Refreshing read
Statistics don’t tell all
RE Benedict Bartl’s comments (Talking Point, February 2). We are Airbnb hosts in Hobart. We built a modest apartment under our principal place of residence and converted the rest into two Airbnb apartments. We have five listings which are listed as entire house, two entire apartments and two private rooms in an apartment. However these are all in the one house. We have friends who retired and converted the lower part of their residence for Airbnb. This is listed as a whole apartment. I know there are couples with a mortgage that list their residence as an entire house and when it’s booked they move out and stay with friends or relatives and this helps pay their mortgage. There are other entrepreneurial types who have purchased a property solely for Airbnb. Purchasing for the rental market wouldn’t have been a viable option for them. These are a few examples that show the impact of Airbnb listings on rental availability is not nearly as great as many have been stating. Statistics can be very inaccurate. some too. Love Tassie and the Spirit of Tasmania experience from the wharf onwards, fix this weak link and you’re on a winner. Worth the three-day drive from Qld. WHAT an enjoyable read on Tasmanian psychiatrist Saxby Pridmore (TasWeekend, January 27). How refreshing to be enlightened on this inspirational man, a pioneer (ahead of his time), but so realistic, embracing life with open arms, but self deprecating, with honesty and integrity. His interests are varied, from academia to collector of all things unusual. This revolutionary guy would be great to sit down and enjoy a coffee with (his brew of course) and soak up his knowledge and stories.
Step up for Kurds
THE Kurdish people have suffered physical and cultural genocide since the creation of the Turkish state after World War I. Sadly, the world has always looked the other way. Now Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan has invaded the mainly Kurdish canton of Afrin in northern Syria. We must not let him get away with it. The Kurdish cantons are a beacon of hope for peace, secularism, multiculturalism and democratic rights in a region blighted by war, dictatorship and contempt for the rights of women and ethnic and religious minorities. They have taken in millions of refugees from war zones in Syria and Iraq. The world owes the Syrian Kurds a huge debt of gratitude. After lifting the siege of Kobane, they put the ISIS barbarians to flight and annihilated them in the city of Raqqa. Their victory was a victory for all of humanity. The Kurdish people believe they have “no friends but the mountains”. Let’s prove them wrong for once. The Australian government must use its influence at the United Nations to demand the immediate cessation of Turkish hostilities against Afrin. If Turkey refuses to comply, international sanctions must be imposed.
Bank savings
REFLECTING the overwhelming public opposition among Australians to losing their savings to prop up failing banks, the Senate Economics Legislation Committee revealed on January 25 that its inquiry into the APRA “bail-in” bill has received more than 1000 submissions from the public. The vast majority objected to the bail-in provisions of the bill, which would empower the bank regulator APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) to convert into worthless shares, or write off, the savings of unsuspecting mum-anddad investors, and possibly depositors, in order to cover the gambling losses of banks and keep them afloat.
Cable car query
A CABLE car would spoil the beauty and sanctity of kunanyi/Mt Wellington. Everyone knows how the Liberals and Greens stand. What is Labor’s views on a cable car on our majestic and sacred mountain? My view is simple, keep it wild and free for posterity.