AFL boss spinning illicit drug failure

ANDREW Demetriou has suggested that the 400 per cent increase in illicit drug use (mainly cocaine) among AFL players has provided an opportunity to help even more footy players modify their off-field behaviours. With spin like that, maybe cricket administration should be part of his succession plans, assuming of course he would be willing to handball his job to someone who’d be bound to get a major pay rise if he did.

Come to think of it, post September 14, maybe our Bulldog supporting Prime Minister would be interested in taking on the role, should the cricket job work out. I’m sure Cricket Australia would be keen for Andrew to identify and help any drug cheats in its sport too. And given Andrew’s track record, it could be sure of one thing at least; that he’d be able to deliver results where it counts (on the scoreboard, of course).

Michael McCall Primrose Sands

Greens and subsidies

TELL a lie big enough and often enough, and soon it is repeated without question. Such a successful strategy was employed by the Greens in their 30-year war against our sustainable forest industry; to falsely claim the compensation given to Tasmania for locking up its forests as a ‘‘subsidy’’ to industry. Now that the remnants of the forest industry sue for peace, the Greens have set their sights on the mining industry. In a flurry of letters to the editor, they now claim a $14 billion ‘‘subsidy’’ enjoyed by the coal industry, yet fail to say how this is computed.

A closer look reveals that over half is the rebate of the fuel excise used to maintain our roads, that all off-road users – fishing, farmers, and forestry, not just miners receive the rebate as the diesel is not used on the road. The other portion is depreciation on the new capital equipment needed to generate the jobs and income from the mines. Depreciation is a recognised business expense and accounted by all businesses.

It is wrong to call this a subsidy to the coal industry, and worse to claim it is denying funds to hospital and schools. Mining, just like forestry, is a primary wealth creator. These industries process and valueadd natural resources providing jobs and taxes that in turn fund government services. Without industry, the rest of Australia’s economy will, like ours, be brought to its knees. Alan Duggan

Cradoc

Deposits make cents

WE would like to differ from Peter McLean of Keep Australia Beautiful who states that snacks wrappers and packets are the major component of branded litter items (Letters, May 13). That is not what we saw when cleaning up New Town Bay on the morning of Sunday, May 12. An audit of some 14 bags of ‘‘rubbish’’ collected at New Town Bay that morning included 276 drink containers, a Coles shopping trolley, two tyres, a wooden pallet, cigarette butts, nappies, ping-pong and tennis balls, and the many food wrappers Mr McLean refers to.

The litterbugs who frequent New Town Bay have a taste for McDonald’s and pizza over KFC, soft drinks such as Coke and bottled water from Mt Franklin, flavoured milk drinks and energy drinks such as Gatorade. Cascade was their beer of choice.

Categorising those drink containers – 59 per cent were plastic, 35 per cent were cans, and 14 were bottles.

This shouldn’t be ending up in the waterways and roadsides of our beautiful state. All these containers could be recycled, and you’re almost guaranteed that, with the introduction of a container deposit scheme, the number of discarded beverage containers would be significantly less.

South Australians have had a container deposit scheme since the 1970s, and treat recyclables less as ‘‘rubbish’’ by placing a value of 10c on containers. Their proportion of drink containers in litter audits are invariably much less than states such as NSW and Tasmania. Compare SA’s 87 per cent bottle recycling rate compared with only 35 per cent in Tasmania.

In order to ensure that next time we clean up New Town Bay there is less rubbish to collect, a container deposit scheme must be implemented.

We also would’ve raised almost $30 from the 10c on every can and bottle for the Catchment Care Group.

Helen Burnet Greens Alderman and Senate candidate

Michael Swanton New Town Rivulet Catchment Care Group

Toll of war

THE nation’s newspaper front pages showed a tearful Prime Minister Julia Gillard promoting the National Disability Insurance Scheme. I have no doubt the Prime Minister’s emotion was sincere. Yesterday, by coincidence, I had a consultation with the wife and daughter of a Vietnam veteran. The suffering of the veteran, who has post traumatic stress disorder, and his family has spanned over four decades and is unrelenting. PTSD is a severe mental disability that must be prevented. I request the process by which the Government commits the nation to war be made a prominent election issue. How young lives were committed to serve in Iraq is scandalous.

There needs to be full accountability for those few involved in making such disastrous decisions. Politicians responsible, John Howard in particular, must be brought to justice. We were lied to. There must also be legal changes to ensure this type of tragedy can never happen again. Other countries have made the appropriate legislative changes.

Julia Gillard, you desperately need votes – a commitment to tackling this critical national issue would surely give you some. And you would be right to do it, just as you are right to promote the NDIS. Frank Nicklason

North Hobart

Racing stakemoney

RACING Minister Bryan Green claimed racing stakemoney in Tasmania more than matched other provincial centres around Australia ( Mercury on Saturday, May 4). The benchmark for Tasmanian racing has been country Victoria. Tasmanian stakemoney for a thoroughbred is $12,500 and this mob plan to reduce it by $900 per race. Minimum Victorian country stakes are $15,000 with most races $17,500-plus at all country venues. There are numerous showcase races for more than $30,000.

Is this minister so far removed from reality or is he deliberately misleading the Tasmanian public? You be the judge.

Peta Jelkic New Norfolk