GOVT'S POLICY ON CLIMATE CHANGE FAILS OUR FARMERS
Australian Dairy Farmers president Terry Richardson indicated in his June 6 article ('Sensible approach to Climate, Stock Journal) that he supports the present federal government greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 26 per cent to 28pc below 2005 levels by 2030.
Even this mediocre target may be out of the government's reach because recently-released figures show that emissions have increased every year for the last four years.
I will repeat that - emissions in Australia have increased every year for the last four years.
With emissions increasing, it is impossible for the government to meet its target.
It has to be remembered that this is happening under the government's Direct Action policy where billions of dollars of taxpayers' funds are being spent in an effort to reduce emissions.
There is a lot of hoodwinking going on by the federal government - it is spending scarce taxpayers' funds on projects that are having little or no effect on reducing emissions.
The federal government should stop wasting taxpayers' funds by immediately axing its failed Direct Action initiative.
To justify supporting the federal government's present emissions target in preference to the Opposition's higher reduction target, Mr Richardson uses a recently-released report by BA Economics.
This report has been discredited by experts due to inaccurate cost assumptions used in the modelling.
It is also well-known that the report's author has strong links with the fossil fuel industry.
So in essence, Mr Richardson is using a tainted report - a report so unreliable that it should be ignored, as the experts have done.
It is disappointing that somebody representing an agricultural industry, as Mr Richardson is, has allowed himself to be influenced by unreliable research.
Farmers are bearing the brunt of climate change via increased climatic extremes and altered rainfall patterns.
Climate change represents a clear challenge to the economic viability of all agricultural enterprises, hence it is imperative that cost-effective emission reduction strategies that actually work are put in place.
As a footnote, even the leader of the Catholic faith, Pope Francis, has declared a global climate emergency.
He has warned of the necessity to limit global warming by reducing the quantity of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere.
Mark Jones,
Mount Gambier.
POLICY-MAKERS FORGETTING RAIL TRANSPORT'S BENEFITS
How easy is it to sign a document to terminate a railway line?
Obviously this overseas company Viterra has done just this.
They stopped using the Riverland railway in 2015 and now the Eyre Peninsula. They have all the right to do this apparently, with no government intervention.
The federal and state Liberal governments apparently see the people of EP as 'the forgotten people'.
That's not completely true - we are 'the abandoned people of EP'.
Our political systems in Australia find the easy way out is to just hand over the running of our silos, as well as the railways, ports, Port of Darwin, stations, properties and mining operations to overseas multinational companies.
It seems to me Australia is a "giveaway country".
Where is the balance?
The governments need to look at the future for their own families.
I came away from the Railway Station Museum holding back tears after finding the volunteers, most retired train drivers and workers for the railways, shell-shocked at the reality of the railway system closing down the next day.
This is a reality that the politicians have tunnel vision of, as proven figures show it is far more viable to use the railways than to spend the money going into roads infrastructure across long periods of time.
They are not even taking in the danger factor to us, the people of EP, or the safety of the driving tourist whom we rely on - a vital part of our sustainability.
We ask the question - why can't the state and federal governments make funding the safest infrastructure on EP a priority?
I will say it again - we are the abandoned people.
