Royal Wedding
I NEARLY made a fool of myself and stated that Harry and Meghan could not be married in the Church of England because Meghan is a divorcee, but the position recently changed and it is now permitted.
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This is a reasonable change as divorce is now common with 30 per cent of marriages in Australia ending in divorce and I guess the same applies in Britain.
The change did not help Charles and Camilla who were married in a Registry Office followed by a Blessing in St George’s Chapel Windsor.
Nor, did it help the Princess Royal who was remarried to Timothy Laurence in a low key ceremony in the Church of Scotland.
How times have changed, both King Edward VIII with Wallis Simpson and Princess Margaret with Group Captain Peter Townsend either had to marry or give up their royal position, because their proposed partners were divorcees.
Are Australians interested?
I think they are, very, our links with Britain go back a long way, the people concerned are young, glamorous and exciting and the Queen is still our Head of State.
I wish them well.
Malcolm Scott, Newstead.
Criminal unions
THE RECORD must be set straight regarding Don Davey's belief in "criminal" unions (The Examiner, December 4).
The Royal Commission into trade union governance and corruption ran for nearly two years and only managed to have a single conviction recorded as a result.
If anything, given the scope and scale of the investigation and that outcome, we must accept that unions are among the least criminal organisations in this country.
It should further be noted that many of the laws which are broken by unions and their members - breaches which are always heavily reported - are exceedingly harsh and repressive.
Australia's anti-union legislation breach UN standards regarding the fundamental rights of the worker and among their invidious effects they have depressed wage growth and moved more workers into temporary and unreliable work situations.
Anders Russell, Launceston.
Greens Advertisement
In (The Examiner, December 2) I was astonished to see a full page advertisement, supposedly naming and shaming those that did not support bills put before Federal parliament to allow the passage of illegal arrivals to our shore to be processed and allowed entry, the bills supported by our two Green senators McKim and Whish-Wilson.
I thought it had passed, with bipartisan support in the Federal Parliament, that these illegals would be processed on Nauru and Manus Islands?
Why does Senator McKim smile when he delights in the fact that he has been to Manus four times (when questioned), and he seems to think it is smart that he does this even though Labor and Coalition (who are the major political parties) both support the vetting of these people, which had to be brought about when Labor lost control of our border security.
Why doesn't Senator McKim spend more time, money and effort pushing for change and help with people in Australia, and in his now home state of Tasmania?
I just hope this ad was paid from your wallet Senator.
Steve Rogers, South Launceston.
Who Is the Culprit?
CHINA HAS refused to bankroll the Adani Mine, stating that is does so on social grounds.
Pity they can’t extend those grounds by refusing to supply North Korea with fuel, unless of course it is not North Korea’s project, but their very own financed and done so in such away as to not invite condemnation from the rest of the world.
Don Davey, Launceston.
Thank you
On Friday, November 30, I had the misfortune to roll my ankle in Wellington Street in Launceston. Two young women came to my aid and stayed with me while my husband manoevered the car and helped me in.
Broken wrist and ankle.
Face first into concrete, no good.
I would like to thank those ladies very much.
Also the staff in emergency.
I know there are a lot of problems with our health system, however the caring and professional help I received could not be faulted.
And to our local hospital girls at Scottsdale thanks for looking after me at the weekend.
All care A1.
Barb Andrews, Bridport.
Mobile Phone Use
A $300 fine and three demerit points is simply not enough to deter some drivers from using their hand held mobile phones while driving.
On a daily basis as I travel on my bike I witness the blatant use of mobiles by drivers texting or otherwise.
It's time to get tough and increase penalties on this unsafe behavior.
I say let them lose their license for a month (before someone loses their life) and if the courts find the extra paperwork becomes overwhelming then an increase in fines to $500 should compensate for that.
Get tough before it's too late for someone.
Robert Lee, Summerhill.
Tamar Disaster
ROBYN FRITH asks, “why install a barrage at Long Reach and not at some other location in the Tamar River?” (Letters, The Examiner, December 4).
Surely the appropriate question is, “why install a barrage at all?”
Mr Frith’s rosy predictions belie the scientific reality of such structures which have proven around the globe to be environmental disasters.
The Tamar has seen its fair share of environmental disasters; others can be avoided applying the rule of thumb, “act with nature for a chance of success; act against nature for certain failure”.
Dr Ian Kidd, West Launceston.