Letters, April 5, 2023

Main street solution

NOBODY knows the Main Street better than I do.

I’ve lived, and worked there with my double door and wide windows open to the Main Street, 364 days of the year for the past 44 years and been aware of the traffic problem for many years.

Over the past 10 years people have spoken about putting heavy vehicles onto the freeway by means of new ramps at Verdun. But do the trucks want to go on the Freeway?

In 2017 I did a traffic survey over a period of three months (January to March) noting all heavy vehicles, what they were carrying and where they were going.

Much of this traffic was going north–south or south–north, using the underpass in the centre of Hahndorf to cross the freeway. There were timber jinkers, semis carrying grapes to the Barossa, large transports with stock from the Fleurieu to Lobethal et cetera.

There were also many commuters living south of the freeway (Echunga et cetera) which traversed the town to access the freeway at Verdun.

I advocated to councils and the State Government that a bypass could be effected by using the River Road underpass with either an upgrade of River Road through to Mylor, or a substantial upgrade and realignment of Fairview Road.

The four options considered by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport involved putting traffic on the freeway and then, within 2km, taking it off the freeway at great expense as well as disruption to current traffic.

Use the infrastructure already in place, the River Road underpass, placed there for the very purpose.

Each year the problem is exacerbated.

In SA’s premier tourist town many visitors find it incomprehensible that the Government has not taken steps to solve the safety and traffic congestion crisis.

Bypass urgently needed.

Harold Gallasch, Hahndorf

Biodiversity win

A BIG congratulations to the biodiversity team at the Adelaide Hills Council and the council itself for authorising 25 potential council sites for progression towards Heritage Agreements that provide additional protection of our South Aussie biodiversity.

(‘Council eyes 25 new heritage agreement sites’, The Courier, March 22).

A special mention to Cr Grant who – among others – eloquently summarised the benefits to the community from these agreements in the chamber.

Given the sheer breadth and depth of the challenge to safeguard what little biodiversity remains in the Hills (13%), I can only encourage other councils – such as Mt Barker, Alexandrina, and beyond – to also progress Heritage Agreements over council-owned or controlled biodiversity hotspots.

Not only do Heritage Agreements provide an additional level of environmental legal protection, they also – just as importantly – provide councils with access to additional and desperately-needed State Government funding to steward our shared environment.

Michael Cornish, Bridgewater

Wrong priority

MOST Australians will now be aware that the main cause of human-induced climate change is burning fossil fuels to produce energy which results in the release of massive volumes of greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere.

Why is this not being stopped or, at the very least, seriously curtailed, many will wonder. The answer is that big money and big corporations will not allow it to be stopped. Surely the Federal Government should step in, as it, one would have thought, has an obligation to protect Australians.

It appears by the actions of the Federal Government, (pouring billions of dollars into the fossil fuel industry), that the financial rewards resulting from a continuing fossil fuel industry are  more important than stopping the terrible problems caused by human induced climate change.

Brian Measday, Myrtle Bank

Legitimate stake

THE views for a ‘no’ vote for the upcoming referendum on the Voice appear hard to understand.

Simply, the Voice will, for the first time, allow First Nations People a legitimate stake in decisions affecting their welfare instead of the ‘talk-down’ approach traditionally provided, offering little, if any, mutually beneficial consultation.

As Australians, we all admire First Nation Peoples’ success in sport, music, art and theatre, to name a few. Why can’t this also apply to their needs to be listened to over issues affecting them?

The ‘yes’ vote cannot and will not give legal approval to these discussions, but will provide a platform from where they can have a say in the life of their country.

Glen Chenoweth, Goolwa North

Not reliable

‘CAT experience’, (The Courier, March 29) needs to be addressed, as it is these anecdotal assumptions which seriously undermine sound scientific studies which are undertaken by meticulous research.

Neighbors’ pet cats are usually those seen by residents.

Timid cats, which are frightened of humans, are rarely seen.

They are not likely to be present in daylight and mark their territory at night, when people are absent.

It only takes a few minutes for a cat to mark its territory to keep others out.

Does Ian Hobbs watch all night and have video cameras set up under every bush and all understory?  

If not, how would he know if a cat was about?

We at C.A.T.S. Cats Assistance To Sterilise do work during the night, we do undertake serious studies and we have for 33 years.

Where cats are desexed and returned home, new undesexed cats are deterred, and when those resident cat numbers fall too low, new undesexed cats infiltrate, and must be desexed.

We also spend considerable time researching other sound, world-wide surveys based on scientific evidence.

All feedback, to be of any value, needs to be evidence-based.

This is especially important as there is a request from the Adelaide Hills Council in The Courier asking for feedback on cat management in the Hills.

Assumptions, hearsay and anecdotal examples are not reliable.

Christine Pierson, president C.A.T.S. Cats Assistance To Sterilise

Nuclear safety

I REFER to the Federal Government’s recent announcement that Australia’s fleet of nuclear powered submarines will be constructed at Adelaide’s Osborne shipyards.

On the face of it this appears to be a positive development for Adelaide and SA.

However, could somebody please explain at what point of the construction process will each nuclear power unit be delivered and installed in each vessel and, presumably, tested?

Also, if sea trials are carried out in South Australian waters, how will spent nuclear fuel be conveyed through Adelaide and beyond to a selected and probably permanently radioactive dumping site?

Robert Armstrong, Mt Barker

Fast food culture

NO to more fast food outlets at Mt Barker

I am a resident living not far from Wistow off Long Valley Raod.

I was alarmed to read in the latest Courier (March 29) that another McDonalds was being considered for the new Wellington Road shopping centre. With obesity now a national crisis and health disaster it is negligent of the Mt Barker Council to consider approval for anther fast food outlet at this location.

It’s also another example of the monoculture of commerce pervading regional towns.

I ask the council to reconsider any approval for the sake of Mt Barker residents and think of alternative business to better serve the needs of the community.

Natalie Mulraney and Paul Buchecker, Gemmells

Renewable transition

WHEN the Morrison Government made a decision to encourage the growth of the natural gas industry to assist in the transition from fossil fuels to renewables, many Australians voiced their strong disapproval.

Their concerns have been proven to be well founded. The natural gas industry has grown into a monster spewing out greenhouse gases that scientists warn are a prime cause of climate change.

The present Federal Government is attempting to introduce a safeguard mechanism to limit the greenhouse gases being by the nation’s biggest polluters. Only time will tell if this proves to be workable.

The only thing that seems to be certain coming out of this is that it is one very big mess with greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere reaching increasingly unmanageable levels. In the meantime with thriving fossil fuel industries in Australia seemingly going from strength to strength, what is the situation regarding transitioning to renewables?

Maybe it’s time for the Federal Government to have a hard look at where it’s heading in relation to reducing greenhouse gases, transitioning to renewables and countering human induced climate change.

Brian Measday, Myrtle Bank

Cat problems

IN answer to Mr Ian Hobbs, who has the  “cat experience” of not seeing cats after the one he had died, this does not mean his property is cat-free. (The Courier, March 29).

Cats would no doubt be claiming his place as belonging to them by marking their territory, during the dead of night.

Seeing lots of native wildlife does not mean a cat-free zone either, as cats and native fauna have existed in Australia for centuries.

Aboriginal legends and rock paintings depict cats, so likely cats survived shipwrecks from early trading ships.

Many properties abound with native wildlife and also cats, rats, mice, rabbits and snakes.

Without this balance the ecosystem is destabilised.

My interest is also in noting that councils which do not have any cat bylaws but concentrate on working with residents and desexing, are rarely mentioned as having cat-related problems.

Councils with cat bylaws, however, are frequently complaining about their problems with cats, and attempts to solve them by removal of cats have failed, as it leaves vacated spaces which are filled with new cats.

I note that Adelaide Hills Council is now calling for feedback re: cat management for its Animal Management Plan.

Maybe it realises it has made a mistake and wishes to rectify it.

Janet Allan, Fischer

Indictment hype

THERE is a lot of hype regarding Donald Trump’s indictment.

His haters may be salivating over the prospect of seeing him in handcuffs, but there’s a serious side to this.

Notwithstanding that violent crime is rampant in New York, the Manhattan district attorney has cleared his desk to concentrate on misdemeanor of his political adversary.

If successful, it may give the Democrats a short high, but there are just as many Republican DA’s willing and able to settle the score.

A far more serious consequence would be that while the US is weaponising its legal system to fight political opponents, it is being ripped apart in the process.

The West, including Australia, heavily depends on the US to remain strong.

Meanwhile, China and its allies are becoming more confident by this weakness and taking the opportunity to empower themselves.

One wonders whether this is the intended end game.

K. Stachovic, Meadows

Unnecessary work

OUR road at Woodside was resurfaced on Friday, March 31.

They did a great job – all done in one day. Now I’m not sure of the cost, as it was a short no-through road.

But there was nothing wrong with that road – no holes or anything.

We’ve been there nearly 20 years and it’s a great road.

I’m just wondering if again the government is wasting our hard-earned money on something that doesn’t need it. Surely they could spend it on roads that really need doing.

Fiona Camac-Lambert, Woodside

Stop demonising cats

IN response to Ian Hobbs’ letter “Cat Experience” (The Courier, March 29), I noticed his pleasure in the wildlife around him.

He did not say that his or his neighbor’s cat had partaken of any wildlife or that there was an increase in the wildlife since their deaths.

On most occasions a well fed cat will leave the wildlife alone.

I also have every kind of bird in my garden.

My cats just stare at the birds which torment them with a noisy chorus and continuous swooping so that the cats have to go and hide under the deck.

The birds on the other hand prey on each other.

Kookaburras, which I have many of, are a bird of prey including other birds and so is the goshawk which Ian sees in his area. They prefer lorikeets, but they will also hunt birds as large as kookaburras, currawong and cockatoos.

We do not think of these birds of prey as villains, which is as it should be.

It is also time for the public to stop demonising the cat, including the infiltrating cat in Ian’s area which they have not yet spotted in the wee small hours of the morning.

Lisa Daintree, Strathalbyn

Wildlife increase

THANK you to Ian Hobbs for his letter in The Courier (March 29) letting us know how much better his garden area is since their cat passed away.

We also have had pet cats that were loved and were loving.

We now, for several years, have not had a cat and most neighbors have gone the same way. The increase in bird and other wildlife is very nice.

Cats should be kept – they are killers.

P.S. please let’s not give C.A.T.S people any more replies – crikey we’re over the cats issue.

Richard Barton, Aldgate