LCC need to stop the long term parking in residential streets and give some thought to those who pay their salaries instead of pandering to the so-called Brisbane Street barons. Spend some money and build another multi-story car park in South Launceston and let staff at the LGH park for free while on duty. Rocher Street and Maitland Street, Frankland Street are a disgrace and a danger to all.

I WENT for a wonderful overnight hike in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park on the weekend and in that fabulous wilderness I couldn’t help but notice how lovely it was not having helicopters ferrying the wealthy in amidst a loud buzz of sound.

Visitor numbers were high yet so were the levels of peace and serenity.

The way our wild places should be.  Leave the sky for the birds.

THE latest hiccup with Indonesia and a lesser extent Malaysia reminds me of a discussion I had with a few people reasonably high up in the intelligence sector in the mid ’70s when I was posted to Canberra while I was in the RAAF. It was at a casual dinner party when conversation turned to what country was the biggest threat to Australia over the decades since World War II and into the future. From the ’60s it was Indonesia and China. In the ’70s Indonesia all the way and they said this will be until China became a more powerful country in the new century, but still Indonesia would still be the biggest threat because they are on our doorstep with there large population.  

West Irian jia and Timor were used as examples because Australia did nothing other than protest diplomatically. This changed a bit when we finally helped East Timor out by turffing out the Indonesian military but just imagine how their politicians let alone there Armed forces felt then and still do.

I don’t usually agree with our prime minister, but his latest statement about our embassy in Israel is right on the money.

I TRULY feel bilious when I read CBA boss Matt Comyn comments (The Examiner, November 20). This “Six Million Dollar” man who like previous CEOs claim their huge wage depicts performance. Even the scratch my back and I will scratch yours approach to remuneration is sickening. The board vote on his wage based on performance and then he singularly strikes their rate for remuneration, wow. Handling peoples life-savings, old age superannuation and mortgages and then admits the culture of the bank is to put profit before people. 

They are paid ridiculous wages and bear no responsibility and offer insincere lame apologies. They should be held responsible with the fear of million dollar fines and jail time for blatant breaches. They have humongous power over the lives of so many people and abuse it. What shameful revelations this Royal Commission has exposed and the failure of governments.

FIRSTLY we had the furore about same sex marriage, then the plebiscite issue and now I read aboutchanging birth certificates to suit those unsure of their gender. I know what I was born as and I am sure most of my fellow humans do as well. 

I am feeling really stupid because even though I do understand that some very unfortunate people have been born with both mum and dad’s fixtures, this is not the majority that needs to be taken to the Legislative Council to make an ignominious decision that affects us all albeit even when we have no idea what half these words mean. Let people that are different deal with their issues in private with comfort and support. Perhaps I need a new dictionary to ensure my continued enlightenment.

A BIRTH certificate is a legal document being the basis of identification; not to include a gender would be dangerous in this world of stolen identities. If baptisms records are included the gender of a child at birth has been recorded for many centuries and there is no reason to change this.

A legal process is required to officially change a name and this should also be required to officially change a gender, which should includes proof of gender reassignment. The suggestion that a person can legally claim that they are transgender is nothing but naïve and dangerous.

A UK man, who was incarcerated in a woman’s prison as he claimed to be a self-identified female.  He subsequently was found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting female prisoners. Individualism has gone too far by those who wish to impose radical gender ideology on society.

PASSING a law which stipulates that a man is a woman, or a woman is a man, because that is what they claim to be, threatens freedom of speech and liberty throughout the community. Already within the parliament and outside, those who oppose such a law are being attacked as bigots and extremists, and if the law is changed will have the choice of remaining silent or risk having to defend themselves before the Anti-Discrimination Commission. There will be demands on teachers to use their authority to teach a biological untruth. It will become lawful for a male to claim he is actually female and go freely into female only spaces. It is wrong for parliament to enact a law that is based on a biological untruth.