But where are people going to find enough money to buy a car that will travel any decent distance? The only electric car on the market at the moment is an American-built Tesla, which I am told will travel quite easily to Hobart and return on a full charge. 

Only problem is the cost of this vehicle. It is way out of reach of the common man.

I have been told that it would be cheaper to buy a house and stay home.  The Americans said the car would do 360 miles on a full charge. 

I can't remember the cost of the vehicle but it is a hell of a lot. Maybe the government can subsidise us. 

Joke of the week. The majority of the electric cars can only get halfway to Hobart before needing a recharge.

Until the manufacturers can improve the capacity of batteries one must keep polluting the atmosphere.

Cecil Neil Guy, Youngtown.

IT IS so sad that both the Uniting Church and now the Anglican Church in Tasmania are going to sell off churches, so often they are the embodiment of the history of the local community.

The present Anglican Bishop’s predecessor, Bishop Harrower, closed 40 churches during his episcopate.

It is all part of the secularisation of society and an apparent crisis in both those churches.

I note the Catholic Church in Tasmania does not sell its churches, as they are seen as places of God’s manifestation to his people.

This was so obvious, when I recently visited the beautiful Pilgrim churches at Oatlands, Colebrook and Richmond. I make a special plea for the magnificent 1887 Saint Michael and All Angel’s Church at Bothwell, known as the country cathedral, to be spared. As far as I know nit is the only Anglican church in Tasmania to have a stone altar, sorry, communion table.

Malcolm Scott, Newstead.

ROBERT Karl Stonjek makes a valid critiscm concerning the allocation of medical specialists in the current state health system.

Tasmania had this model under then Liberal health minister Roger Groom, it was called the “Tram Model”, that is Tasmania Regional Allocation Model whereby if a patient was sent for specialist treatment in the south of the state the northern region would meet its cost, the situation was the same for the North-West and South, while the North and North-West embraced this model the south of the state did not.

The minister, to his credit, awarded the North and North-West with capital funding. So successful was this model that the then Victorian premier Jeff Kennett offered a super salary to the then CEO of the Launceston General Hospital an appointment in Victoria that he could not refuse.

Mr Kennett was aware of the achievements at LGH and its capital works program.

To their credit Mr Groom and the hospital CEO had full accreditation at LGH and high number of specialists attracted to the hospital with the highly successful private patient plan and its  two private hospitals that met with the LGH Board.

The reason the South did not embrace this model was, that is people will not travel.

Currently in Hobart eminent orthopeadic surgeon Michael Pritchard is now only operating at Calvary where there has been a large investment in capital works and Victorian patients are travelling to Hobart for operations by him.

Mr Pritchard has not operated at the Royal Hobart Hospital for a number of years, which is  a loss to the state health system.

Finally with a review of the health system to be under taken, it would be prudent to again look at the Groom Tram Model.

Brian P. Khan, Bridport.

RICHARD Herr was quite prescient in his statement in (The Examiner, March 21) article, that Rene Hidding was no certainty for the Speaker’s job. 

Professor Herr stated history could well repeat itself, apparently the only ones to learn from history were the opposition parties and Ms Hickey.

The Liberals didn’t, and Mr Hidding was out manoeuvred

Peter Taylor, Midway Point

WE SEEM to hear a great deal about people who are homeless, but nothing seems to be done. 

After World War II, in England, as a result  of the bombing, there was a similar problem. 

The solution at that time, for a number of years, was to build pre-fabricated houses, pre-fabs, on vacant sites to house those people until a more permanent dwelling could be built. 

We have the technology, could we not adopt a similar approach? 

Dr Ian C.Roddick, Legana.

I AGREE with Kevin Nunn (Letters, The Examiner, May 2). 

Spending $19 million to upgrade the Brisbane Street Mall is obscene.

Shops are closing at a disappointing rate, parking fees prevent many shopping in the city, and the North has more homeless people than we’ve ever had. 

Instead of wasting the money on what will eventually become a white elephant, perhaps the money should be injected into building shelters for the homeless as winter approaches. 

Whoever makes these decisions, your priorities are seriously misguided.

F. O’Sullivan, Riverside. 

WOW - 1000 more Centrelink staff to answer the phone and tell me that they are too busy to process my age pension application, now five weeks overdue. 

Couldn't some of them be deployed to actually do the work?

Jacqueline Mulberry, Beauty Point.