Garden Club aims to hit pesky pests

Contributed by Patricia Bradford

THE Peachester Garden Club welcomed members, new members and visitors to the delightful home and garden of Jeff Bodley and Rob Morris for our June meeting.

Pests and diseases seem to be a problem for most gardeners going by the number of times the subject comes up.

An organic solution for cabbage moths is to grow land cress among brassicas. Had some success covering them with white netting. For mildew on zucchini leaves, try spraying with a milk solution. Loved exploring the large garden, with its mature trees. Many shade loving

Probus going back in time

Contributed by Norma McCormack plants including camellias and azaleas flowering.

GLASSHOUSE Probus has been to the movies, well, the silent movies. The Club outing for June was a trip to Pomona to see Buster Keaton in a silent movie while a local accompanist played the music to enhance the action. It is reported that the slap-stick comedy had some of the group rolling in the aisles!

Pomona has the only remaining silent movie theatre in Australia. How great it is to have this remnant of the past for a younger generation to enjoy.

After the theatre our group travelled by bus to Boreen Point where they enjoyed lunch at the Apollonian Hotel.

Here too the past was present for the Apollonian was moved from Gympie in the 1980s.

It is the last of the Music Hall pubs once alive in Gympie, from the gold rush days.

It was built in the 1870’s from local cedar and hoop pine and moved to its present location.

It was a great day in the tradition of Fun, Friendship and Fellowship of Probus.

If you feel this kind of activity would interest you, our Tour Organiser has more good things lined up. For more information about Probus contact Dagmar on 0406076410 or Norma on 5439 0446.

Some unusual plants and a variety of potted plants. The daisy tree, covered with white daisy flowers was spectacular.

Many thanks to Jeff and Rob for the delicious pumpkin soup to finish off an enjoyable day.

Next meeting, Thursday, 20th July, 9.30am in the garden of Clara Graham. Please bring along chair, mug and small plate to share for morning tea. Entries for the competition bench and raffle prizes.

Flower of the month, azalea. Contact us on 5496 9169 for more information.

Argument degrades in time

I can answer ARW’s question about who Adam and Eve’s sons married.

Genesis 5:4 tells us Adam had other sons and daughters.

As Adam and Eve were created with a perfect genome, their offspring would have a near-perfect genome, and it was some generations later when the instruction to not marry close relatives was given.

So while it is not explicitly stated in the bible, Adam and Eve’s sons must have married their sisters.

Doctor John Sanford, co-inventor of the gene gun, stated “Virtually all human geneticists agree that the human genome is degrading, and some say it is degrading very quickly”.

That is the opposite of what is required for evolution.

He also says every generation has 60 to 100 more mutations than their parents. Virtually none of these mutations add new information. They are neutral at best, or harmful.

Sir David Attenborough in his documentaries sometimes says “We are seeing evolution in action “, but what he sees is natural selection.

I’m not sure whether Mr Attenborough is being deliberately misleading or just optimistically ignorant.

On camera, Richard Dawkins was asked if he could give an example of a mutation which can be seen to increase the information in the genome.

He could not.

I certainly agree with ARW that we need more critical thinking.

Then more people should see through the great lie that is evolution.

Phil Garrad, Beerwah

Future is not a numbers game

Sel Hopley (GCMNews 13 June) tries to persuade us that it is commercially daft for Australia to develop renewable energy. Readers should be aware of four issues:

1. The numbers quoted seem to come from a blog by “Graeme#4” on the website of Joanne Nova whom Wikipedia describes as ‘prominent for promoting climate change denial’.

2. Graeme#4’s numbers come from SNR Nuclear Technology whom I assume regard renewables with fear and loathing. Given the ability of economists to always find ways to support their paymasters, I have very little faith in the reliability of the numbers.

3. SNRNT’s costs for coal fired generation included carbon capture and storage, but Graeme#4 stripped them out to make coal look better. I doubt that any new coal fired project will be approved in Australia without CCS so these numbers do not make sense. Renewables look rather good to me.

4. We should move to renewables because it is good for our grandkids―not because we can make a buck out of it.

David Lowry, Witta

Telstra needs to get on board

I would like to share my point of view for readers who may experience that mobile phone network coverage between Maleny to Kenilworth and onwards does require some improvement.

I was born in Kitale, Kenya which was also a country town and migrated to Australia 2 decades ago. I am now retired at Deception Bay in Queensland’s Moreton Bay shire.

In the last 30 years, there have been a lot of global technological advances in this world and was hoping that one day our Aussie mobile companies will have enhanced mobile coverage in the hinterland on through to Kenilworth and hopefully beyond.

I enjoy my country drives occasionally and patronise shops in Maleny, Montville and through to Kenilworth with visits to the dairy as they produce a market niche of flavoured cheeses there which are amongst my favourites.

The excursions are an awesome refresher for me so please mobile phone companies, get the countryside connected too.

Mitesh Pabari Deception Bay

Poultry expansion too much

Sunshine Council has approved a huge expansion for the Woodlands Poultry Farm at Beerburrum increasing shed numbers from four to ten.

The 10 sheds will house 452,000 chickens at any one time and potentially two million chickens per year.

These unfortunate animals will be housed in high density, lighted conditions for their entire lives. I’m appalled to learn our councillors would approve such a proposal by 7-2. My neighbours have five healthy, happy hen’s wandering around their back yard enjoying freedom, fresh air and sunshine.

The Woodland Fowls will know nothing of this alternate lifestyle which would be theirs if compassion and concern ruled instead of greed and indifference.

Jan Trendle Maleny

Voice facts lost in politics

I recently received a newsletter from Mr Andrew Wallace, the LNP Member for Fisher. In that letter, he stated, “I’ll be supporting the campaign against Labor’s Canberra-based Voice.”

There are two very incorrect political points in that statement.

Firstly, the Voice is not “Labor’s” Voice. The Voice is informed by the Uluru Statement From the Heart that was created five years ago, when the government of which Mr Fisher was a member was in power.

It in turn was created through the efforts of indigenous people from all over Australia. Secondly, the Voice is not “Canberra-based”.

As Mr Ken Wyatt, a former member of the previous LNP Coalition government stated on the ABC’s 7:30 program, “It’s not a Canberra voice. It is not elites. It is people from the grassroots…the late, great leader Mr Yunupingu…was one of my colleagues in shaping the discussions around the Voice and how Aboriginal people could become involved in this country, this economy, and in our future.”

We should remind ourselves that Mr Wyatt, when Minister for Indigenous Australians in Scott Morrison’s government, advocated to introduce the Voice, but was ignored by his own government.

By all means, anybody who wants to vote no can do so. I only ask people to think about their vote, and properly inform themselves before believing the disingenuous political urgings of their local member.

Professor of Law, AJ Wood of Australian National University recently wrote in The Conversation, “The Voice referendum, if successful, will be a modest positive measure.

It is an advisory body, that will recommend or suggest changes to improve Australian laws.....Australia is the only industrialised nation that allows its parliament to make special detrimental laws for the Indigenous peoples of the land.”

Think about your vote in an objective manner, and what it might do to address the long festering problems that continue to plague Australia in its treatment of its indigenous citizens.

Ken Dyer Landsborough

Voice is good government

I suggest the Voice isn’t about equality or power.

It’s about good government and good use of the public’s taxes..addressing problems with input from the section of Aussies most affected by the parliamentary decisions.

The Voice only presents possible solutions or recommendations on issues confronting the people it represents.

That is the only role as parliament has the power to agree or disagree with any proposals presented.

It is time our best selves is seen by the rest of the world. Canada did this in 1980’s and it has enriched that nation internationally.

Jenny Donovan, Beerburrum

Honest debate preferred

I’m always bemused by some comments or complaints submitted to your letters section.

Why do people complain about Telstra as though it’s still a government entity after it was sold to private interests?

In a capitalist system, they should band together and form their own telco to give a better service.

And I suggest many complainants voted for a government that sold off Telstra and similar government assets.

That said, it is a sad fact that expectations always exceed the ability of the technology to meet same.

If everyone wants to watch different movies at the same time (let alone social media, advertising and porn), the NBN and Telstra will need to massively increase their infrastructure and that necessarily requires ‘upgrades’ that involve service interruption.

Likewise I find the “discussions” about an entity called “God” puzzling since one group doesn’t believe in this entity’s existence and hence is talking about nothing, while another group talks as though they actually know what’s in the purported mind of said entity.

Neither party really knows just what they are talking about.

So a little less hypocrisy and a lot more humility and honesty is called for, methinks.

Karle Tietze Maleny

Keeping in the spirit of things

The letter in a previous edition of Letters to Editor entitled Critical Thinking at GC&M News did not say anything about the spiritual life behind religion.

There are lots of spiritual books and websites out there. Some good and some are rubbish like Osho Rajneesh and his sex cult. Some good spiritual books are “Politic’s of Being “ by Thomas Legrand or “The Future of God” by Deepak Chopra.

At Christmas time the Turks shook hands with the ANZAC’s at Gallipoli.

Behind war we help our oneness with all humanity. What if we had spiritual groups who raised money also alongside religion.

The spirit of doing good has no religion or

CONDITIONS Please keep your letters under 300 words, your name, address and daytime phone number must be supplied. Letters must focus on issues and not be personal attacks on individuals. Letters may be edited. SEND TO: editorial@gcnews.com.au or PO Box 99, Beerwah 4519 or text to 0488 444 525

Hey teachers, leave our phones alone

HOORAH to the state government for bringing a blanket ban on mobile phones in schools.

Here’s hoping this puts an end to the regular inane texts from your children between 9am and 3pm letting you know such whatevs as A ‘you call this lunch’, B ‘I’m soooo sick’ or C ‘put $20 in my account for lunch’.

School serves multiple purposes, not least giving parents a breather from their kids, but phones have put us on 24/7 high anxiety red alert. Finally that comes to an end next year.

There will be a bunch of helicopter parents who will lose their mind at this, but I’d love to see the data showing that the addition of devices to the end of students’ arms has resulted in fewer lost/ stolen kids, better learning outcomes, more resilience or improved relationships. These phones are simply a scourge. I often talk to my smarter half about what improvements and/or efficiencies

The longer children are shielded from this reality and get to be and act their innocent best, the better off they and we are. As our ability to communicate gets by technology, a few formative years of uninterrupted learning in the school unimpeded by the distraction of phones can only be a good thing.