Letters: Going cold on coal power
Readers have their say on the future of coal power, the withdrawal of the ADF from border checks in Queensland, and whether the unemployed are lazy.
Opinion
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READING Alan Jones’ rant on energy in “Stop the pandering and listen to coal hard facts” (C-M, Sep 24) made me want to laugh and cry.
Jones again exposes the scientific ignorance of his opinions and refusal to face the energy and environmental realities of the 21st century.
Again he asserts that carbon pollution is a “hoax” and Prime Minister Scott Morrison is “spooked by the Left, spooked by climate change renewable energy zealots and the anti coal-fired powered minority”.
This is the dribble trotted out by extreme right ideologues daily.
Jones has been a leading exponent of this pro-capitalist, high-energy-use philosophy. Senator Matt Canavan is another.
Make no mistake, the young people of today will remember those who have been vocal in shutting down the more placid atmospheric systems of this planet and have injected mayhem and destruction in our climate and environmental systems.
All because they cannot innovate and learn to appreciate the new benign energy systems that are more human friendly.
It is Jones and company who are the “ideological misfits”.
Michael Henderson, Maroochydore
“HOW on earth,” asks Alan Jones, “can we turn our backs on coal-fired power?”
The simple answer is: because the cost of solar power has fallen by 80 per cent in the past 10 years.
More than 30 per cent of Queensland homes now have rooftop solar and are enjoying greatly reduced electricity costs.
Worldwide, onshore wind power and utility-scale solar are the cheapest sources of new-build energy.
Jones is right to question the federal government’s plan to build a gas-fired power station in the Hunter Valley.
But the answer is not coal. It’s the sun and the wind.
Dermot Dorgan, Ashgrove
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BORDER ARMY A GIFT
DEPUTY Premier Steven Miles has taken a leaf out of the Premier’s book by telling the Prime Minister to back off after announcing a partial lifting of border restrictions.
At the same time he bemoans that troops are being withdrawn from border duties.
He claims that it will make the job harder for the police and he is right.
However, it is not the ADF’s job to man the borders.
If Queensland decides to close its borders it is up to the state government to find the people to enforce the decision, not the federal government.
How much money did the federal government save Queensland by using the ADF to help with the border closures?
Miles should learn that you should never look a gift horse in the mouth and the ADF was certainly a gift for Queensland.
Tony Miles, Chermside
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BALANCED PROCESS
I REFER to Donald Maclean’s comments (Letters, Sep 24).
To say that the operation of the US Constitution is “unfortunate” in that it allows the President and the Senate to elect Supreme Court judges for life misses the point of the separation of powers.
The US Constitution is one of the greatest pieces of government doctrine produced.
The problem with it is the abuse that it would get in the future from the power-hungry politicians who try to bend it to their whim.
In 2016 the block that the Republicans placed on the nominee of then president Barack Obama was because the White House and Senate were of different parties.
Given the Constitution’s structure, this means that to get a nominee through the incumbent president needs to nominate a person with a more centrist position, rather than with a bias to a particular political position. This creates the checks and balances.
Further, election for life means that the ability to “short stack” the court to try and achieve political outcomes is negated. Once appointed you can’t remove that judge.
With reference to the current position, the only honest and correct way forward is to nominate and appoint the next justice before the election.
The White House and Senate are both Republican, put there by voters.
They have the power from the electorate to staff the Supreme Court as they see fit, to align with their philosophical bias.
The same applies when the White House and the Senate are held by the Democrats and a position becomes vacant.
That’s the balance that the Constitution provides, played out in the uncertainty of when appointments occur.
Steve Pink, Pullenvale
DONALD Maclean conveniently forgot to mention that 29 past US presidents have nominated a Supreme Court judge in an election year.
Often Donald Trump detractors fail to report all the facts and simply stick to their agenda and push their own narrative.
I believe President Trump would call Maclean’s letter “ fake news”.
Brett Devenish, Underwood
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NOT ALL JOBLESS ARE LAZY
RUDOLF Bojtschuk (Letters, Sep 23) believes that the majority of today’s unemployed are spoilt on government assistance.
Maybe some are, but not the majority.
The federal government likes to claim that people on welfare are cheating the system, mainly to cover up that there are not enough jobs and they have no ideas to create them.
There are thousands of people who want a job plus thousands more who are underemployed and want more work.
These are the people the government should be concerned about first.
All these claims about people taking the easy way on welfare is just a distraction.
Gary Ekert, Blackstone
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NETBALLERS SET SPORTING EXAMPLE
AS THE grand finals in the three national sports (AFL, NRL and netball) hubbed in Queensland approach, I think it is timely to reflect on the success of the project.
Sport brightened our COVID-dreary days and we got to cheer on our favourite teams and players.
On field, the competitive spirit in all three codes was great.
Sadly, off field was a different matter. Not a week went by when a footballer from one or other of the codes broke the restrictions that were in place.
Several football groups and individuals blatantly broke the rules while other breakouts were by selfish players who did not keep their club’s code or believed they would “get away” with breaking the restrictions.
On the other hand, all players and team members of the eight netball teams playing in the Suncorp Super Netball not only abided by the restrictions imposed, but they embraced the gift of being able to play their season by giving back to the local communities that supported their sojourn in Queensland.
In many of the pre and post-game interviews the players made a point of being grateful for the ability to play their season – even under a tight and challenging adjusted competition – and paid respect to those involved who made their 2020 season possible.
AnneMarie White, New Farm
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HANG UP ON SCAM CALLS
ARE you being harassed by phone scammers, using the name of NBN and threatening to disconnect your service, or Amazon, claiming you have an outstanding account when you do not deal with them?
These are deliberate attempts at fraud and theft.
I have experienced these threats for over 12 months now, seeking personal financial details to be used illegally to clean out my bank account.
I have entered into a conversation to call them out and they just hang up, but that doesn’t solve the problem.
I have contacted NBN, Amazon and Telstra, and they could not give a stuff.
Why is it that these large corporations who would do almost anything to protect their product, name, integrity and copyright, will not track down those vultures who are preying on people and illegally using their names as a tool to commit a crime?
Are they too big to care or just irresponsible.
Les Bryant, Durack
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