Driving back from town one morning and rounding the corner we were confronted by a couple of young twerps on their little scooters, whizzing down Trevallyn Road into town.

Luckily there weren’t any cars coming round the corner because if there had been those kids would have been toast and two families wouldn’t have had a very merry Christmas.

Why is it that so many youngsters think they are invincible?

If it isn’t scooters then more often than not it’s skate boards with their owners sitting on them.

SIX months to turn fortunes around? Unlikely, but the following might help:

Ensure half the candidates at the next election are women. Don’t endorse old men too set in their ways.

Set up that anti-corruption watchdog.

Increase NewStart allowance by $50 per week.

Acknowledge that climate change is for real. Put in place some measures to slow this.

Close the offshore detention centres and bring all here – they’d paid penance now for six years.

Help mitigate drought by supporting conservation practices.

Greatly increase water storage across the nation, especially the north.

Do more than talk about a fast inland train route to Brisbane.

Recognise that the electorate is largely middle of the road.

I’m not holding my breath.

THANK you Jim Collier (The Examiner, November 30) yes suffragettes of years past are indeed still turning in their graves.

They fought for the rights of women to be able to vote, not to be forced to vote against their will. For me to abstain from voting is in itself my conscience vote and my vote of no confidence.

We are not forced to go into church, thank god, even if we do not believe in god. That would be undemocratic. The ethos of democracy is the freedom of choice.

Peoples’ votes may well be counted on election night, however when the voices of the people are not being heard their votes in the true sense do not count.

For over a century now Australians have voted people into government hoping one day their voices would be heard.

With all the inquiries through the years corruption is as rife as ever, the rich get richer, the poor poorer.

Picture this, sometime in the future, headline: Australians have had enough of currupt democracy, no one votes in federal election.

Would that give the true ethos of democracy a chance to shine?

Start afresh.

Politicians responsible and accountable for their actions.

Transparency, one vote, one value, give everyone a fair go, give the planet a fair go.

An Australia where we would never be asked to vote on whether Australians should have their human rights respected or not.

TO COMMIT myself to not pollute the environment and create lasting beneficial change I started cycling the world promoting organic agriculture. What is your commitment?

WHY has this person, Julian Assange, not been arrested and thrown in jail? If this were 1943, there would be no hesitation. 

The number of people around the world whose life was put in great danger will probably never be known. 

THE most compelling argument againt Australian becoming a Republic can be summed up in two words. 

Donald Trump.

BEFORE the Easter buns hit the supermarket shelves on New Year’s Day, what has happened to the ubiquitous Lions Christmas cake? 

Any trace of the crumb trail in Launceston or Hobart would be most appreciated.

MY NOMINATION  for the Australian of the Year will be Rowena Orr QC. of the Royal Commission.

While maintaining a scrupulously polite approach, her well aimed questions to the higher reaches of our lamentably illegal banks have given us all deep satisfaction to see either the squirming or the apologetic responses given by the multi millionaires responsible.

I TRAVELLED on a Metro bus recently. It is almost impossible to believe, that if you sit in the double seat behind the driver, there is no buzzer to tell the driver to stop at your stop. 

You would have to yell across the wide aisle to the person opposite for them to to press their buzzer for you. 

A very careless oversight on part of the designer, obviously they don’t travel by public transport.

WHO is the Premier of Tasmania, Will Hodgman or Cassy O’Connor?