Energy foibles

City character ruined

READER Miles Pitman (Letters, July 26) is totally correct in his assessment of the Statewide Planning Scheme. Like other victims in Sandy Bay, we have now been held hostage to its unpleasant consequences for almost two years. The mini city behind us, too small for the internal block on which it is being built, has disrupted the peace of our neighbourhood with trucks and cranes for all this time, almost daily from about 7am. Imagine being subjected to this constant daily noise for this length of time. All supplies for this enormous construction project are trucked and manhandled in from the single exit lane beside us since there is no turning space left on the block itself and none of the buildings being constructed have street frontage.

Thanks to the many leniencies doled out by Hobart City Council, the neighbours are now overshadowed, overlooked, had push backs on boundaries and are subjected all these months to constant building noises from morning to night.

The overuse of the single muddy exit laneway has led to road degradation, requiring cleanings by council. The traffic THERE has been a lot of political chatter and public pain about high electricity prices and the reason for them. It is about time the responsibility was sheeted home to the politicians who flogged off and privatised the electrical generation and distribution systems of Australia (Tasmania excepted). Perhaps the electrical generation and distribution systems should be renationalised and put back in the control of engineers instead of politicians, accountants, lawyers, and others with vested interests.

For the record

IN an article on the Telstra Business Awards, the Mercury reported yesterday that Annette Kaitinis is the wife of Scoot Boots co-founder Dave MacDonald. In fact, they are business partners. The Mercury apologises for any embarrassment.