We often hear sad and often tragic reports of students being bullied and harassed at school.

But having been a teacher for 40 years, I can confirm that this disgraceful behaviour also takes place in the staff rooms, lunchrooms and other employee locations in many schools.

The Education Department is the most toxic environment I have worked in during my 50 years of employment.

I have personally experienced bullying and witnessed several of my colleagues being subjected to the most appalling episodes.

I know of some excellent teachers who have left the profession as a result.

Regrettably, from my experience, complaints go unresolved in virtually every case as your report highlights and even the Tasmanian Industrial Commission is powerless to intervene.

Bullying in the playground and classroom will never stop while administrators themselves are involved in this disgusting behaviour.

I NOTE Rosemary Armitage's opinion piece on Tasmania's container deposit scheme in which she seeks some changes to the government's proposed model (The Examiner, April 28).

I recently briefed Ms Armitage along with other upper house members on this very subject. Unfortunately it was clear during the briefing she wasn't particularly interested in listening and having her mistaken views corrected.

Ms Armitage repeats in her opinion piece a load of nonsense propagated by Coca Cola through its front group Tas Recycle.

For instance, she says charities operating in NSW under the same governance model as Tasmania are proposing to receive only half the return of Queensland charities operating collection points. Again, pure nonsense designed to mislead charities and the community.

Why is Coca Cola so desperate to get control of Tasmania's container deposit scheme to the point where they are prepared to mislead and distort facts?

Because if they do get their mitts on it, they will create a less then convenient scheme for consumers in order to keep recycling rates low so they don't have to pay back consumers refunds.

There are billions of drinks sold in Australia each year and that means lots of 10 cent refunds, avoiding paying back some of these is worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the big beverage manufacturers.

It's unfortunate some, like Ms Armitage and Mr Kearney, have decided to drink the Kool-Aid.

Tasmania's proposed container deposit scheme will be good for the environment, consumers and community groups.

ONE wonders when watching a recent news report on the Chinese navy celebrating the commissioning of three new warships.

Was Australian iron ore used to make the steel for these ships?

If so, (and it is every possibility it was) let's hope the record prices offered for our iron ore has not clouded our sense of national security. Let's not be blind to what is happening just to our North, in the South China Sea.

I REFER to James Lutwyche letter (The Examiner, April 29).

You state the AFL has a larger crowd capacity sitting side by side.

The thing is they are seated in their allocated seats (easy for tracing).

Just imagine if just one person who was unaware they were carrying the COVID virus was walking around Agfest all day, interacting with so many people from all over our state and all the mainland visitors.

What a nightmare.

I feel sorry for the Agfest committee for all their hard work, and the people who missed out on tickets.

But really - do we want to go back into lockdown, or worse?

THE quota numbers at Agfest are ridiculous.

Just 10,000 a day, yet 22,000 at Symmons Plains and similar at the footy.

We have invested heavily to get there, like we have for the last 10 years.

Yet we found out through a mistake on our part that we cannot get tickets, but they can give us a car park pass.

So I guess the only chance is if there is a good Samaritan out there with some tickets we will be visiting tourist spots till the ferry leaves the following week.

We will probably not be back next year, unfortunately.

IT seems strange that Agfest visitors have been restricted to just 10,000 by the laws that are, when AFL matches are not.

The area that Agfest uses is mainly open ground, with just a few tents that the exhibitors use.

Whereas at the footy, you are sitting next to people and confined to the area for a fixed time.

Common sense would indicate that restrictions are over the top and should be repelled and no limit placed on the event.