Moratorium
SURELY it’s time for a moratorium on new fish farms, it wasn’t wanted in Okehampton Bay, it sounds like the people on King Island don’t want one, the Tasman Peninsula don’t want a 90ha one off Wedge Island, I am sure the people of Clifton Beach, Seven Mile Beach, Carlton and Primrose Sands won’t want debris washing up through Frederick Henry Bay from the proposed Storm Bay lease either.
People messier
BEFORE people start bleating about cleaning up after dogs maybe they should take a visit to Salamanca, especially the lower end of Montpelier Retreat and round the corner which could not be described as other than filthy. On any day
Heartbreaking
ANYTHING controlled by government is a shambles. Public health, mental health, Centrelink, public housing. We become numbers and statistics. Why should we vote for any of them? Common Ground was an excellent idea and functioning very well when Liz Thomas was involved. All this meddling is heartbreaking for tenants. Why can’t we have unsupported tenants as well. Hedy Thomas in particular has invested a lot of time helping tenants in art programs. If we start housing only supported tenants we are creating a stigma for all concerned. If it isn’t broken don’t fix it.
Job gains
THE government is making a huge mistake if it accepts the gambling industry’s grossly exaggerated figures for job losses following the removal of poker machines from clubs and pubs. Poker machines do not generate wealth or jobs, they just divert them from more productive and socially desirable activity. A study by Professor John Mangan found that, depending on the amount of gambling losses transferred to the casinos, removing pokies from clubs and pubs would provide a net benefit to the Tasmanian economy of between $45 million and $90 million, and 670 full-time jobs. Given the likely close-
Highly strung
THE Australian Open tennis seems to have degenerated (at times) into a frustrating fruitless exercise. During a match break, one female competitor from the US complained to the chair umpire there were no bananas and stubbornly stated she would not resume play until the energy giving fruit arrived. On another court, a Canadian competitor had his own banana moment, when on three occasions during a break, he was unable to peel back any of his, and thence dispatched them all to the ground. It seems that the Open has gone bananas this year, by making monkeys of the competition — game, set, and match.
Radios crucial
I AM curious to find out if any other people in the Huon area are having difficulties with poor, staticky FM radio reception. A couple of months ago we had the same problem which cleared up. It has returned and bang in the middle of bushfire season. I live in a rural area and rely on the radio not just for entertainment but for news and emergency warnings. Have listeners been made redundant? Will we be forced to listen to lifestreaming from a device? If the powers that be decided summer would be a good time to upgrade or do a bit of maintenance on the towers that provide crucial information they should be sacked.