Regulate on rental problem
THE renting out of rooms in private homes for only part of the year is what Airbnb was designed for, and it is of great benefit to tourists and homeowners. It also makes more economic sense then building lots of hotels because it is only at certain times of year that Hobart’s hotel availability fails to meet demand, so making temporary accommodation available in peak times when hotels are booked out is of great benefit.
The problem is investment property owners who Airbnb entire houses and units on a permanent basis. This reduces rental accommodation for local people, and rent rises as supply fails to meet demand. The proposal by Hobart council to build more rental accommodation is all well and good, but will fix nothing if Airbnb is not regulated. Changing the Statewide Planning Scheme to limit the number of days Airbnbs can be let for would fix rental availability and price problems because it would make renting investment properties to long-term tenants attractive again. It would provide economic security to accommodation businesses and keep tourists safer from fire. So stop being naive, State Government, and regulate Airbnb now. white minority government of prime minister Ian Smith had to go. His replacement spelt disaster. The country has suffered economic decline with increased political violence and corruption on a grand scale. Mugabe’s rule has been diametrically different to that of the late Nelson Mandela who said: “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony”. Let’s hope the same can be said of Zimbabwe.
Residue questions
HERE we go again, Bewsher and now Neville-Smith trying to get us all excited about a wonderful solution to the southern “residue” problem. This proposal says only certified plantation forests will be accepted, yet Sustainable Timber Tasmania supporters seem to think this is also a great solution for southern native forest “residue”. The applicant says this will not be so. The proponent says it would be a 100 per cent private project (does that mean no taxpayer handouts or leg ups?) Hope so. We will see if this gets up.
Free speech
I READ about the staff member from the Huon Valley Council who was counselled for speaking their mind in a Facebook post on the vandalism spree at Huonville ( Mercury, November 21). I always thought there was such a thing as free speech. What a bunch of do-gooders we are becoming. The council tries to make public areas look better for everyone and this is taken away by these idiots that do the vandalism, and it is costing the taxpayers heaps.
Jobs for the boys
I HAD a chuckle at the article about jobs for the boys ( Mercury, November 21). My late father (unidentified; his name was different to mine) was conducting interviews for a job in the State Public Service in the 1980s. He was told in no uncertain terms who the successful candidate was to be (a relative apparently of one of his superiors). The interview process of several applicants was a charade that still had to be conducted.
Roughing it
MANY, many years ago, we visited Coles Bay and Wineglass Bay. We had to scramble over colourful sandstone folds created by mother nature, wrestle with bracken and brambles, trudge over marshy ground. It was a trying trek, but we made it with scratches and bruises and a magnificent view of Wineglass Bay while perched on a rocky outcrop. Now it’s like an early morning walk with your dog around your neighbourhood and you have to pay for it. Where has all the adventure gone in bushwalking? Lost forever in this never-ending quest for money. As for setting up a site for tourists at the bottom of Federation Peak, you would have to be joking.