YOUR SAY: Fears over Isaac Downs project motives
‘The public has a right to know why such an action is proposed, especially as the price of coal is rock bottom largely’
Mackay
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IT’S so wonderful to see some ‘letters to the editor’ finally filtering into our inbox.
We have missed them terribly.
We love reading how you see the world.
Before we get into those, I have my own rant for the day.
We had two idiots caught doing ridiculous speeds on Wednesday – one doing 141km/h on the Bruce Highway at Bloomsbury and one doing 146km/h in a 100km/h zone on the Fitzroy Development Road at Middlemount. Both were in 100 km/h zones.
As we head into a long weekend, I just hope all of you have more common sense on the roads.
With restrictions eased, there will be more people on our roads for a weekend getaway and the last thing we need is more tragedy during this pandemic.
Please take care of yourselves.
We welcome your thoughts too: Email news@dailymercury.com.au or SMS 0409 499 846
Why does Isaac Downs need to be declared a Prescribed Project?
Regarding the Isaac Downs being declared a prescribed project, the question to the State Government is why?
This mine was sold for a dollar.
That sounds a warning bell as such sales often come with enormous hidden costs that usually are environmental.
The public has a right to know why such an action is proposed, especially as the price of coal is rock bottom largely as a result of COVID-19, and at a time when large coal companies like Glencore are closing until prices recover.
Patricia Julien, Greenmount
Let the children learn
Perhaps Mr Gleeson has failed to notice that this ‘pesky pandemic’ (DM 06/08/2020) has done nothing to contain the Apple Fire burning on America’s west coast or Hurricane Isaiah which is lashing her east coast.
It would be wonderful if the ‘pesky pandemic’ indeed could halt climate change as it devastates our world but the fact is that it won’t.
Humans do not have the luxury of dealing with only one disaster at a time.
Saving our planet and all who sail in her takes constant work, vigilance and education.
COVID-19 isn’t going to last forever but the damage done to the environment … will be permanent.
Why is Mr Gleeson so opposed to children learning about climate change?
It’s their future, after all. The other day an 8-year-old told me that the hairy-nosed wombat was endangered and I was thrilled to be learning from a child.
Does the Gallery of Modern Art exhibition advocate crushing the economy and returning to cave life or does it teach scientific truths, thereby encouraging the young to think about alternatives? Let the children learn!
Brooke McReynolds, Mackay
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How student volunteers make a difference
I am writing to acknowledge and thank our amazing student volunteers this National Student Volunteer Week.
National Student Volunteer Week is a special opportunity to acknowledge the impact student volunteers make on the community through their volunteer work.
Volunteers give their time, skills, energy and passion which enables Cancer Council Queensland to enhance our services and support within the community.
The theme of this year’s National Student Volunteer Week is Collective Impact: Give. Grow. Connect.
We thank our student volunteers for making a collective impact on Queenslanders affected by cancer.
Cancer Council Queensland would not have the reach and impact that we do if not for our volunteers; hence, we are encouraging students to volunteer to help create an impact in the community as well as gain relevant industry insights and experience.
Volunteering presents the opportunity for students to create their own social and professional networks.
This week also serves as an opportunity to encourage other students to volunteer and make a collective impact on Australia by giving to a community or cause.
For more information about Cancer Council Queensland and current volunteer opportunities, visit cancerqld.org.au.
To find out more about National Student Volunteer Week, please visit, nationalstudentvolunteerweek.org.au
Chris McMillan, CEO, Cancer Council Queensland
Ambition and belief needed for Australia’s future
Between 1863 and 1869 the US built their first Transcontinental Railroad that was to unite the eastern and western halves of the United States.
This railroad dramatically changed the nation; today, it is considered to be one of the greatest American technological feats of the 19th century.
In a time when many Australians fear the economic dominance of China, what is not understood is that like the US, Australia has the potential to make a dramatic change for its people as well, by building a transcontinental railway; albeit industry specific.
With this rail line, Australia will have the capacity to dominate the steel making industry.
Yes, we have an industry, right at our feet that can be more competitive than China.
Australia currently dominates the seaborne steelmaking market, producing 70 per cent of the raw materials required to create steel.
It goes without saying that without this, we would be a third world nation.
We have this, right in our backyard, yet we have not fully embraced its potential.
There is scope for so much more; and, perhaps, if fully supported, it could be our saviour.
Project Iron Boomerang is a proposed ‘transcontinental multi-user rail infrastructure corridor and steel manufacturing complex that will revolutionise global steel manufacturing’.
This is precisely the kind of nation building project Australia needs right now.
In 2005, the Beattie government announced the PIB was a “project of State significance”.
It underwent a seven-year study to determine its viability and came out on top, yet, here we are 15 years down the track.
No PIB but, instead, millions of Australians and many of its elected leaders crying out that we must bring manufacturing back.
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PIB’s vision is to build a rail line that links Australia’s two great ore bodies for steelmaking, iron ore from the west coast and metallurgical coal from the east coast.
The railway will be dedicated to carrying resources efficiently from one side of the country to the other between the first stage iron and steel precincts.
The goal is to produce steel on both sides of the country and then export the steel to the tune of $18 billion per annum from 44 million tonnes per year of steel.
As a nation it is imperative for us to ensure industry is highly integrated, collaborative and provides creative solutions to contributing to global supply chains.
PIB is exactly this. If we want change, we must make change, and we must dream ‘big’.
We must find solutions to growing our manufacturing industries, so why not embrace and evolve a market we already dominate?
Project Iron Boomerang needs strong Federal Government and State Governments with both ambition and a belief in the future of Australia.
With the State election on the horizon, it becomes even more imperative that we vote for representatives who also hold such principles.
Nanette Radeck, Alice River
Truth is stranger than fiction
In all of the strange stories that elections seem to provide, either as a comment about one of the candidates or to distract from comments about one of the candidates, the weirdest is the re-emergence of ones about President Trump’s concerns about low pressure showers.
These water-saving devices were introduced as one of many environmental initiatives that the president doesn’t seem too familiar with.
As he says: “You turn on the shower – if you’re like me, you can’t wash your beautiful hair properly.”
One of the few things I share with the president is beautiful but disappearing hair and I gave up on the comb-over a long time ago.
Surely, he wouldn’t need much more than a thimble of water to wash the remaining hair. Admittedly this also shouldn’t be a great concern with the, hopefully, incoming President Biden although both VPs have decent amounts of hair.
Let’s get back to serious reporting about serious issues and leave the fun stories to cat rescues or other positive matters.
Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill, Victoria
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The Palaszczuk supporters who have abandoned Steven Miles
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