Also the hospital efficiency, which has always been a poison chalice, is now being managed well. In all areas we have encountered, both for transporting clients and ourselves in our own health issues we can accord nothing but the utmost praise.

SO Property Council of Australia Tasmanian executive director Brian Wightman says don’t call out a height limit just to appease the community (The Examiner, December 18). Hang on, isn’t it the community and its ratepayers that vote in councils?

Apparently, any heritage values can be easily dismissed by Brian as well as the ambience of our cities. Let’s build a mini New York where it’s near impossible to see the sun, sometimes when directly overhead.

Easy to see why Brian is pushing this particular barrow in Hobart at this time as lots of building is already on the cards there.

And by the way, don’t think for one moment that Launceston isn’t in his sights with our council looking at the same situation.

Do we want reasonably unrestricted line of sight in our city?

If so, then speak up, attend a council meeting and make your viewpoint count.

And enjoy the sun on your face.

HAVING spent four enjoyable years at Oatlands way back in the '60s, I’ve always had a nostalgic interest in the town’s wellbeing. What it is failing to capitalise on is as a refreshment stop on the journeys North or South. It is somewhat halfway between Hobart and Launceston and an ideal place to break the journey.

For many years we enjoyed refreshments at the merino woollen goods shop, but that has now closed, as has the outlet adjacent to the mill. Campbell Town demonstrates the volume of visitors who will stop for a while if refreshments are available.  

Maybe some subsidisation of such facilities until fully established?  

And highway signage is critical.

FURTHER to the feature article, (The Examiner, December 17) on the proposed Rosevears marina and it’s a positive contribution to the re-awakening of the Tamar River. It would be wonderful if Launceston’s new Riveredge Park, currently under construction, included direct access to the North Esk. The park’s layout is strongly designed around the main thoroughfare, a central spine, the once historical Taroona Street, which in times past, stopped just short of the river.   

It could quite simply be extended, a pontoon installed and be available to visitors liking to arrive by boat. I can even imagine a business being set up at Seaport or Home Point to ferry day-trippers from side to side.  

It would make a great addition to Launceston’s emerging social playground, enjoyable and fun.

ONE must wonder what the present state Liberal government would do if the state is hit with another Global Financial Crisis as the previous Labor-Greens government faced. 

Would Will Hodgman blame the previous Labor-Green government for the crisis again?

IN 1975 the world's population reached four billion people and since that year it has increased by one billion people every 12 years.

This year it's increased to more than 7.6 billion people and we are on track to reach eight billion people by 2023. 

And, of the 233 countries/territories in the world listed by the UN, Australia lies at position 228 in regard to population density (people/km2) – sixth from the bottom of the list.

Conclusion: nothing will stop global population growth and as the far denser populated countries/territories of the world fill up at an increasingly greater rate, the empty ones become a more and more attractive place in which to want to live – Australia clearly being no exception.

Perhaps Australia's politicians might eventually wake up to not only the need to cater for its inevitable population increase but also the necessity for the infrastructure and services needed in support.

Those here in Tasmania certainly do health, housing, electricity, gas, water, and more success in any of which they could hardly boast about.

I NOTE the Launceston City Council is to install charging stations for electric cars in parking stations.  

Electric cars will not pay the Commonwealth excise of 41 cents per litre on petrol, which is largely allocated to roads.  

I wonder whether this is already another subsidy to wealthy climate change believers and hope the government will arrange to raise equivalent revenue from owners of electric vehicles.