THE plan to transition into renewable energy is seemingly very poorly planned, and it appears we are heading for a huge problem that is still not fully understood. The doomsday climate supporters have pushed the country to a point where manufacturing industries are on idle at best and, in many cases, shut completely. Despite this, we require the skills to make the infrastructure needed for the transition to renewable energy. We will also need raw materials dug out of the ground via mining enterprises and smelters to convert the raw material into usable products, unless the people from Wokeville believe this will all just magically appear as required at the sites to be used.
If we do not produce the materials they will be produced elsewhere and, as most of the manufacturing has been moved to the third world, I am certain that they will cause more pollution. Perhaps being out of sight puts it out of mind for some?
It is worth stating that wind turbine sails are not recyclable, and the windings for the generators are manufactured from copper ore. The solar panels are made from mined sand and other products. Both of these systems have a current life expectancy of about 15 to 20 years. Lithium batteries are made from mined products that are potentially very explosive. There have been a number of cars and house fires generated by lithium batteries.
Planning to do something new or different takes time and must be carefully evaluated. It is best that a full-scale operation be in place and rigorously tested before the new thing replaces the old thing. This is planning to succeed; unfortunately, it seems the haste has prepared us to fail in so much. Let us have a pause and fully test where we are going before we rush off on the poorly planned venture.
Milton Caine, Birmingham Gardens
Green power isn't all sunshine
LAST November, when eminent engineers and nuclear scientists with a combined 500 years of real-life international experience attended a two-day Power Generation in Australia's Clean Energy Future conference with engineers who have worked on the most complex systems on earth, climate change minister Chris Bowen and the Teals couldn't be bothered to attend.
If they had, they would have heard the warning that we are betting the entire Australian economy on a net-zero scheme that cannot work on renewable systems that are not significantly reducing emissions and that the actual cost of renewables to 2050 to us is an estimated $1.2 trillion. Mr Bowen could have even asked questions, potentially learning that the transition is not cheaper; that once we build wind factories over our prime agricultural land, dig up our national parks for high-voltage transmission lines and chop down state forests for solar panels, the electricity price will never go down because we will never stop rebuilding them. Where we once built power stations that would serve three generations on Australian resources, Mr Bowen's plans will be relying on Chinese-imported batteries.
Wind towers and solar panels must be pulled down and replaced every 20 years, and then it must be decided where we bury them - three times before 2050. There is no way to recycle wind factories or solar, so they get thrown into landfill. All states will need giant landfills for expired renewable junk.
Robert Martin, Warners Bay
Land lauds some over others
A CONSUMER recession looms, but not for many landlord-housing investors. Whereas the cost price index (CPI) increase remains stubbornly high at 7.8 per annum, the average rent rise in Sydney was 22.1 per cent per annum based on SQM Research's latest research.
This means that as leases are renewed, many landlord-housing investors are more than passing on interest rate rises to renters and the tax office. In Newcastle, the rent rise is half that of Sydney but still exceeds CPI.
The aim of both monetary and fiscal economic policy is to cut spending so that it matches Australia's productive capacity. Australia was always going to suffer a recession to achieve this. Whether the recession is mild or severe, given the way Australia's tax system and property market work, the recession was always going to hit Australia's poorer, unpropertied people the hardest.
Geoff Black, Caves Beach
We've marched to wrong beat
WHILE everyone opposed to decency wracks their brains for some excuse to prevent Indigenous Australians from matching mining, gambling and alcohol companies with some say in government, there's no meaningful opposition to our idiotic government blithely committing $400 billion in aid to the US and UK defence industries. President Eisenhower warned the world against granting undue influence to the military industrial complex but, since that famous speech, we've completely ignored his advice.
Australia is now inextricably linked to two countries that actively create conflict rather than ever really trying to resolve it. The US teeters on the brink of a fascist takeover, while the UK collapses as a consequence of its racist, isolationist policies. But we don't worry about that, we thumb our noses at our largest trading partner, upset most of our neighbours, simply to remain part of the same old club that has never delivered us anything but bills and misery. Brilliant.
Rick Frost, Mallabula
Wily like a fox in court case
THE $1 billion settlement by Fox News for defamation raises a few questions. The first and foremost in my mind is, why settle? In my opinion, and I'm not a lawyer or law expert, but keeping the issue out of court and potentially avoiding a full court ruling would be the major reason.
My understanding is that the settlement cannot be used as a precedent in future cases of the same nature, unlike a formal judgement. I believe such a precedent could have left Fox News and other news companies with similar trends for distorting the truth and swaying the minds of the public having to be much more careful.
Fred McInerney, Karuah
Most see pain in big pay jump
COLIN Fordham (Short Takes, 20/4): I have two sons who have small businesses, so I have firsthand experience of the implications of such a large wage rise. Further, I do, in my everyday life, speak to people about all sorts of things, including this subject. I find most people agree that such a wage rise would put excessive pressure on small business.
Again, let me suggest that Mr Fordham do his research among some small businesses to get an idea of their thoughts, just as he has said I should do and, in fact, have done. I rest my case.
Ian King, Warners Bay
SHORT TAKES
ON behalf of my daughter and family, I would like to thank the staff of John Hunter hospital who tried to save the life of her husband after a ruptured groin aneurysm. Sadly it was not to be after a 7.5-hour surgery and another 24 hours in intensive care. A grateful thanks to the vascular surgeon, staff of ICU, Fr Roger the chaplain and nursing staff. The people of Newcastle are blessed to have such a wonderful public hospital.
Diana Taaffe, Belmont North
ALL we see these days are young women wanting to aspire to older role models and wanting to inspire up and coming females. That's great. I'd like to know what's happened to the blokes. Excluding sportsmen collectively - they're in the media often for good and bad and certainly giving young, impressionable blokes myriad behaviour pathways - where are the role models for boys growing up? Of course they're there, but we don't hear of them as often as the women in my opinion.
Bryn Roberts, New Lambton
I have to agree with Alan Metcalf, ("Fox falls into trap too often", Letters, 17/4). What he said is quite correct, the rambling on from one after the other of their so called unbiased presenters, seems they all speak from the same cue cards. But I doubt that the Sky News' mouthpieces from the Hunter will agree with you.
John Matthews, Belmont North
SOMEWHERE in the back of my mind I recall in the lead up to the federal election last year the then opposition promised to bring down the cost of electricity if elected to government. We have just received our quarterly bill and surprise, surprise; it has increased by a whopping 49 per cent compared with the same billing period last year. Yes, that's right, 49 per cent. Still the same number of people and almost identical usage. So where is the promised cost reduction from Albo?
Ian King, Warners Bay
JASMINE Stuart ("Why I helped stop a loaded coal train", Opinion, 18/4), as you can see our current government understands the existing political system (a representative democracy) is not designed to actually work but give the impression of doing so. The party system indoctrinates its representatives into the party needs as they rise through the levels. It's a bit like Australia Post in getting messages delivered. If you really want something done, you need to bypass the system and seek a "voice to parliament". There, Australia's benefactor, Anthony Albanese, will consider your case and grant you consideration. Don't let on, or else everyone will want to do so.
Paul Duggan, Garden Suburb
JASMINE Stuart, the renewable energy engineering student who was photographed on top of a coal train with her colleagues, ("Why I helped stop a loaded coal train", Herald, 18/4), is obviously a committed climate activist. However, the picture showed colleagues busily scooping coal off the train and Ms Stuart leaning on her shovel. If things in the renewable energy field don't work out for her, I believe she could get a job with a council and do the same thing.
