Letters to editor 230425
ELECTION THOUGHTS
Dear editor,
When it comes to politics, I tend to be a listener and try and come to my own conclusion without the argument or heated discussion that often comes with the territory.
But I need to speak up in this election as so many things are not sitting right with me. The duopoly of this democracy no longer has you or me as a genuine concern and certainly neither leader willing to do whatever it takes to keep our precious country safe and self-sufficient, even to die for us when standing up for us as any elected leader should be prepared to do, to lead us, even through adversity. Sounds dramatic but they have lost sight of us.
This election, I am now going to vote, because I have to for the real people in our midst, the independents willing to stand up to a tough battle, which it always is for them. I always thought that was a wasted vote, shame on me, as we need to cut the power down of our selfish duopoly.
PLEASE think seriously about your vote this year.
Robyn Blakemore,
Coolum Beach.
##
SOCIAL MEDIA
Dear editor,
Social media is not the REAL world: it attracts the misuse and abuse of AI, misinformation, disinformation and the distortion of facts and the truth. Yet, it is often the prime source of information about the world for many young people hungry for factual knowledge, communications and personal guidance, many of whom do not read newspapers or watch the news. Labelling scripts: “Truth Social”, does not necessarily mean it IS “truth” per se, for the unwary.
In any crowded form of transport, or in any waiting room, people, not only the young, but any age, can be seen to be glued to their phones for communications from the outside world, while they sit absorbing and facilitating information to feel connected with the outside world, while they sit motionless. This then becomes their reality and their life, the parameters of their world for the most vulnerable, open to bad influences and manipulation.
Crime of all types, such as scams, can be convincing, because of the false belief that, if it is online on reputable platforms, it must be true and safe, to the unsuspecting and naive, unlearned in differentiating between fact and fiction. This can be due to the lack of critical thinking skills, learnt by education, exposure and repeated experience. Any information available on social media may be used to influence opinions, win over friends, or trap someone in a web they feel they cannot escape.
This is why children younger than 16 should not be exposed to or use social media. Their level of maturity cannot protect them from inappropriate data. Their minders need to be aware of the vulnerable party’s access to social media on computers or phones in their daily lives, especially when alone or in uncontrolled company. It should be closely monitored. We all have witnessed the obsession with social media and the dire consequences for many victims.
E. Rowe,
Marcoola.
##
WAR COSTS
Dear editor,
Defence is a major policy issue in the election. The politicians are looking to increase their budget, but the cost is not just in money and materials.
If our leaders truly examine their consciences, the cost is also in the lives of the men and women fighting to defend us and to their loved ones when they return as a shattered shell of the man or woman who departed home.
Legendary wartime leader, Winston Churchill, was haunted by his advocacy for the Dardanelles Campaign in WWI.
His conscience was seared by the catastrophic losses of men, including our diggers, on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Fear of it being repeated on a larger scale led him to oppose the D-Day landings on Normandy in WWII.
I was reminded of the human cost of war when my girlfriend and I were barbequing at twilight under a seaside shelter. A scraggy figure caught my eye, and as he approached m,e turning a chop, I invited the homeless man to share dinner.
Zac joined us to share more than food but glimpses into his life. He spoke of being used to hunger as he experienced it in Afghanistan as part of the Australian forces.
I said I did not know a lot about that war, but had written a book about the bushmen who became Anzacs in WWI. Many returned home, promised a land fit for heroes, but became lost souls.
It struck a chord with Zac, a bushy from South Gippsland, that I might have glimpsed his wandering soul under the camouflage of a mosaic of tattoos, piercings and tough guy demeanour.
As we farewelled at sunset, Zac shook hands with my girlfriend and broke free of language to give me the tightest man hug.
When we commemorate Anzac, we can not only turn the pages of century-old history but reach out to the modern warriors drifting on the fringes of our society.
Hopefully, our politicians will examine their consciences on the true costs of war, not only for our warrior defenders but the innocent families who become more than collateral damage here and abroad.
Garry Reynolds,
Peregian Springs.
##
NUCLEAR THOUGHTS
Dear editor
I live just over 100 km due east of the proposed site of one of the coalition’s large nuclear reactors at Callide.
The wisdom and the economics of building seven nuclear power stations across Australia, which will deliver just 4% of total electricity needs sometime in the 2040s, have received coverage in mainstream media. Opposition Energy Spokesperson, Ted O’Brien, and the Minister for Energy, Chris Bowen, have traded barbs on cost, timelines, and how these nuclear plants will impact energy prices.
Very little has been said about three key issues: the required water for the reactors; the safety of reactions; and the waste produced.
The global experience shows that a typical nuclear plant needs 13-24 billion litres of water per year, or 35-65 million litres a day. This is almost the water consumption of the Sunshine Coast region. Expert analysis shows that there is not sufficient water during cooling system failures, which could lead to reactor failures at the Callide and some other proposed sites.
We all know about the catastrophic failures of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. But there has been a raft of serious failures at nuclear plants including Lucens (Switzerland), Gundremmingen and Lubmin (Germany), Jaslovske (Slovak Republic) and Tarragon (Spain). These are nothing like the breakdown at the Callide coal power station in the past week. These nuclear plant failures have resulted in abandoned sites and the sealing of the Lucens reactor in a mountain.
As for the waste, well, that would be our gift to future generations for 10,000+ years. A total toxic waste.
Ted O’Brien says he loves the Sunshine Coast. Either that’s not true, or he is just telling porkies about the coalition’s nuclear plan.
John Mendoza,
(Adj Professor University of the Sunshine Coast),
Sippy Downs.
##
FRACKING?
Dear editor,
In the outer Barcoo where people are few and rain in the region is scanty, is the action on track for the land to be fracked – for ground water the basin is storing?
Or is it the plan for the man on the land to frack for the gas and give it en masse to the companies whose shareholders will profit?
When the groundwater runs dry and the land slowly dies, then who will be named as the winner? Just asking if Australia is being fracked?
Margaret Wilkie,
Peregian Beach.
##
NUCLEAR COST
Dear editor,
We don’t have laws requiring truth in political advertising and so I am used to candidates making misleading statements. I was still startled to see a billboard for our local member, Mr Ted O’Brien, saying he is fighting for “cheaper energy”. I just can’t reconcile that promise with his fervent support for nuclear energy, by far the most expensive way to provide electricity.
It has never really been cheap, but the few nuclear power stations built in Western Europe and North America this century have all cost more than double their budget. If we were to go down that path, we would not just have more expensive electricity, we would also lumber future generations with the problem of managing radioactive waste for geological time.
Ian Lowe,
Marcoola.
##
SOLAR BATTERY
Dear editor,
Having long been concerned about the future of our planet and global warming, and after downsizing, we were fortunate to have money over which we put to good use, easing our cost of living and reducing our carbon footprint by buying an electric car and adding more solar panels.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised, that if re-elected, the Labor government will introduce a 30 percent rebate on batteries to store the excess power from solar panels.
One third of households have installed solar panels, opting for cleaner energy and saving costs. Batteries are the next step to cleaner more sustainable energy.
The battery rebate will be a fantastic win for our budget, the environment, and for future generations as the world transitions away from polluting fossil fuels. Good one Prime Minister Albanese.
Robyn Deane,
Nambour.
##