Letters, September 20, 2023

National treasure

I REFER to the letters in the September 13 edition of The Courier concerning Hahndorf and bypass solutions for trucks.

Without a doubt the traffic problems in the main street of Hahndorf are a serious issue which must be remedied in the best interests of residents, businesses and visitors.

I am not an expert in these matters and am not in a position to offer an opinion on the pros and cons of the proposals of others.

I am, however, strongly on the side of the township of Hahndorf, its historical importance and its worth to SA as a tourist destination possessing architectural and social significance.

Hahndorf, in my opinion, is an excellent example of a Hills town which, in its own way, is a national treasure deserving every consideration required to preserve its historical value and significance.

I cannot, for the life of me, see any benefit in medium size trucks using Hahndorf’s main street as a through-way either now or in the future.

Robert Armstrong, Mt Barker

Climate recovery

ROB Tanner (The Courier, September 13) shouldn’t worry, the climate will look after itself, as it has for millions of years when high CO2 levels were there during warm periods and ice ages, and low CO2 was present during warm periods and ice ages.

In our current time (the Holocene) between glacial times there have been about eight cold periods followed by rapid warming.

We are recovering from the Little Ice Age by about 1.5-1.8C, although not quite as warm as previous ages when the Sahara was green nor during Roman times.

The previous recovery let the Vikings settle Iceland and Greenland with grain crops.

The increase in CO2 and fertiliser from fossil fuels has lead to much increased food production, more humans along with longer lifetimes.

For some reason a few doomsayers think this is bad.

They have been carrying on about CO2 since 1911, without any scientific evidence, but then who interrupts a coming doom and disaster story by asking for proof?

G. Inkster, Mt Barker

Diverse region

VISITING and enjoying lunchtime in the underrated Langhorne Creek I witnessed a wonderful variation in the ways that people came together.

In front of the hotel in Langhorne Creek were the standard cars in the car park, but with the addition of two horses awaiting their returning riders from their lunchtime session.

Then moving on to our restaurant just down the road, sitting on the adjacent lawn was a helicopter providing transport for some dining guests.

The contrast of horse and helicopter in this relatively remote location was stark and provided visitors with a wonderful timeless palette of experiences in this richly diverse and wonderful part of our State.

Glen Chenoweth, Goolwa North

Stop killing

READING “Cat Concerns”, (The Courier, September) with opinions as to how cats can be controlled by confining, trapping poisoning, begs the question of why they still preach the same killing strategies after decades of self confessed failure in follow up reports (Threat Abatement Plan for Feral Cats 2016-2020 to kill 2 million cats).

This insanity needs to be critically dissected.

This plan involves massive amounts of our hard-earned dollars, paid to the poison companies, wages for multiple jobs, like setting the cruel cages, installing the new Felixer torture traps, paying for the distribution of the aerial baits, those engaged in the so-called research, the list goes on. Shame on the politicians who admit that it is cruel and continue with it anyway.

I have heard landowners say that these poison developers and distributors should be made to eat their own product.

No humane person could see any animal baited with 1080 or Papp poison writhing in agony and foaming at the mouth for hours and say that this should continue.

How many decades of agonising suffering of targeted animals and native up-line predators feeding on dead carcass and family pets are we going to allow before we admit that there is no justification for committing these atrocities?

It makes a joke of the Animal Welfare Act and makes us the laughing-stock of countries that have banned these highly dangerous poisons.

Lisa Daintree, Strathalbyn

Voice impacts

VOTE Yes! Get that warm fuzzy feeling that you’re doing good.

But perhaps it would be wise to read the ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’, for that is what the ‘Voice’ is all about.

Don’t take the word of politicians, as many don’t rank very high on the veracity scale and are even said to have not read more than the abridged version. The ‘Voice’ has the potential to affect every Australian, in many ways, not only financially.

Just read the background information  of the Uluru Statement and here are a few quotes from these documents:

• ‘Any reform must involve substantive changes to the Australian Constitution’;

• ‘To self-determination and self-management, including the freedom to pursue our own economic, social, religious and cultural development’;

• ‘Through the designation of seats in Parliament for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples ... the creation of a ‘Black Parliament’ that represents communities across Australia.’

• ‘The government to recognise our rights ... to be educated in our own languages and in our own culture’;

• ‘By making agreements at the highest level ... allows First Nations to express our sovereignty’.

Sounds pretty good to an extremist.

I read very little about reconciliation, living together, respecting the equal rights of all other Australians, or improving the position of all our disadvantaged in this our great multi-national community.

The ‘Voice’ is purely a political statement and, unfortunately, I see it creating more division than cohesion.

Harold Gallasch, Hahndorf

Road safety

WITH all the media publicity relating to the River Road, Hahndorf, protests at the same time as promoting the sudden resurgence of the Liberal Party’s interest in the Hills, one would hope that the party also now will give the same political support and action to making other Hills roads safer that have been neglected in this respect for years, including when the Liberals were in power.

Such roads include Upper Sturt Road and Greenhill Road from Summertown into the City, both of which are extremely narrow on dangerous bends, have many overhanging gum trees and sheer drops on some sides of the road in places.

Yet, trucks still use them.

On many occasions drivers would get stuck behind a truck carrying huge moss rocks on Upper Sturt Road travelling down to Blackwood and with the speed limit having been reduced to 60km/h, plus double white lines added to prevent overtaking, it was easy to understand the frustration of drivers attempting to overtake illegally and dangerously because of the limits imposed on the road.

So hopefully more action and activity can also be expected from all political parties in the interest of road safety for Hills residents.

S. Tarrant, Hahndorf

True equality

EVERY Australian should be treated fairly, and this fair treatment should be enshrined in the constitution.

Every government says it treats every Australian fairly, but every government doesn’t.

Rosemary Drabsch, Stirling

Where is the logic?

REMOVING heavy vehicles from the tourist town of Hahndorf makes good sense.

Redirecting these vehicles along a fit for purpose bypass between River Road and Echunga Road also makes good sense.

The distance along this bypass is about 3km, similar to going through Hahndorf.

But I am confused.

The Transport Minister says the River Road/Strathalbyn Road bypass option is a safe one.

If this is so, then why is he going to spend $40m to make this option safe?

The distance of this option is about 12km.

It has been announced that heavy vehicles will be redirected down River Road/Strathalbyn Road at the beginning of November.

Then once these vehicles are travelling along these roads, the Minister will disrupt the traffic flow for four years while improvements are made.

At best, traffic will be restricted to a single lane travelling at 25km/h.

Is this good sense?

Logic suggests that improvements should be made first, before directing traffic along the improved roads.  

Am I missing something here?

Is there another agenda that we are not being told about?

Ian Hobbs, Mylor

Inform yourselves

“DON’T know, vote no”.

In other words don’t think and don’t learn, just waste your one precious vote weakening democracy in this magnificent country.

Front up in blissful ignorance ready to cast a totally irresponsible ‘don’t care’ vote.

Well, I don’t think so.

After 90 and more years of living I believe the real life-enhancing challenge is to learn and learn both sides of the subject, make a well considered decision and vote responsibly.

No excuses, no ignorance.

If you don’t know, find out – it’s not that hard.

It’s the way democracy works best.

Pam Hailstone, Bridgewater

Fire hazard

SIMON Jones should be listened to when he attempts to draw attention to the fire hazard of pine trees growing close to the freeway.

From January 2020 until March of the following year I encouraged the Department of Infrastructure and Transport to carry out what should be routine maintenance on the land they control on either side of the freeway, and it was not until the Cherry Gardens fire on 24 January 2021 that work actually began.

Pinus Radiata, a tree native to California, burns fiercely, as happened recently along the west coast of America, and with the slightly hotter summers forecast, the probability of fires within the Hills increases.

At such a time there would be heavy traffic on the freeway and those people would be in danger if the trees were alight.

Commercial tree plantations, properly managed, have low hanging and dead branches removed and flammable ground material controlled, thus greatly reducing the risk of fire.

I have suggested that the Department for Infrastructure and Transport does the same – it would be inexpensive, uncontroversial and would reduce the liability of the SA Government.

Readers will remember that the Stirling Council was bankrupted by the 1983 bushfire.

Oliver Corfe, Stirling

Thorough coverage

GOOD to see The Courier covering all Hills-related news.

We have the great ongoing cat debate that will certainly waken the ‘right-to-wander’ cat crowd and their vacuum against the ‘lock-them-inside’ crowd.

Then we have the Hahndorf bypass debacle that’s been going on for many, many years over multiple changes of governments, none of which have, until now, come up with a solution, but are quick to disagree with the other when one is created.

And the locals themselves who desperately want and need this bypass yet are not in favor of it if it’s in their back yard or they can see it.

Keep up the good work.

Philip Miller, Hahndorf

Lion cub fate

“LION cub dies as Monarto welcomes new litter” (The Courier, September 13) shows the photo of Husani with her four cubs.

This is Husani’s third litter.

Plus, another lioness is also being used for breeding.

It’s obvious that at this rate these little babies are not all going to have a forever home at Monarto, so why are the mothers being permitted to breed?

What lies ahead for the offspring?

Sent away from their home and family, traded like commodities, transported, terrified and alone in strange zoos, and further exploited as breeding machines?

Furthermore, breeding carnivorous animals means that countless other animals will be killed to feed these lions.

We cannot be held responsible for what happens in the wild, where animals kill to survive, but to deliberately breed imprisoned, meat-eating, zoo animals, knowing that it will cause the death of many other creatures, is unethical to say the least.

Making money under the guise of so-called conservation and encouraging our citizens to support zoos for their personal entertainment is not something we want or need in Australia.

Christine Pierson, Kensington Park

Wrong method

THE Adelaide Hills Council’s noble gesture of attempting to reduce climate change here (The Courier, August 23) is addressed at the wrong level.

Are they aware that China and India alone are opening new coal fired power stations in 2023 that are approximately equivalent to the whole of Australia’s capacity to produce power?

The world only has one atmosphere.

It cannot be compartmentalised, for global warming responses.

So I suggest the council should be lobbying the UN climate bodies, with a view to changing the world approach.

Otherwise, we really don’t have ‘a snowball’s chance in hell’.

Tim Calver, Novar Gardens

Disastrous summer

AS El Niño continues to gather strength in the Pacific, scientists warn that the south will almost certainly take its turn in the coming summer to also receive shocking, record-breaking heat as experienced in the North, causing so much grief in recent times.

Unless the burning of fossil fuels to create energy is severely reduced, with considerable haste, climate related disasters resulting from fast  increasing world temperatures can now be expected in all summers across the world.

Brian Measday, Kingswood