For sale
If the major political parties had the slightest moral fortitude, they would release the names of those who contribute to their cause, at least that way we would all know who was paying the piper. After all there is no such thing as a free donation!
– Dr Ian Broinowski, Battery Point
Talking Rubbish
Together with roadkill, comments about the extent of rubbish on Tasmania’s highways and byways are a frequent criticism made by tourists, yet our roads continue to be guilty on both counts. Our scorecard both for both roadkill and litter is depressingly high, and it does our state no credit.
As well as being unsightly, the careless and thoughtless habit of tossing drink bottles, cans, cigarette butts, sundry bits of plastic, and takeaway food containers onto the verges creates a serious environmental and public health hazard. Surely nobody these days is unaware of the pollution from plastic that’s poisoning our waterways and oceans, and the terrible impacts it has on marine and aquatic life who ingest this plastic waste. Ultimately it also poses a serious health risk for us. Our land is also being poisoned from discarded rubbish leaching toxins and poisons into the soil, some of which can take many decades to fully decompose. Our food is being grown in this soil.
A psychologist is better placed than I am to explain why some people feel it’s acceptable to toss out their rubbish on the roadsides as they drive by, but with spring around the corner, and with thoughts turning towards spring cleaning, a reminder to us all to take a moment, and be a little more aware of our stunningly lovely island, and ensure the roadsides and pathways are also clear and free of litter. Regardless of who was responsible for dropping it.
Many more of us are walking, cycling and exploring our neighbourhoods in these strange COVID days. How much nicer it is when we don’t have to navigate a carelessly abandoned coffee cup, a half-empty juice bottle, or worse.
We can all help to lead the way by having cleaned up roadsides that are free of rubbish.
– Anne Layton-Bennett, Swan Bay
Jailbreak
The government’s final version of the Major Projects legislation reveals that they are hell bent on using the legislation on the Westbury prison if the standard planning process does not go their way. How many lies we will have to put up with on the path to pushing this prison far, far away from our small historic town to an appropriate location in an urban area, where there are all the proper resources inmates and correctional staff deserve?
The Premier himself promised us in person that the Major Projects legislation was not aimed at the prison. But one of the assessment criteria for a major project in the final draft of the Bill is whether a project’s activities are of interest to or for the benefit of a wider sector of the public than resides in its municipal area.
We know that having a prison in Westbury is of interest to people who reside outside the Meander Valley municipality, such as the Liberal government and in particular Minister Archer. It is clear that this final version of the Bill is targeted at the Westbury prison. This was not in the consultation draft circulated earlier this year. It has been inserted late, without notice and without any opportunity for anyone to comment.
It’s there to either scare us witless or to be used against us, or both. This is how it goes with this government: if they can’t win playing by the rules, they change the rules while trying to beat you into silence or submission.
WRAP calls on the Labor Party to oppose the Major Projects legislation. Based on our experience to date, you would not trust the Liberal Party as far as you could kick them, and this Bill gives them much more ammunition to use against Tasmanians.
– Linda Poulton, President WRAP Inc , Westbury
Counting Correctional Costs
One wonders why this money ($270 million prison budget) is not spent on the cause, stopping crime escalating, rather than something that punishes, so a prison is not required? Projects that can be desirable for those convicted of lesser crimes in house arrest? If required, more police for the initial cost of $270 million and paying their wages with what would otherwise be prison running costs and maintenance.
I am not certain that the [quote] Archer said the project was necessary “to address the challenges facing the state’s correctional system.” [end quote] in your article was fully addressed or at all, in the ‘Final Report’?
Then there are job claims. These are often made by governments and companies that are going to destroy something of environmental importance, with something that will not actually deliver what they suggest. Such inaccuracies they can explain away later, and if accepted or not, is of no consequence when the project is a fait accompli.
There is a question as to why locate it where it will destroy an environment of which there is so little left? Remember that approximately 20,000 hectares of residential land and forest was destroyed in the 2020 fires. There are alternative land options.
It would appear the cost of this prison will be far greater than $270 million, if such a natural area is to be destroyed for a facility that is purely for punishment, regardless of any real or imagined good it might do.
– Charlie Schroeder, East Gippsland (VIC)
It’s a kind of madness…
I’m not surprised STT haven’t gained FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification and it’s my opinion that the industry should be plantation-based only, then they would gain FSC which would open up new markets and then be sustainable with long term jobs, giving workers more certainty in the future. Albert Einstein is widely credited with saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”
FT or STT lose millions of our tax dollars every year and they need to change their practices. Albie gets it!
– Andrew MJ, Maydena
diversifying paper products
Having seen an article on abc news this morning about the Boyer paper mill struggling to survive, I sought to write to them but there isn’t an email contact section on the Norske site.
I saw large rolls of paper being conveyed around and immediately thought of our sewing machine embroidery exploits which many people worldwide are engaged in. We use products such as ‘tearaway, cutaway and washaway stabilisers’ which I recently realised were made in China or the US. You will appreciate that some businesses have been forced to diversify in order to save their livelihoods in these unprecedented times, and think more businesses need to manufacture at home in Australia rather than import the vast amount of products we utilise daily.
Since pulp is turned into paper for print, please suggest to all paper mills that they diversify and start producing products for our hobbies and businesses which we can source locally rather than abroad. I’m sure any sewing shop in the country will be willing to describe the products I have mentioned above and quality required.
– Ada Clarke, Gosnells (WA)
Editor’s note: Ada last visited Tasmania in 1983, and remembers us fondly. She said she had a wonderful time touring ‘a lovely little state’ and enjoyed a picnic at Perth before flying out to Melbourne.
It’s all wrong
Tasmanian place names are terrible. Most of them are stolen from Britain and Ireland anyway, and heaps are just plain wrong.
Take Queenstown for example. Has the queen ever been there? It should just be Town. Not very interesting, but at least straightforwardly descriptive in the classic Tasmanian manner of Southport, Mountain River, Chain of Lagoons, Main Road, Dismal Swamp and so on.
Then there’s Sorell. It’s about 264km from Port Sorell, so whoever did that was obviously having a weird little joke.
Lachlan Macquarie was some big shot and immodestly went around naming stuff after himself like the Macquarie River, and Elizabeth Town after his wife. If you think the Sorell joke is a road trip too far, try taking a lazy swim from Macquarie Harbour out through Macquarie Heads and on to Macquarie Island.
Some names are just deadset traps. Plenty. Plenty of what? Given that there is absolutely nothing there, I’ve had to come up with some alternative suggestions: take your pick of Skerrick, Tittle, Wee, Blip or Soupçon. Looking sideways at you too, Lottah.
Consistency is also an issue so I’m going to fix it. Arm yourself with one of the Premier’s new $100 gadabout vouchers and take a swing through Lawitta and Latrobe, finishing up at La-unceston.
I reckon some names can be salvaged though. Just a few letters can convert Pontville to Pontingville and let’s face it barely anyone will notice as they whizz by but we will have saluted the little legend.
And in honour of a pretty crap 2020, I’m going to propose renaming Binalong Bay to Binalong Year. By heck it has been.
– Harry Bryant, Launceston
COVID control
All governments love to be seen as proactive, working to further a cause especially if that cause makes a contribution to keeping their paws on the reins of power as they push a positive position to a worldly wise and increasingly suspicious and internet informed public. They pose and posture day after day, pushing facts and figures, getting as much political exposure to a gullible public as possible, all done in a totally controlled and staged setting in an effort to impress with an image of substance and ability.
Six months have come and gone, and the natives are getting restless as the real, unaddressed problems of an uncontrollable pandemic are rapidly becoming apparent.
Mr Premier what steps have been taken to protect those on the real battle ground, our nursing homes, aged care facilities, and the front-line health workers in our hospitals? You have had six months to plan your campaign. The required huge investment in ICU’s, the setting up of a ring of fire around our aged care facilities making them safe havens for those residents who depend on the care of others.
The opposition should ask the Gutwein government to provide the real figures for the increase in the number of ICU’s in this state from 30 March to the present. Hospital directors should be forced to make a statutory declaration over these numbers, the figures supplied by our pollies will prove unreliable. Tasmanians must be allowed to get on with their lives and wear the consequences.
The government should adopt a new slogan: This virus cannot be contained.
– John Hawkins, Chudleigh
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]
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