Refugee treatment
Thank you, Ed Sianski, for your letter (The Examiner, December 28) condemning the treatment of refugees by leaving them indefinitely in Manus Island and Nauru.
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On the same date, there was an article by Professor John Hewson saying “Australia's in midst of moral, ethical decline”.
There are reports of a mental health crisis among refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island, with at least three men attempting suicide and people suffering severe mental illness being sent back to Manus Island after treatment in Papua New Guinea.
Where is there any sense of compassion or fair treatment for people who have been left in appalling conditions for years with no hope of relief or resettlement?
Sara Strong, Launceston.
Easter lead up
On Sunday, December 30, I saw my first hot cross buns in my local supermarket.
Easter Day is not until April 21, so we will have 111 days preparing for the coming of the Easter Bunny. It is all so blatant.
Malcolm Scott, Newstead.
A cautionary tale
With the housing market still going strong in Launceston, we would like to share our experience of one particular aspect as a warning to others.
We were looking for a house and found one that we liked. Our offer was accepted so we called for a building report.
We attended the inspection, and the building Inspector was quite scathing about the state of the house. He pointed out a number of defects and even gave us an estimate of what it would cost to put right.
This frightened us, and we decided to use his report to get out of the contract. But when his report arrived, it was very mild and referred to maintenance items and repair works that are typical of a house this age.
And even his estimate of repair costs was way below what he had told us verbally. We couldn’t believe that his report was so different from what he had told us, which he admitted to our solicitor.
There was no way that this was good enough to get us out of the contract, so we are stuck with the house. Why would he do this?
We always knew that it was buyer beware when buying a house, but buyer beware for a building report?
To all house hunters – be careful with these reports. Even if the inspection missed a glaring defect, there are so many disclaimers that you would have no recourse against the building Inspector.
Gerry Massey, Launceston.
Unwanted advice
When I appoint an advisor – it is their job to advise me that I am right.
In which case they are smart and excellent people. When they go against my wishes well clearly they are disloyal and dumb and no longer suited to the job.
You want to work for me you know the rules. What do you think this is – a democracy? You're fired!
