ACT needs to address recycling solar panels

Having recently replaced my solar system in the territory I was left with 12 panels, each the size of a small billiards table.

After consulting the "recyclopedia" on the ACT Environment Directorate website it became apparent the only options for disposal were resale (a dubious proposition at best) or landfill.

With the pending ACT election and a "no waste" commitment from the ACT government, it would seem logical to hear some announcement about filling this gap in the recycling chain.

In South Australia a firm recycles panels. Maybe they could be encouraged to open a factory here. Alternatively, in the US, a small scale smelter estimates that within each panel there are approximately $US150 worth of reclaimable metals including silver.

That would suggest a potential viable market here. Where, when and what is the ACT government's solution to the significant recycling gap?

Plutarch, writing about Alexander the Great entering a Persian palace: "He (Alexander) happened to observe a large statue of Xerxes thrown carelessly down to the ground in the confusion made by the multitude of soldiers pressing into the palace. He stood still, and accosting it as if it had been alive, (said) 'Shall we neglectfully pass thee by, now thou are prostrate on the ground, because thou once invaded Greece? Or shall we erect thee again in consideration of the greatness of thy mind and thy other virtues?' "

I really don't care what my predecessors did 50, 100 or 200 years ago that may or may not suit modern thinking.

Surely it would make more sense to ask ourselves what we are doing wrong now that in 50, 100 or 200 years may be regarded as abhorrent.

It's not easy to forecast those wrongs. That said, I would like to nominate overpopulation, overuse of resources, obesity, children playing on computers rather than outside, the nanny state, rapid information flows fuelling hysteria, and, might I say, the "woke" left rewriting everything.

In recent weeks we have witnessed branch stacking within the ALP in both Victoria and NSW.

Both major parties have been guilty of branch stacking in the past.

In light of the latest branch stacking it makes sense to consider voting for an independent at the elections in Canberra on October 17.

Well, that makes sense. Since we can regrettably no longer get Asian students to fund our universities, let's let the humanities students do that - even if their courses are by far the cheapest to deliver.

User pays is a flexible principle with plenty of exemptions. So much the better if they abandon those courses and add themselves to the significant pool of Australians with no insight, perspective, or critical thinking skills at all who decide our elections.

They will join all the others who don't bother themselves with such issues as the critical importance of a toothed federal corruption watchdog.

The degree in "property development speculation", upon which Australia's revovery depends as much as ever, of course continues to be free of charge.

Peter Kearney (Letters, June 19) rightly points to the disrespectful site for the memorial to the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels.

Black lives do matter. Australian government (post-Battle of Kokoda) recompense to that devoted life-saving force was miserable for decades. I doubt we have caught up yet.

We should hang our heads in shame as a nation.

Hawke's government rectified unjust veterans entitlements payable to Australian- based veterans (including the Women's Land Army). It needed to go further (in Australia, and in East Timor and Papua New Guinea).

Will the current government remedy the shortcomings? The $500 million to be used to vandalise the Australian War Memorial could be much better spent.

If the "Fuzzy Wuzzy" statue in Manuka (Letters, June 19) is to be moved it should go back to where it was in the first place.

The statue was on Kootara Crescent at the RSL club in Narrabundah before it was moved to Manuka.

When the RSL closed in Narrabundah they took the statue to Manuka without telling the residents of Narrabundah who would have made a new home for it opposite the shops.

It should be returned.

George Washington had over 300 slaves working on his Mount Vernon estate at the end of the 18th century.

It is true he did grow increasingly uneasy about this.

But he only arranged to have them emancipated after his death.

The real reason the civil rights movement hasn't pushed for a change of name for the US capital is that some of the alternatives would be even worse.

Can you imagine "Trumpsylvania DC"?

This brings me to the case of the captain of a slave trading ship, John Newton.

Later in life, full of remorse, he completely rejected slavery and went on to pen that classic hymn and anthem of the civil rights movement Amazing Grace.

I haven't heard of a call to have that struck from the hymnals or banned from protest marches.

Washington, Newton, Cecil Rhodes and Edward Colston all offer us a salutary lesson.

They are all examples of the power of that rare human occurrence; redemption and personal salvation.

If it was only the spotless that had statues erected in their memory or towns, suburbs and streets named after them, our human-built landscape would be sterile and boring.

Following Andrew Barr's pledge to freeze rates ACT residents must ask themselves "if you can't trust a politician then who can you trust?"

It is sad the Chief Minister may not enjoy the love and support North Korean and Russian citizens express for their leaders in elections that sometimes deliver them up 99 per cent of the vote. The October election may give ACT electors a chance to rectify that.

Canberrans could join North Korea and Russia at the top of the pile by fully unleashing their juices in the polling booths.

Re: "Canberra home owners can only expect a temporary reprieve from residential rate hikes" (canberratimes.com.au, June 18).

It must be an election year. Mr Barr do you really think the constituents of Canberra will fall for this ploy? We all have a long memory. Your government has been putting its hands into the ratepayers' pockets for years and now you offer an olive branch.

Good luck with the upcoming election. You and your team will need it.

I am bemused by the proliferation of signs popping up advising of projects that are promised, proposed and or said to have been completed in Canberra.

In our suburb there is a new sign stating the new concrete footpath is a "new footpath" brought to us by our government.

Should we all push for elections every two years instead of four? Imagine what could be done to justify the high(est) rates, fees and charges, taxes etc. that have become a part of our everyday lives.

Canberra has been a great place to live, I'm just not sure we are going to be able to afford to live here much longer.

It didn't take long for those wanting to trivialise calls for justice arising out of the Black Lives Matter movement to come up with some tone-deaf and illogical "what abouts". David Griffin (Letters, June 15) has obliged with a ripper.

Australia, and the other countries where statues are being attacked or removed, are not festooned with statues of Marx to provoke those opposed to the recognition of influential political philosophers, as against glorifying slave-traders, native-murderers or seditious white supremacist generals.

Tearing down (non-existent) statues of Marx for the sins over half a century later of his fanatical disciples makes as much sense as tearing down every crucifix and statue of Jesus for the many sins his followers have committed in his name.

A big thank you to Cr Peter Kearney OAM for his letter on the sculpture of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels. I found it on the weekend in Manuka and have taken pictures to show to my Indigenous mates.

Now that "The Barracks" development has been put on ice will the traffic diversion on the northbound left lane of Vernon Circle be removed? Or will the ACT government allow it to remain in place and inconvenience drivers indefinitely?

It's evident that schools are back by the wrappers and containers beginning to decorate the landscape again. Sad.

I assume the management of Westfield Woden made parking free to encourage shoppers back. It isn't working. All the free parks seem to be taken by public servants and construction workers. Short-term shoppers must park further away and pay for the privilege. I won't return until the previous, and fairer, system is reintroduced.

There's only one difference between Labor and Liberal branch-stacking. Labor is generally better organised. Oh, sorry, I forgot about the NSW Liberals' sterling efforts over the past few years, despite Malcolm Turnbull's vehement denials (received with hoots of derision by party members).

I welcome Peter Fuller's clarification re the pyramid builders (Letters, June 18). Religious devotees are conscripted as labourers to fulfil their spiritual obligations. Surely this reinforces my underlying premise. An autocrat has ruthlessly exploited his marginalised subjects. This must be stamped out. There is not a moment to lose. The pyramids must go.

The PM has been flashing his trademark smirk when commenting on Labor's woes. Admirers of "Scotty nothing to see here", and those interested, should investigate what led to him winning pre-selection for the seat of Cook in 2007 after a widely-reported smear campaign led to a second ballot. It's nothing to smirk about.

I feel great empathy with R F Bollen ('Change the Name', Letters to the Editor, June 18) over the origin of the name of Mt Taylor. Unfortunately, I can offer no knowledge of any indigenous name for the mountain. I suggest giving it a pseudonym. Mt Failure may be appropriate.

Re: "Isn't Stuart Robert a bigger goose than Angus Taylor" (Frank Marris, Letters, June 19). It's hard to say. Let's call it a photo finish; half a nose between them.

Sorry, Fred Pilcher, (Letters, June 20) but Greek civilisation was very much based on slavery. It played a major role in their society.

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