In today’s Sunday Examiner (9 May 2010), at -

http://www.examiner.com.au/news/local/news/health/eyesore-an-asbestos-risk/1824425.aspx

there is story about the dangers of legacy asbestos the former Devonport hospital, particularly with children playing in the ruins (as children do).

Note the last four words in this oh-so-encouraging sentence -

“Premier David Bartlett called for an urgent report from Workplace Standards as to how the asbestos issue could be addressed”.

(Ed: On TT: http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/pr-article/devonport-maternity-hospital-asbestos-needs-cleaning-up-now/

Roscoe is suddenly outraged about this asbestos hazard after years of it being known as an active hazard. Doc you should go back into practice ...

“Premier David Bartlett called for an urgent report from Workplace Standards as to how the asbestos issue could be addressed”.

FFS!

How about an order, Mr Bartlett, that the asbestos problem be addressed, now, as per The Workplace Standards Tasmania and the advice as per the Minister for Workplace Relation’s Steering Committee 2010?

Good one, John Wade (Comment 3), with your “How about an order, Mr Bartlett, that the asbestos problem be addressed”.

But We the People need much more.

What we need is ‘How about an order, Mr Bartlett, that the asbestos be removed’.

Not ‘issue addressed’. Not even ‘problem addressed’. But ‘asbestos removed’.

Notice the differences?

We need MPs, officials and bureaucrats to stop spouting stuff like “as to how the issue could be addressed”.

We also need journalists who will stop reporting this stuff as if it is worth heeding.

Instead, we need radio and TV journalists who will pull up those spouting this BS, and who will demand a specific action for every ‘addressing the issue’.

We need print journalists who will use quotation marks every time that word ‘issue’ is used, or that phrase ‘addressing the issue’ is used, and who will highlight the deceitful vacuity of such expressions.

We need to read insertions such as ‘as the minister put it’, or ‘as the problem was officially described’ or ‘to use the spokesperson’s verbiage’.

Every time, every setting, every context, until the pollies start talking practical sense.

Too much to ask?