Open fire decision creates risk
COULD the Minister for Parks, Ms Petrusma, please explain her decision to allow open fires in the highly concentrated camping area in the Freycinet National Park, as it borders the township of Coles Bay.
A serious fire in this highly flammable area has the potential to incinerate the township, campground and the park.
As a bushfire risk the immediate urban area has a BAL 29 rating, reflecting the serious risk fire poses to property and life in the immediate area.
All new buildings had to meet that high safety standard, and still the minister decided that open fires were appropriate in the neighbouring campground.
W. Edwards Coles Bay
GO OFFSHORE, GUY
WHY is MP Guy Barnett ignoring best advice from Victoria, and the very valid concerns of countless Tasmanians warning against Marinus Link?
It fails on economic grounds, public licence grounds, and environmental grounds.
The only part of Marinus Link we really need is the communications cable. A company has offered to put that in at a minute fraction of the cost of the Marinus proposal, but was refused. Why?
Victoria cannot manage the power they already have, and have invented a special term for dumping power that makes it sound as if it is OK.
It is not OK, and congesting Tasmania’s highlands with unnecessary, uneconomical and unwanted pylon infrastructure is not OK.
Go offshore, Guy, there is twice as much space out in Bass Strait than there is in the whole of Tasmania, and not a single tree will be lost.
Susanne Chandler
Burnie
ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE
WITH the greatest of respect to Yvonne Stark and others (Letters, July 15) who have expressed concern at the relaxation of Covid restrictions and the resultant dramatic increase in case numbers, and the serious challenges to our health system, I would like to offer another perspective.
Our take-up of the vaccines was not anticipated to make us immune from the illness and the spike was expected.
It is presumably all part of “learning to live with Covid”.
However, we need answers to some questions.
How many in hospital “with Covid” were admitted for other reasons?
How many admitted for Covidrelated causes were vaccinated?
How much of the log jam in health is due to staff off work because of the pandemic?
Of those, how many have tested positive and how many are close contacts?
A close contact is four hours, and there must be many false alarms of the close contact kind.
There are many endemic diseases where the locals are immune but visitors must be wary.
On the other hand, many Indigenous peoples were decimated by colds and flu at first contact with Europeans. My concern is that we run the risk of frittering away the hard-won strength of our immune systems by isolating ourselves from the virus. This might explain why outbreaks in isolated communities, nursing homes and cruise ships seem to be so deadly.
If it turns out that it is not possible to resist the virus without the aid of jabs I guess that will be the future.
Richard McCure
Sandy Bay
ALBANESE DELIVERING
BARRY Campbell (Letter, July 14) seriously needs a lesson in critical thinking.
His claim that Albanese is neglecting “his first duty … to the Australian people’’ because of his overseas trips is laughable.
The welfare of “the Australian people’’ is intractably bound to our having good overseas relationships, particularly trade.
Thanks to Morrison and Dutton behaving so boorishly in their conduct towards China and France, our primary producers have lost large segments of market share.
France is a key leader in the European community, and since the loss of their submarine contract the free trade talks – so essential to our agricultural produce – have stalled.
Similarly, we have to renew our trading relationship with China, while trying to counter their push into the Pacific. We have been very fortunate that other iron ore suppliers (eg, Brazil) have been incapable to moving into our market with China. Had that happened, our domestic economy would likely have been hit critically.
Furthermore, unlike the previous government, Albanese is supported by a very talented Cabinet, the members of which are very capable of looking after the Australian people in his short absences.
Bob Holderness-Roddam
Austins Ferry
THEY SHOULD STAY PUT
WE are in danger of foot-andmouth arriving here from Bali on shoes or clothing of tourists coming home.
Are they being monitored properly to make sure they aren’t carrying any lingering traces of the disease and being made to sanitise their footwear on their return?
Then we have the Coral Princess, where over 100 people are infected with Covid. We all remember three years ago the notorious Ruby Princess where the passengers were allowed to go willy-nilly into the general population without testing and well know what happened then, even in Tassie where it was the beginning of the dreaded disease here.
We are overflowing with Covid cases all over Australia, our health system can’t cope, but we are allowing those passengers from the Coral Princess to come ashore untested to mix with everyone.
If someone is sick at home we are advised to stay put. Why can’t the same apply to passengers on a floating petri dish be made to do the same until they are all clear?
Glennis Sleurink
Launceston