Struggle to understand opposition to renewables
I find it difficult to follow the reasoning behind the State opposition's resistance of renewable energy.
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(STN Jan 9th 'Battery too little'), where David Southwick the Coalition’s spokesman on energy, claims the Andrews government has reneged on a second 20MW battery.
The necessity for a safe, reliable and affordable power supply is obvious if we want to continue with anything like the lifestyle we enjoy today.
From 1922 to 1993 we were served well by the State Electricity Commission: but sadly privatisation has resulted in the confusing and often aggressive competition for our custom by retailers - protocols of safety and reliability yielding to profit margins.
Common-sense leads me to accept that brown coal has had its' day- not only from excessive greenhouse gas emissions.
Power plants were built with a sound life expectancy of about 30 years, from then on requiring strict maintenance and upgrading to ensure the safety & efficiency of the whole plant - from initial extraction of coal to intelligent power usage by the consumer.
Latrobe Valley plants have proved to be hazardous and environmentally risky particularly since 1992. Future planning must accept the realities of past problems.
Surely our taxpayer dollar is better invested in renewable energy. Battery storage installations in SA and now Bulgana are already proving their incredible backup times are far superior to traditional responses to grid outages.
Solutions to excess consumption must be accepted as a personal responsibility and truly sustainable living made a realistic goal.
Governments must accept that any hope of a healthy future for our planet lies in a bipartisan collaborative approach to this most complex issue.
Rosalind Byass
Stawell
Unity on Australia Day
Australia Day January 26th is a day of unification for all Australians.
It is a day to recognize and take pride in the way the nation has matured.
It celebrates new migrants and our commitment to the history, and future, of Australia’s Indigenous people.
Like all nations, Australia has a pitted past of memorable and forgettable events - neither a reason to dump our national day.
The Greens Party is deep into dangerous territory by trying to create division, derision and animosity within Australia by seeking to change the date to a day that better reflects the troubled Indigenous experience from 1788.
They want to rewrite history.
The Greens Party’s Geelong City Councillor, Sarah Mansfield, is indicating she won’t attend civil duties on that day as a form of protest.
With the greatest respect to Ms Mansfield, I am not sure that she will be overtly missed.
But she will no doubt be satisfied she has complied with the ugly demands of her leader Richard Di Natale.
Of course, she is paid to carry out her civic duties.
How will she spend taxpayer’s money that day?
Aboriginal people don’t all agree with the calls for change.
Alice Springs Councillor and indigenous woman, Jacinta Price, told 3AW radio (16/01/2018) that the message is not coming from remote Australia – but from the inner-city – and a divisive Di Natale.
She draws the comparison with Anzac Day – with Turks and Australians standing together in memory, forgiveness and hope for the future together – closer and stronger.
As per countries all over the world, a National Day is to recognize history and look to the future with hope, friendship and a commitment for improvement.
Changing the date or the name does not change history.
We have said Sorry. We spend billions every year for indigenous advancement.
Australia Day on the 26th of January celebrates all that we are and all that we want to be.
Simon Ramsay
State Western Victoria MP
Don’t leave children in cars
With a number of hot days ahead, I would like to reinforce the message to your readers not to leave their children in cars this summer under any circumstance.
Concerning new data shows ambulance crews responded to 1696 callouts across Victoria in the year to August, with the vast majority being cases involving toddlers and babies.
A number of those callouts were in Ballarat and other localities in Western Victoria.
The Andrews Government is working with agencies like Kidsafe and Ambulance Victoria to increase awareness and remind parents just how easy it is to underestimate the time it can take to run a quick errand.
On average, four kids a day are being put at risk of serious heat-related injury or death by being left unattended in parked cars.
A car’s temperature can more than double within minutes, meaning on a typical summer day the temperature inside a parked car can quickly become 20-30 degrees hotter than outside.
Kids’ body temperatures rise three to five times faster than an adult’s, meaning they are at greater risk of life-threatening heatstroke, dehydration and organ damage when left in the car.
In Victoria, it is against the law to leave children unattended, with offenders facing fines of up to $3900 or jail for six months, or both.
I urge Ararat Advertiser readers to heed the message, and never, ever leave children or pets in hot cars.
Jaala Pulford
State Western Victoria MP