Today kids roam from one room to another to visit teachers supposedly  proficient in their one  subject only, yet many kids are  leaving school  virtually illiterate. How can that be?

Victoria's  premier has stated that he cannot get rid of bad teachers because of militant unions and this not only applies to that profession but to every aspect of our lives and employment, which is why the government must win their case to curb union excesses.

Federal government handles expenditure much better than state government, proven in their refusal to be responsible for taxes raised with the federal stating that expenditure exceeds revenue raised.  Perhaps it’s time to eradicate state governments and form a central government with a nominated  group representing each state, with all rules and regulations made the same across the entire country and the entire government car fleet replaced with electric cars.

Government needs to understand that it should lead by example and the few measures alluded to, with many more in the wings, would save many billions of  dollars per year.

IN (The Examiner, April 6),  is an article titled ‘Blackouts considered’.  If we are to have blackouts over the coming months, has the government considered the effect on people who are absent from their properties during this time? If you have no-one able to flip the safety switch back on, you could come home to defrosted fridges and freezers and rank food. The cost to the general community could be quite astounding and, in such a case, household insurance would probably not cover the losses.

I WRITE in response to the letter from Ron Baines (The Examiner, April 6)  and the article by Toli Papadopoulos (The Examiner, March 5).

What should be highlighted, which was omitted from Toli's original article, is that Cycling Tasmania strongly support the current Tasmanian road rules and the imposition of all penalties as listed in the Road Rules 2009.

This includes all the penalties attached to infringements which can and do get enforced by Tasmanian Police including: no helmet, $100 fine; running a red light, $100 fine; and failing to stop at pedestrian crossings, $140 fine.

Cycling Tasmania support the imposition of all penalties when bike riders break the law. It should be noted that most rules in the Road Rules 2009 currently apply to bicycle riders in the same way as they apply to drivers.

Cycling Tasmania support all these rules and strongly encourage all bike riders to lawfully comply. This can be evidenced by the recent submission to the Senate Nanny State Enquiry where Cycling Tasmania strongly argued for no dilution of the current mandatory helmet laws.

For the record, Cycling Tasmania and Tasmanian Mountain Bike club members are all registered and insured for public and personal liability when they ride a bike. All riders must wear an Australian standard approved helmet in all competition, training or club events - even indoors. 

In regards to bicycle registration - there is not one nation currently in the world where it exists. Governments across the globe have explored it and found it to be administratively burdensome and would not be cost effective to implement.