Letters are welcome on any Tasmanian subject, up to 250 words. Letters should be concise, respectful of others and rely on evidence where necessary. No links please! Letter writers should provide a real name and town / suburb. Submit letters in the body of an email to [email protected]
Comments are turned off on this post…send us a letter!
Off yer pedestal, old son!
It’s ludicrous that police have been deployed to protect a statue of James Cook. One hopes that Tasmanian Police are not daft and regressive enough to do the same thing. Frankly most people would probably not care if mouldy old statues in parks and other places were replaced with something more interesting, or just vanished altogether. As for the ‘but-nobody’s-perfect’ and ‘he-was-only-a-little-bit-racist-and-besides-he-did-a-lot-of-good’ brigade, let me say this: if a person is going to be cast larger than life in bronze, (usually) at public expense, and occupy a piece of public space more or less forever, and be positioned so that every passer by must look up to them…surely we must collectively set the bar extremely high indeed?
– Barbara McGregor, Exeter
Uncharitable
Dear Senator Chandler,
Regarding your interview with Peter Gleeson on Sky News about the Bob Brown Foundation, I do not believe that the Bob Brown Foundation should lose its charity status. I believe that the protesters are rightfully highlighting the incredibly devastating loss of wildlife habitat that occurs due to native forest logging. Without the protesters, people would not know how logging is affecting our precious wilderness. In Tasmania we have a huge plantation estate yet we continue with the criminal act of logging native forest. People all around the world are aghast that this kind of forestry is still occurring in Tasmania. And we dare to call it sustainable.
– Felicity Holmes, Blackmans Bay
Visitor Centre Debacle
It is very easy to understand why local Tourism operators are annoyed and distressed, at the way in which our Council suddenly
closed the two Visitor Centres in Huonville and Geeveston. It appears there was no consultation with the industry,over the twelve months that the huge losses were under consideration. Why was there no attempt to consider other business models, to achieve more cost effective financial operations? With borders closed and flights grounded, would it have been reasonable to close the Centres temporarily during the pandemic?
However, to close them permanently, with no future alternatives, reveals a lack of appreciation and concern for the future viability of both tourism operators and the Huon Valley economy. And why did they pull the plug just at the time that COVID – 19 restrictions are starting to be lifted, and Tourism Tasmania is about to launch a new campaign to encourage visitors within the state?
The Centres had high staff costs, and limited opportunity to earn enough revenue, because past Councils slashed the tourism budget and consistently failed to promote local attractions. No consumer awareness equals lack of demand, because visitors go to places they have heard about, and spend their money there. This whole situation is an example of poor planning and governance, and will only be rectified when HVC consults with tourism experts instead of blindly following advice from unqualified Council staff!
– Alan Robson, Glaziers Bay
Are you getting enough vitamins?
In a recent interview Irish immunologist Dr Dolores Cahill has stated that social isolation is completely unnecessary. In fact, more people would die from the effects of isolation whether mentally, economically or physically than from Covid-19 itself. Furthermore, when governments first became aware of the virus, they should have warned the population that they should ensure they were getting enough Vitamin C, D and Zinc in order to boost their immune systems.
– Estelle Ross, Riverside
Ode to George Floyd
George
I bet you never knew
Just how that day
Would end
Heroes rarely
Get to choose
And martyrs
Are rarely brave
In death George
You have raised
An army to your breath
The breath you
Didn’t take as
Your spirit left
Under Derek’s knee
The fear
In his eyes
Mirrored the
Lack of air
In your lungs
Your cartoid artery
No match for
Its past as
Everything went
Black as anger
Rose
Worldwide via eager
Media songs your
Death exploded
A catalyst to the
Dispossessed
Lives matter
As they scatter
But few fly
As far and
As hard<
As yours George
Derek’s not good
His life a cell
He seems confused
Regretful and worried
What will happen
In a jail full of black men
You have not died
In vain George
Your daughter’s tears
Will fertilise your
Memory grows
And you passing
Teaches us
That we can
Never know
Just
How the day
Will end
– John Reeves, Dover
