Incentives to move

More roads, more cars

THE article “Residents tell of causeway chaos” ( Mercury, April 7) continues the numerous articles and letters regarding Hobart’s traffic issues. This time it is the turn of the Sorell-Midway Point causeway. Yet again the only solution suggested is the simplistic one of adding two lanes to both sides of the causeway. There is irrefutable evidence that the more roads that are built the more cars will use them. Consider what a much better place Hobart and Tasmania would be if the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to add these four lanes were spent on preventive health care; employing more park rangers to ensure our spectacular natural areas were properly protected; and resourcing our schools and colleges so our children re-

Prosper but be generous

I OWN not one but two small businesses, and am always looking to make good business decisions, but when I heard the Government is planning on cutting $400 million from Australian aid, following cuts every year since 2014, I felt sick. I am tired of the inexorable focus on getting the budget back into surplus, reductions in company tax and the bottom line. When our government makes cuts that reduce its ability to help people desperately in need, many of whom are children, that is a bad business decision. Worse, it’s heartless. I call on all Tasmanian federal representatives to oppose further cuts. Make our nation prosperous if you can, Mr Turnbull, but don’t you dare do it by cutting our generous Australian spirit. THE population demographic is extremely city orientated, with all the usual symptoms of congestion. How to get new arrivals and Australian-born people into outlying areas is the challenge. As Robert Armstrong wrote, financial incentive is a key factor (Letters, April 6). It ought be provided in the form of taxation relief, social security and housing subsidy. Infrastructure and a stable economy will segue.