This is a reckless, short-sighted move from a goverment that claims to be about innovation.

ARENA has completed more than 60 clean energy projects and is currently managing 200 more. 

This move would cripple renewable energy investment and slam the brakes on climate action.

What the government should be doing is expanding funding to the renewable energy sector and reduce/eliminate funding for fossil fuels.

After a number of years of trying to deal with the dreaded fruit fly in our Albury garden, using fruit fly traps and nets over fruit trees with minimum success, I have come to the conclusion that it is a complete waste of time and money, either buying fruit fly traps or making my own with the various home recipes and using them.

In my opinion, anyone with fruit trees on a suburban block, vulnerable to fruit fly attack, should purchase fruit fly nets or mosquito netting and place over each fruit tree individually, after the fruit has started to develop, to ensure a positive outcome and pesticide-free fruit when it ripens.

If all fruit flies are not caught or killed, using fruit fly baits or traps, you can be assured that your fruit will be spoiled and after spending time and money on a pointless exercise.

So, don't worry about using  fruit fly traps, spend your money on some netting and be assured of harvesting your fruit when it ripens, like I will do this season.

I adore dogs and it breaks my heart to see them abandoned, but I don't believe landlords should be blamed for this sad predicament (‘Open door to our pets’, The Border Mail letters, August 26).

Isn't the problem caused by people who buy dogs and cats without being home owners? Isn't it irresponsible to buy pets when they can't be guaranteed a “forever-home”?

Admittedly there are exceptional circumstances where the family home has to be sold or the pets belonging to deceased relatives are passed on and I feel great sympathy for these people and the animals,

As an animal lover, I would like to see it made far more difficult to acquire a pet. Increasingly, houses with gardens are being transformed into blocks of units with tiny, concrete backyards or apartments with no backyards at all.

Being confined in these places all day long is no life at all for an intelligent, active animal. Forcing landlords to allow pets into their rental properties will simply ensure that more dogs are condemned to this miserable existence in the future.

I think Peta McRae makes a good point in her letter (‘Open door to our pets’, The Border Mail, August 26). I don’t think you can “blame” real estate agents and landlords, but I think she raises a really genuine issue. There are some real estate agents, and landlords, who just put a blanket ban on pets. 

Imagine if you put a ban on children? They’d call that discrimination. I had to pay for damage once as a tenant. I had a small dog. A small child came to visit and threw his toy car at my pet, putting a dent in the wall. The child did the damage, not the dog. 

I understand the reservations of agents acting on behalf of home owners and landlords about pets, but there must be a smarter approach than a blanket ban. And I understand Peta’s stance. If I was told my pets had to leave a home, well I would be out too. 

Sharon Watson, Wodonga