The time for action is now

About “Failed carbon farm company ignored expert’s advice” (Age, June 25), is Mr Abbott still deluded, about carbon in soils, even low-grade soils, even dry locations, year after year, for ever and ever, amen? 

From ABC Lateline – “Greg Hunt claims 150 tonnes per hectare every year but ... inconsistency with CSIRO ... carbon actually in range only 0.3 to 2 tonnes per hectare per year”. Greg says he accepts the science. But how about liability, for untruths peddled in Direct Action, endorsing such unrealistic projects, causing losses for creditors and investors(even Rupert Murdoch!), as much as $100 million?

Direct Action, because of period only five years, never allowed enough for emission reduction projects, just abatement (offsets), window dressing, like carbon in tree platings; also, separately, carbon in soils. Green Army was 300,000 trainees, planting 20 million trees.

 How does federal government look when even blind Freddy sees just 67 trees per trainee?

Absorption of carbon is 94 per cent into oceans; land and plant matter helping only a little. It’s now desperately urgent to treat the cause, instead of tinkering with the symptoms. 

The real problem is how do we reduce emissions, urgently? International treaties are based on growth in emissions peaking by 2020 and replacement by zero emissions energy sources by 2040. 

Current trends are hopelessly inadequate.

For a glimmer of hope, Industry Minister Macfarlane makes undeniable sense, asked recently about King Island proposal: “wind farms are the only solution deliverable, big and fast enough, to meet bipartisan agreed and internationally committed target of 5 per cent emission reduction by 2020”.

New technology is always welcome, whenever, but time is now for implementation, using current technology. 

Technology will improve because of implementation processes. We can no longer afford to wait for any magic silver bullet solution,

Bernie McComb

 Cowes  

No-benefits bill must be stopped

Re the letter on Newstart cut for under 30s: following our successful sausage sizzle on June 20, the good news has come out that Family First and Liberal Democrats will oppose the Newstart measure in the Senate. 

The proposal is to deny welfare to anyone under 30 for six months and demand that they apply for 40 jobs a month plus work unpaid for 15 hours a week.

This is slavery.

Abbott, Abetz, Corman, Hockey and Andrews (the villains in this piece) need six cross-bench Senators to deny support to anyone under 30 and jobless. 

The ensuing disaster in rising crime, suicide, homelessness and general despair is unimaginable.

It is too early to be complacent. As you read this, the Senate will be considering the legislation. It is now time to pick up the phone and ring your senators, MPs and candidates and say: no we are not a Third World country.

Vote it down. 

Brian Hawkes 

Hepburn Springs

Leave onshore gas in ground

Re your letter on the state government conducting a consultation on community attitudes to onshore fossil gas exploration: 

Currently, there is a moratorium on the process of “fracking” required to extract most of these unconventional gas resources. 

Critics of the gas industry point to the real dangers of contaminating aquifers, or nearby farmland, with dangerous carcinogenic chemicals used or produced in this process. 

These concerns have yet to be sufficiently answered by the industry. Given that these unconventional gas wells frequently last for only about 10 years before they run out, there is a real risk that companies will move on to the next resource, taking their profits, while the community is left behind with polluted and maybe unusable land and water. 

International and Australian experience also highlights that greenhouse emissions from gas can be even worse than from coal if the gas leaks. 

Leaks can occur at the well head, in the supply pipelines, or in the homes and factories that are the end users. 

Just a few per cent of the gas leaking makes its greenhouse impact, about the same as that of coal power; more leaks make it even worse than coal. 

The boom in unconventional gas is largely for export. Linking our gas market to international prices has seen a 17.5 per cent increase in our gas price, and this will continue to rise. 

For homes, gas is no longer the cheapest or greenest energy source. Alternatives like reverse-cycle aircon and solar/heat pump hot water now are cheaper and cleaner, more efficient options for homes to use. 

Add this to the availability of renewable energy sources and the necessity to protect our farmland for the future, and there is no case for allowing onshore gas exploration. Victoria should leave it in the ground and pursue the demonstrated clean alternatives of wind and solar. 

Ben Courtice 

Moorabool Environment Group

Maddingley

Vote one for science party

Tony Abbott made it quite clear that a vote for his government was a vote against climate science. 

Are we likely to see future elections contested over other fields of science? Will Einstein’s Theory of Relativity be the next contest for conservative voters perhaps?

James Hockey

Clunes

Small businesses need help too

Dear Mr Palmer: we salute you on your stand on the Schoolkids Bonus, trying to extricate this important benefit for parents from the repeal of the mining tax.

We all know kids are our future. But Mr Palmer (may we call you Clive?), we would like to add that Australia’s two million or so small businesses are also part and parcel of our economic future.

So while we’re looking at the mining tax repeal, how about retaining some very important tax concessions for small business that will be taken away because they (like the symbolic Schoolkids Bonus) are wedded to the repeal of the mining tax?

The government wants to repeal the following measures as part of the mining tax repeal legislation:

• Motor vehicle tax concession for small business

• Concessional depreciation write off for small business

• Loss carry back rules for companies.

You pointed out that Australia has low national debt and a AAA credit rating. Although you are a formidable businessman, don’t liquidate your political capital too cheaply. 

We have a lot of politicians who look after themselves, with generous parliamentary perks. Please be mindful that you are negotiating for all of us, and in the national interest. 

Small businesses are doing it tough and removing these tax breaks is a slap in the face to those businesses which employ millions of Australians and are crucial to our ongoing economic success.

So to help you Clive, we have a few talking points to help you get our message across. 

First, in the case of the motor vehicle and depreciation concessions, the removal of these two measures will clearly increase red tape for small businesses (as they will have to record and keep track of a greater subset of assets). 

Perhaps you could remind the Prime Minister next time you meet him in the Aussie Cafe that conceding to this measure will be in accordance with his aim of less red tape – this may get it over the line.

Secondly, let him know that repealing these business tax concessions hammers the engine room of the economy with a hit to our cash flow, an area of particular vulnerability.

It will impose additional taxes on small business earlier by not letting them claim these deductions up front, putting the hand break on an economy that has been promised growth.

So, Clive, we are asking you to please not focus just on the Schoolkids Bonus. Look at all those other tax breaks which will go when the mining tax is abolished and take a stand on behalf of Australian small business!

RM MacDonald,

M Brulowte

Sailor’s falls