FLANAGAN ON UNI CITY SITE

Call a halt and reassess move

RICHARD Flanagan is right to point to the serious problems presented by the University of Tasmania’s handling of its decision to relocate into the CBD (Talking Point, April 20). The university is “of Tasmania”, after all, with an obligation to engage with the Tasmanian community in an open and direct fashion, something it has not done so far. Professor Black is an able champion of the need for the university to rethink and reshape itself, but he has inherited a management that has largely lost touch with the real values of education and research.

The shortcomings in the university’s proposal, the evident lack of genuine consultation, and the considerable opposition the proposal has generated ought to lead the university to call a halt to the current process, reassessing where it is and where it might be heading. urbs just a walking distance from the city centre. Already those suburbs are parked during working hours. I imagine students will park there overnight and cause further problems for residents who currently can’t park outside their own houses during the day. Quite frankly I cannot imagine a student from overseas preferencing a university consisting of disconnected ugly office blocks and having no obvious cohesive centre over one situated at the existing site where students meet their peers in pleasant grounds. The university has become a money-making machine and we the residents of Hobart are going to become collateral damage.

Bees start buzzing

THE move of UTAS to Hobart has been an issue that hasn’t caused the bees in my bonnet to buzz, until I saw that Richard Flanagan thinks it is a terrible idea. I know a few people with work connections to UTAS and they are also scornful of the idea. As I ask around and read around, I discover it is progressing with the speed of an alpine avalanche, even though nearly everyone thinks it is a terrible idea, leading to the questions – why, and what is the hidden agenda?

Launceston, too

THE proposed move into central Hobart continues to confuse most of us. The many questions asked by Richard Flanagan deserve answers. An almost parallel situation How Hobart Airport will meet demand for four million passengers by 2030 The amount of money that has been spent on this place over the years and to still not have airbridges is a joke. is evolving in Launceston where the university is proposing to move from its Newnham campus site to Inveresk, which adjoins the city centre. The Inveresk site is very limited in area and sits on the crust of the ancient Invermay swamp, which is likely to liquefy with the next major Tamar Valley geological event, considered by some geologists to be long overdue. Even today heavy transports vibrate grounds and buildings as they pass. In scale, location and logistics, the Newnham campus site is similar to the Sandy Bay site in many respects. What is the truth behind the proposed moves? Is the plan to make easy access near impossible for most students, thereby forcing them to go online rather than attending on-site lectures thus creating more enrolments and an even greater profit, for whom?

That’s me gone

THANK you, Richard Flanagan. I was privileged to know you many years ago, when you were a graduate assistant. I was also privileged to work at UTAS for over 25 years, and to study there as a matureage student (nowadays very mature!) since 2005. Having completed a degree in Antarctic Science I am enrolled in the university’s new Legal Studies degree, which is just fantastic and completion of which means a very great deal to me. However, for practical reasons, the day Law and Humanities move into the city will be the day I withdraw (very reluctantly) from the course. Please UTAS, re-think.

Fake snow (hold the wildlife)

MAWSON’S Huts Replica Museum is a great tourist drawcard, but why can’t we have a bit more “fake” snow around the building. Looks more like a bush shack in the Botanical Gardens waiting for the lawn to be mowed than Antarctica. But please not too many penguins.

Count me in

YES, I can commit to serving as a full-time representative if fortunate enough to be elected the next independent member for Nelson (“Full-time MLCs”, John Forsyth, Letters, April 20). The role of a legislative councillor is important, demanding and requires full-time commitment.

Cyclist squeeze

WHY is the law such an ass? Legal requirement for motorists when passing a cyclist is 1 to 1.5 metres, yet any cyclist can pass you in less than that required distance. Worse still, when “filtering”, some cyclists use the tops or sides of cars or buses as push-off points. In my opinion the only ones worse are those who made and passed the legislation.

Name calling

I THINK I’ve worked out our country’s biggest problem! Over the past third of a century, we’ve had prime ministers named Bob, Paul, John, (almost a Peter), Kevin, Tony, Malcolm, Scott and likely a Bill! Yet nary a Steve! Yep, nailed it!