Don’t rush decision
I am surprised but not shocked to see yet more dodgy dealings are in the pipeline regarding the state government Planning and Racing Ministers and Racing Victoria being yet again involved in pressuring Warrnambool City Council to support the horse racing industry over local community interests. Our community should be alarmed and nervous not to have the opportunity to scrutinize this highly questionable process which is being rushed through prior to the Christmas break. WCC should avoid making rushed and suspect decisions which will have a huge impact on our local environment and consequently, our whole community in the future. Our community should be consulted and at a minimum, this process should be discussed and considered during scheduled council meetings. I have lost confidence in WCC being transparent and inclusive, and do not think that Warrnambool can ever become 'a cosmopolitan city by the sea' when our beautiful beaches are being systematically trashed by the local race horse industry and poor council decision making becomes the norm.
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Monique Ferrier, Warrnambool
Delay appeal date
I would firstly like to congratulate Bev McArthur on her election to the Legislative Council. A worthwhile first representation for Western Victoria will be to push back the unreasonable schedule for the VCAT appeal by Bookaar Renewables Pty Ltd (BR). BR’s lawyers at least had the courtesy to use Express Post on December 17 to notify some of the 86 objectors to BR’s appeal. VCAT’s schedule requires any of those still opposed to BR’s industrialisation of Bookaar submit a statement of grounds by January 8, before a “practice day hearing” on January 18. Unfortunately a few of the initial objectors, with strong support from their families and friends, would actually like to present sharpened objections to VCAT, and are dismayed at the apparent contempt at the proposed schedule’s impact on their family time. If Bev was able to convince VCAT to reschedule BR’s appeal to be more family friendly, that would be an early win for the Liberals’ new policy on women parliamentarians. Such fairness may also win over some much needed respect for BR and its few supporters.
Terry Brain, Camperdown
Wind energy value ‘exaggerated’
Tony Delaney's criticism (letters, December 15) of Moyne Shire councillor Jim Doukas, who wants to curtail the spread of wind farms, is wrong. Wind farms despoil the landscapes and according to my engineering calculations the 'number of homes served' claims are regularly exaggerated by up to nine times. In Victoria, since the hydro we have is fully committed, backup for wind farms must be gas turbines which run on fossil fuel and supply two-thirds of the electricity when the wind is not blowing enough. Moreover, we are not told about the amount of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas which is mined in combination with methane fuel, but is separated out and harmfully released at the Port Campbell and Gippsland gas refineries. Because the electricity from gas has to be continuously variable, its production is not as efficient. The billions being spent on wind farms are a main reason for big increases in electricity prices through the need to keep two generation systems fully operable. The popular idea that Victoria's electricity supply can be totally produced from renewable energy is but a green dream.
Graham Keith, Warrnambool
Solar, wind not the answer
In silence I have watched the left field progressive line of thinking voice their view of the catastrophic effects of man made Co2 emissions. It is time for sanity to prevail and to achieve this we must apply observable evidence to any argument. This approach has been the driver of the success of Western Civilization, it has progressed Mankind out of poverty {so, so sorry please get the New Age Smack Stick out} I should have said Person Kind. Unfortunately, certain ways of thinking will in fact revert us back into poverty. Mr Delaney’s claim last week needs addressing, that solar power and wind turbines bring significant economic benefits to our South West’s economy. This must be based on their total failures elsewhere. These two mentioned sources do not operate by utilizing sunbeams and sea breezes, they operate on the unsustainable tax that ordinary workers provide by subsidizing their existence. Without this proven fact of massive subsidies, then solar and wind would not and will never, survive in a healthy economy that pays its way. They will also never provide the absolute vital necessity of base load power. We should look just over the border to the basket case of South Australia with the world’s most expensive electricity. They rely hugely on the intermittent supply of wind turbines to make their state into an unsightly scrap yard, they have massively expensive batteries, that on the inevitable power failure will provide the state with a few minutes’ energy. Also, they use Victoria’s coal fired energy to get them out of their renewable trouble. They have installed huge diesel generators to replace coal. Independent studies have found that especially on wind and solar, these will never generate in their operational life time the energy it takes to manufacture and maintain them. This is the path to poverty. Mr Delaney in his zeal mentioned climate change, presumably with reference to man induced atmospheric Co2. This is a natural gas which has massive life giving qualities with respect to plant food and is imperative to greening our planet. If Mr Delaney possessed the qualities of an over active Methuselah, he would have found massive climate change in the past and all instigated by natural causes. Yes, the Medieval Warming event did occur even though the Greens bible of Mike Mann’s ‘The Hockey Stick’ selectively ignored its existence. This massive deception as usual was orchestrated in an endeavour to prove Global Warming. Yes, once a society removes itself from reality, then that society will find it hard to distinguish between Ideology and Empirical Evidence. Truly it’s very hard work trying to cope with unusual ways of thinking and it’s time to speak up.
Michael Cane, Warrnambool