Letter of the Week

Have strong opinions, write in an engaging way? You could win our Letter of the Week, and with it a book from our friends and sponsors, the publishers HarperCollins. This month’s book prize is Table For Eight by bestselling author and master storyteller Tricia Stringer. It tackles troubled relationships, second chances and love old and new in this uplifting story of unlikely dining companions thrown together on a glamorous cruise. Rules: Best letter competition runs until January 19 next year. Entries close each Thursday at 5pm. The winner is selected by 2pm each Friday. Book of the month valued up to $49. Entrants agree to the Competition Terms and Conditions located at www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/ entertainment/competitions, and our privacy policy. Entrants consent to their information being shared with HarperCollins for the express purpose of delivering prizes.

RECENTLY while listening to talkback radio, I heard a father complaining that his 16-year-old son was halfway to becoming an alcoholic since he joined a junior rugby league club.

It seems the coach rewarded their good play by giving them cartons of beer.

This guy and his wife – who don’t drink – were most upset as they could see their kid’s personality changing.

They said he was becoming grumpy and hard to live with.

We also have two boys who enjoy playing rugby league but I hope this is just this club and not endemic throughout junior rugby league.

Wouldn’t it suffice just to shout the boys to the movies or even just a party with soft drink?

This booze mentality seems to be deep rooted in some clubs.

R BOOTH, BANORA POINT

IT is refreshing to see a good news story in our headlines today “GCB 4/10/18 Ferry Xmas” that shows that we can get some things done that the public want and will benefit from.

That the State has now signed off on our city will now have a ferry service that will help lessen the number of cars on our roads but will also provide working Gold Coasters a means to enjoy the Broadwater and all it has to offer without driving or owning their own boat can only be seen as a wonderful step forward.

The other benefits other than getting to work or HOTA or sporting events are limitless when it is considered that families and the elderly will now be able to get across to Doug Jennings Park without worrying about the tremendous traffic jams and Wavebreak Island without relying on owning a boat or just to sit back and enjoy the sights.

With this move forward we can all only hope the State will come to the party further by providing barbecue facilities and more shelters at Doug Jennings Park and provide the same on Wavebreak Island.

It is also good to see that this process will not be held up by the Spit Master Plan or any other process that seems to delay us getting what we have needed for such a long time.

RON NIGHTINGALE BIGGERA WATERS

DEAR federal members of parliament, my electricity bill has doubled in recent years.

I dug into it and learned that it is your fault – you and your colleagues in Canberra.

Your government signed up to the Paris Climate Accord, which demands renewable energy.

Renewables are unsustainably expensive. They are intermittent and cannot power the grid.

The German Audit Office has confirmed that the best German efforts to power their nation with more renewables have failed.

The South Australian experience is showing the same thing here. But wait, it gets worse, because I’m a gardener and I understand plants.

You want to reduce carbon dioxide in the air. Carbon dioxide is plant food. Don’t you like plants?

In ancient times carbon dioxide was much higher than now without runaway temperatures.

Your acceptance of obviously dodgy science does not give me confidence in your ability to lead.

Coal-fired power stations are being built all over the world. Except here.

We get windmills.

China and India have a free pass on Paris and the US has given it the middle finger.

Now I have a question for you. Please explain to me how it is in Australia’s sovereign interest to stay in the Paris Climate Accord? PETER CAMPION

IT’S no surprise that Labor’s vegetation management laws are starting to bite, with feeding drought-affected livestock becoming harder and harder.

Even worse, Labor is refusing to fund the extra extension officers which are needed in the transition to these unfair laws.

The Palaszczuk Labor Government’s own members told Natural Resources Minister Anthony Lynham to put on more staff to work with farmers.

But all we’ve seen from Mr Lynham is the establishment of a glorified call centre. It is no substitute for boots on the ground.

This Labor government doesn’t understand vegetation management and it won’t even fund the extension officers needed to help farmers wade through the mountains of bureaucratic red tape the new laws have created.

It’s particularly outrageous when you consider this has occurred during a government hiring spree. An extra 25,000 public servants have been employed since 2015, most of whom have been hired in the state’s southeast and none of which have been employed to help farmers.

The red-tape keeps coming, but Labor won’t help farmers untangle it. Only the Liberal National Party has consistently opposed Labor’s anti-farmer vegetation laws, which have thrown scientific consensus out the window to appease a green ideological agenda.

The LNP will continue to take up the fight to Labor on behalf of our farmers.

DALE LAST LNP SHADOW NATURAL RESOURCES MINISTER