Pray
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THE other day Will Hodgman told Tasmanians to pray for rain, pray to who?
The God of The Bible and Koran would be more inclined to curse us with no rain as the Parliament in Tasmania went out of its way to endorse gay marriage which contradicts every directive given by God in The Bible and Koran.
— HISHAM ADDICOAT, Perth.
Rules
THE comments by Troy Patten (Letters, Friday January 29) regarding the media campaign to promote the safe distances to pass cyclists indicates a significant problem we have in Tasmania regarding how we keep people up to date with changes in the road laws.
Mr Patten states that when he last looked at the laws it was illegal to cross double lines.
For nearly 12 months it has been legal to cross double lines to pass cyclists “when it is safe to do so.”
The latest Road Rules are available on the Transport Tasmania website.
Perhaps we should not just rely on information campaigns to inform people of changes but move to direct communication with license holders to ensure they are informed of changes in the laws.
— MALCOLM COWAN, Committee Member, Tamar Bicycle Users Group.
Flooding
THE Examiner (Sunday, January 31) makes interesting reading with regards to the current flooding in the Invermay Inveresk areas of the city.
These floods of raw sewage and storm water combined will be the norm whenever it rains in the area if and when the proposed UTAS new campus goes ahead in the already over stretched catchment.
Who is going to foot the bill for the doubling of the water and sewage works that will be needed to stop this from happening.
Has this been overlooked or does the Launceston City Council, UTAS, Tas State Government and TasWater think the system as it is will handle this?
The Tamar sure can’t handle any more.
— DAVID PARKER, West Launceston.
Shame
SHAME shame.
What a diseased Opinion/Editorial piece (The Examiner, January 28 ) over fires in the World Heritage Area.
I have never seen such a diatribe.
The editorial fails to recognise that one of the most wonderful attributes about this island is the pristinity of its remaining landscapes – and this includes our vegetation, most of which is found no-where else.
One only has to visit mainland Australia to see a ravaged landscape – fires, feral animals, massive land clearance etc to appreciate what a magical place Tasmania still is.
Our vegetation is unique; already vast areas are lost forever from fire; we are not talking about Eucalypts here but fire-sensitive vegetation which never recovers.
— CHRIS BELL, Fern Tree.
Cruelty
UNBELIEVABLE the “petty” sum of $8500 to a farmer for such cruelty and neglect to his livestock (The Examiner, January 29).
Pregnant cows midbirth; cow bogged in a water hole; one poor creature dragging itself around; 50 more dying of hunger.
He got off so lightly it’s laughable.
The RSPCA must wonder, and shake their heads in shame at the law once again.
Disgusted!
— SUZY JONES, Devonport.
Christianity
RESPONDING to Sue Carlyon’s letter (February 2), so what if the Qur’an says some bonkers things?
The Holy Bible has plenty of that too, don’t worry.
So are you seriously suggesting to Muslims that Christianity is the solution to the madness in the Middle East?
You seem to have conveniently forgotten some things that happened under a Christian dominated world.
We have had the crusades, which were more or less genocide, with whole cities being put to the sword – including women and children – by Christians spreading the “love of Christ”.
We have had the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem witch trials which were an example of misogyny run wild to the point of mass murder.
There were also those good ole boys known as the KKK.
The Christian/Catholic world has very little to be proud of concerning its track record on human rights, or as you put it, “love”.
But perhaps I’m just cherry picking the very worst of the Christian religion.
Not at all like what you are doing with Islam, cough cough.
— CODY HANDLEY, Hadspen.
Bushfires
I TOTALLY agree with Lindsay Millar (Letters, February 2).
It’s always the same.
Whenever there is a bushfire, the Greens, with all their protesting,scuttle off with their tails between their respective legs and are nowhere to be found.
Here’s a good one for the Tasmanian Magistrates.
Whenever a protester is arrested for being in an “ out of bounds” area for refusing to leave, or has attached his or herself to machinery in said area.
Instead of fining them a mere pittance, sentence them to three months consecutive work in their nearest TFA/CFA station cleaning fire vehicles and fire persons protective clothing and associated equipment on a nine to five basis.
Perhaps these environmentalists would like to go out fighting bushfires with all the other volunteer firefighters and put their own lives on the line to save their precious trees.
I think not.
— GERRY KITE, Legana.
Freedom
A.R. TROUNSEN’s letter, Where is Freedom (Letters, February 3).
LIKE you I had a grandfather who served in WWI, my late husband was in Korea and even though not conscripted my son spent 29 years in the Australian Army.
They do not ask to go to these places - they are sent there at the whim of our governments - he did six months in Afghanistan - it was hard for us and especially for him as in that six months his father (Korean Vet.) was dying of brain cancer - he managed to get home four weeks before his dad died.
He does suffer PTSD but is coping unlike many of his men he lost over there and later the ones who have taken their own lives since they returned - this number is kept quiet.
— BRENDA RYAN, Scamander.
Forestry
YES, Elsa de Ruyter, (The Examiner, February 3), forestry has evolved since colonial times.
The only way that wet forests are regenerated in nature is by extremely hot, catastrophic fires.
These wet forests support the magnificent, tall eucalyptus regnans, the species most favoured for placing in forest reserves.
Without fire or ground disturbance or both, this species will simply die out.
The realisation of this fact emerged when two foresters with the former Tasmanian Forestry Commision, Messrs Gilbert and Cunningham, found that total clearance of the understorey, which grew beneath the canopy of the eucalypts, was necessary before regeneration could occur.
We cannot afford to let nature "have its way" by allowing a catastrophic fire situation to develop.
By logging the area and burning the resultant slash, a suitable seed bed can be provided, a win-win situation.
Large amounts of seed collected before clear felling, are sown from the air, and this process results in the safe, successful and cheap regeneration of this very desirable species.
— JOHN SNODGRASS, former District Forester, Scottsdale.
Taxes
THROUGHOUT the Rudd-Gillard era we were bombarded constantly from the then coalition opposition “a big new tax” at every opportunity.
Likewise we were constantly reminded that the Coalition was the government of lower taxes.
Well hello, we are about to see from the “lower tax” party, the mother of all taxes, a 50 per cent yes 50 per cent increase to what was “never to be increased”, the GST.
Could we expect anything less from a government consisting of a variety of glitterati of “honorables” with statesman experience approaching “L” plate and “P” plate levels, some of which have been forever cocooned within the public service.
Year 2016 will go down as the year of the pauper, with history again reminding us the coalition is, and has always been, Australia’s highest taxing administration.
— WALLY REYNOLDS, Perth.
TasWater
WATER restrictions in force for most of the State including Stage One for Launceston and ordered by TasWater.
Strange then that that same entity was watering it's lawns last week.
Also, with all the money they charge in service fees why is our sewerage system third world when it comes to stench and waste getting into the river and, when we have flooding, into homes and businesses.
It's about time TasWater had an enquiry into its business model and where the money goes.
— GLENNIS SLEURINK, Launceston.