onetrack

The construction of a wind turbine blade is extremely complex, and no doubt very costly. They don't lend themselves to re-usability very readily. Fibreglass is their major constituent. It seem to be the height of stupidity to just bury them.

Stopping immigration completely will not make the housing problem go away. Stopping huge investments in our housing by overseas investors such as the Chinese will go some way to help the housing problem. There are serious numbers of houses owned by Chinese investors that are purposely kept empty, because of the Chinese attitude towards property investing. This has to stop. Plus, all investors must be made to produce proof of the origins of their money in line with AUSTRAC reporting. As it is, real estate agents, solicitors and others in the real estate industry are not obliged to report people purchasing properties with suitcases full of cash money. It is legend here on the West Coast that Chinese buyers turn up to real estate agencies with suitcases full of cash, to prove they have the money and don't need to finance the property. This is a glaring hole in our control of legal money origins.

The oxygen locked into hematite is just as useful as the iron, because it is needed to facilitate the steel-making process. Oxygen is critical to many chemical processes which produce the products we need in our industrialised world. I agree, there's a large cost component in shipping iron ore many thousands of kilometres to furnaces in far-off countries. But those countries are prepared to pay that cost, and they often own the ore bulk carriers, as well as the iron and steel-making facilities. The simple fact remains that iron and steel-making is a business that just cannot be started from scratch without a monstrous financial investment, running into possibly multiple tens of billions of dollars, the need to find stable markets for that iron and steel, that are consistent purchasers of the product - and the end product goes into a world full of iron and steel products that are often sold cheaply. There are many "anti-dumping" legal actions against iron and steel manufacturers around the world, as the Chinese in particular, often dump iron and steel products at low prices during sales slumps, to keep their furnaces operational. They often over-produce iron and steel products. If we go into iron and steel making on a large scale, we are competing with huge global iron and steel producers in a vicious market. BHP and Rio Tinto are possibly the only corporations who could garner the huge investment backing required to indulge in large-scale iron and steel production. All businesses need to borrow money to finance big projects and you need to be able to convince lenders you can repay the borrowed money. Financiers would be reluctant to lend money to huge iron and steel manufacturing projects, as they are seen as low return. However, there is great interest in finding cheaper ways of making iron and steel, and especially "green" steel, where pollution levels from the manufacturing process are low. Iron and steel manufacturing is one of the worlds most polluting industrial production processes. To that end, there are three companies in W.A. currently either manufacturing or investing in "green" steel production on a modest scale. It appears the S.A. Govt is also intent on supporting "green" steel manufacturing in that State. https://international.austrade.gov.au/en/news-and-analysis/news/australia-forges-a-future-made-from-green-steel

So, how come Labor is totally corrupt, and the Liberals and Nationals and One Nation are pure and honest? Sounds like you're just carrying out repeating all the slanted, Labor-hating, Sky News reporting. And if you're going to accuse people in power of corruption, you'd better be able to back it up with proof, or you could become involved in defamation lawsuits.

Clearing for suburban developments and clearing for minesites and minesite access roads and facilities also takes up a substantial majority of the level of native vegetation clearing going on. Farmland in W.A. has been subject to highly restrictive clearing bans since 1985. In the 1960's, the catchwords of W.A.'s conservative politicians were, "we're aiming at clearing a million acres a year!". We've gone from one extreme to the other as regards farm clearing, but there's only minimal restrictions on clearing for roads and subdivisions.

Agree, we need to be harsher on these Middle Eastern criminals, and impose longer sentences on them, when they display criminality.

That's a typical, wide-ranging statement that has no facts to back it up. "Plenty" is a generic number that implies a substantial quantity. I don't believe that it's true that "plenty" of immigrants "hate Australia", that is typical Pauline Hanson sh*t-stirring talk. What we need to actually do, is identify those immigrants who are failing to become useful Australian citizens, and who are here only to devise criminal means of acquiring wealth, and to arrange deportation of same.

I'm not glad at all that an attempted U.S. Presidential assassination took place, and I don't hate that much, that I want leaders assassinated. But this is the U.S., where nutcases, conspiracy theorists, and promoters of hatred abound, and where guns are freely available and also available in huge quantities (1.3B firearms for a population of 380M). So that firearms-loving cult is only going to keep producing attempted assassinations. Despite the U.S.'s problems, they're still our primary ally, and still the worlds biggest superpower. China doesn't rate as an important ally, they wouldn't come to our assistance if attacked, whereas America normally would. Under Trump, there's a much lessened chance that America would come to help us repel an enemy who invaded. We don't have anything that Trump really wants, that is the major problem.

No - if it was programmed by a teenage boy, and sighted a blonde girl in a miniskirt in close proximity, it would've developed a huge bulge in its groin area, then started talking gibberish, and then indulged in unexplainable acts of gross stupidity and bravado, mostly involving showing off.

The use of purposely twisted derogatory names for leaders is the same abusive, denigratory technique used by Trump, and every other person who suffers from narcissism, low emotional intelligence, and bullying behaviors - which are often driven by a need to assert superiority. You do nothing for the strength of your arguments by indulging in such childish moves.

Because no-one can produce an economically sound, profitable business case, for doing so, and thereby gain the necessary funding to carry the process out. In addition, Australia has a low level of available suitable labour for major projects such as you propose - and especially, cheap labour.

I was indeed - as were you and around 63,000 other young men. But the major difference between a "lone wolf" radical, mentally disturbed assassin, is that those young Australian men were screened for mental instability and other psychological problems, and those found unsuitable were rejected from induction into the military. Those men inducted, were trained to good levels of competency, and given instructions in what to do, as regards identifying enemy combatants - and they were also given "rules of engagement", which follow the Geneva Conventions. This is a world apart from the American scene, where any number of high powered firearms are freely available to any U.S. citizen, regardless of their soundness of mind, their ethics and morals, and their beliefs. In addition, there is no requirement for any firearms training whatsoever for U.S. civilians, and adherents of the U.S. firearm worship cult, also train up their young children in the use of firearms - which to me, is the sign of a morally and ethically bankrupt civilisation.

WIllie - If they made it into a fold-up job, it would be ideal for throwing into an aircraft, for a bit of speedy transport at your destination! But you're right, it needs a seat. I've noticed a lot of the footpath scooter riders slowing down, there must be some education or law enforcement or confiscation of scooters going on. Here on the Left Coast, it seems the police are giving short shrift to juveniles riding illegal souped-up scooters on the road - they just confiscate them, and crush them. There was a gang of juveniles on these things, terrorising both pedestrians and motorists, in the Northern suburbs a few weeks ago. Seems like the police sorted them out, caught the ringleaders and crushed the scooters.

Ho-hum, just another casual shooting incident, and another day in America. But I wonder what would have eventuated if a large number of deaths had occurred? Lots more guns being handed out, no doubt, just to make sure EVERYONE was armed to the teeth!

If you really had this "balance" sorted out in your mind, you wouldn't be carrying a lifelong, enduring and bitter grudge, against those who demanded that you be conscripted into the military.

I think you must have been studying some kind of pyschological quackery, to produce this "feast and famine" talk, involving thought processes and political leanings. I've never heard of such a thing, and I've heard and read about a lot of exotic ideas, around the workings of the mind.

GON - I'm no left-leaning Labour supporter and I consider myself pretty non-political. I've voted Liberal, NP and Labor, according to the issues of the individual election on the day. Also, I do vote, meaning I still have trust in our institutions. That doesn't appear to be the case in your situation, you claim all political parties are unrepresentative of the voters. But I do object to the constant right-wing whines about how all immigrants hate Australia and how the "White Australian culture" is purposely being subsumed by foreign immigrants from cultures the right-wingers love to project hate at. By doing so, they only place themselves in the same boat as the small number of Islamics who DO hate Australian values and our way of life. I don't need to denigrate Pauline Hanson, she can simply bring scorn on herself with her erratic and illogical outbursts, and her obvious hatred of anyone who isn't White European, and who comes from a different culture. But above all, she proposes things with no firm plans or vision, she just loves to agitate and see agitated people.

This is the biggest BS statement ever, one that ignores basic chemistry, and which is typical of Trump/MAGA scientific ignorance. A lot of minerals are made up of compounds, not just elements. Once you combine elements, or compounds of elements into other compounds, you get entirely new compounds, which have virtually no properties recognisable from the original elements or compounds. Oxygen is a fundamental element that only comprises 21% of the Earth's air. 78% of our air is Nitrogen, another fundamental element. The other 1% is a range of minority gases. Hematite, the most common form of our iron exports is an Iron Oxide, and there are quite a number of Iron Oxide forms, all possessing different qualities and abilities. These Iron Oxides are largely stable until heated to high temperatures, or become involved in chemical reactions. The bottom line is, Hematite is approximately 65% iron content and the Oxygen content of Hematite would be extremely low on a weight-comparison basis, so your argument that we are exporting air simply doesn't hold up to rigorous chemical examination.

O.K. We stop immigration, who is going to do all the crap dirty jobs you expect to get done? We haven't got enough labour as it is. All the old tradies are retiring and dying off and no young "White Australians" want to take these jobs on - especially where those kids come from wealthy white families where oodles of money is freely available to them, without working for it. You send all the Asians, Indians and Islanders home, who's going to drive your taxis and delivery trucks? Who's going to do your office and house cleaning? Who's going to build your new house? We can't get enough truck drivers of any kind because wealthy white kids don't want to drive trucks for long hours and long distances, putting up with crap food and being away from family. We can't get enough tradies to repair anything, such as house repairs, and mechanical repairs - because rich White Australians only want managerial jobs, and only like to play with electronic stuff. I'm currently giving the fencing bloke across the road from my block in a little country town, a hand to do limestone block retaining walls, on a new caravan park the Shire is building. He can't get any kind of labour to help him, so he comes to the old bloke across the road, to help him out. It's gut-busting work, out in the open, in all kinds of weather - while the young rich kids in town tear up the local reserves on their expensive trail motorbikes - because they don't have to work for anything, the Bank of Mum and Dad give them any toys they want, and they don't need to work! SWMBO and I rebuilt our bathroom just over 2 years ago. The only tradies we could find to do it, were two Iranian blokes. They were good conscientous workers, careful with the tiling and accuracy in alignment, and their work was a credit to them. These blokes had fled from a murderous regime, same as lot of immigrants, and they still had family there. They didn't "hate Australia", they see Australia as a chance to live peacefully and make some money and progress in life. I'd be pretty sure they suffer from "divided loyalties" and probably don't understand what the Anzac tradition is all about - same as if I went to live in a foreign country, and couldn't understand what they celebrated. But I marched in an Anzac March yesterday, and saw about 25,000 people waving Aussie flags, cheering and clapping all the soldiers, sailors, airmen and airwomen, and emergency services people - and the number of "White Australians" I saw in the crowd was pretty low, probably less than a quarter. There were Asians galore, Indians galore, and all the colours of the rainbow in the crowd. And they all obviously loved Australia, and what we are as a nation - otherwise they wouldn't have been there. I'll also wager there was a huge number of "White Australians" who never bothered attending any Anzac celebration - because they don't give a rats rectum about the Anzacs or Australian traditions, they're only interested in themselves, and their rich hedonistic pursuits - such as flying. A lot of these people would have been whinging that nearly all the shops were shut, and they couldn't buy something they wanted. Albo and his mob are struggling to do the best they can with the cards they've been handed by all the previous Govts - and that includes a lot of Liberal/NP decision-making that only ever benefited rich people and giant global corporations. If previous Liberal and NP Govts had done the right thing as regards Govt decision-making for the countrys long term benefit, we wouldn't be facing the problems we have today - and the Liberal Party and National Party wouldn't have disappeared up their fundamental orifices, to the point where they have virtually ceased to exist as parties and as a useful Opposition - simply because they failed to look after the people who originally voted for them. One Nation is an erratic flash in the pan with a track record of achieving very little, except pulling stunts that are designed to be divisive and make people feel unwanted - because they aren't Anglo-Saxon, white skinned, blue-eyed, and jingoistic. I've got some news for the jingoistic types. Australia became a multi-cultural country many decades ago, and Anglo-Saxons and White Europeans only make up a very small percentage of the worlds population (around 9%, according to the figures I get handed) - and that percentage continues to decrease as this largely rich cohort continue to reduce their reproduction rate. In the future, the majority of your doctors, scientists, engineers, tradespeople, and many of your leaders will be from some country you consider has an inferior culture. You'd better get used to it. Voting for One Nation will do nothing to reverse this trend and the Fish and Chip Shop Lady has no answers to the "immigration problem" either - except creating a vastly more divided and hateful Australia.

Well, that makes the U.K. a poor candidate for sewer waste breakdown.

And what is the total cost of Frances nuclear energy, including decomissioning of nuclear power plants, disposing of nuclear waste, and the cost of nuclear accidents. Are you happy to have nuclear waste buried next to your house?

Where's your official references to this sweeping extreme right wing claim? - apart from regular One Nation outbursts?

The general opinion of the immigration problem seems to be that immigrants lower the standards many Anglo-Europeans set in earlier days - as regards cleanliness, levels of service, and general behaviour standards. The previous laws relating to immigrants appear to have been seriously watered down. Originally, immigrants had to produce a clean criminal history, be sponsored by an Australian citizen and have a job to go to, and they were on "probation" for a couple of years after arrival. Any criminal offence soon after arrival would see them deported quickly. But now we have "African Crime Gangs", "Middle Eastern Crime Gangs", and Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs taken over by immigrant thugs. There has been a major upsurge in drug dealing, money laundering, car theft, car rebirthing, financial scams (especially involving NDIS and child care payment scams), and a major upsurge in the use of bladed weapons in serious assaults and home invasions. A lot of this crime upsurge is directly related to immigrants with criminal histories and tendencies who were let in, apparently unchecked. This is not the way to improve a country.

GON, you forgot to mention Trump has buggered up the American economy, having to pay $37B in taxpayer monies to U.S. farmers whose major soybean market he ruined. He has destroyed nearly every economic/trade agreement around. He's made enemies of a multitude of former Allies - then complains when they won't help with his war he started. He's done nothing to create "regime change" in Iran, and has almost certainly created a more hard-line regime there, who will just bide their time to strike back at the U.S. in bitter revenge. He's created greatly increased U.S. inflation, started wars when he claimed he was the greatest peacemaker in the world, has done nothing to stop the Ukraine-Russia war, and is preparing to invade Cuba. He's enriched himself massively by turning the U.S. Presidency position into a simple extension of his business dealings. He's lost tens of billions in U.S. military equipment losses, from aircraft to defence installations, all across the Middle East. He's had nearly all his tariff imposts overturned by the U.S. Supreme court. He's broken every election promise he made - such as, he "would stop the Ukraine War in one day". We have a good Australian name for people like him. "A Supreme Bullshit Artist".

Re tyres - the business of recycling tyres is just a small blip on the radar of the tyre industry. Every day, I see piles of dumped tyres - at truck bays, by roadsides, in isolated paddocks, anywhere where tyre dumpers think no-one will see them. It is one of the worlds greatest hidden crises, and it requires a vastly increased level of effort to deal with the burgeoning problem. As to plastic waste, I take my rubbish up to the local small landfill in the little rural town where I have my industrial block - and that local small council has major restrictions on what they will take at that landfill. They refuse to take tyres in any form, and they just take all other waste and bulldoze it into layers. Recently, they employed a large industrial shredder to reduce the particle size of the waste materials. I was extremely surprised to see that probably two-thirds of the waste in the shredded material was plastic. More effort must be put into plastic re-use/recycling.