Abetz
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
REGARDING Liberal Senator Eric Abetz.
Let’s get one thing abundantly clear.
To win power in politics you must win the majority vote.
However when the majority opposes one of your principles then you can do as you please.
— TONY NEWPORT, Hillwood.
Bullying
ANGELSHOPE will have a response that won’t be negative especially when theres lives and mental health wellbeing are at stake.
This is so important I think AEU state president Terry Polglase needs to do research before jumping the gun like he has, if he read between the lines what the Institute director Terese Henning said the cost would be minimal if you involved the whole community and a working group.
He needs to go check how much it costs the state financially as well as personally.
— REUBEN CUNNINGHAM, Co-founder Angelshope, Newnham.
Cable
WILL HODGMAN, the Premier of Tasmania how dare you lead the Tasmanian people about Bass Link with the act of a spin doctor.
The photos taken and shown on the TV happens to be the gas line not the Bass Link cable and the old saying is that you can fool a lot of people some time but not all people all the time so get your act into gear as you as a lawyer should know that so get rid of the spin doctor as well as some on the Hydro as they lead a life of no care
— JOHN GUMLEY, George Town.
Morris Minor
RE LETTER from R. J. Stonjek (The Examiner, January 26), the first Morris Minors in Australia were the series SMM in 1949, commonly known as the "low lite" model.
I well remember their arrival.
They were followed in later 1950 by the series mm or "high lite" model.
The 4 door version became available in 1951.
The ohv engine was introduced in 1953 and the series 2, which had a restyled grille, in 1955.
The Minor Thousand was introduced in 1957.
I was a car dealer from the 1950's for many years and consequently had dozens of Minors of all models.
I still have a model identification book covering all cars from 1925 till 1957.
— RONALD BOTT, Newstead.
Bowel Cancer
A DISTURBING report recently published in The Examiner states that about 80 Australians die each week from bowel cancer.
There is little doubt that this is mainly due to our modern diet of highly processed food, which is far from fresh, with it’s excessive animal meat, high in saturated fat, refined sugar, preservatives, many chemical additives, artificial flavours and colours.
We drink too much tea, coffee and alcohol and very little fresh water which is absolutely essential for cleaning our filtering system “the kidneys” preventing the onset of disease.
It is beyond belief that patients recovering from bowel cancer operations in the Launceston General Hospital are being fed on the highly processed diet that was responsible for their cancer in the first place.
Hospital food needs a shake up replacing existing processed bleached white flour products with wholegrain cereals, fruit and vegetables grown on composted soil free from crop spray and artificial fertilisers, fish and poultry, both fat free and reduced coffee and tea, ample fresh water and fruit juice.
I write with some authority having recovered from bowel cancer and in my 100 year of age enjoy good health, able to get about without aid of my walking frame, excellent sight, able to live a near normal life almost free of medication.
— REGINALD TREBILCO, Norwood.
Petrol
THE Examiner editorial (January 25) is on the mark re petrol prices and action that can be taken to bring oil companies to their senses.
Motorists should combine to refrain from purchasing petrol at a specific company service station in their area for at least a week, preferably a month.
Imagine how this station would react by such a loss of business.
It shouldn’t take long for them to realise fuel sales will not resume until a realistic price is set.
Once one service station brings its price down, it won’t take long for others in the area to bring their prices down to match.
If they don’t, the loss to their bottom line will continue until they do.
Once prices start to climb again, the same action could be targeted at another station, eventually bringing the oil companies to the realization that motorists aren’t prepared to be made suckers of any more.
— BILL CARNEY, Riverside.
Wind Speeds
IT WOULD be much less confusing to all involved, in particular the general public, if the various media outlets could ensure they all reported in like manner the predicted wind speeds in weather forecasting.
Normally the BOM report wind speeds in kms per hour as do WIN TV and The Examiner, Southern Cross and the ABC report wind speeds in knots.
To add to the confusion on January 26 WIN TV started the wind speed report in knots and ended up halfway through the report changing to kms per hour.
It seems at times that those reporting in knots often use the same nominal speeds as those reporting in kms per hour whereas one knot equals 1.852 kms.
It should be a simple task to report all wind speeds in kms per hour and follow the BOM lead.
The current position has potential to be dangerous to those people using waterways and those relying on accurate wind velocity advice.
— RAY BLIGH, Newnham.
Water
There were three letters in The Examiner on Wednesday, January 27) which illustrate some of the public's understanding of energy.
The first "Lake capacity solution" suggests having a desalination plant (at sea level) for "feeding" salt- free water to (presumably) much higher level lakes would solve our water and energy (not power) shortage problems.
The energy produced would be at least 15 per cent less than that required for pumping it up and the energy required for desalination many times more.
The second "Why not tidal power?" would make only a minuscule contribution to replacing Hydro requirements, gas or wind and its cost would be prohibitive.
The third "Forward planning failure" essentially suggests renewable energy from wind and solar is the solution.
Unfortunately, although wind and solar are "free", using them for electricity production is so expensive that to rely on them would require us to have a much lower standard of living (a carbon price of over $200 per tonne would be needed for them to be adopted wholesale).
— GORDON THURLOW, Launceston.
Free Will
MR ANDREW Gregson (head of Corporate and Legal Affairs for Imperial Tobacco Australasia)
Thank you for your elegantly composed article in The Examiner on January 25, in support of what you call “free will” – the ability of adult Tasmanians to choose to buy your tobacco products.
You rail at eloquent length against Minister Ferguson’s proposed legislation which will prevent people born after a certain year from buying your products, calling this “draconian”.
Interestingly, I note your defense of “free will” includes only your tobacco products.
I see that you repeatedly refer to home-grown tobacco as “illicit” and “illegal”.
You note that these products breach excise laws, display laws, and plain packaging laws.
But the point you keep hammering at is the so-called egregious damage to “free will”.
Let me point out that people take up smoking largely because of peer pressure.
But when they try to stop smoking, they discover the hard biological truths of addiction.
Giving up cigarettes is difficult.
Quitting nicotine leads to a raft of painful, unpleasant side effects.
— LAUNZ BURCH, Springfield.
Smoker
WELL ISN’T that just great.
Thanks to the Launceston City Council and the Development Services director Leanne Hurst to name but a few (The Examiner, January 27) smokers can now feel even more like criminals than ever before.
Will the day come that we won’t be able to leave our homes with a packet of cigarettes or a lighter in our hands?
Will we be body searched at events such as Festivale and our contraband (though still legal) tobacco confiscated.
If the LCC, health professionals, Ms Hurst and other do-gooders were serious about assisting smokers to give up, what is a very addictive drug, then why is there no public funded 'nicotine replacement therapy' (other than the scare mongering commercials and so called plain packaging) provided to chronic nicotine addicts.
During the AIDs crisis of the 70s and 80s needle exchange programs were set up to protect the intravenous drug users and methadone replacement therapy has long been provided for other drug addicts.
But what real government assistance is provided to nicotine addicts?
None.
— VICKI JORDAN, Mowbray.