So people from Tasmania can travel without the hassle of going though Victoria on the borders.

THE landscape of the values of our society that we know has changed. We now must contend with this insidious virus that has gripped the planet that we occupy.

Some portions of our civilisation have embraced the self-evident rules that must be obeyed. Yet others have violated seemingly sensibility, citing their freedom as people to protest human basic rights.

The failure to differentiate, between the need for humanity to survive this dreaded curse and to plead the case for nirvana in the way we treat our fellow man, leads us to a crossroads of questions that must be asked. Do we adopt a stance and protect the needs of the greater populace, or do we focus our energy, in an attempt to remedy some of the societal sins, perhaps we channel our energies on issues that outweigh our current plight?

The answer is so simple, let us not be blinded by what the vocal minority define as a must, let us as a society focus our energies on what is absolute truthful trust. Society will survive when the will of the majority will prevail.

THE Northern Midlands Council needs to fix what's already broken before media stunts like a $10,000 blue tree eyesore paint job. A lack of maintenance sees the Perth tourist train park carvings rotting away. The 10,000 flagpoles installed nearby at Christmas are barren. Why some backup flags aren't put up to keep the streetscape cheerful is beyond me.

Meanwhile, their team is busy being an owner, developer, and rule-maker of an ex flood zone next to a railway line. Voted against by the mayor. Ratepayers look on in amazement at their antics, while their rates support these endless follies.

RECENTLY there have been several conflicting and confusing reports to do with the performance of the City of Launceston council managing and mismanaging major public works projects in the city.

Will the council now put all this fruitless and unhelpful community debate to one side by publishing a list of all major projects that have been carried out or completed in the life of this current council telling residents and ratepayer what major projects, that is all significant projects, that have been delivered on time and within allocated budgets and pointing out where there have or have not been any budget overruns or savings made?

HOW inspiring to read on an information board on the Tarkine Drive that the forest is a global treasure. How depressing to read on the same board to beware of mining and logging trucks.

ONE can only speculate on the recent drought assistance grant coup for Launceston.

The classically anti-red tape Liberal party have conveniently applied the red tape that says "commercial in confidence".

I suspect the council would have been encouraged to dip their toe in.

This immediately puts them in a bind.

Don't apply, and possibly put a small government offside with a big government.

Do apply, and they're obliged to join in the chorus of the local member for Bass defending such blatant siphoning of cash.

There will no doubt be much cheering for the windfall.

Just don't ask how funds earmarked for drought assistance came to a town whose foundations are built on the South Esk, one of the longest and most reliable waterways in the state.

AS TUMBLEWEEDS roll down St John Street due to an ill political wind of political partisanship in drought-declared Launceston, one of the driest municipalities, Glamorgan Spring Bay, located in the Lyons electorate on Tasmania's east coast, simply cannot compete with the marginal electorate of Bass?

I find it difficult to have empathy for the plight of our rural communities.

In general, these communities seem to continually support the conservative side of politics, the latest byelection in NSW with an increase in primary votes to the conservatives is an example.

The Liberals appear to have an interest only in selling off all industry to overseas interests.

The Nationals appear to consider primary industry as being mining only, farming doesn't appear to count.

Perhaps we need a Country Party (remember them before they morphed into the sorry Nationals).

The new Country Party should be non-aligned and certainly not be in a coalition and truly give our primary producers (the real ones - our farmers) a representative and effective voice.