Our city's future is very much tied up with visitors who may come here for sporting events, as a base for a Tasmania wide visit, or for a conference. In all cases their dollars are just as significant.

More hotel beds translates into more jobs, especially for those just starting their working careers. All great for every aspect of our city.

I THOUGHT I could not be more horrified at the state of the public health system in Tasmania. That was until I saw the Four Corners documentary "Health Hazard".

The pressure that paramedics, nurses and doctors are under at the Launceston General Hospital is astounding and the story they were telling on this programme was heartbreaking.

Our Health Minister when asked to be interviewed only sent some banal blah blah comment. Time to step up Sarah. It can't be too hard to do better than Michael.

This shocking state of affairs cannot go on.

THE big debate is on, regarding the seal of confession versus the law of the land. It is a dilemma that must be resolved by the Catholic Church.

It is a difficult time right now for Catholics to hear and read the news and commentary of people who are not of our faith. Some comments are insulting, whilst others are based on ignorance of our faith.

Many of our lawmakers, disregard, or do not understand the sanctity of religious belief and its depth of meaning to those who do believe. There is no doubt that much harm has been perpetrated by clergy, religious and lay people on innocent children, the consequences of which, need to be addressed with respect, compassion and empathy.

The law of the land requires that the seal of confession must be thrown open and penitents who confess the vile sin of pedophilia must be reported to police. There is little doubt that this new law provides the Pope, Priests and Bishops with a difficult situation.

The Bible provides some assistance, in John 20:22, in which Jesus conferred on the apostles, the power to forgive or to retain sins.

Surely then, sins of sexual abuse can be retained and the penitent informed that such sins will automatically be reported to police.

It is very doubtful that such sins by anyone would now be confessed in view of the law. The seal of confession remains intact.

MALCOLM Cowan writes about the gondolas' impact on the Gorge in Hot Topic (The Examiner, September 8).

He quotes the Joni Mitchell classic "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. You don't know what you've got till it's gone". He also states: "We are threatening our naturally peaceful and pristine areas for the sake of visitation numbers".

Malcolm Cowan and the bike riding fraternity should apply that same logic to the North East Railway Line. The submission for the rail trail in the North East was predicated on 455 riders per week.

Surely the environment would be more preserved with visitors being contained on a train and seeing our spectacular views from the window of the train while tasting our local wines, cheese and other gourmet delights in a convivial atmosphere.

Why would a bike path be put through a railway tunnel, when it was built for a train?

He also makes comments about the gondolas only creating limited jobs.

The North East Railway will create many more jobs and training opportunities than a bike path. Subject areas such as driver training, engineering welding, track laying welding, bridge construction, electrical/electronics, hospitality and visitor interpretation just to name a few.

The operation of the railway line from Launceston will provide another tourist attraction for Launceston with access to George Town and the North East. Accommodation operators will benefit from the increased visitor numbers and stay longer.

LONG-TERM planning is fine but start now. Balance the Wellington Street flow over the bridge to East Tamar Highway - the current traffic light mismatch is ridiculous.

Forget the junkets to Europe. The fuss about the height of the Verge Hotel raises important points. Amsterdam is below the height of Invermay. The highest point in Copenhagen is three floors short of the Silos Hotel. Paris boulevards were created by Napoleon having thousands of homes destroyed to get his troops in quickly.

Wellington Street is not a "perambulatory" boulevard. The climb to West Launceston is correct for a Category Climb in the Tour de France. Nobody goes shopping on a push bike. I doubt any councillors attend the meetings on a bike and students do not cycle to UTAS in winter. Developments around Bunnings and the Railway Workshops will be a traffic nightmare without parking.