New anthem

I WAS conducting the Welcome to Country at the Remembrance Day event at the Grand Chancellor when the national anthem was played. I struggle with the words of the anthem as I feel it does not include the people who have made Australia and Tasmania their home. Then three performers, including an Aboriginal singer performed I am, you are, we are Australian. What a fitting song for our multicultural nation and state. Surely in this day and age we should adapt this as our national anthem to include all as well as our Aboriginal people. Just a thought.

Too many children

THERE were two apposite items on the same page as my letter, which was about the environmental problems caused by a growing human population (“Humans are the problem”, December 1). The HOT TOPIC related to climate change. Then there was the Biblical quote. “The glory of a king is a multitude of people; without people a prince is ruined. Proverbs 14:28.” But then there’s this. My granddaughter will be arriving soon. Am I a hypocrite for suggesting the human population is a problem? Perhaps.

What I’m really opposed to though are unnecessarily large families. Even if people can afford them, should they have them? Are multiple births using IVF needed when there are already more than 40 million orphaned and starving children in the world who would benefit so much from being adopted? Having children

Protests and ramping

AS a visitor to your state, I am mystified by two observations: one, the Tasmanian Government has almost fallen over itself to sell the state (in the case of Chinese investors, literally) in a bid to increase the population; and two, nurses and other health workers are protesting in the street, ambulances are being “ramped” and the health system is described as “broken” and unable to cope with demand. My question to the exalted state MPs is this: If you cannot fund and organise a health system to cope with the existing population, how on earth do you think it will cope if the population substantially increases?