Bias query

MINISTER Rene Hidding’s announcement that he will monitor the media on the same-sex marriage debate to call out bias needs careful consideration, for the idea that bias would be demonstrated simply by a preponderance of coverage for one side rather than the other is false. A mouse and an elephant on a seesaw cannot be balanced. It is not a matter of bias, but of gravity. Similarly, balance in the coverage of whether marriage should be equally available to both hetero and homosexual couples should be determined by the weight of evidence the two sides bring to the argument. Speculations about “where all this might lead” are not arguments that deserve to be given weight

Full house

KATHRYN Barnsley was quite right that there was a big hue and cry when it was decided to ban smoking in pubs but everyone got over it (Letters, September 16). She feels this will be the same with pokies. The only snag is that the vast majority of pubs have an outdoor area where smokers can have a puff. Smoking was not banned completely, only inside. If pokies are banned from pubs, there should be an outdoor area where those who play responsibly can have a punt. What’s good for smokers should be good for pokies players.

Not a great deal

MINISTER Guy Barnett’s numbers don`t add up: 29,000ha, with an average of 350 tons per hectare (including peeler, saw and pulpwood logs) and a royalty of $28 a ton, should have returned to Sustainable Timber Tasmania $284,200,000. So where’s the great deal in that?