DEAR News Of The Area, IT’S somewhat laughable that Robina Badger (Letter to the Editor, 19 February) felt “stunned” by community uproar about an offshore power station (wind farm). There was no political mandate: I’ve lived for 36 years in this coastal strip without hearing one serious election candidate grandly promising to take power generation […]
DEAR News Of The Area, I WRITE in response to Kathy Brown’s (5 February) and Robina Badger’s (19 February) letters. I am a 50-year resident of Port Stephens and as Secretary of The No Offshore Turbines Port Stephens (NotPS) group I have been at the forefront of the community effort to protect the integrity of […]
DEAR News Of The Area, I AGREE wholeheartedly with Kathy Brown’s letter (5 February). I felt frustrated and a little intimidated by the very noisy and aggressive campaign to dismiss the idea of an offshore windfarm, before the survey even got off the ground. What happened to all the people who voted overwhelmingly for Labor […]
DEAR News Of The Area, Council’s “Your Port” Summer newsletter sent to ratepayers declares it’s “Making housing more affordable”. It says: “We’ve reduced contribution costs for people building Affordable Rental Housing projects, encouraging developments in this vital category”. Affordable rental housing IS needed vitally: needed by essential-services plus other low-income workers (i.e. in hospitality plus […]
DEAR News Of The Area I REALLY must respond to the article Zone ‘Revived’, published in the last edition of NOTA (29 January). Firstly, the old nugget that all the community is against offshore windfarms. Alison Penfold, NATS member for Lyne, is quoted: “Offshore wind is simply not feasible or wanted off the Myall (or […]
DEAR News Of The Area, CHRISTMAS is nearly here again! Is the pace of life getting faster? Christmas brings family gatherings and presents. We wish each other “Merry Christmas” and, hopefully, we have a good time. But Christmas can be busy and stressful, so please pause for just a moment. You’ve likely heard, in a […]
DEAR News Of The Area, I REFER to the recent letter from Charles Hemming, in which he links the increasing amount of renewable energy in the grid to what he terms as the likely demise of the Tomago Aluminium Smelter. This assertion is not true. All of the smelter’s electrical power is currently supplied by […]
DEAR News Of The Area, THE likely demise of the Tomago Aluminium facility without government subsidy is due to rising electricity costs with the increasing proportion of renewables (actually weather-dependent intermittents) in the electricity grid. The mantra: ‘renewables are the cheapest form of energy’ is a delusion of the energy-illiterates. Sunbeams and breezes are there […]
DEAR News Of The Area, IT’S truly humbling that almost 50 people volunteered their time to undertake a hazard reduction burn that will help keep our property, the wildlife and nature that lives here, and our family safer this summer. Volunteers like you all are the fabric that knits our community together. I would like […]
DEAR News Of The Area, IN May’s Federal Election, Australians voted against dangerous nuclear reactors, so why is the Australian Government persisting with the AUKUS nuclear submarines deal? More than 30,000 people have signed a petition calling for an independent parliamentary inquiry into the AUKUS pact. Is it in our national security and best interests? […]
