Dashed dreams of going to sea

THE students who were lucky enough to visit the Antarctic research and supply ships in Hobart during the Australian Antarctic Festival must have been very excited to be aboard such impressive ships. Being on ships like that may have inspired some students to think that perhaps they might become a captain, a bosun or a chief engineer. Imagine their disappointment when they find Australian registered ships are almost extinct. It is increasingly difficult to gain a Master class 1 or a Chief engineer class 1 in Australia today. There are no Australian ships or shipping companies offering trainee positions. Australian governments of both persuasions have decimated the shipping fleet. Last year legislation was introduced in federal Parliament by then transport minister Darren Chester that would have allowed internationally flagged ships on Bass Strait. Had this proposal been legislated, internationally flagged vessels would now be operating on Bass Strait paying little or nothing to the Australian Taxation Office.

Our ports are busier than ever, with 10 per cent of the world’s seaborne cargo transiting through an Australian port. This is mostly on international ships paying no tax in Australia. The practice of allowing international companies to control Australia’s seaborne trade is a disaster in the making. Instead of giving tax cuts to big business who are employing fewer people, why not give a tax break to the maritime industry that has the potential to employ thousands of Australians.

Beauty from every angle

I HAVE to smile when I read of “disfigurement” of the mountain and “ruining the view”. What size cable cars do people think they are? 200m long? In the interests of healthy debate, would the Mercury’s team put together a large composite photo of the proposed cable route, along with the accurately proportioned cable cars, for clarification, as viewed from the GPO? Are tourists really going to take one look at the mountain when they disembark and say “yucky” and take the return flight? Am I really going to object to tourists wanting to see the beauty of our wonderful state from every possible angle? population of three million and presumably tourist numbers to match. It costs $A30 for the round-trip there. I am sure there are many ideas on how to allow tourists access to the Pinnacle, and it doesn’t need to deface the place you are trying to visit. Make no mistake, whatever happens we will end up paying for it. It will not be sustainable, and there is every chance that vehicle access will be blocked so we all have to use the cable car if we want to get to the top. We don’t need it.

Be angry

DON’T be shocked by your next power bill, be angry. If there was a royal commission into power pricing in Tasmania the results would undoubtedly be similar in finding to that of the banks. Basslink, connected to Victoria’s Loy Yang power station and owned by Alinta, costs the Tasmanian taxpayer $160-180 million annually. The cost of Basslink far outweighs the unstable revenue. The reasoning for increasing power prices to business and domestic consumers has been nothing short of glib and shamelessly deceptive. A deception that included being part of the National Grid and paying for a carbon tax introduced by the Gillard Government. These conditions no longer exist but prices have not decreased. There is a compelling argument Tasmanians are propping up poor corporate decision-making and economic practices of Hydro Tasmania. More fearful is the fact Alinta Energy has strong financial attachments to China and experience will show that owning power suppliers, on a global scale, is the next progression of Alinta in Tasmania.

Not imposing views

WE live in a secular society that has passed laws which permit abortion, but our government is failing to provide the means for abortions in our state. I suspect such actions are, in part, due to the religious Right in this government using their influence to stop those who want to take advantage of the law to have an abortion procedure because it is contrary to their beliefs. By doing so, they are disobeying the secular laws they are supposed to uphold and which Christians are expected to obey. The law does not require abortions, and therefore while those who hold a Christian view of life can argue that abortion is contrary to their belief and not participate in it, they should not prevent others from taking advantage of the law. Christians should also be careful not to repeal a law that reduces human suffering, and in some instances this is what an abortion does. My view as a Christian is that I should follow the teaching of the Bible on this issue, but I should not impose such behaviour on others, believers or otherwise.

Solar price gouging

WE are still waiting! At the last election we were told the Government would look into the solar feed-in tariff which reduces to less than 9c at the end of the year. With all the discussion about the National Energy Guarantee, there has been no mention of this huge increase to the power bill of thousands of customers with solar installations. We want to be part of the “battery of the nation”, but a drop from 28c to less than 9c seems a bit like gouging!