Dear Ed,

Thank you for last week’s important article from the Yamba Uniting Church under the banner headline “Fund their future not gas” in response to the present Federal Government’s determination to push ahead with a long-term expansion of our gas industry without counting the cost to our children, grandchildren and future generations.

This Government push to snap back into “business-as-usual” with a gas-led, fossil fuel recovery is quite baffling in a country that is so wonderfully endowed with a wide range of renewables, renewables that are so well accepted by our communities.

AEMO the Australian Energy Market Operator performs an array of gas and electricity market functions and has already stated that no more gas generation is needed for Australia to transition fully to an energy future based on clean renewables.

Last Friday more than 650 School Strike 4 Climate events took place in our country because all these thousands of Australian children, still too young to vote, believe that the Governments we vote for have a duty of care to our children, the same as we parents have for our children and grandchildren and that our Governments should prioritise their future.

And now, not to be outdone by our present Federal Government, our present State government has just given its go-ahead to Santos’ 20 year gas fracking  project near Narrabri.  Never mind that most of the 23,000 submissions, including 71% of residents around the Narrabri region were opposed to the project becaue of the threat this project posed to the ground water, one of our 4 basic, essential needs.

And if like most parents, you value your children and grandchildren as much as you value yourself  you really have to ask, is this the way to treat planet A, the only planet we have?

Harry Johnson, Iluka