TRANSPORT NEEDS INSIGHT
I AM a new Tasmanian. A refugee Kiwi who was resident in Melbourne from 2000 to 2011.
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I know about traffic queues, as a semitrailer wrote of my car in Port Melbourne in 1994 on my way to a training session. I was saved by the fact that I wasn't carrying a load. My wife was pregnant with our first child, who is now 25.
Congestion is like ambulance ramping: out of control of the authorities, but able to mature by good practice management. Some suggestions. Work from home; flexi hours; expand bike lanes and ferries in Hobart and Launceston - we both have rivers and a maritime heritage.
Electric small cars. I have bought my last diesel car and the next Volvo will be a hybrid then the next fully electric. The concept of a car dealership is extinct for Volvo, they plan to sell cheaper cars over the internet.
Walk or ride to work. Less cars on road and be thankful you don't spend hours on the commute like in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. NBN in Tasmania is fibre to home.
I can report medical imaging from over 300 hospital sites in Australia and NZ in dressing gown and slippers.
Fraser Brown, Trevallyn.
HIGHER EDUCATION WOES
MANY states are pushing to get their foreign students back, but this leads to a series of questions.
Aren't there enough clever Aussies to fill these institutions or has our education system failed to such an extent that not enough would pass the entry exam?
Is it just the high fees they charge the foreign students? Or is it certain businesses that rely on the cheap foreign student labour pushing for their return?
The problem is that in order to gain these students the standards for passing falls or is falsely manipulated to give the appearance that these schools are better. The flow on effect is that the qualifications gained here in Australia are falling into the realms of the also rans.
Australian degrees were held in the highest esteem, but I know that in my field alone they are now viewed with sceptical light after too many foreign students left here and stuffed up when put to the test.
The foreign money doesn't make an institution better, it just makes it reliant on making sure more foreign students come.
Ken Terry, Bridport.
VOLUNTEER EFFORTS SAVE LIVES
This National Volunteer Week (May 17-23), Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia is shining a light on volunteers across the country who are making a tangible difference in the fight for a cancer free future.
Dedicated volunteers run more than 130 prostate cancer support groups around Australia, helping thousands of men and their partners through what is often, the most challenging experience of their life.
In addition, thousands of fundraisers volunteer their time every day to help us fund lifesaving research into more effective treatment options, to ultimately save lives.
Volunteers are the heart and soul of our charity and are the reason that survival rates continue to improve for Aussie men impacted by prostate cancer. In Australia, nearly 17,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, and around 95 per cent of men will survive their diagnosis.
There's still more work to be done, but for now, we want to say thank you. If you're reading this, and you volunteer, thank you.
Jeff Dunn, CEO Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.
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