LGH building
THE front page “Fire prone” (The Examiner, January 20) is appalling and every member of our community needs to take action.
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Building contractors, project managers, engineers, the state public service in total, along with ministers of the Crown, responsible supposedly for the building of our new hospital, have apparently all failed miserably in their legal responsibilities.
Legal action should now be instituted immediately on the basis of a class action, if necessary, against each and every supposedly responsible professional person involved, requiring now immediate removal of this “flammable cladding” in less than 12 months, along with all and any other correction steps and full restitution and costs to not be applied to the current state government or our state community.
Full corrective and restoration work costs needs to be allocated correctly against those responsible at the time of building.
How many millions of dollars did this cost to build as a “pending calamity” by supposed professionals, all no doubt now trying to pass their responsibility?
Please get this fixed urgently and remove this flammable cladding from the Launceston General Hospital as quickly as possible and do not delay due to any state election.
Truly appalling. It is obvious the entire state public service is in need of a cleanout.
F. Deane, Evandale.
Container refund scheme
OBVIOUSLY the political parties have somehow again overlooked a container refund and deposit scheme as an election priority.
In South Australia, container rubbish has virtually disappeared from waterways and roadsides because sports clubs and the like are raising revenue from the return to recycling depots.
Silence from all sides may be the safe option here in Tasmania before an election, but with our clean green image at stake, in this case, I amend the lyrics to: "silence is (not) golden”.
Robert Lee, Summerhill.
Funding
PREMIER Will Hodgman’s claim at the Fairfax Tasmania’s Premier Debate in Burnie on Tuesday that the state had fully funded the Gonski reforms is disingenuous at best.
His government’s first act when coming to power in 2014 was to sack 266 public school teachers and school staff. His latest policy promise a fortnight out from seeking another term at the 2018 election is to have 227 of them returned.
The Liberal government received almost $60 million of Commonwealth Gonski funding for public schools during this period so is it any wonder Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham has criticised the Tasmanian government for reducing its share of schools funding.
The federal government increased funding to Tasmanian schools by $24 million in 2014-15 while the Tasmanian government decreased its funding by $7.3 million (Productivity Commission Report on Government Services).
Terry Polglase, Lindisfarne.
Teacher overload
ANOTHER 308 teachers? Another $63 million? Will there be any quality teachers among them?
How many times does it have to be said by educational experts that teacher quality is the issue that needs addressing, and not more of the same, thrown into the mix at great expense and no change in outcomes for students?
This seems to me, to be a push for votes from the teachers union or associated unions by Labor Leader Rebecca White.
There has been no thought or addressing of the teacher quality in this cash splash for votes. Please put thought into a policy before talking about issues that are pure vote catchers.
Steve Rogers, South Launceston.
Gambling
AS WELL as being a swinging voter I am one of the world’s great “anti-gamblers”, if there is such a term.
It is beyond my understanding why people rush to donate their hard-earned cash to someone else on a regular basis.
I remember many years ago working with a lady who got the latest tips and info from various racing stables, or so she said. She boasted that she’d gone round the world what she’d won on horses but, as my boss, a lovely lady said, “he could probably have gone round three or four times on what she’d lost on them”. Enough said, I think.
Richard Hill, Newstead.
Bullying
THERE IS so much written these days about how to tackle the problem of bullying.
Most concentrate on how to best support those suffering the abuse. Even Father Chris Riley, in a letter to The Examiner recently, talks about how to appropriately respond and support the victims.
Unfortunately, there is so little written about the cause rather that just the symptom. Why do bullies bully? Is it simply a need for power and control? Is it a symptom of mental illness?
The only way we can address the problem long term is to research these issues and introduce educational programs into primary and secondary schools that promote student's ability to comprehend the value of empathy and self-knowledge.
Geoff Mooney, Westbury.
Citizenship
MY question ‘ Why do we as Australians, salute a flag that has dual citizenship?
According to our Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, those members of Parliament, born in Britain, are not Australian citizens. Why then do we have a Union Jack on our Southern Cross National Flag? After all, we are not a Republic.
Elsa de Ruyter, St Helens.
Pokies and prohibition
THE folks who praise the ALP plan for Tasmanian poker machines don’t seem to have heard of the disastrous American experiment known as prohibition.
Jack Sonnemann, Lucaston.