TAMAR RIVER SOLUTIONS
I NOTE in all the ideas floated about the Tamar River problems, no mention of climate and what effect rising sea levels may have. It's likely that siltation in the upper reaches will get worse.
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The obvious solution, from one who doesn't have a stake in the outcome, would be for all maritime activities to be shifted downstream.
This was suggested over 10 years ago and could have been done by now.
Money has been wasted and will continue to be wasted, in a futile attempt to maintain immediate access to the waterways.
Turn the tidal basin into a wetlands, stabilise the mudflats with vegetation and eventually there will be a clearwater channel. Nothing will be resolved while people's mentality is still stuck in the mud.
History is against you, and so is the future.
Stay flexible, move and adapt.
Peter Needham, Bothwell.
CLINIC A TREASURE
THE WP Holman Clinic at Launceston General Hospital is a priceless treasure for the Launceston and surrounding communities. Its mission is to extend the lives of patients afflicted by cancer, often when time is short. Between the two of us, my wife and I have very recent, in-depth experience in both the radiology and chemotherapy services of the clinic.
Patients arriving at the clinic may have elements of fear, tension, and anxiety about their cancer situation. The treatment regime itself brings their condition up close and personal in the current moment.
At a treatment level the facilities, equipment and technical competence employed by the medical professionals, are world-class. It is as good as it gets.
Upon entering the clinic, patients are embraced in a warm and friendly culture of courtesy, empathy, and kindness.
It is truly astounding how consistently this culture of human kindness and professionalism is maintained. It is very personal and uplifting for patients. Our experience and observation have been that this warm, embracing culture is universal and unfailing for the patient population.
Bring together the medical professionalism and the human focus of the culture, and you have a priceless treasure for people very much in need.
Thank you, to everyone who has delivered this to us.
Ian McLean, Bracknell.
VIRAL ESCAPEE
THE Parable of the Lost Sheep, where 39 remain in the paddock while the farmer searches for the one who escapes, does not describe the government in its approach to dealing with the current COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
When it comes to hotel quarantine, there appears to be an inordinate focus on the success rate in containing the virus to the detriment and neglect of the one or so percent that is creating havoc. The current Victorian lock-down is the direct result of the failure of hotel quarantine which continues to be praised by the government for its success at looking after the majority of the quarantined without incident.
It is high time for the Commonwealth Government to take responsibility to build purpose quarantine facilities, well away from city centres, to minimise the risk of any COVID-19 outbreak that has had such a detrimental effect on the population.
Ed Sianski, West Moonah.
CRITICAL THINKING VALUED
I AM no Marxist Eric Abetz, and I studied humanities.
I appreciate our freedoms and, in particular, I appreciate the critical thinking that comes with studying subjects such as psychology, sociology, history and philosophy.
Critical thinking that informs me of a dog whistle when I see one.
You, sir, are a master at this.
How else can you conflate and compare the fundamentals of numeracy and literacy with a refocusing on our Indigenous history.
You love spraying the word "woke" around as if it is a form of weedkiller.
You write that our country has a record of celebrating, protecting and learning about its rich history.
Well, sir, we have not.
For over 200 years we lied to ourselves about terra nullius - that there were no occupiers of the land before the First Fleet.
One might suggest that it is time you 'woke' from your deep colonial slumber and embraced the 21st century.
Tony Newport, Hillwood.
MISSING THE MARK
AS a teacher, I give Senator Eric Abetz a D for his scathing assessment of the way students are being taught in Tasmanian schools (The Examiner, June 1).
The opinion piece avoided an E grading by including the line: "our teachers do a magnificent job. We should salute them".
Bizarrely, senator Abetz's piece argues against allowing identity politics into classrooms, while at the same time, the senator argues his own identity politics should be taught to students.
To suggest "the three Rs" - or as educators refer to it, literacy and numeracy - aren't well emphasised in Tasmanian schools is disappointing and misleading.
Let's leave curriculum reviews to the experts.
If the Liberal senator was serious about seeing education improvements in Tasmania, he would direct his political party, state andfederal, to address the funding inequalities our schools face.
Like senator Abetz's opinion piece, Tasmania's public school funding sits far short of a pass mark.