).
Man plus woman equals marriage, (then add some chemistry with interaction).
You end up with multiplication and surprise, surprise - Life goes on.
So called `marriage equality’ is a myth, and it’s busted.
— ROBERT LEE, Summerhill.
Lambie
JACQUI Lambie has questioned whether Australia should rethink its decision to accept 12,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq after last week’s deadly attacks in Paris that possibly involved a refugee (The Examiner, November 19).
People responding to Senator Lambie’s Facebook post were divided, with some sharing her sentiments that Australia should take an even tougher stance on refugees than it already has.
Of course it should.
Islamic State have threatened attacks on Australia.
We’ve got to do something, remember Martin Place?
— A. R. TROUNSON, Needles.
Mandarin
WITH the new emphasis on, and a massive increase expected in Chinese tourism, what is happening about the teaching of Mandarin?
Scotch Oakburn College received much favourable publicity for its teaching of the language.
What is happening elsewhere in hospitality training establishments, state schools and colleges, at the university and amongst all engaged in tourism and information services.
A Bachelor of Tourism without fluency in the language would be a laugh.
I haven’t observed any Mandarin signs in shops or in public.
The Chinese don’t all speak English and while they don’t expect us to be fluent, they do expect us to have conversational skills, or at least try to speak Mandarin.
In the future, as trade with China looms large, our senior public servants and business entrepreneurs will be expected to be articulate in the language if much is going to be achieved.
We need to get on with it.
— MALCOLM SCOTT, Newstead.
Traffic
LAST Tuesday, having been to the KMart, I drove along Boland Street on my way home, the time was about 1.45pm.
By the time I was in the traffic line at the Lawrence Street intersection, the cars behind me were banked up to the KMart roundabout, and it took at least six changes of lights before I reached Invermay Road.
If this is the situation on a relatively quiet week day, can you imagine what the traffic flow will be like from 3pm-5pm around that area if, and when, the university moves to the Inveresk precinct?
Cars coming along Invermay Road heading to town, students trying to get out of the car park, vehicles coming from the city and blocking traffic turning into Lindsay Street heading to Wellington Street.
I, for one, will not be dealing with city businesses except where there is absolutely no alternative, avoiding others around Lindsay Street, Boland Street etc, and if needing to visit Mowbray, will go via Ravenswood.
I feel a great sympathy for those needing to deal with Centrelink.
It is already a nightmare trying to park and be dealt with in a reasonable time frame (frequently hours), and having to leave to collect children from school or with other appointments to keep, it will be difficult to organise their schedule if the traffic (and I guess parking) is in such chaos.
I hope some thought has been given in council planning to allow the citizens, not just the university, to travel comfortably in these inner-city areas - personally I have nothing to offer solutions I would be glad to be enlightened.
— PATRICIA IGOE, Prospect Vale.
Chinese
LIGHT finally dawns in Canberra.
Scott Morrison’s announcement of the Foreign Investment Board’s refusal to allow a Chinese company to take ownership of vast tracts of Australian pastoral land suggests the warders may finally be starting to win back control of the asylum.
In recent decades, the amount of sovereign soil handed on a platter to overseas interests has escalated to a dangerous level.
The recent sale of operating rights of the strategic Darwin harbour to the Chinese has not gone un-noticed by our allies.
Up to now, the inmates of the Canberra institution have been allowed to run amok.
Time to put Australia’s long term interests first before it’s too late.
— DARYL BINNING, Winthrop, WA.
Islam
WE WOULD probably all agree that few, if any, youthful members of the local tennis club would be much impressed by the suggestion that for the love of their sport they should commit an act of violence.
Yet young men and women are apparently inclined to do so upon the basis of their perception of what is required of them by the Islamic religion.
Perhaps this follows from what they were taught at their madrassa and perhaps it follows from their being taught a rigid form of Islam.
Given the recent unhelpful stance of the Grand Mufti of Australia, his attempt at blame shifting and the very mild rebuke which he received from the Australian Imans Council, might it be that there is a callous refusal to simply call a spade a spade?
When will we hear, instead of prevarication, the united voice of all Muslim leaders loudly and specifically denouncing the mantra claimed by crazed Islamics to justify their barbaric violence?
Presumably these leaders can shout from the roof tops than an eternity of sexual depravity simply does not await those who die in violent jihad.
Perhaps they can also shout that their religion neither countenances nor condones a war against non-Muslims, the strapping on and detonating of suicide vests and committing violence against any who would educate young women, and shout loudly and emphatically that those who would advocate to the contrary seek only to fool and mislead.
If they could bother to do so they might provide a great service to those Muslims who would seek to distance themselves from the claimed motivations and beliefs of the murderous few.
Those same Muslims who, absent such refreshing and simple clarity, might not disassociate themselves from those who encourage the embracing of an apparently blood thirsty religion which has no place in the civilized world.
Such a loud and specific denunciation is long, long overdue.
— W. M. GRIFFITHS, Launceston.
Terrorism
HISTORY shows that the well intentioned efforts of our western countries to help the people of other countries have not been very successful. Look at Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and now Syria.
Unfortunately, it has activated the radical fanatical fringe element and terrorism is the result.
Our well intentioned military aid seems only to have made things worse, resulting in a deluge of asylum seekers.
This misguided terrorism is aimed at their belief that they can solve their own problems.
Their purpose is not to destroy us - they know they can’t do that, but to get us out.
They see the West as interlopers into their affairs.
Irish terrorism ceased when the IRA came to terms with the British.
There must be a better way than just escalating the present military methods.
In the meantime, we have to put up with terrorism and asylum seekers.
— B. SUNDSTRUP, Newstead.