Rail transport can save our roads
WHILE travelling recently on the Bass Highway, I was amazed at the poor quality of the road, especially near Wynyard.
All this because of the heavy loads that the highway carries since the railway has fallen into disrepair because of government neglect.
We used to have a railway to Smithton and Marrawah for timber and other freight.
More recently, the line stopped at Wiltshire Junction near Stanley, but that line now is closed at Burnie.
We have three excellent ports at Burnie, Devonport and Bell Bay. Why are we not making better use of rail transport from these ports and saving our roads?
Rod Force Sandy Bay
HEALTH BEFORE FOOTBALL
I HAVE recently been discharged from the Royal Hobart Hospital and told there was no more they could do for me at this time due to lack of staff and doctors, and that they were flat out.
I was told that I was welcome to come back any time they would see me next when I have another bout, this is the best we can do.
It was like a football field with nurses trying to kick a goal, one nurse too many patients.
But I suppose there are too many more important things on our government’s mind, such as climate change and the new football stadium, pressure is on.
The wife and I have been pondering this pathetic situation, maybe they could bulldoze the section of the hospital that can’t be managed and put up some tents for the poor homeless people, at least then we would know that it is being put to good use.
Our health care is in crisis, why can’t our government see this?
Why spend $750m on a football stadium that is not needed, would it not be better spent on the hospital?
We know that climate change is bad now and will only get worse but our health system is in crisis now and if something is not done soon then there may not be any healthy people to carry on with our future or go to the “new stadium”. Tony Free
Sorell
FAMILIAR CONCERNS
IT was interesting to read that over half a million brush-tail possums, 6148 black swans, 8485 mountain and wood ducks, and 1882 Cape Barren geese were in the top 10 list of native animals culled in Tasmania between 2019 and 2022.
There were also 14,103 sulphur created cockatoos and over two million wallabies culled.
It is all of a bit of a concern given that Australia’s thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, was hunted to death in the early 20th century for allegedly killing sheep. The government virtually wiped them out as from 1830 until 1909 there was a bounty on the species because it was considered a pest.
The reality is that the tiger had such a weak jaw that it couldn’t kill a sheep. Their biggest prey would have been a possum.
Les Young Austins Ferry
LOOK IN THE MIRROR
STOPPING property owners from renting to the short-stay market is a really bad idea.
It will not help the low end rental crisis, has unintended consequences and is likely to make the situation worse. It sends a signal to people considering renting their property not to bother and to just sell the property instead.
Quite a few short-stay properties are used for domestic rentals from time to time or eventually end up as long-term rentals. As for unintended consequences – will a family moving away for a few years for job or health reasons be prevented from renting their home to best effect? What about an inherited house, or one where the new owners can’t afford to live in it yet? And so on.
What idea will councillors Reynolds and Burnett support next? Taxes on shacks?
If they really want to help the rental crisis they should look at the real problem, which is a shortage in the supply of suitable low-end rentals.
They should take a look in the mirror.
Council’s slow, clumsy, costly and unpredictable planning and approvals processes are a major barrier to the development of suitable affordable housing.
Ben Ardeus West Hobart
BAD EXPERIENCES
HANG on, if I own a house other than the one I live in, it is my sole right to do with it as I choose.
From experience, I understand people with an investment property making it available for short stay or B&B accommodation and not a long-term lease.
The house (the other one we owned) at Primrose Sands we rented out through an agent. When the lease expired after a year and the tenant left it was in an appalling condition and the tenant, who was on Centrelink benefits, still, to this day, owes $1700 in unpaid rent.
When we made good the mess we rented the house out, fully furnished again through an agent to a couple.
At the end of their lease we found again, the place to be in a mess with items of furniture broken. Needless to say they were on Centrelink benefits also.
Enough was enough so we sold the property and will never reenter the property market again.
Tell the HCC to back off and let dual property owners do as they choose.
Stewart Edwards Mount Stewart
RESPECT OUR TREES
TREES. Living entities of loveliness, fresh air conditioners, carbon sinks, climate moderators, homes and supermarkets to other beings.
Critical in town; along our streets, in urban reserves, in scenic protection zones. And out in the lands beyond; the pillars of the planet’s natural ecosystems.
When will we be seeing high enough to stop flattening them?
Helen Tait West Launceston