PM needs to learn how to distinguish weather from climate

The Prime Minister’s statement about the fires in the Grampians – that natural disasters have become “more intense” and “more frequent” during his time in office – is in contradiction to global data (“Disasters ‘more intense, more frequent’ ”, 30/12).

One does not have to look far to understand that this statement is in support of his green energy policy, which we have not yet seen the costs of and which is blind to any other forms of energy.

Further, would this statement be considered misinformation or disinformation in the government’s now abandoned Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation Bill 2024? Or is it a case, as George Orwell conveyed in Animal Farm, that not all animals are equal? One rule for the pigs and one for the working animals.

Marie-Antoniette Assenza, Weetangera, ACT

The official Powerline Bushfire Safety Taskforce established after the Black Saturday and Ash Wednesday Victorian bushfires reported that a disproportionate number of the most catastrophic bushfires with major loss of life were caused by powerlines. The taskforce concluded that while powerlines were not the largest cause of bushfires, they did cause many of the largest and most dangerous fires. Victoria also has been shown to be well behind in powerline maintenance. Is it possible that Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s specific actions to install fire-prone solar panels and wind farms all over the country linked by tens of thousands of kilometres of new bush powerlines will be making the most life-threatening bushfires more common?

Ian Brake, Mackay, Qld

Decades ago a bushfire in California, a village destroyed by a mudslide in Africa, a drought in India, a tornado in the US midwest, heatwaves or giant hailstones anywhere on the planet might not make the news in Australia.

In 2024 you can watch in real time all or any of these disasters unfold before your eyes.

Anthony Albanese views a bushfire from a fire service helicopter and uses the local disaster as an example of “more intense, more frequent” disasters. No, Prime Minister, better communications. Billions of cameras with instant communication recording and distributing globally local disasters that previously would have remained local.

Bruce Collison, Banks, ACT

The fact our Prime Minister can’t tell the difference between weather and climate explains much about him and his government (“Albanese’s climate sideshow is short on hard facts”, 30/12)

Indeed, it may have led to the absurd idea that if we reduce our very small carbon dioxide output by a tiny amount this will influence world weather patterns that have varied, whatever the CO2 levels, since the beginning of time.

Climate is the average of 30 years of weather, whereas weather is what happens every day, defying all but the shortest forecasts and remaining unmoved by attempts to influence it with dance, human sacrifice and futile silliness by politicians.

It’s time to take Graham Lloyd’s sage advice – get real, stop trying to change the weather and prepare for the inevitable droughts and flooding rains that will arrive one day whatever we do.

Doug Hurst, Chapman, ACT

The end of 2024 marks another year of missed opportunities to escape from the energy lunacy we have in the country. Both parties cling to the nonsense that they can fix climate change if they spend lots more of taxpayers’ funds. Neither side has a coherent plan that addresses the current energy crisis in sufficient time.

Summer weather and the inevitable bushfires provide more opportunities to rev up the scare campaign, although history shows that things are no different than before. Temperature figures quoted to hundredths of a degree are nonsense, and those who do so are doing us a disservice. It is time for the Bureau of Meterology to concentrate on getting a four-day forecast right and letting the climate activism go, and for the CSIRO to abandon the energy debate and concentrate on things that may be a benefit to society.

Australia has the coal resources to last for many years, and the technology to use it for power generation is time tested, economic, easy to build and effective. We need to get the climate change monkey off our backs and get on with it.

David Bidstrup, Plympton Park, SA