Always divisive
Bet on anything
SINCE the days of the early settlers, Australians have been well known as prolific gamblers. We Australians would bet on a spider crawling up a window, we would bet on the Melbourne Cup, we would pour vast sums into the biggest casino of all, the stock exchange, and we’d go for the pokies. To me, a pokie is just a form of legalised larceny: the infernal machines are programmed to take in more than they pay out. Politicians who want to take them out of pubs and clubs are trying to make a political football out of it, they should be aspiring to get rid of the wretched devices altogether but that would be far too difficult. If the pokies did go, the addict would find something else.
Online gambling is going great guns and just about everybody has a computer or access to one, and online gambling is the most insidious form of gambling. With the pokies, at least some of the money stays in Tasmania. With online gambling the money vanishes forever. The politicians trying to get pokies out of pubs and clubs are naive or puerile, or both. They won’t win my vote. erals under Malcolm Turnbull are trying to reduce the donations that ordinary Australians can make, not only to GetUp! but also many other minority groups trying to bring concerns of normal Australians into the focus of everyday Australians. LEIGH Carmichael summed up the Australia Day debate perfectly when he said, While it remains on January 26 it will always be divisive. Every thinking person will have difficulty arguing he is wrong on that point. So why can’t politicians from all parties pull their head out of the sand, start the discussion on what date is acceptable to all Australians, and leave the political point scoring in the rubbish bin where it belongs?
Roadwork co-ordination
THE City of Hobart appreciates concerns in relation to roadworks; we apologise for inconvenience people may have experienced. It is important to note many of the works requiring road closure are outside council control, such as emergency construction works and some private events. We liaise with all parties doing works to review alternative routes as well as options for night works where practicable. Officers work with Tasmania Police and Department of State Growth to monitor traffic to make changes to help alleviate areas of gridlock. The council will use its website, social media, advertisements and electronic signs advising drivers to preplan routes. To avoid repercussions of multi-works, a communication network involving roadworks parties will be reviewed and co-ordinated to avoid major impact on important arterial routes and suburbs. Reconstruction works such as in Mellifont St are critical and carried out to ensure the road is safe for all users. We are aware that with schools resuming next week there will be increases in traffic so we ask the public to assist by taking early notice of all road signs with dates and information including media and social announcements and plan alternative routes if necessary or by leaving earlier.
Much faster treatment
SEVEN years ago I had symptoms of bowel cancer and to confirm this my doctor ordered a colonoscopy. I waited 16 months to have the procedure done at the RHH followed by treatment of the cancer. In December my doctor thought it was about time for a follow-up colonoscopy, I was contacted by the Endoscopy unit who apologised when they told me I would not be seen until January 9 because of the Christmas break. Sixteen months down to less than a month, Michael Ferguson versus Michelle O’Byrne, no contest if you ask me.