Ridiculous ritual
EDUCATION Minister Jeremy Rockliff should have consulted with schools before he decided to tighten regulations in the Education Act on student attendance. Every teacher of every class in every high school is required to insert using their tablets attendance information as to who is in their class and who is not. The ritual is being done at minimum seven times per day taking valuable time away from instruction. The data is no doubt inaccurate as students move between classrooms, libraries and computer rooms and relief staff are left to shuffle paper lists to school offices if they are lucky enough to be even told of the process, let alone be provided with various subject class lists. As for parents who take their children on a family holiday during term time; if this is acceptable then it beggars belief that the grandparent who took her three grandchildren to Surfers Paradise annually for three weeks at the school where I was principal, four weeks prior to the end of term because the airfares were cheaper, would escape any questioning. aid every year is not just in access to education, it is in every area of humanitarian relief and in programs, sadly it is also in lives. Australia’s capacity to respond to famine crises, support NGOs’ programs and research for better drugs to cure disease, has been significantly curtailed and in some instances discontinued. Australia is a signatory to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. As a Nation we are not contributing our fair share towards this commitment. We need to scale up our funding growth and again show global leadership in the fight to support a healthy future for those living in extreme poverty.
Climate sceptic
I’M a climate change sceptic, and I get annoyed by people ramming their point of view down my throat. Some of the ideas floating around the ether for alternative energy solutions are good and should be encouraged. However, whenever they are linked to “global warming”, I get turned off. These ideas should be sold on the basis that they are a good idea for future energy needs and not linked to a divisive climate change philosophy, and no, I don’t believe that one supports the other
Solar rip-off
I HAVE just got my latest bill from Aurora Energy. I have a rooftop solar installation and noticed that my solar feed-in rate drops from 28c per kWh down to a paltry 8.9c per kWh as from July 1. It’s so tiny I only saved $5 off my bill. Words fail me. To the bureaucrats, executives and politicians of the energy retailer that thought this was a good idea, and with a nod to the late Douglas Adams (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) they are a bunch of mindless idiots who will be the first against the wall when the revolution comes.
Hands off city
WHY doesn’t the University of Tasmania become Hobart City Inc? It would save further on the current charade of being a place of learning when all they really do now is property investment and development. We are to get another ugly building and potentially unlimited extra cars into the CBD, sign the place over to them and be done with it.
Nice junket
REGARDING the article in the Mercury July 25 on a plethora of Hobart city councillors jetting off to visit our sister city of Yaizu in Japan. Firstly, hands up those who have ever heard of Yaizu? Secondly, hands up those who have ever benefited from this sister city relationship? It seems the entire Hobart Council is going on this junket. They’ll have to charter a jet. I don’t suppose it would have anything to do with Yaizu being the home of Sapporo, the largest beer brewer in Japan. Who’s going to be holding the fort back here while they’re knocking back Yaizu’s finest?