Letters To The Editor

Dear Editor, Recently a mother and her children were hit on the notorious pedestrian crossing on Goodwin Drive. As an older person, I feel as if I'm being marginalised by the Police and media through judgemental comments based on age. This pedestrian crossing has been problematic for many years with drivers not stopping and rear-end collisions. Since the lights were commissioned, I had an undies-changing moment when a sudden shower of rain happened while some pedestrians were waiting for a “walk” sign. They ran across in front of me against a “don’t walk” sign while I had a green light to get out of the rain. I slammed on the brakes and stopped, a near miss. I later reviewed the incident on my dash-cam, good reflexes, and defensive driving skills in an impeccably maintained diesel Patrol saved the day! I use this intersection regularly and am acutely aware of the inadequacy of the roadway as well as the stupid and dangerous behaviour of drivers and pedestrians. It’s very easy to blame us oldies but the insurance industry confirms beyond reasonable doubt that the 18 to 30 age group are most problematic because they have significant excesses imposed on their insurance. Older drivers are required to have a medical certificate to drive. To obtain or renew a licence, I maintain all drivers should have to do the basic road rules test as well as a medical check-up for health issues like sleep disorders, epilepsy and other related conditions which may prejudice their driving ability. Most oldies have a maximum no-claim bonus and significant discounts and no demerit points for our excellent driving records. The MBRC and Federal Government have spent $472,000 to fix this problem in March 2022. I have asked the MBRC for a breakdown of costs and was told it was "commercial in confidence". I am becoming concerned that spending a bag of money on a problem is seen as the best way to resolve the said problem and absolve themselves of any responsibility in the matter. Nothing much has changed.

M.Smith

Dear Editor, Here we are on 3rd, Jan 2023. The roads are packed onto and approaching Bribie Island. The cars don't stop. All the green grass and footpaths are chock-a-block with cars and boat trailers. It never stops, this week and weekends in the summer to come. The boat people cram the boat ramps and never get fined for parking all over the place. They don't spend money to contribute to the local economy in general, (fishers) others bring their own drink and food and enjoy Bribie on the 4wd beach, and don't spend money locally, only on the Qld govt for a licence. Who checks the licence? One traffic accident anywhere and the whole network is stuffed but who cares? The Qld govt does not or why would they let the redneck bullies destroy the beaches on Bribie? I care or used to, but gave up and I want to sell up and go elsewhere. Bribie has lost its shine with redneck invasion in big 4wds who like to bully people in cars around. They are nasty, vindictive, sons of bitches who don't care about Bribie beaches, only their own miserable selves. I can't sell and get out of Bribie quickly enough. P. White. P.s I've had enough

Dear Editor,

The Moreton Bay Regional Council is currently considering DA/2022/3050 for construction of a church at 99 First Avenue, Bongaree, Lo 89 CG 3198 21. I am preparing a submission to the Council with objections to the Development Application on the following grounds: The proposed development is in the middle of a wildlife corridor and will result in complete removal of 0.4 ha. of vegetation with resultant damage to fauna and flora. Considerable Commonwealth funds have recently been spent in erecting fencing and aerial crossings in this area in an effort to protect wildlife. The earthworks and infrastructure involved in construction and operation of this project may cause further damage to the water table at Woorim. A dangerous traffic situation will result with vehicles entering and exiting the premises via a sub-arterial road with a speed limit 80kph. The number of car parking spaces being considered are inadequate and will result in off-road parking on First Avenue. It is unacceptable to consider a construction of this nature in the middle of a bush area which may be susceptible to bushfires. If you would like to make a submission. further information on this Development Application can be obtained on Council’s website at DA/2022/3050Development applicationsMoreton Bay Regional Council. J. Youens.

Dear Editor, I recently sourced and engaged a painter from within The Bribie Islander classifieds to repaint a concrete slab and associated house surrounds. He used a product which unfortunately blistered under the unseasonably hot sun. The manufacturer totally absolved themselves from any liability saying it was operator error. This is the same product which was used some two years previously without issue. At no cost to us, this painter, who clearly is of the “old school” mentality, sourced a different and more expensive product and promptly sanded down the slab in hot sun and totally repainted the job at absolutely no cost to ourselves. The likely cost to him totally eroded any profit he stood to make from the original job and then some. I am truly thankful and gobsmacked that this dedication to values and integrity is still alive in the local island

community. His name is Mick from Residential and Commercial Painters, and he is a staunch long term local resident of Bribie with strong values and advertises without fail in every issue of the Bribie Islander. Look him up - you won’t be disappointed!

Greg Banksia Beach

Dear Editor, I was reading your estimable journal on the way to work on the train on Tuesday morning. From a seat nearby, I was loudly advised that, by continuing to read a physical newspaper, I was contributing to the destruction of vast and critical parts of our environment. Why, it was demanded, was I so ignorant? Did I not care? Brandishing her mobile device, my inquisitor abused me for my heartlessness; I think the word dinosaur may have been used, along with vandal and possibly even philistine. I fully expected troglodyte but was spared this final indignity. Thoroughly shamed, I then offered a bargain. Given the amount of exploitation involved in extracting the minerals contained in her smartphone and the welldocumented concerns at conditions in the factories in which the smartphone is produced, I suggested we get off the train together at the next station – which happened to be Central. There, in an act of contrition and ecological purity, I would quite happily throw my newspaper into the bin if she would do the same with her phone. Strangely, this suggestion was met with neither grace nor gratitude. If, I then suggested, immediate disposal was not convenient, might she guarantee to drop her device into a recycling bin later in the day, as I do every day with the newspaper? Once again, this suggestion was gracelessly rejected with even greater vehemence. I now write to inquire whether the fine folk who manage our railway network might consider providing special carriages for those few of us who still enjoy reading the newspaper. Perhaps we could be given a few reserved seats in the quiet carriage; unlike the infernal mobile devices, a newspaper emits no more noise than a gentle susurration as the page is turned. We readers, equally, make no more noise than a quiet expression of frustration when a crossword or sudoku entry is mistaken. Would others of your readership care to join this campaign? Thanks to Ross Millar, West Ryde, NSW

Dear Editor, In the last issue of the Bribie Islander, Professor Ian Plimer and I were criticised for the stance that we have taken on the causes of Climate Change (Bill Shearman). Ian Plimer has provided evidence that the planet has been much warmer than it is at present and much colder than it is at present. Over the millennia there have been six major Ice Ages and many periods of inter glacial warmings. He has provided further evidence of the various cycles in the sun’s activity, the orbit of the Earth and the movement of the solar system within the galaxy that could give rise to these changes. He concludes that these changes all precede our burning of fossil fuels and therefore cannot be ascribed to mankind. On the other hand the ‘numerous genuine authorities in the field’ of climate change that have ‘denounced Plimer’s work as bunkum’ have come up with . . . Nothing! The apocalyptic prophecies that are scaring our children witless all stem from that world famous climate scientist, Al Gore, and his award-winning documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. The ‘evidence’, which appeared at the end of this documentary, comprised a graph of suitably scaled Earth temperature changes and atmospheric Carbon Dioxide concentrations over the last 200 years. These curves were highly correlated from which we are supposed to conclude that increases in Carbon Dioxide give rise to increases in Earth temperatures. Or possibly, vice versa! Had Mr Al Gore included data from earlier times to draw these curves he would have seen that several times in the past, the Earth was much warmer than at the present time and much colder than at the present time. Now, that is an inconvenient truth! What is needed is an unbiased scientific examination of the subject without the name calling that is directed at the so-called climate change deniers. Unfortunately, some parties are making a lot of money out of our rush to eliminate all fossil fuels and sell even more solar panels and wind turbines, that such an impartial enquire is most unlikely. In the meantime, you might like to show us some post Al Gore evidence, Mr Shearman. M. Cavenor

Dear Editor, I refer to the December issue 181 of the Bribie Islander. A nightmare about Water Bill. P. White. Yes! I imagine many of us including me heard it all wrong. Like you! I certainly used water for the garden. (What erk's me is I have a bore water pump). Just thought I was doing the right thing. If you have trouble paying the bill call Unity Water and enquire about their Smooth Pay Scheme. Or just Google it. It's interest free. I pay a fortnightly amount. That way I don't dread the quarterly water bill. I hope this helps you, and others. Bellara resident.

RESPONSE

Dear Bill Shearman Your condescending letter implying that the aged of Bribie Island, Probus members and others possess little intelligence and blindly believe Dr Cavenor and Professor Pilner's "rantings on climate change" does little to commend you in the "intelligence" stakes. Please permit me at 88 years young to provide you with some independent sources (readily found on the internet) for your consideration. 1. Emeritus Professor Lance Endersbee, AO. Dean of Engineering - Foremost of his Australian Fellows. "A voyage of Discovery" 2005. 2. Dick REANEY - Climate and Paleoclimatology for 40 years including numerous expeditions to the Antarctic, the North Pole, and the Himalayas. < https://www. nzcpr.com/human-inducedclimate-change-fraud-of-the21st-century/ > < https://mail. google.com/mail/u/0/#drafts?co mpose=GTvVlcRzDsfWKNwrrQ vvPhxGzHRMPGSrmXMRXBJwb LbFznzpZhwlSzFRGXKkSgcTqW frpWtJzfQrQ > 3. Facts presented to the Australian Senate by Qld Senator Malcolm Roberts. About 90+ Senators were too arrogant to even attend the Senate Chamber. Perhaps you could deduct their Salaries for the day. 4. Freeman John Dyson FRS was an English American theoretical and mathematical physicist, mathematician, and statistician. 5. What historians will definitely wonder about in future centuries is how deeply flawed logic, obscured by shrewd and unrelenting propaganda, actually enabled a coalition of powerful special interests to convince nearly everyone in the world that CO2 from human industry was a dangerous, planet-destroying toxin. It will be remembered as the greatest mass delusion in the history of the world - that CO2, the life of plants, was considered for a time to be a deadly poison' Prof. Richard Lindzen 6. Monthly atmospheric CO2 concentration measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, for the 64-year period from March 1958 to September 2021. https://mail.google.com/ mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=140b54996f& attid=0.1.3&permmsgid=msg-f: 1715086111882112070&th=17c d35bb59f06c46&view=att&disp =inline If you need further help, contact me through The Bribie Islander – A paper prepared to print the truth. Thomas J Mahon JP Bcs