A so called crackdown on “dodgy landlords” will take away more rights of the fair and decent landlords.

If the rental reforms were to be in place in Tasmania, you would have to seriously consider withdrawing a property from the rental market, in favour of short-term accommodation.

I FEEL for high school student Clara Dijkstra (The Examiner, October 9) in her moral panic about possible same sex marriage legislation.

She has clearly been the victim of some seriously misinformed prejudice, propaganda, and wild catastrophising.

“Already there is teaching in schools that same sex is OK” because that is how most of the western world now sees it. Our schools reflect society at large.

When Clara quite rightly asserted that “school should be a safe place for students to grow”, she had me thinking much more of the safety of a gay young person from attack over their sexual orientation, than the protection of a straight prejudiced youth from the upset of being told that there are gay people in the world.

When she gets to college, Clara wants “to be able to make friends without worrying about their intentions.” Has she really been told that if same-sex marriage is allowed, then there will be more lesbians at college? Or that they will all suddenly want to marry her? Can she make friends only with gay boys because she doesn’t have to worry about their intentions?

Clara needs to be assured that her fear that she “won’t be able to have a public opinion that same-sex marriage is wrong” without “being taken to court” is misplaced. Of course she can have whatever opinion on the matter she likes. But she cannot expect that this opinion will continue to control other people’s lives.

What has Clara been told, such that she now fears that her children will have to worry “that someone of the same sex as them is watching them get changed”?

Who has instilled such unjustified panic in her by suggesting that allowing same-sex marriage will increase the rate of lesbian loitering in school change rooms?

What irony, then, when following such misinformation and bizarre logic, Clara entreats us to “please vote wisely”.

I WAS heartened to read Clara Dijkstra’s letter, (The Examiner, October 9) on the consequences of gay marriage.

This young lady is well informed and assertive, not afraid of peer pressure and is very intelligent and aware of her right to free speech, sex education content and has an advanced understanding of the issues that will follow if same-sex marriage is passed.

Clara articulates well, her own fears regarding the Safe Schools program and how she will lose her right to express her opinion on gay marriage. She envisages a future as a mother and her fears for her children who will have their biological identity distorted and redesigned into absolute confusion, by their teachers, who will be forced to teach this program, regardless of their own opinions, because if they disagree with Safe Schools they will lose their jobs.

You have spoken to the soul of your community and we applaud you and wish you well in the future.

FOR the lucky members of society who have secured tickets to the forthcoming Tasmanian Chamber Music Festival in October 2017 in Northern Tasmania, with procrastinators like myself missing out on this sold out event, I can only reminiscence about how delighted the late Steve Martin (formerly of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra) would have been to witness such an event, considering he was instrumental with chamber music being reintroduced to Tasmanian homes, where Steve would always say, “for which the music was intended”.

NINETY-seven per cent of scientists agree that Tony Abbott influenced Coalition policy is a disaster.

SO THE high ups want to slash Tassie's GST share so as to try and attract votes from a disgruntled WA.

It's time for the Premier to say if they cut Tassie's GST then we won't pour the discounted green energy into the eastern grid.

We could then use this extra power to tempt power hungry businesses to Tasmania with the offer of power at the same pitiful rate we sell into the grid for.

I'm sure many would take up the offer and the increase in employment would be most welcome.

I FIND it hard to  believe that Chicago should be cited as a reason to repeal gun control legislation.

The numbers murdered is appalling but surely without some control the numbers would be much greater.

Of course it is one thing to have gun control laws, but implementing them is largely at the mercy of the gun dealers.

Incidentally, it appears that the numbers may drop, albeit slightly, for the current year.