Letters, September 30, 2023

Electric vehicle uptake

IN response to the letter by Mr Daniel Hockin (EV uptake, The Courier, August 22).

Apologies, I actually never stated there was a “lack of enquiries” on EVs at the dealership, only that I had not “seen an increase” in such recently.

EVs are, of course, a “hot topic” in the dealership, in the media and socially.

Secondly, you quote “the latter sounds like someone who hasn’t driven an electric vehicle”.

Our family purchased an EV almost 10 years ago. I drove it many times.

I have also driven the Toyota Mirai, a fully functional HEV (hydrogen electric vehicle) manufactured by Toyota that runs purely on hydrogen using Toyota’s fuel cell technology with the only emissions being water vapor.

Thirdly, to suggest your recent trip interstate was “powered by 100% renewable energy” is entirely incorrect.

There were CO2 emissions made somewhere to get you there and back, not to mention in the manufacture of your vehicle and batteries.

Your observation Toyota “sadly doesn’t offer any EVs in the showrooms to enquire about” is indeed true.

However, we have recently installed two charging stations at the dealership in readiness for the our first EV, the bZ4X due here early next year.

No vehicle manufacturer has done more over almost 30 years to reduce our carbon emissions relating to transport.

Toyota has been electrifying vehicles utilising hybrid technology since 1997 using fully recyclable batteries.

You mention renewables.

When we installed our 80kW solar system here at Adelaide Hills Toyota well over 10 years ago it was the largest privately owned solar system in SA. We understand and appreciate the benefits of renewable energy.  

Mr Hockin, I appreciate your thoughtful letter and I am glad you are in the enviable position to afford an EV. Many are not.

Tom Gilbert, Mt Barker

Better technology

I LOVE my electric car. I still love driving it after four years for its quick performance and it is so cheap to run.

It has an electric motor with one moving part, is easy to service and doesn’t need dirty oil changes.

It doesn’t emit any pollution because I choose to charge it only from renewable sources, both at home and using interstate highway charging.

The electricity it uses is available everywhere where people live.

It cost me a lot to purchase and I had to raid my super but it was worth it for the pleasure it has given.

The other day I was approached by a man in a car park who said he’d just invented a superior motor to power cars.

I queried him.

He said it would use the ancient residues of sea fossils piped from 3km under the sea in a far off country and then transported here in huge tankers.

The price would be set by rich people in another country and the profits returned to them.

His engine would have several hundred moving parts requiring pumps and oils to lubricate it.

It would need regular servicing, it was a bit noisy and polluted the air with noxious gases, but he liked the sound it made.

I looked at him blankly, thinking he must be mad, but then he said “there are lots of people who like my invention.”

I walked away in disbelief.

Peter Murphy, Mylor

Bramble patch

I WROTE to the council about the well-established bramble patch on the walkway next to the creek close to Hurling Drive at Mt Barker on July 11, 2023.

Deafening silence has ensued.

Not even a response. I note that there is an even more established bramble patch in the creek next to IGA.

It would be really sad if the whole of the creek becomes yet another major bramble patch as has happened across so many areas in the Hills.

There are some areas where whole valleys have been taken over by this noxious weed. You’d think that the council should do something about this, but it would appear that the matter is of little concern.

I can only hope to be proven otherwise.

Adrian Crawford, Mt Barker

Ban duck hunting

THE despicable, barbaric and contemptible blood sport of duck hunting has to be banned, regardless of whether Victoria bans it, but even more so if it does.

Yes, hunters from other states will surely come to SA if it is banned in Victoria (Call to follow Vic lead on duck hunting, The Courier, September 6).

Reading that John Peek, from the Conservation and Hunting Alliance of SA said “the hunting community has done a lot to preserve habitat”, makes me sick to think that people deliberately preserve habitat to attract innocent birds so they can massacre them.

Bad enough that callous, cowardly hunters kill defenceless creatures, but to have people calling themselves conservationists also engaging in these atrocities is beyond comprehension.

Having witnessed duck hunting in its gory, bloody, reality, I can attest to the shocking cruelty and suffering it causes.

Not only to the birds killed, with mates left grieving, but the wounded ducks slowly dying in agonising pain and those which survive with shotgun pellets in their sensitive bodies, in misery for the rest of their lives.

The people who commit these deplorable acts, should all be prosecuted under the Animal Welfare Act. So why is our Government taking so long to ban this brutal, merciless savagery?

Christine Pierson, Kensington Park

Animal care

I HOPE Furever Farm (Fundraiser to ease financial stress, The Courier, September 6) has a successful day, and is able to continue giving sanctuary to farm animals. And likewise Freedom Hill, Windamere, Happy Herd and other animal sanctuaries in the Hills, where animals have the chance to enjoy peaceful lives of care.

Alice Shore, Birdwood

Information to consider

THE yes or no vote for the Voice to Parliament is a David and Goliath fight.

The resources given to the yes team by government, big business and our national impartial broadcaster is huge, while the no campaign uses largely volunteers and donations from private citizens.

The no campaign is, allegedly, in front, which probably shows now how people are becoming aware of the divisive outcomes that will occur if a yes vote wins.

There is a lot of information on fairaustralia.com.au to consider.

It made me change to a no voter.  

Micheal Phillips, Bridgewater

Rotary appreciation

A BIG thank you to the hard-working men and women of the Rotary Club  at lobethal who gave of their time to resurrect our fences.

The terrain they had to work with was very challenging, in some places more suited to mountain goats.

Thank you so much.

Michael and Rosemary Bock, Native Valley

True equality

AS we are well aware, changes to the constitution can only be made via a referendum.

What is lost in the current debate about the Voice referendum is the fact that not all Australians who vote are treated equally in deciding whether or not the referendum is successful.

There has been little commentary about the fact that the voters residing in the NT and the ACT are only counted in the national vote but do not form part of the secondary count in respect of the states.

History shows that of 44 referenda held, five instances have occurred where a national yes vote has been achieved but failed to win a majority of states.

Bearing in mind that our constitution has been in place for 122 years, it seems crazy to think that no referendum has been held to change the manner in which the votes are counted so that all Australian voters are treated equally.

When is this anomaly going to be rectified?

Laurie Manna, Bridgewater

Difficult solution

I HAVE become curious about discussions of atmospheric CO2 levels.

Much discussion and policy focuses on ‘green’ renewable energy technology, without acknowledging the resources, including water, energy, metals, plastics and rare earth minerals that go into making them.

Not to mention damage to the environment that they cause and the CO2 that their manufacture releases.

But even if this technology gets us to zero CO2 emissions, which I very much doubt, what then? The atmosphere will still be overloaded with CO2.

Violent weather, too much heat and rising sea levels won’t go away until the CO2 overload is removed.

I have no idea how we do that!

I know how natural ecosystems once maintained the atmospheric CO2 balance, but our environmental exploitation broke that system and caused this problem.

Unless we repair that damage and put those ecosystems back, I don’t see how we can fix this problem. But I hope someone else has a solution.     

I would like to hear some public discussion about this issue please.

Rob Tanner, Bridgewater

Policy failure

LESS than two weeks after the Country Cabinet the first failure of announced policy is already evident.

Rather than provide a viable solution to Hahndorf’s extensive traffic issues, Infrastructure Minister Tom Koutsantonis grabbed his box of crusty band-aids and has tried to make one stick using last minute political manoeuvring.

The “elegant solution”, as he calls it, is to ban trucks and heavy vehicles from travelling though Hahndorf and force them to use an alternative route via Strathalbyn and River roads.

Anyone with even cursory knowledge and experience with these roads will understand this is a disaster waiting to happen.

These roads are narrow, winding, lack guard rails and have numerous blind corners which make them completely unsuitable for heavy vehicles.

The minor road upgrades that the Minister has proposed will be delivered over a four-year period and won’t address the issues.

When considering the impacts to safety and rural amenity for the properties situated along these roads, it’s no wonder the residents have been vocal in their opposition.

The proposed “solution” is so elegant it even fails to address the issues with commuter vehicles which are equally problematic for Hahndorf.

The Jacob’s Report commissioned by the previous Government in 2020, presented numerous bypass solutions, yet at every PR opportunity the Minister uses ‘potential impacts to Beerenberg, Paechtown or pristine farmland’ as excuses for not pursuing any of those options.

No-one is supportive of impacting Beerenberg operations, but the report included many other viable options. The unrelenting expansion of Mt Barker also impacts farmland, yet that isn’t used as an excuse to slow down development.

Impacts to farmland from a bypass would be minimal in comparison.

Hills’ residents are tired of the lack of tangible action on these significant issues.

The closing statement in the Jacob’s Report with regards to the bypass recommendation is, “It’s well overdue. Get it done”.

It’s these words that Hills’ residents echo to the Premier and Minister as well as “do your job”.

Darren Kelly, Hahndorf

Dangerous alternative

WHAT makes a person committed (Cabinet Commitment, The Courier, August 30)?

“Committed people value their passions strongly and move toward their goals with full force.

“Because they are so committed to their passions, they don’t care about the disapproval of others.” Does this sound like a politician to you?

Commitment would have been to build the Hahndorf bypass and not just “not rule it out for the future”.

Commitment is not hiding behind reviews to make future decisions or to use weasel words such as “’I am not ruling it in or out” nor is it to solve the Hahndorf traffic problem by kicking the can further down the River Road.

Last weekend I drove down Strathalbyn Road and then turned into River Road. Nic Kentish is dead right when he points out that River Road is quite dangerous.

There are 18 bends with many blind corners and a few small hills where you can only see a few metres ahead.

River Road is used by many locals, there are slow moving tractors, horse floats and cyclists come up from Adelaide.

The last thing you want is big trucks endangering the lives of road users and families who live there.

When it comes to the Government, all I see is a total lack of commitment to the Hills and no intention to agree to any concrete timelines. Promises are cheap and a “country cabinet tour” is no substitute for real policies.

Will Westermann, Kuitpo

Not fit for purpose

I AM very concerned about the ban on large trucks in Hahndorf.

I understand the desire for a bypass, being a truck driver that regularly travels through the town.

However, there is a major need for upgrades on the alternative route.

I have known about the River Road detour for a number of years, but avoided using it, not believing it to be safe.

Last Tuesday, I decided to attempt the drive with a four-decker sheep crate, the kind that this ban is targeting, and to say it was precarious would not be exaggerating.

I was forced to drive on the wrong side of the road in many places to avoid low trees.

In some sections, the bitumen was so narrow that my trailer was pulled of the road when I tried to avoid crossing the centre line.

I would have hated to meet any oncoming traffic, least of all a truck of similar size.

This ban will affect all livestock trucks that transport stock from the Hills, Fleurieu and KI.

Every tree branch that they hit could very likely land on a following car, or possibly injure or even kill the animals they are transporting.

I have written to the Minister for Transport, requesting that a ban be postponed until the road is built to a standard that can handle the extra traffic.

Truck driving in the Hills is hard enough without having to drive down a road that isn’t fit for purpose.

Ben Simounds, Mt Pleasant

Re-route support

THE day after a Country Cabinet meeting at Mt Barker, in response to concerted lobbying by the people and businesses of Hahndorf, the State Government announced that they recognised the problem of the heavy traffic flow through Hahndorf, exacerbated by the many large trucks using the narrow Main Street as a thoroughfare to the freeway underpass.

Their interim solution is to place a 15 metre length limit on trucks entering Hahndorf, diverting them to use the River Road underpass.

This will help to alleviate the Hahndorf Main Street congestion, a street reputed to have greater foot traffic than any other in SA, also noted as a major tourist attraction and a declared Heritage Zone.

It is the vibration caused by these heavy vehicles along the street that exacerbates damage to the soft mortar stone buildings lining that road.

While there has been some opposition to the River Road option, one only needs look at a map of the Hills to see that this is a logical solution.

When the freeway was constructed, two underpasses were installed to allow passage for traffic, one in the middle of Hahndorf and one on River Road. While both can be effectively used, the several major upgrades of Echunga Road has made this the preferred option, up to the present, at Hahndorf’s expense.

With 95% of north-south traffic using this road, it’s now time to commence a serious upgrade of River Road.

We commend the State Government on commencing this initiative and also look forward to the time when another bypass can be effected.

Harold Gallasch, Hahndorf