Mofo blessing

THANK you, David Walsh and Leigh Carmichael. As a sole trader in Hobart’s growing mid-town precinct, I am grateful for the spike in midwinter visitor spending (as reported in this paper on 26 June, a statewide increase of 11 per cent on last year). Interestingly though, we served as many locals as visitors during Dark Mofo.

Thank you also to the many Airbnb hosts in our area who refer their guests to shop and dine where the locals do. Our visitor economy can benefit many, not just businesses in traditional tourist hot spots.

Beyond a joke

KINGBOROUGH Council, what a fiasco, the council’s handling of the proposed surf club/restaurant has turned out to be! Eighteen months, $250,000 later and still not a sod turned. The people responsible for this shambles should seriously have there position urgently reviewed, preferably by someone from outside the council. It is little wonder the council wanted an 8 per cent rate increase to pay for someone's incompetent handling of their position.

Sentence for failure

THANK you to those members of the Legislative Council who voted down the recent proposal for mandatory minimum prison sentences. Mandatory sentencing is expensive, ineffective in deterring crime and leads to unjust outcomes in individual cases. It is a terrible outcome for any policy and Tasmania is better off without mandatory sentences.

Bad roads

THREE years ago the infrastructure minister promised that by adopting Victorian specifications for roadworks, standards would be raised.

Now we have line markings that are invisible; wheel path rutting that is so deep vehicles are having difficulty maintaining position; potholes expanding into total pavement failures and seal failures shortly after application.

Is the minister aware of a recent report by the Victorian Auditor-General on the state of Victorian roads which highlighted that “the increasing proportion of the network in very poor condition presents a growing risk to public safety”. So minister, I guess that explains why Tasmanian roads are in such unsafe conditions, we are simply following Victorian standards. Downwards.

Approval disaster

I write concerning the Kingborough Council. With the new toilet block, life- saving association and restaurant at Kingston Beach, I feel the council is not doing the right thing by the lifesaving association.

This has been dragging on for seven years when the councillors went up to Burnie and looked at the foreshore and a similar set-up.

Some councillors have been trying to resolve this situation for some time, while other councillors don’t seem to be interested and don’t turn up to the meetings when this issue comes up.

With council only having two meetings a month and an occasional workshop, councillors don’t seem to do much for their salary of $30,000 a year.

With staff and some councillors wanting to put the rates up 8 per cent, I wonder if some councillors are really interested in the council or themselves?

And when the tough decisions have to be made, they don’t turn up to the meetings.

Greater harm

OH please, Robert Stonjek (Letters June 22). Perhaps we could ship those hopelessly dysfunctional, decadent smokers off to Nauru or Manus Island and be done with it. What next? People who require prescription medications? Alcohol is a far greater concern in the community, bringing with it as it does horrific violence. I would much rather be in a car with someone who has been smoking than someone who has been drinking.