Push for cheaper fuels
With reference to the article on the ability of Bendigo's manufacturing sector to expand, and their problem with rapidly escalating energy costs, I don't believe it's going to improve unless we go back to cheaper fossil fuel power – i.e. coal.
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It's all very well to blame the problem on 'uncertainty' of energy policy, but it has been quite clear to investors that renewable energy is where the subsidies go, but renewable energy, such as solar and wind, is too expensive for industry or individuals.
Even gas is getting ridiculously costly.
Reliable, cheap power is what Bendigo's manufacturing – and indeed every manufacturer in Australia – needs.
It's time to bite the bullet and follow the example of numerous developed and developing countries around the world who assist their industry to be competitive; build high energy, low emissions new coal power plants.
Australian industry could never compete on wages but we had the advantage of cheap power.
All that is gone, and so too will all the jobs and living standards.
Helen Leach, Bendigo
Smokescreen for tax hike
You have to wonder how Bill Shorten can keep a straight face when in front of the cameras.
A few months ago he ridiculed the idea of a plebiscite to give a yes or no answer to the question of modifying the marriage act.
Claiming it was too costly and unnecessary, now he is proposing another costly plebiscite regarding having an Australian head of state.
Should the yes answer get up, it would have to be followed by an even more costly and unpredictable referendum.
We know from the past that Australians would not sanction allowing our distrusted politicians from having any say in electing an Australian head of state. Why should they? Our current crop of politicians are incapable of controlling their expenses and some of them are unsure of their nationality.
This is just another attempt at populist politics designed to divert the attention of Australian workers from the fact that Bill intends to tax them more for being hard working and successful.
David Arscott, Kangaroo Flat
Scientists are playing god
I saw on the news that doctors in Australia changed the DNA of an embryo and then destroyed it.
Not only is this playing God, it is also murder. For life starts inside the womb at conception, as per Psalm 139:13-16.
And in Jeremiah 1:5 it is written: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”
Truly this is proof that human life is precious and that we should protect the unborn.
An embryo is a living thing and should not be altered in any way or destroyed or tortured in the case of embryonic stem cell research. In Luke 1:44 as soon as the sound of Mary’s greeting reached relative Elizabeth’s ears the baby in her womb leaped for joy.
In some mysterious way the Holy Spirit produced this remarkable response in the unborn baby. Truly the unborn are precious!
I sympathise with people who may suffer from a disease.
When I was half way through my Visual Arts degree, I was diagnosed with a rare eye disease called Keratoconus.
It’s an irony that’s not lost on me that’s for sure. And while I shook my fist at God and demanded to know why I’d been shortchanged by life at first, I grew to accept it and it even opened up other doors for me.
Changing the DNA of embryos might seem like a good idea but we could be opening up the door to something more sinister like creating designer babies with perfect looks, the perfect IQ and the perfect body.
And this is a road we certainly don’t want to go down.
