Wind energy has surely had its share of government development funding - other less intrusive, more benign methods of energy production need a fair go.

Geothermal, wave/tidal power and large scale solar are still needy for our support from our tight and meagre public funds.

Small solar is now very affordable and effective. 

Worldwide, wind turbines are massing like bleak graveyards after their use-by date.

If wind energy is really an essential part of the mix, put those noisy, spiky things around those big, smelly, already noisy, polluted cities, where most of its power is required, and whose inhabitants are unlikely to notice one more ghastly intrusion! 

Let us peace-and-quiet-loving rural folk get some sleep at night, and enjoy our views by day.

Michaela Samman

Candelo

Tony Abbott is doing all he can to frighten us, with increasingly shrill and exaggerated statements about the threat of terrorism, ISIS, the "death cult" and "keeping our borders safe".

From what?

There is no denying there are terrorists, that of those now in the news, most are Muslim, mainly occupied killing other Muslims, Sunni versus Shia, in the Middle East.  

But the threat to our population is, while not negligible, grossly overstated.  

This is  a very deliberate strategy, believing, admittedly with some justification, that if the nation can be conned into thinking that we are in mortal and ever-increasing danger, we will fall in behind him, as a sort of wartime leader, another "man of steel".

He is not the first politician to adopt this tactic. 

It worked for John Howard, the first "man of steel", with the Tampa (and for his role model, Margaret Thatcher. Remember the Falklands War), although Howard later enjoined us to be alert, but relaxed and comfortable.

Abbott daily ramps up his militaristic rhetoric, standing in front of as many Australian flags as he possibly can - and there he was with the Commanding Officer of his new militarised "Border Protection Force", with its Commander all in black and gold braid.

Abbott panders to a kind of mindless, jingoistic, false nationalism.

These shameless tactics must be seen for what they are.

Abbott is on record as a "whatever it takes" politician having stated that if it comes to a choice between pragmatism and principle that he would choose pragmatism every time.

Barry Stevens

Tura Beach 

Hello to everyone.

Do you remember the story of Adam and Eve who were supposed to start the human race?

Well they did not have two women and two men.

Lesbians and gay men can not have children.

In the song “In the year 2525” by Zager and Evans they did not say anything about gays having children.

C’mon Mr Abbott, don’t back down on this thing that they can marry each other.

I certainly don’t want it to happen and so do a lot of people in NSW.

Listen to the song and you will find your answer.

To the lesbians and gay blokes, so long as you keep it behind closed doors I don’t care, but if you openly do it on the street that’s just going overboard.

Keep on keeping on cobbers and sheilas of the normal race.

Mick Ahkin

Bega