Conspiracy theories take flight in our post- truth era
THERE is discord in the LNP over their proposed National Energy Guarantee, or NEG.
Ministers such as Tony Abbott, Eric Abetz, George Christensen, Matt Canavan are pushing the government to commit funding to support a new coal- fired power station in North Queensland.
The thing is, we don’t need it. We have lots of renewable energy coming on line in the next few years, and are now well supplied with electricity.
We can expect prices to fall as the cheaper renewables are rolled out.
The real reason that those ministers are lobbying for new coal- fired power is another thinly veiled attempt to give taxpayer subsidy to Adani to build their Moray Downs power station for the proposed Carmichael mine.
This would burn Adani’s poor quality coal that would add to our carbon emissions.
The Adani mine would contribute very few jobs to Queensland, but would increase pollution both here and wherever Adani can find a market for the coal which no one wants. CHRISTINE CARLISLE,
Mackay. ALTHOUGH Australia has ceased searching for the Malaysian Airlines MH370, the conspiracy theories linger.
In a new era of the Cold War it is understandable that Cecily Macalpine ( TB, June 11) should believe the Boeing 777 was shot down by the Russians.
They have certainly been getting a bad rap in the US and UK. The magazine Uncensored had the jet refitted, loaded with the dead bodies, shot down over East Ukraine and misidentified as the Boeing MH17.
In an age of post- truth, conspiracy theories make good click- bait fake news. Before the Sentosa summit, North Korea was a popular candidate for hijacking MH370.
The US military has also been accused of shooting it down so they could blame it on North Korea. Alternately it could have been destroyed by the US for carrying a nuclear warhead.
Like the sinking of the Titanic, the disaster was prophesied. This time it was Pitbull’s lyrics rather than a novel.
While the flight- path after communications were disabled included the captain’s home town and identical to the one found on his home- simulator, other inexplicable details do not tie in with murder/ suicide.
The final words “Goodnight, Malaysia,” were not in the pilot’s voice but were in an American accent.
There were also discrepancies in the 227- passenger list.
The decoded black box SOS message “They are not human” proved to be an internet hoax, although there are still plenty of people prepared to blame alien abduction.
D. Bilton’s text several years ago explained there was a Devil’s Triangle in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia. Previously there was thought to be one in Bass Strait.
While investigators were critical of speculative commentary of aviation “experts” recruited by the media, they were even more disparaging about all the conspiracy theories they had to disprove once they were brought to the notice of the grieving families. WILLIAM ROSS,
Cranbrook.