Retirement Homes
THERE has been much talk within the government to keep the oldies in their own home as long as they wish and are able to do so, in the end it costs the government less.
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Marvellous - that’s just what some old people wish to do.
Not every old person is attracted to live in a retirement village or worse, within an old people’s home.
Some people want to stay in their own home to the very end, even if it is not only a tiny unit and it may have a big block of land around it.
They usually are individualists.
They don’t need resort living with hotel-style services.
Besides that, there are hardly any retirement villages without dogs these days,
Some old people are not idle and do whatever they can, however some support is needed.
However Community Care Tas, formerly NESB, double the hourly rate-fee for a support worker, even though they are not professional cleaners and at the same time cut back the fortnightly one-and-a-half hour gardening help to once in four weeks.
That’s all good enough for those who live in a retirement village but definitely not otherwise.
How on earth does this all make sense?
Common sense seems not to prevail.
H. Lettau, Grindelwald.
National energy market
THE Examiner article by Rob Inglis (February 5) jumped off the page: “Libs plan to exit national energy market”.
This could be the best idea ever dreamed up in Tasmania.
A stand-alone power supply in this state could be uniquely zero carbon and low cost.
There is not an industry on this planet that wouldn’t show up to make use of that combination.
If not in the short term, the comparative advantage of low cost/ carbon free will be compulsory as the world continues to warm.
The mainland mainlining coal will continue for 50 years and so long as Tasmania is connected to the eastern grid we share the carbon guilt.
Rob Inglis needs to get out and find out are we or aren’t we. The usual political doublespeak pervades his piece.
They want to keep Basslink and add a second connector. Now that doesn’t sound too much like a disconnect.
Nail them down. If this can be done it will be the best thing for Tasmania since trees were invented.
Bob Oates, St Marys.
International Cricket
THERE were sadly too many empty seats and patches of grass at Bellerive at the recent T20 between the oldest foes in world cricket.
The time and date did not help but it was reflective of Hurricanes’ attendances earlier in the season.
Perhaps now before the scheduling boffins can say it’s all too late, it would be an appropriate time to open up discussions with Cricket Australia to spread the eight matches scheduled for the T20 World Cup in 2020 between Bellerive and UTAS Stadium.
Tasmanians have invested heavily in both venues to meet the specific requirements of sport governing bodies, particularly Cricket Australia, most recently on digital advertising infrastructure at UTAS.
Surely it’s logical to make the best use of both – for the benefit of cricket and Tasmanians.
Not every game in the 2020 T20 World Cup is going to create the interest of an encounter between Australian and England.
Why not give the full geographical spread of Tasmanians the chance to embrace the lesser-supported countries, as we did so enthusiastically when Namibia and Romania faced off in the Rugby World Cup in Launceston in 2003?
Brian Roe, Launceston, Labor candidate for Bass.
Hypocrite
NO FALSE tears for Barnaby Joyce’s affair from those claiming MPs private lives should remain out of the spotlight.
When it is the taxpayer paying the wages of the MP and staffers for the duration of whatever went on, then having him sermonising on the sanctity of marriage, then all the public has the right to know how big a hypocrite the man really is.
Peter Taylor, Midway Point.
Junk mail
PURSUANT to recent media reports regarding junk mail and electoral candidate material, it may be fortunate/unfortunate that political material delivered by Australia Post is exempt from “no junk mail” status, provided the letters are addressed to individual voters by name, and should identify the originator of the letter(s).
The exemption may have been provided by past and/or present legislators, and deem this form of advertising as a community service, to enable potential voters to cast an informed vote on election day – purely coincidental that this legislative requirement is beneficial to all political parties?
Kenneth Gregson, Swansea.
Military commemorations
I ATTENDED the National Service Commemoration at Longford recently and I was very impressed with the turnout and the service in general.
I congratulate the Longford RSL and the organising committee on a job well done. My only complaint was the bringing of politics into the ceremony by one speaker. The use of politics on such a solemn occasion is taboo and only detracts from such a moving ceremony.
Brian Ellis, West Launceston.
Asset
I wonder if the Liberal Party realises its main asset is the leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten.
The Liberal Party should take note of history. Look what happened when they pummelled Bill Hayden into the ground.
Up popped Bob Hawke.
Kim Davis, East Launceston.