Secondly, when a child who has been abused speaks out, no one listens or acts and it takes many attempts by the child and their parents to have the abuse firstly believed and then acted on. The physical and mental scars on these survivors and their families must be near unbearable.

The inquiry at present is looking at teachers, but it has been shown that some in power in religion, youth groups and aged care, to name a few organisations, have used their authority for their own gratification, not at all concerned about those they have abused.

Reading that in this inquiry and other past inquiries regarding sexual abuse that the governing bodies of those employing predators have tried to sweep the accusations under the carpet, often calling the accusers liars and keeping the perpetrators in employment or moving them to another place of employment where they have continued their revolting actions. Hopefully, this inquiry will go some way to ensuring that these types of abhorrent actions do not happen again. Well done to those who have told their sad stories to the inquiry, they need to be commended for their bravery in reliving their nightmares.

THE unique attraction of Cradle Mountain is its untouched natural beauty, not a theme-park style cableway. Just as Launceston residents and Hands Off Our Gorge convinced council that we love our Gorge without the intrusion of cables and 4WD-sized cable cars, so everyone loves Cradle Mountain without cables. The road and buses do a fine and flexible job of transporting passengers, and would not be replaced by the proposed cableway, it would just add impact. Leave our wilderness alone, and use the money for managing the natural values well instead.

THIS National Volunteer Week (May 16-22), I want to recognise the many unsung local heroes who support the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

With thanks to their support, we have just celebrated 10 years of our Prostate Cancer Specialist Nursing Service, with 100 specialist nurses nationwide, who have delivered over 260,000 occasions of service. Equally, their support has helped us to fund the $1.6 million Evolution clinical trial, with recruitment is now underway to help save the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer.

PCFA was founded by volunteers 26 years ago and continues in that fine tradition today serving men and families who need us.

They lift us up, they carry us forward, and they will one day take us home to a world free from the pain of prostate cancer.

I WRITE in response to (The Examiner's editorial, May12).

I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment that "your vote is important" and congratulate The Examiner for providing readers with useful profiles of all the candidates in Bass.

There is one important point that must be corrected. The editorial states: "your vote will be eventually passed on to someone else through preference deals." The voter alone chooses how they allocate their preferences.

So-called preference deals are parties agreeing to positions on each other's how-to-vote cards: candidates' suggestions of how they would like you to vote.

Preference deals only make a difference if voters follow how-to-vote cards.

Your preferences will only ever go where you put them on your ballot paper. Preference deals don't alter what you put on your ballot paper.

Please think it through and number all the boxes in the order of your preference.

For more information and an explanation of how preferential voting works have a look at the AEC website.

AFTER reading an article in (The Examiner, May 16) about road safety, I felt compelled to write on the matter of tailgating, especially on the open road.

Having driven on numerous occasions with cars and buses less than a car's length behind me on wet and dry roads, I was wondering, is there a mandated safe distance that the following cars should be observing?

I would have thought so and is the distance different within the 60km/h speed limit as opposed to highway speed.