Love in the hinterland air

By Jennifer Kent

Whether you celebrate Valentine’s or ‘Pal-entine’s’ Day, there’s plenty of ways to celebrate the ones that mean the most to you this coming Tuesday, February 14.

Beerwah has some of the best fresh flower arrangements around but be sure to pre-order now to avoid missing out.

Fleur Emporium on Simpson Street flower orders and also have a range of candles, chocolates and plants available too.

Sue from Beerwah Flowers & Gifts will be opening from her home at 40 Old Peachester Road, Beerwah from 9-5pm, February 11-14 to pick up the perfect gift from her great range of gift lines. Now is the time to order flower arrangements to avoid missing out.

The Orangery Maleny is hosting a special High Tea Dance from 2pm with a special performance by musician, John Mays, to raise money for Maleny Hydrotherapy.

Owner, Heather, said that each year they look forward to hosting couples and friends on Valentine’s Day, and previous years have seen them book out.

To simply enjoy a meal and each other’s company, Landsborough Hotel have a special lunch and dinner menu, and bookings for Beerwah Hotel and Glasshouse Tavern are now open for Valentine’s Day.

Glasshouse Tavern are running a special competition to win a Valentine’s Dinner for two – visit their Facebook page for more details.

the hinterland, so why not create the perfect platter to share with your partner from the award-winning Maleny Cheese; now a licensed venue, you can also pick up a great local beer or wine to complement.

Parents, is a night out sounds perfect, but you’re not sure what to do with the kids, Masterpiece Dance have the perfect solution.

The kids will have a ball with supervised dance disco, games, movie and pizza for dinner at Masterpiece Dance studio in the heart of Beerwah. Parents, drop the kids off from 5pm on Saturday February 11, and enjoy a few hours to yourselves and pick them up at 8pm.

Easy. Book at www.trybooking.com/ CFQOY

Seasonal Fruit Parfait

Serves: 2

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients: 250g mascarpone cheese

250g raspberries, frozen 1 cup kiwifruit, fresh berries, mango or any other fruit in in season, roughly chopped 2 tablespoons roasted granola

Method:

CHILL 2 parfait glasses in the fridge.

COOK frozen raspberries in a small saucepan on a gentle simmer for around 15 minutes or until very tender. Puree with a stick blender.

TRANSFER the raspberry puree into a small clean bowl and refrigerate until cool.

Club Glasshouse will have a special three course dinner menu with complementary bubbles on arrival. We’re spoilt for choice with beautiful spots to enjoy a picnic lunch here in to keep up to date with what’s happening at Landsborough Hotel

And if Valentine’s Say simply isn’t your thing, head along to the Beerwah Hotel’s Anti-Valentine’s Party on Friday, February 10 at 8.30pm. Entry to the 18+ event is free, with special guest La Boum.

LAYER fruit, mascarpone and raspberry sauce in chilled glasses up to desired height, keeping each layer as distinct as possible.

TOP each glass with a sprinkle of granola.

SERVE immediately with long spoons or chill until ready to serve.

Take on the voice

AUSTRALIA, before the British, consisted of many small nations the size of countries like Denmark, Liechtenstein and Bhutan. It was isolated and not subject to continuous aggressive takeovers and enslavements like everywhere else. Its people had a unique spiritual attachment to the land which minimised conflict and fostered a less exploitative relationship to nature for over 50,000 years. No other nation had the privilege of elaborating its culture for so long undisturbed.

Then the British came and inflicted what was probably an unintended genocide – Australia was too far away for proper control and settled in a manner that led to a brutal regime, the consequences of which we are all familiar.

Times have changed people are more enlightened, tolerant and hopefully more understanding of other’s cultures. Now the indigenous nations are asking for a means to voice their opinions on matters that impose on their affairs, in a country dominated by British Government legacy. They recognize the advantages that legacy has brought but also of its disadvantages and that they never had any input into its formation. Indigenous Australians are asking for their voice to be enshrined in our constitution – not to overthrow or even control it – just to have a say. They are putting that request to us, the people, not to the government. While some sceptics want more detail, that is not how our parliament works – it only sets broad outlines so inappropriate restrictions are not made in the future. The details are matters for the parliament, in consultation with those whose voices are finally being heard, the originators of this land and its first cultures. There are many books available for the sceptics, such as ‘Everything You Need to Know About the Uluru Statement From the Heart’ by Megan Davis and George Williams, and ‘Tell Me Why’ by Archie Roach. So let us support The Voice and the Uluru Statement from the Heart!

Thank you to Allan Avenue

ON MONDAY 23rd, I received a text message from a friend who lives in my close neighbourhood, telling me a very large portion of my fig tree had broken off and was blocking Allan Ave.

While travelling home from the hospital, I rang the Council who informed me they had been out to see the sight and it was secure.

What the Council didn’t tell me, was that a group of neighbours (whom I don’t know) rallied together with chainsaws etc. and cleared the road and stacked everything in piles for removal.

I just want to say a very, very special THANK YOU to all those people. What an amazing neighbourhood we live in when told strangers step in to help. You are amazing and it is very much appreciated. Now we just have to wait for the debris to be removed by the Council, which I am sure will have happened before this letter goes to print.

Vikki and Paul Smith.

The Future is Here

I FIND it disappointing to continue reading the conservative views in the GC&M News, as conveyed by some of your respondents. They are almost always negative, and little attention is paid to what it means for Australia and our collective future.

Several videos and papers were published on the website www.rethinkx. com. Presented by a Mr Tony Seba, an academic and entrepreneur based out of Stanford University, and Mr James Arbib, a technology investor. The website exhibits three foundational sector disruptions, depicting patterns of change and key technologies resulting in what is described as “the Great Disruption.”

The first disruption, transportation shows by 2030, 95% of passenger mile travelled will be by on-demand autonomous electric vehicles, all within 10 years of regulatory approval of AV.

The second disruption is renewable energy. The global adoption of solar, wind and batteries is growing exponentially. By 2030, the cheapest electricity will be an option for most regions. Non-renewable assets will become stranded during the 2020s and won’t represent an alternative source of economic energy.

The third disruption is food and agriculture. It shows by 2030 the cow population in the U.S. will be cut in half, causing the cattle farming industry to be all but bankrupt. Other livestock industries will suffer similarly, while knock-on effects for crop farmers and businesses will be severe.

This will be made possible by rapid advances in precision fermentation biology and an entirely new model of production called Food-as-Software, that will have profound implications not just for the industrial agriculture industry, but for the wider economy, society, and the environment.

These disruptions also have profound implications for climate change and can potentially eliminate most greenhouse gas emissions worldwide within 15 years. All the technologies driving these sectors exist today as commercial entities. You can buy an electric vehicle, install solar panels and home batteries, and buy foods made using precision fermentation technology.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers recently asked, “How do we build this more inclusive and resilient economy, increasingly powered by cleaner and cheaper energy?”

Perhaps one needs to look no further than The Great Disruption.

Ken Dyer, Landsborough Doomsday passed by

LET’S have a look at the global doom alarmist claims that were proved correct versus those claims that were wrong in the past 50 years. Interestingly the list of doomsday predictions that climate alarmists got right add up to zero.

While the list of doomsday predicionts they got wrong start here: In 1971: New Ice Age Coming By 2020 or 2030; 1974: Space Satellites Show New Ice Age Coming Fast; 1974: Ozone Depletion a ‘Great Peril to Life; 1976: Scientific Consensus Planet Cooling, Famines imminent; 1980: Acid Rain Kills Life In Lakes; 1978: No End in Sight to 30-Year Cooling Trend; 1989: Rising Sea Levels will Obliterate Nations if Nothing Done by 2000; 2008: Arctic will Be Ice Free by 2018; 2009: Climate Genius Prince Charles Says we Have 96 Months to Save World; 2009: UK Prime Minister Says 50 Days to ‘Save The Planet From Catastrophe’; 2013: Arctic Ice-Free by 2015; 2014: Only 500 Days Before ‘Climate Chaos’.