Letters To The Editor

Dear Editor, The UN Framework Conference on Climate Change, which sponsors the COP meetings, has finally revealed its goal. To save the planet from Global Warming perhaps? Well, No. It’s to make the developed nations of this world, such as Australia, pay compensation to the developing nations, including China and India, for the ‘loss and damage’ that we have caused as a result of our historic contributions to Climate Change. The thought of us, with our 1% contribution to the world’s Carbon Dioxide levels, paying compensation to nations that are the world’s top emitters of greenhouse gases, is hard for me to swallow. Who took us down this path and more importantly, who is going to bring an end to this insanity? In the mean time we are shutting down our reliable coal fired power stations in the hope that solar panels and windmills will fill the energy void and, we are told, save us money. Our current bunch of politicians, and the ones that preceded them, have a lot to answer for together with the voters who demanded that we take the ‘looming catastrophe’ of Climate Change more seriously. We live in a country with abundant reserves of energy yet we see electricity prices rising at an alarming rate and we are being told to prepare for blackouts. It is time for someone to step in and end our commitments to UN wealth redistribution schemes. Michael Bongaree by Colin Walker, Issue 179, heralding the degradation of “Aussie lingo”, and the farcical nature of the “PC Brigade”, I would like to point out a few things. Firstly, the moniker of dinosaur may be relevant if it is meant to be an analogy for someone who is perhaps stuck in the past. Colin claims that his attraction to the English language is its flexibility and evolving nature, yet his article contradicts this claim as he laments this evolution. He then refers to “we”, taken to mean society, going backwards, but I believe that it is this very stubborn adherence to past language that keeps us from moving forward. Terms of inclusivity, although tricky to grapple with at first, open our minds and hopefully our hearts, to the great diversity of our communities. They welcome and embrace those who have been marginalised, or worse, have been ridiculed because they are “different”. If one wishes to be called “Chairman”, this same rule of respecting others' wishes should apply. Inclusive terms such as "Chair”, open up a space for diverse peoples to feel that they have an equal opportunity to “Chair” something. I believe that the language we use is a broader reflection on how society is evolving. If that evolution is more inclusive, those who share this view, choose to celebrate it. Lastly, I believe that our worldview need not be a binary one but embracing the shades of grey. After all, being respectful of all people and modelling decency and politeness are considered to be "old fashioned values” aren't they? Why not apply them today? If you still want to be called Grandad, Colin, I would hope that your Grandchildren would respect your wishes (even if you are, as your grandchildren say, a bit of a dinosaur). Regards, L. Stevens

Dear editor, I want to voice my anger at the way the trees were cleared to make way for the Hospital hub on First Avenue. Surely the trees on the perimeter of the site could have been left for aesthetic purposes and for some wildlife. No thought went into this. We need trees to give us some shade too! D Griffiths

‘Wildlife warriors’ Several weeks ago I finally sought to understand the Council’s decision to spend a reported $360,000 on those wildlife barriers/ green road paint along First ave. - What was the expected outcome? Well, I’m not sure the Council wildlife warriors had determined that, apart from an assumption that it would likely reduce roadkill. How, might one ask? Our local div.1 councillor advised at that stage there was no actual statistics on roadkill on Bribie Island, but she added that the programme had “worked in other similar areas”! If that’s representative of Council accountability /factbased planning, then I fear for all ratepayers. By observation it’s fairly clear that locals who travel to/ from Woorim, by and large show little attention to these two “green” areas ie., it is an 80kph zone so what are those “green” zones and 100m of fencing supposed to achieve? Extension of this fencing is now planned to proceed! Issue 177 of the Bribie Islander included a contribution by K. Salisbury about his/the Council’s wildlife project part of which includes placing ridiculous and distracting yellow kangaroo cut-outs (with built in GPS!) in a few areas, but he stated that over time ,signs become ineffective . How very true. An example of overkill is along Cotterill Ave. ( 50klms zone) there are no fewer than 10 yellow cut-outs/ formal signs ,plus a few illegal home made contributions (yes, they are still there Councillor). I recently travelled 850 klms on the fairly busy back road from Central Queensland and saw only one kangaroo signpost. Now that’s a sensible approach. With any urban speed there’s always going to be accidents involving animals who don’t know the road rules. I’m against Council expending money on these “feel good” projects which have limited, if any, effect. Tom O’Dea, Bongaree.

Dear Editor, In her most recent letter, H Beneke challenged me to explain “what was the cause of global temperature rises if not anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide” (BI Issue 179). Informed readers of the Bribie Islander will know that I have already fulfilled this request by inviting Professor Ian Plimer to talk on exactly this topic in a lecture to the Probus Club of Bribie Island. As assistant programs officer for the Probus Club, I tracked down Professor Plimer to his home in Adelaide and persuaded him to deliver a public lecture at the Bribie RSL. I placed two prominent notices in The Bribie Islander advertising this talk. One of which appeared in the 9th of September issue directly following a letter submitted by . . . none other than H Beneke. !50 open-minded Bribie Island