Borders huge mistake
I MAY not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but with COVID-19 now spiralling out of control throughout Europe, Australia's making a huge mistake in my considered opinion in opening its borders before eradication. We have made great strides and a few more weeks could mean the difference in attaining that goal, or a return to what we now experience and possibly worse. I hope I am wrong.
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Don Davey, Launceston.
Government's coal obsession
THE Morrison government wants to waste millions of taxpayers funds on carbon capture and storage. CCS technology is not proven commercially viable after decades of development around the world and hundreds of millions of dollars spent.
There are no full-scale working CCS plants in operation. Pilot CCS plants do not demonstrate a viable commercial return is possible and are unlikely to ever do so.
Storage sites so far identified cannot store the thousands of tonnes of carbon that would be generated every year. Storage is finite.
Carbon and the additional chemicals used can leak from storage sites and risks groundwater contamination and CO2 release. CCS reduces the efficiency of coal by a third.
This makes coal even less competitive than it is now.
Proven technologies such as wind and solar are still increasing their efficiency, they are not mature technologies yet.
No credible independent institution recommends CCS.
Proponents of CCS are the fossil fuel-based industries.
Carbon as coal is already in the ground, let's leave it there.
Steve Saunders, West Launceston.
Emergency Plus a great thing
ON a recent local motorcycle trail ride we had the misfortune of having a rider injured and incapacitated in the bush in a location difficult to explain over the phone.
Triple-0 was called using an App called Emergency Plus and the response was fantastic. Within an hour we had the rescue helicopter with a paramedic, named Richard and police directly overhead and attending to our wounded mate and on his way to the LGH shortly after.
I'm writing this to not only thank our excellent emergency services personnel for their wonderful care but also to highlight this App "Emergency Plus" which gives you your GPS location to be able to pass on. I strongly recommend that everybody with a smartphone download it. It could go a long way to saving your or someone else's life.
Gary Underhill, Scottsdale.
Council GM Appointments
IRRESPECTIVE of personalities involved or the outcome, the appointment of a new general manager for the municipality of Burnie is indeed encouraging in regard to the disclosed process.
The mayor has stated that he did his due diligence and no doubt shared the same with elected members. At the end of the day, a mayor is the leader and spokesperson of the team that represents the ratepayers and the buck stops on their collective desks.
If only more councils would follow there should be less disruptive and expensive turnover of general managers.
