Safety
A LETTER (The Examiner, January 3) reminded me of an incident last week.
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Waiting to cross Charles Street to Red Cross we were astounded to see this middle-aged man swan across the road from the other corner when the little man was red.
One might say that others often do that but the worst thing was that, as the cars were going to turn three young children also walked across the road to join the man, who was presumably their parent.
If they had been hit whose fault would it have been?
Probably the poor motorist, it was the father who took it as his right to walk when he wanted to and hang everyone else.
Not many weeks before a man lost his life in York Street and this idiot put himself and his children in the same situation.
Glennis Sleurink, Launceston.
Freedom of Choice
WHILE it’s was a bad year for some religious followers who don’t believe in euthanasia and same-sex marriage, it’s been a good year for Australians who believe in freedom of choice.
A.R. Trounson, Needles.
College experience
I WOULD like to emphatically disagree with Malcolm Scott regarding reintroducing grades 11 and 12 into high schools (The Examiner, January 4).
Mr Scott, you may have many years of teaching experience, but I actually went through our independent college system only a few years ago.
For many, high school is a turbulent and unpleasant time. Stephen King once said: “I don’t trust anybody who looks back on the years from 14 to 18 with any enjoyment. If you liked being a teenager, there’s something really wrong with you”.
Our independent college system was a breath of fresh air in this regard.
It gave a sense of freedom after the stifling atmosphere of grades 7 to 10, and provided subjects and learning experiences relevant to the individual’s interests and career path.
But more than that, we were finally treated like adults.
Those two years at Launceston College were probably the most enjoyable of my life to date, and I wouldn’t trade our independent college system for anything.
Cody Handley, Hadspen.
Health Precinct
THE proposed private hospital co-location to the Launceston General Hospital is a great idea and I hope it goes ahead subject to properly addressing the practical problems like parking and traffic on Mulgrave, Howick and lower Charles streets.
A two to three-storey car park beneath the new development makes sense.
Getting some better use out of the Anne O’Byrne and adjacent buildings would also be worth exploring and possible footbridges above lower Charles Street and Howick Streets.
That said, the state opposition's jumping on board and proposing a 'health precinct' is about a brazen a bit of two bob grandstanding as I have seen in quite a while.
Rebecca White, the whole area already is a 'health precinct' and has been for decades, you are a bit late on the uptake, methinks.
I have no problem with Labor coming out and being generally supportive of the immediate proposal but if trying to 'own' the whole issue with a slapped together media release is the level of public policy development you are offering, give state politics a miss, please.
M. Seward, South Launceston.
Animal intelligence
AS A keen observer of animals, I often wonder what qualifies people to conclude that some animals are more intelligent than others. In my view, intelligence is the ability to live in harmony with the natural world. In all my observations, all animals do that 100 per cent.
Elsa de Ruyter, St Helens.
Energy Rebate Cheques
NICE windfall for Westpac.
Delaying the sending out of these cheques would have given Westpac a handsome profit?
Why am I not in the least surprised?
Rienk van der Woude, Longford.
Tamar River
FLOODS, erosion, silt forming on river flats is all part of nature.
Now to fix this we must work with nature.
Control floods by building water restrictors, wetland and dams in upper reaches of our river system.
Construct a loch where the hunters cut was originally started.
It would have to incorporate a flood escape.
Create in this a road linking Mowbray and Riverside.
Dam Stevensons Bend to make settling ponds to contain the sewerage overflow which could then be treated at a later time.
Create a wetland in the existing West Tamar wetlands that takes the flow from the new Tamar Lake and would filter the water before discharging it back into the Tamar River.
This is a general outline of what is required to fix the system, which will cost a lot of money, but to fix the problem one cannot be solved without the other.
The project would solve our unemployment problem and boost our tourism and give Launceston the clean up that is holding us back.
Bruce Cassidy, Norwood.
Fake News?
AS WE (aged pensioners) have already paid our Aurora bills weeks ago did we hear right that we would be receiving a helping hand to go towards our extremely high energy bills?
As usual we waited patiently believing this would be here in December and assist us in having a “a happy Christmas” as we only received one pension payment in December it has made life very difficult for single pensioners and a happy Christmas wasn’t quite so happy as we would have liked it.
I can tell you that my vote is in the balance. Very angry aged pensioner.