Bikies
DISCRIMINATION against individuals for their age, gender, religion or other affiliations is not only unAustralian but illegal, and yet police want the legal right to discriminate against motorcycle group members simply because they suspect them of illegal behaviour.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
If they actually had sufficient evidence to make such a determination of illegal behaviour they would also have sufficient evidence to arrest and prosecute them.
Various groups in early 20th century Germany including gypsies, Jews and homosexuals, were suspected of illegal behaviour and so were banned from association, attacked in the streets if they wore their traditional garb, and arrested without breaking any laws that applied to ordinary citizens.
Is 21st Tasmania to be like this?
Is suspicion of antisocial behaviour to be sufficient for special laws targeting unpopular groups?
Laws apply to everyone and everyone is expected to abide by those laws.
If a particular group is breaking those laws then police are tasked with gathering evidence, not rumours, suspicions and personal grudges, and make the appropriate arrest.
Robert Karl Stonjek, Kings Meadows.
Humanity
WE ALL prefer to openly express our humanity, however when we do so toward isolated vulnerable people in order to lovingly coerce them to believe our faith is the “only true faith” then I believe our humanity is compromised.
Faith is as deeply personal and as individual as humanity itself.
I can relate to Geoff McLean’s letter (The Examiner, April 27).
Lovingly nurtured in the Christian faith I too have experienced much unconditional humanity shown by structured religious people.
I have also experienced “well respected” structured religions express their force and “lovingly” break the spirits of vulnerable people and relationships many times.
To say the very least it’s the height of arrogance for any individual or structured faith to pick, choose and manipulative events in history to “prove” their faith is the “only true faith” or they alone are “God’s chosen people”.
We are all equal in unconditional humanity.
Deb Johnson-Andrews, Newnham.
Early Federal Election
RUMOURS are rife that an early federal election will take place later this year.
All it will take for the gullible Australian voter to once again return the Liberal and National parties Coalition back into office will be the promise of one or two pretty baubles (small tax cuts for instance), a few coloured lights (a terrorist threat or two) and the creation of a fictitious monster (those grubby welfare cheats come to mind).
And there you go – the LNP Coalition will be once again returned to government for another few years.
The Liberal and National parties are taskmasters at allusion, confusion and manipulation. They’ve been at it for years.
David Broughton, Legana.
Crossing the Line
How can a player off the field participate in the game?
This puzzling situation keeps bugging me.
Running outside the boundary line, holding the ball inside the boundary line is repeated week after week.
You can't tackle a player off the field, probably get reported for unduly rough play.
Unimpeded the player (in theory) could carry the ball half the length of the field, if you are not on the field of contest how will the rule apply for "holding the ball".
So much is discussed about towing the line, but not to go over the line.
Perhaps this is border line, time-out.
Hugh Boyd, Prospect Vale.
Judicial Oversight
NO-ONE can seriously believe there will be harsh penalties applied in the wake of the banking royal commission? Australian Securities and Investment Commission has been next to useless and white collar crime, and that is what this is, in this country has never stirred up penalties to match what has been done to the victims, not that the legislators are any better they have been complicit in keeping people away from judicial oversight, too.
Peter Taylor, Midway Point.
Batman Bridge
MAY 18 will mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Batman Bridge.
It was built at a cost of $3,438,422 and at that time it was reputed to be the first cable stayed truss bridge in the Southern Hemisphere.
The boxing out for the kerb and guttering on the western approach was done with pick and shovel. The kerb and guttering was poured in individual sections.
The first day cover that was issued for the occasion included Tasmania’s first pictorial post mark, first ever Australian two town post mark, and the first with the new Australian post codes.
Ernie Bennet, Beaconsfield.
The Speaker
SUE Hickey was voted into Parliament as a Liberal member by people, who did so, expecting this would continue a stable Liberal government.
By going against the party wishes she demonstrates that she prepared to serve herself rather than the people, a trait recently seen in the Royal Banking Commission.
John Boyle, Riverside.
World War I
THE black and white photographs in the weekender cover story (The Examiner, April 28) shows lots of “old men on walking sticks”.
They’re not return soldiers who have been wounded, but stunningly the men who oversaw the World War I from a safe distance, while tens of thousands of Anzacs dropped like flies - for nothing.
Lest We Forget.
A.R. Trounson, Needles.