The lecture was given by Merridie and Tim Costello, who gave a very entertaining, albeit truncated version of the political life of both the former prime minister, and the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives. 

Congratulations to Anne Teesdale, manager of Home Hill, and all the volunteers who combined so well to present such a magnificent and thoroughly enjoyable day.

UNLIKE Malcolm Scott (The Examiner, January 4) I do not regard the secondary college system as broken. The colleges represent an eminently sensible response to our demography which is markedly different from mainland states.

We do not suffer from the tyranny of distance as the overwhelming majority of students live within comfortable daily travelling distance of a college.

I think it is most unfortunate that there has not been a more robust defence of the work of the colleges. I understand that 500 or so students who leave the public system at grade 7 return at grade 11. Is that telling us something ?

It is too simplistic to blame retention issues solely at the feet of the colleges. I see no logical reason for the suspension of present arrangements for urban areas .

Extension of grades 11 and 12 for the Devonport and Latrobe High Schools with Don College within minutes makes very little sense to me. 

I am not convinced that provision of grades 11 and 12 is in the best long term interests of students in rural areas.

As a person who has been a student, teacher and principal in in several of these locations for most of my first 40 years I am keenly aware of the one brutal inevitably of living in the country.

Some time in your teenage years you will have to leave for the big smoke.

So why delay and make it easy by starting that process at age 16 with attendance at a college? For me there is an element of mollycoddling in the government initiative.

Overall I believe the debate has been insufficiently nuanced particularly regarding social development.

ONCE again the bike trail lobby (The Examiner, January 8) is pushing the myth that destroying the North-Eastern Railway line is the key to improved community recreation, when there are already plenty of venues for those willing and able to cycle around north-east Tasmania.  

In reality the grassroots campaign to save the railway line has galvanised the north-eastern community from Launceston to St Helens and brought together neighbours and new friends in a concerted effort to preserve our industrial heritage and provide a new recreational opportunity accessible to everyone.  

A heritage rail experience will complement existing services, linking Launceston with bike tracks in Scottsdale and beyond, as well as providing a catalyst for new business ventures in tourism and recreation.

Come on Tasmania, let’s not destroy this opportunity for a great new project that can spring from the revitalisation of a unique and valuable community asset, which once lost, will be gone forever.

HURRAH, in today’s mail our $125 rebate arrived, cheque dated December 11, better late than never. Thank you to our state Liberal Government, we will put it to very good use.

I WOULD be happy to see the integrated hospital complex come to fruition, but why wreck an existing car park when right beside it is a large area of park which could be divided up quite easily. I realise some will decry the idea of losing a section of the park but where else are patients and their relatives going to park their cars? To get medical treatment we need to be able to access the hospital without spending up to 45 minutes searching the area for a car spot. Mobility can be a problem for patients and visitors alike, so please have some consideration for all.

I CANNOT believe how insulting to the intelligence of the voting public is the recent Liberal advertisement. They use a sinister voice over and almost post-nuclear apocalyptic black and white images of political opponents urging voters not to go back to a previous government. No attempt to put forward good policy or even any reference to achievements - either real or imagined. Just a negative attempt to scare the voter. Let’s hope the other side is more positive with its television campaigning or will Labor too succumb to the marketing gurus who have such demonstrably poor regard for the general public.

World champion woodchopper David Foster has thrown his weight behind the Love Your Local campaign opposing Labor’s prospective ban on pokies. I totally agree with his view. Surely some responsibility lays with the individual and their life choices. Alcohol causes many social issues and tears families apart, but I haven’t read where a Labor Government would ban the sale of alcohol. Let those who choose to entertain themselves that way do so. And if they want to have a beer, let them do that too.