Civic Square Public Toilets
IT BEGGARS belief that the City of Launceston council, rather than admit it has it wrong and maybe lose face, approved the proposed Civic Square toilets at its meeting on December 18.
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The council debate was very flimsy with only one alderman speaking and his comments were disingenuous. A few points for brevity.
There is a substantial plane tree on the site and according to an arborist’s report, it has a lifespan of 10 to 20 years and is listed to remain.
However without qualification, the alderman glibbly said it had a life of one or two years and could be removed.
Comment was also made regarding the existing toilets in Macquarie House in that they do not meet current standards so should be demolished. Surely they could be renovated?
Council is not demolishing Civic Square and moving it to another site simply because it does not meet current standards. No. It is being renovated.
One could reasonably argue that, compared to the years of work and multi-millions of dollars already invested, the logical way forward would be to devote an hour or two of time, spend a dollar or two and rethink the project, to get the location right, to get the design right.
In the overall scheme of things, this re-assessment would have very little impact on the continuing roll-out of City Heart.
Jim Dickenson, Launceston.
Election Prediction
EVEN THOUGH the state election hasn’t called, now that Labor has declared its stand in relation to pokies, I would predict a possible scenario. I have been wrong before.
Neither of the major parties will get a majority in its own right, but feel Rebecca White could go to the governor and say that without forming an alliance in anyway, the Greens will support Labor on supply and confidence on the floor of the House, this is not at all unusual.
The Jacqui Lambie Network could win a seat or two, it could support Labor’s pokies policy.
Labor needs to ditch its idea of increasing the number of members in the House of Assembly and modify its no further rollout of grades 11 and 12 in high schools.
The Liberals will self-destruct, if their campaign strategy is like that in the Pembroke by-election.
Malcolm Scott, Newstead.
More information
UPON reading Jack Sonnemann's letter, (The Examiner, December 16), I initially thought that it was a very good tongue-in-cheek contribution to Saturday’s reading, but then I thought possibly Mr Sonnemann may be serious.
If so, then he needs to get out more, and get his hands on a bit more information than what he currently has access to.
For a start, the US Bureau of Statistics is an arm of the government, and as such a lot of the information reflects government wishes, the same as its Australian counterpart.
I direct Mr Sonnemann to the Bloomberg website, and you would be hard pressed to find a more conservative website than that one.
There is a very good editorial dated December 15, which looks at Trump's tax cuts, and I will quote a very telling part of that editorial which, after outlining the various problems currently facing America goes on to say: "The tax bill does nothing to address these challenges. In fact, it makes each one of them worse".
So yes, Mr Sonnemann, I am one of those who bag the orange-faced one, with the ill fitting suits, along with currently about 60 to 65 per cent of Americans.
And I am sure that once your eyes are opened a bit wider than what they currently are, your outlook on the US Presidency will change. Unless you are going to call it all fake news.
Brian Lee, Riverside.
Pokies
IT WAS with great interest I noted Parliamentary Secretary Sarah Courtney's recent comments on Labor's poker machine policy.
In true libertarian fashion she reiterated that "as a government we support the right of Tasmanians to spend their money as they see fit".
Will the Liberal Party also be taking this approach to firearms owners and defend our right to buy any class of firearms as we see fit?
Andrew Phillips, Geeveston.
Speed Kills
“WE ALL know that speed kills” (The Examiner, December 16).
So if we know all this, why are people continuously being seriously injured or killed on our roads?
Becuase the penalties for killing people via such attention are basically the same as for roadkill - “nothing”, said this grieving father.
A.R. Trounson, Needles.
Infrastructure
GREENS leader Cassy O’Connor has said that money spent on infrastructure should be redirected to Health.
Why not, states Ms O’Connor, give our taxes to the highly paid specialists, executives and top heavy administrations? Instead of improving and maintaining our roads so interstate and foreign tourists can have a reasonable experience.
Gee, think about it.
Let’s face it, health is a black hole, at least we can see results when the roads are widened and potholes filled.
Robert Stephens, Summerhill.
Scot free
CATHOLIC priest Finian Egan has been freed from incarceration after spending only four years of an eight-year sentence for paedophilic behaviour towards children. So what of those who set him free?
Were they also of the Catholic persuasion?
These are exactly the questions that are never asked and need to be examined if we are to rid ourselves of these vermin whom pervade our society.
Don Davey, Launceston.