Coal-fired electricity
Albert Einstein: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results".
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Coal has a wonderful future for steel production, our chemical industries, and even carbon farming. Coal-fired electricity generation by our giant power stations is too costly, too inefficient, and employs too few people.
They use giant amounts of water, which is best used by people and for agricultural production.
When we had the Tamworth-based Peel-Cunningham County Council for electricity generation, we had a complex in Quirindi that employed about 44 local people for a showroom where all household whitegoods could be purchased.
These would be sold, serviced, and guaranteed by the PCCC. All repairs could be carried out by the PCCC workshops.
Small tools and kitchen appliances could be repaired, often while you waited, and often after you did your shopping in town.
Blackouts were always promptly fixed, as linemen and supplies were at hand, and we had a very affordable and reliable electric supply.
We now have expensive electricity, a massive decrease in employment, and no say in the matter.
We have been totally conned and deceived and have lost so much with no gain.
Please oh please Barnaby, don't build anymore of these horrible failures.
Lindsay Bridge, Quirindi
Eat well, pay well
In Australia, and almost certainly most countries, there have been stories of wage underpayment in mainly the food and hospitality industries.
A restaurant group underpaid their staff by $8 million dollars in total and today a supermarket chain admitted an underpayment of $20 million. Both have or will backpay the lost earnings.
There are many reasons underpayments could happen and yet there is no equivalent massive overpayments, although people may be slower to report any such cases.
People deserve to be paid for their work and paid fully including for overtime. It has been suggested that this 'theft' would be a criminal offense and jailable.
Next time you go to a restaurant, check that the smiling people serving you are being fully paid and if there is any doubt suggest to the owner that you are only going to pay part of the cost.
Eat well, pay well.
Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne
Can you help?
I saw your article about Mr. Bacon. Now I am wondering if he is a relative from Joanna Kathleen Bacon who passed away last year unfortunately.
I am from 1961 too, and met a Joanna Bacon in Greece in 1983. I was then working in Santorini, and she was travelling with a girlfriend, I think Christine was her name. A dark haired girl. I never was able to find Joanna on the internet. Now I did find a Joanna Bacon. But she passed away as I read on Legacy.com. The Joanna I knew was from Tamworth too.Could you please help me finding a clue?
I feel so sad if she has passed away. She was a sweet beauty, I could never forget. Please help me, I would be very grateful.
Harold van Tellingen, Groningen, Netherlands