Abbott
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MALCOLM Scott’s letter (The Examiner, February 3), proposes a possible presidency for Tony Abbott, if only to get him out of parliament.
All I can say is, in the (hopefully unlikely) event of this coming to pass, the possible promotion of “Captain’s calls” to “Presidential proclamations” boggles the mind.
— RICHARD HILL, Newstead.
Tas Forestry
TASMANIA Forestry will never be able to truly justify its actions at Lapoinya.
Their economic gains data does not stack up against the destruction of a 60-year-old forest and the systematic uncompromising erosion of the hearts of the people who saw its truly value in beauty and serenity.
— ELSA DE RUYTER, St Helens.
Festivale
FESTIVALE is one of the any things in Launceston which is too expensive for lots of people.
Wouldn't it be nice if it was free to get in like Hobart food festival just so that our younger people could see what Tasmania have to offer food wise?
But of course that's not going to happen.
Why is it we have to pay to go into a park owned by the ratepayers of Launceston?
I'm a ratepayer and I vote we let it be free so everyone can enjoy Festivale.
— SALLY CUNDALL, Launceston.
Volunteering
ARE the same people who are voluntarily protesting and demanding that the illegal boat people not be sent back to places like Nauru, etc, also doing any voluntary work to help Australia’s less fortunate?
How about helping a long-term homeless person or family get back on their feet by assisting them to find some kind of safe, permanent housing.
Maybe even take a person or family into their own homes.
Finding some type of employment for anyone who needs it or at least help them achieve their goal.
Helping a person with children fleeing domestic violence and find a safe haven for them.
Signing up to do voluntary work in one of our over crowded hospitals.
How about doing the same in an aged persons home, or a home for the disabled?
The list is endless, really.
It would be good if people like Sarah Hansen-Young and friends set an example by leading the way and taking up one or more of the myriad of areas that need volunteers.
No.
Well, isn’t that a surprise, because I knew they wouldn’t either.
— C. FRELEK, Launceston.
Food
PEOPLE for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wrote to schools requesting that processed meats be taken off school canteen menus and replaced with plant based meals.
Plant based meals meaning, fruit, vegetables, grains and pulses in various forms.
Education Minister Jeremy Rockliffe labelled this request “outrageous”.
Why is it outrageous to promote a healthy variety of plant based food?
Why is it outrageous to keep processed meats out of school canteens when the World Health Organisation and other health researchers have found that processed meats such as bacon, sausages and ham may cause cancer?
Why haven’t you labelled as outrageous the fact that many school canteens have for years been offering highly processed and unhealthy food such as party pies, sausage rolls, mini-pizzas, flavoured milk and little else?
Tasmania, like the rest of Australia, has a huge problem with diet and lifestyle related illness, so changing that trend is urgent.
There are a few school canteens with healthy and tempting food on offer, the others need to follow their lead.
— KATHLEEN McLAREN, Lenah Valley.
Bushfires
WHAT a lost opportunity when Bob Brown was arrested at Lapoinya, when he could have been used productively to fight the nearby bushfires at Mawbanna.
Likewise, the exhausted ‘firies’ who had to call for backup from interstate, when 2000 strong Green supporters who, at 24-hour notice, can assemble at Salamanca to protest at the destruction of old growth forests – just happened to be unavailable when lightning struck their beloved wilderness at the other end of this island paradise.
One would have thought, that at the very least, they could have gathered in silent vigil to acknowledge the departure of their bush brothers…most of which will yet outlive them.
Even worse, was the fact there was no human to lay blame upon.
The ‘Save the Tarkine’ message must have been lost in transmission..
We await the obligatory Greens call for an ‘inquiry’.
— DAVID BISSETT, Somerset.
Littering
I’M NOT sure of the reasoning behind the Launceston City Council’s decision to remove rubbish bins (and not replace them) from the West Launceston area with the latest being within the last fortnight from the Brougham Street bus stop.
This may be happening in other areas of Launceston as well, but why?
With a major problem of littering within our city, it beggars belief that any rubbish bin should disappear, especially near bus stops.
Come on LCC, these bins were never under-utilised, vandalised or abused and now they’re gone.
If it’s a cost-cutting measure or indeed any other reason, I say you have gone too far this time and whatever the reason it can only be a load of rubbish.
— ROBERT LEE, Summerhill.
Uni
ON CHECKING Macquarie and World Book dictionaries I find it is an institute of higher learning, this includes its buildings, students, teachers, governing body.
Nowhere could I find any mention of helping to improve the bottom line in the city’s business sector by providing student shoppers.
Nor could I find a mention of a possible 15,000 students plus teachers wading through sewage in order to attend lectures.
Higher learning and the Newnham campus seems to be a match made in heaven as Newnham is considerably higher than Inveresk.
Conclusion - leave Newnham campus where it is.
My understanding is that the EPA is having a conversation with both Launceston City Council and TasWater.
— RON BAINES, Kings Meadows.
Nauru
THE FACT that some 160 children are being held in offshore detention in a place like Nauru is unconscionable.
How is it possible that Australians have allowed successive governments to flout the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in such an appalling manner?
These children have been subject to abuse and have engaged in self-harm to draw attention to their plight.
Doctors, teachers and other officials risk imprisonment if they speak out against atrocities committed against these youngsters.
We have ‘stopped the boats’ but at what cost to the nation?
Surely our government has the resources and a moral compass to chart a course towards an asylum seeker policy which honours the human rights of vulnerable people and which offers a viable and humane option for those fleeing persecution.
There should be no place for cruelty in any refugee policy.
— ED SIANSKI, West Moonah.
Leprosy
AS members of the West Tamar Auxiliary of the Leprosy Mission, Australia, we were rather disappointed in the largely negative article provided from India, for World Leprosy Day (January 31).
India is only one of five countries for which we fund-raise at regular intervals through the year in the Tamar Valley area.
We can assure readers that there is much positive work being done in these countries both by local governments and by The Leprosy Mission.
With the funds raised, we support self-help initiatives, provide information and education, medical professionals and volunteer staff.
As a result, many people do seek assistance for their conditions and there are many success stories.
However, not all doctors are trained to diagnose the disease correctly and as a result some people are given incorrect or ineffective medication.
Only education and training can address this issue.
Further information is available to those interested in learning more.
For and on behalf of The Leprosy Mission West Tamar Auxiliary members.
— CELIA CLIFF, Beaconsfield.
Markings
HAVING advised council of two situations where action is required and seeing no response, I now seek the power of the press to overcome the problems.
Road markings at the junction of Brisbane and Charles streets have faded and it is not unusual to find cars in the left lane in Brisbane Street crossing over into the right lane as they round the corner.
I’ve personally witnessed one accident and one near miss due to this indistinct line marking.
Similarly as one enters Wellington Street from Cimitiere Street the line guiding traffic is very hard to see.
The problem is that traffic in the right lane tends to end up in the left lane in Wellington Street, the whole issue complicated as there are four lanes in this street in front of the museum.
The only ones who gain from the present situations as described are panel beaters.
— DICK JAMES, Launceston.