YOUR SAY: More should be done to support public schools

Of course nothing will change while the decision makers do not support public education in their own choices. Much could be written but how things would change for the benefit of a greater number of students if governments adopted the notion of making the local school the best it could be and funding it accordingly. Under the banner of parental choice, the importance of the local school has been diminished and in this the lowest socioeconomic areas suffer. The issue of parental choice is at the heart of the funding debate.

Ralph Marshall, Launceston

A BIG thank you to retiring Greens leader, Cassy O'Connor, for being a steadfast ally of, and advocate for, Tasmania's LGBTIQA+ community.

She has prodded government, asked probing questions and stood up to prejudice hundreds of times.

But there are two achievements in particular she should take a bow for.

One was the motion that saw the Tasmanian Parliament become the first in the nation to support the principle of marriage equality.

The other was her co-sponsorship of, and compelling advocacy for, Tasmania's world-class gender recognition laws.

Tasmania is a better place because of Cassy's dedication to equality and inclusion.

Rodney Croome, Equality Tasmania, Hobart

I AM relieved to hear Cassy O'Connor is not bowing out of politics altogether. I would like to see her become a member of the Legislative Council where her strong voice and ethics might have an even greater impact than now.

Deb Thomson, Launceston

CORRECTIONS Minister Elise Archer has told a parliamentary committee the score a Tasmanian prisoner officer applicant needed to attain in order to be recruited was reduced as too many were not reaching the threshold (The Examiner, July 14).

Well we should consider ourselves lucky she is not in charge of our airline pilots or our surgeons. Lord knows where we would be then.

Allan Slater, Ravenswood

IF I use the self serve checkouts, do I get a staff discount?

Andrew Whitehead, South Launceston

THE mystery of the disappearance of Shyanne-Lee Tatnell deepens when we consider that cell-phone tower data, which is kept on file for months, could not (or was not) used to trace the missing girl's location.

A smart phone pings towers even when it is 'switched off', which is really just a sleep or standby mode. Elsewhere around the world this data is used to locate people accused of crimes, who have gone missing, kidnapped etc. Parents can even get an app that keeps track of the location of their children.

And yet we only hear of the meagre security camera footage and nothing of the mobile location. One assumes that, unlike most teenagers, she either didn't have a phone or didn't have it with her.

It would be interesting to learn why the mobile dimension has not been mentioned in news reports.

Robert Stonjek, Kings Meadows

I AM one of those people that took up smoking later in life in my mid 30's which is probably the worst decision I made that affected my health and lifestyle. The decision by the Federal government to tax these items to make them unfinancial to smoke is working but how far can you go before banning tobacco which will not work because making something illegal only makes it harder to get and brings in the criminal element? People who can't give up can and will go to any lengths to obtain their form of addiction. One of the simpler solutions that come to light is to make cigarettes and tobacco dispensed like medicine with proper programs helping to give up the addiction and in some cases financial predicaments that smoking can cause to a family.

Anthony Galvin, Launceston