So many Australians are acknowledged and awarded publicly for achievements far less than this heroic sacrifice.

This young man strapped himself to a gun on a sinking ship, firing it at enemy aircraft till it submerged, "knowing he was going to die". This heroic act was to stop or divert the enemy aircraft from strafing his comrades trying to survive in the water.

Wow, it has been said that politicians instigate and start wars but seldom go to war, so surely they can at least and acknowledge those who go and perform these great feats of bravery. The Australian Government gets so many things right, but this is a disgrace and a blight on our sense of fair and reasonable actions. At an extremely young age this man gave the ultimate for his country, "his life" whilst defending his fellow comrades.

His reward without question should be Australia's highest accolade, the Victoria Cross. Why are we posturing?

LAST year I was diagnosed with cancer. Fortunately the tumour was removed and I was advised on six month of chemotherapy.

The side effects were many and I would like to thank my doctor at the West Tamar Health Clinic for her support and care above and beyond the call of duty. She would talk me through my problems and was always available when I needed a shoulder to cry on. Dr Venter, you were my prop in bad times and without you and my wife I would not have been able to complete the chemotherapy. I would like to publicly thank you for your time and dedication.

AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister wants an inquiry which he claims is absolutely critical for an international investigation.

China's record of allowing outsiders to poke their nose into their affairs is non compliant. It may be ok to have a "royal commission" in Australia but the chance to carry out an open investigation in China is wishful thinking. Diplomacy at its worst.

Morrison's advisers should go back to the drawing board, sharpen their pencils, use a rubber (eraser), sit down with the Chinese and seek their thoughts on this matter.

At the moment China could bring Australia down on its knees if we don't think this through. Be big enough to reset the plan and focus on working together, government to government, on an outcome that will benefit everyone. A partnership approach could harness the enthusiasm for the greater good before haste spearheads trouble we can't turn back from. Put the fire out now before it takes hold.

I WOULD be nervous if I were an Aussie grain, meat, wine or fruit exporter, (maybe wool), with China as my main market.

After Bellamy's suffered economic coercion from China, they swanned in and bought the whole shooting match.

I suggest that anybody with any business that has China as its major trading partner is at risk of the same strategy, that is cripple their cash flow, then swoop in and buy the lot. Food security is their biggest fear.

WHAT many people fail to appreciate, including Heritage, not Highrise, is that low-rise buildings/developments can be just as destructive to a city's character as highrise.

Paul Davies, the heritage guru often referred to, agrees. And he has also just completed a central city study taking over a year and concluded that central Launceston can have buildings of any height.

Some examples of small developments that are adversely impacting our CBD are - the recently added air-conditioning equipment and picket screening on the Target facade which totally destroys the wonderful Charles Street streetscape; the very sterile forecourt of the new CH Smith complex and that for some strange reason, is crudely fenced off; the poorly designed mall roofs; and quite inexplicably, the installation of highly visible air-conditioning equipment on the roof of the brand new Verge Hotel.

So before we get agitated over the height of a Gorge or Fragrance Hotel, we should first give much more consideration to the quality of low-rise design, to development at street level, that is at pedestrian level, the level where we go about our lives.

Let's agitate towards making that environment truly enriching and uplifting.

RECENTLY I had a discussion about the worrying government strategy to bypass planning with its new major projects bill.

It seems to me the government has been driven to this point by the blocking of good development by NIMBYs and the extremely restrictive planning process, and the NIMBY's have been justified in their resistance because the developer plans put forward were generally the lowest cost, most objectionable but convenient for them, projects imaginable. The cable car projects north and south come to mind.

Jimmy Lee (The Examiner, May 18) claims that Dove Lake is wilderness, it most certainly is not, it is the gateway to the wilderness, and it is a drive to the destination for hundreds of thousands of tourists each year.

But the question, is the new building suitable, is certainly reasonable to ask.

I visited the viewing station at Mount St Helens volcano a few years back and frankly, it was essentially invisible, being almost entirely underground except for amazing panoramic windows directed at the mountain.

Is the brief for the Dove Lake building to be a piece of architecture to be marvelled at in its own right, or is it to be a building not even noticeable in the landscape, I wonder?