Population problems
HERE are some facts for all to contemplate - there is a population of 900 million in India and one billion people in China.
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Neither of these two countries, with these enormous populations, have a climate change policy of any sort. They not only burn coal; they are still building coal plants from clean coal imported from Australia. Yet coal is a dirty word here because so many of our leaders and climate change zealots live in cloud cuckoo land.
I listened to an honest man recently and in my opinion, he had his facts just about right - and yet he would be pilloried for his opinion on our climate change ambitions.
His comment was if these large countries, with their massive populations, are not committed to climate change policies. Australia can go to extremes to change our own emissions but in the end it will do nothing for the world's overall reductions, only send us further into debt and misery with higher charges and more blackouts and small businesses going broke. But many people who can afford electric cars and fly around the world are hypocrites. They are not practising what they preach.
We have 25 million people in this vast continent, although some are urging our government to take in more immigrants and refugees. Do they ever think of our lack of water? But build a dam?
My granddaughter lived in Berlin last year and had to shovel coal in the basement of her bedsit when winter arrived for her warmth. It took six buckets of coal to make the small fire worthwhile. You tell me any city in Australia where that would be allowed? Of course, Germany is heading to a bigger supply of gas which will exclude the use of coal I guess in time. But remember Julia Gillard, when Prime Minister, sold our gas offshore and you can still see gas tankers leaving our ports while our supply does not improve but the price certainly does.
Another two facts - America has a population of 350 million and no climate change policy but has been able to increase markedly their own gas supplies. Meanwhile, Indonesia, just north of Australia, has close to a 300 million population.
I have lots of questions about climate change; or rather, what can we do about it, when our population is so miniscule in comparison to the above countries? The hypocrisy appalls me. We seriously need much more honesty instead of endless chatter.
I remember David Attenborough sitting down with Barack Obama when he was president. The talk turned to climate change. David brought up the out-of-control world population growth, which obviously is a stumbling block to the survival of the planet, and Barack Obama didn't have an answer. We hear some of the huge number of so-called climate change experts regularly and they leave me breathless with their comments. They never mention the population problem; or the fact we have to stop some of this modern world madness.
If Australia acts without care and responsibility, we will turn into a third-world country and who do you think will then take us over? Do you think they will care about climate change? Of course not.
Of course, I personally don't believe that the world was formed by a few explosions and that we came from other forms. This planet floating in space - the astronauts showed us how miraculous it all is - and with all the miracles of life we can observe daily, for me there is a Divine Creator behind it all. We are just custodians for a short while and wisdom is required every day.
Ruth Shepherd, Horsham
Truth be told
THE recent Federal Budget announced $210,000,000 of road spending in Mallee.
But really what was announced?
$60 million for the Stawell to the South Australian border upgrade is welcome, but the Nationals' ads claiming a "$1 billion" spend in Mallee already includes $50m for the same project - so how much of that $60m in the budget is new money? We need to be told.
Another $60m was pre-announced for the Swan Hill bridge, but when will that be spent? As it stands, despite years of discussions, there is no definitive site yet.
How you feel about an unelected member of the public announcing how your taxes will be spent rather than your elected representative is for you to decide.
In The Age newspaper on April 15, Shane Wright wrote: "The $360 million duplication of the Western Highway between Ararat and Stawell will have to wait until 2026-27 before it is finished."
That's a minimum three Federal Elections away. Yet in the Nationals' election advertising, they have seen fit to load the full $500,000,000 Federal Government commitment to the 123 kms Ballarat to Stawell upgrade onto the last 15 kilometres of the road, that was, but is no longer, in Mallee and claim it has been "delivered".
Presumably they think we take everything they say as gospel and don't bother to check. They are playing us for fools and until now they have gotten away with it.
That's why this election I am working for and will vote one Ray Kingston, the Independent for Mallee. He delivers, for example the Silo Art trail; he is honest, conscientious and he's a good bloke. He wants a better Mallee for his kids and grandkids and so should you even if that means changing the voting habits of a lifetime.
Dave Lennon, Horsham
Election letters
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