Tenancies and Airbnb
GIVING tenants even more rights is terribly counter-productive to landlords providing housing.
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These rights are the very reason landlords are converting to Airbnb-type rentals. It gives them the ability to keep their properties, houses and gardens, maintained and pristine. If the government wishes to give more rights to tenants, it should only apply to its own properties.
Letting a property on the overnight market on the average draws no more income for the landlord, but it does allow owners to keep their investments. It is mind-numbing to see what a tenant can do to property while the law prevents any intervention by the owner. The rightful owner, or rightless owner? Drive down any street and work out which homes are tenanted: you get my drift.
Ross Gasking, Heybridge.
Royal Visit
HOW do we measure the value of royal junkets that benefit few but are paid for by many? William's visit five times in five years seems excessive and costly to the Australian taxpayer. We are told that this new visit may promote tourism. Will British royalty do better than American royalty that saw Oprah Winfrey's visit as non- productive? As far as the bushfire disaster relief fund is concerned there has already been overwhelming financial support and international donations. This source may already be exhausted. I agree with the Opposition leader's view that our Prime Minister thinks marketing and spin will solve every problem.
Gail Warren, Devonport.
Submarine Deal
THE $50 billion French submarine deal signed by Christopher Pyne, Scott Morrison and French Minister Florence Parly, would put the dampers on any surplus the government is constantly promoting.
The submarines are to protect our coastline, this is World War 1 defence strategy.
Billions of dollars should be spent on preparing for the future global warming catastrophes our scientists are predicting.
Could it be said that the SUB-SAGA is the greatest blunder made in Australian history.
It is reported that the first delivery is scheduled in 2032 . I bet it's not.
Hugh Boyd, Prospectvale.
Island Transformation
REGARDING a news item by Rob Inglis (The Examiner, February 13).
Macquarie Island is situated 1500kms south east of Tasmania about halfway to Antarctica. Only 34kms long by 5.5kms wide. It is the property of Tasmania and is heritage listed. The only inhabitants are at the sub Antarctia Research Station.
Our state and federal government have jointly paid $25 million to Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project to rid the island of rabbits and rodents that are eating the vegetation and birds' eggs. If our governments can find $25 million for an island in the middle of nowhere, they should be able to find $25 million towards dredging our sad, unhygienic Tamar River, which would benefit the whole city of Launceston.
Paul Richardson, Trevallyn.
Aboriginal Languages being taught in schools
HE HAD to do it, didn't he?
Our new Minister for Education had to announce his presence with something which would make the newspapers.
Recently, we learned that Australia had fallen behind the rest of the world in educational standards, and that those of Tasmania were among the worst in this nation.
So what does our Minister come up with? Does he address this shameful news? Does he attempt to declutter the timetable?
Does he try to address the little time that is actually spent in class these days?
No.
His vision is that by grade five or six, every single student could get up and provide an acknowledgement of country in the most respectful way in our first nation language (The Examiner, February 14).
When will he accept history?
Truganini was a woman widely considered to have been the last full-blooded Aboriginal Tasmanian.
She died on May 8, 1876, a 144 years ago.
Thus, there are no full-blood Tasmanian Aborigines living.
They have all died, they have passed on.
They have ceased to be, they are extinct.
What we have now is a vocal Aboriginal minority (of which not all are related to Tasmanian forebears), and many of who are milking the system.
I speak from first hand experience.
Jeremy Rockliff's ideology is reminiscent of that which prevailed in classrooms in pre-war Germany, and portends the insidious indoctrination which followed.
D J Graham, Devonport.
Aboriginal language Indigenous decision
Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff's idea for Tasmanian Aboriginal language to be in schools surely should be something the Aboriginal community decides on?
Although it is a good thing to support language awareness, Tasmanian Aboriginal language is already available for public use with the Aboriginal community recently sharing over 180 original names for places in lutruwita (Tasmania) available online an interactive map.
These palawa kani place names include some history for the words and you can hear each one said.
The Education Minister and schools can get a head start by using this excellent resource to learn language already publicly available on the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre's website.
Daisy Allan, Invermay.