I’M not usually inclined to respond to the inane ramblings of your serial letter writer Geoffrey Butt, but his latest show of ignorance on the role of a regional airfreight terminal needs correction.
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Mr Butt may also need to do some homework before firing off some ideological rant.
Albury airport is nearby but the landlocked parcel of land and its existing runways limit the size of freight aircraft that can land there. An airfreight terminal, whether it be at Barnawartha or elsewhere, needs to look to the future, needs to be able to shift commercial quantities of produce and that means far greater capacity than is currently available across the river.
On the first of his second points, perhaps Mr Butt could benefit from some maths homework too. Economists are highlighting the increasing demand for fresh produce from the increasingly affluent Asian economies that demand goods arriving within 72 hours of leaving the farm gate. Neither rail nor sea can meet that deadline.
And on his second point, the North East rail line is the responsibility of the Commonwealth and I’m pleased to say that as a result of the federal Coalition’s commitment to our region we will have $100 million spent on track improvements in the near future.
Bill Tilley, Member for Benambra
Energy approach flawed
The acts of denial by our Lib/NP federal government seem to know no bounds.
Not only are they in denial of climate change, in denial of the corruption of democracy by undisclosed political donations, in denial of human rights associated with marriage, but they are also in denial of common sense.
We are currently advised that electricity prices are likely to increase further as ageing coal-fired power stations are kept in service beyond their effective, efficient life spans. Where is the leadership?
Someone needs to be spoken to again by Malcolm, or perhaps the government needs to legislate some regulations to guide the long term operation of our electricity supply.
Under present governance, as soon as the profitability of old coal-fired power stations starts to dip, the owners put up a for-sale sign and walk away.
There is no responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of our power industry by the current owners.
Renewable energy generation has the advantages of being quicker and cheaper to install as well as cheaper to run than coal-fired power generation.
So, why has the Lib/NP party consistently opposed the development of renewable energy?
The progress made by state governments and individuals so far has been in spite of the reduction in Renewable Energy Targets (RETs) and funding for renewables implemented by our current federal government.
At a time when renewables need to be embraced and installed rapidly and the associated grid problems solved, the responsible minister Josh Friedenberg has introduced a Bill into Parliament that seeks to amend the Clean Energy Finance Corporation Act (2012).
This amendment will divert taxpayer funds away from clean energy research and give it to the coal industry.
I have written twice to the office of Cathy McGowan requesting her to declare her position on this issue, which may be voted on soon. I have had no response to this question from Cathy McGowan over the past three months.
