On the July trip I noted that the gravelled surface had been prepared and assumed that constructors had gone back to the tried and proven practice of not sealing in winter, but leaving the pavement to settle particularly when not under traffic.

However, on the August trip I found that I was very mistaken as, while the seal had not been applied the safety barrier had been installed and, shock-horror, the gravelled surface was being graded with a cut/join inside the barrier where the outer wheel path will be resulting in extensive failures soon after the road is open to traffic.

Such a practice would never have been permitted under the higher level Tasmanian specifications, but is obviously allowed under the lower quality Victorian ones adopted by the minister.

Yes, Minister, another very good decision minister.

IN RELATION to the claim that honey has been adulterated, R. Greeno (The Examiner, September 18) states that nutritionists and doctors are urging us to eat it (honey) as it contains natural healing ingredients.

As a professional nutritionist (recently retired) with 44 years experience, I can assure readers that no competent nutritionist would recommend eating a lot of honey.

As a food consisting almost entirely of sugars, honey is in the same category as common sugar when it comes to nutrition and health. The relevant Australian dietary guideline recommends that we “consume only moderate amounts of sugars and foods containing added sugars”.

R. Greeno also expresses concern about the possible health effects of the adulterants—reportedly sugars derived from rice syrup and beet syrup—being added to honey. If the adulteration simply involves the addition of sugars to honey, then it doesn’t have potential adverse health consequences.

Rather, the adulteration (if it is occurring) constitutes fraud, in that the buyer isn’t getting the product he or she is expecting, that is pure honey. This is analogous to the situation where someone buys a painting on the understanding that it is an original work of art, only to find out later that it is a cheap copy. This may have adverse consequences to the buyer’s wealth, but won’t affect the buyer’s health (any more than putting sugar in honey does). However, both situations constitute clear cases of fraud, because the buyer isn’t receiving what he or she paid for.

THANK you  to Opera Australia for bringing its tour of Madame Butterfly to Launceston. Not only did it provide our city with access to world class performers of this enduring art, the involvement of a locally-based children’s choir in the production provides outstanding opportunities for our talented young performers to be part of a national production.

Launceston is fortunate to have such an active performing arts community. Madame Butterfly was a very well supported event making it a win win for Opera Australia and Launceston.

THERE have been enough horrendous stories of mistreatment to justify this enquiry.  Similar accounts of rorting and shortfalls in provision will come forth as with the Banking Royal Commission.

Aged care is a growth industry, but severely underfunded and has become a for profit activity.

No wonder older people are choosing to stay in their own homes and are most wary of handing their well-being over to others.   

Let us hope that firm rules, adequately checked on, will make this industry totally client oriented in the future.

MY HUSBAND  had Parkinson’s dementia, but was in the normal part of a very nice looking aged care facility.  As usual after work I called to see him and he was not well.   

I asked the sister in charge to call the doctor. Early the next morning I could not contact the sister and went to work planning to talk to her in my break.   As I entered my office at the break, the phone rang and the sister was very upset and told me that my husband had died.  She had 76 patients to look after and had been on her rounds when someone had found him in his room, dead.  

Apparently a morning tea drink had been delivered and he had tried to drink it and had choked and had a stroke - no carer was present but one had found him shortly afterwards. 

The carers I met all seemed to be interested and helpful, but there were not enough of them. The nursing sister was very capable, but could not be expected to do justice to all the patients in her care.   

What should be done? It is all so obvious  - so will this Royal Commission actually engender real and timely improvements or will it be more talk and very little action?   Human dignity and respect must be the cornerstones of our society or it is all worthless.

WHAT about the good ones? With the current furore about conditions in residential care homes I was feeling  concerned about all those very wonderful, dedicated and patient staff in the homes. My mother is at Fred French as a government resident and I cannot praise enough the staff there. I have noted many times small acts of kindness from them that they are not obliged to offer – they are simply being caring. So in the months to come I would like people to remember that there are wonderful staff out there looking after our relatives too and I really hope  they feel supported and valued.