Federal control needed
IT IS easy to see why the health and aged services are in much a mess. It is a political football between politicians and between the federal and state jurisdictions. Continuing inquiries and royal commissions are ignored and fail to make significant changes.
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The answer - put it all under federal control? It works reasonably well in the UK so why not here? There is a lot of wasted funding in support of competing bureaucracies. It would be far better spent of medical and aged services. Governments are notorious for using funding inefficiently but that is compounded when both state and federal entities have their fingers in the pie.
Is it asking too much of political parties to tackle this in a cooperative bi-partisan manner? Probably it is as it would deprive them of so many opportunities to grandiosely publicly grandstand. And that, to them, is more important than actually providing better health and aged services. Such is the idiocy of life in 2021.
John Coulson, Dilston.
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Pave paradise
IT HAS been a year now since the Gutwein Government switched sites for the Northern Regional Prison, announcing that they had chosen a site on Crown land further up the road at Westbury. Almost two years since the government first announced that Westbury was given the dubious honour of being the "preferred" location for the new prison. The innocent members of the Westbury community have now had to live with the sentence of a prison on their doorstep for longer than some inmates' sentences.
The proposal is to rip out 15 hectares of bushland to warehouse 270 inmates in 10 years' time, which does nothing to curtail the overcrowding issues currently being faced. This 15 hectares of nature reserve currently house a variety of endangered flora and fauna species, including wedge-tailed eagles, masked owls and our iconic Tasmanian devils. For perspective, that is an area three times larger than Launceston's City Park that will be despoiled in the government's attempt to appear tough on crime. They truly want to pave paradise, and put up a prison site.
Martin Hamilton, Westbury.
LGH thanks
As a recipient of various services within the LGH (gynaecology clinic, ultrasound, MRI, CAT scan, pathology) over the past six months, I wish to give a big thank you to all staff members who have been wonderful, so friendly and caring, which is what one needs during a time of health uncertainty.
Margaret Dennis, Scottsdale.
Compassion lost
What an absolute disgrace by the federal government. The family who were dragged out of their life at Biloela provided more to that community in a short time than many who have lived there all their lives. This is plainly shown by the support from the Biloela community and across Australia. Their two little girls were born in Australia; surely that gives them instant citizenship. Now it has been advised that that the family are not suitable for re-location to New Zealand or USA and may be deported back to Sri Lanka. That would be a disaster for the little girls who know only Australia, let alone their parents being sent back to suffer more persecution. The federal government should grant permanent residency to really what is already a 50 per cent Australian family.
