MARK LAURIE: SA Power Networks’ questionnaire appears from Liam Mannix’s article to play to the well accepted view in the Australian suburbs that trees are to be feared and cleared -the same “scorched earth” attitude that calls for a house block to be entirely cleared of all vegetation before it is considered safe or suitable for construction.
It would be nice to think that re-allocating pruning costs to undergrounding is being actively considered and that this option is being explored as an alternative when it comes time to replace rusted or weakened poles.
Requirements for more systematic management of the pruning effort, including the use of arborists and those more sensitive to the aesthetics of where we live , would also be welcome. Do we really want to perpetuate a forest of concrete, steel and wires? Wouldn’t it be better to leaven the sea of close packed terracotta roofs, jostling all the more tightly with urban in-fill, with more trees, reducing ugliness and mitigating against the urban heat island effect all the concrete and asphalt creates?
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Then there is the idea that those with solar panels are not paying their share of the costs for the electricity network and should pay a higher rate for their power. It is something of a mild understatement to say that this amounts to a mixed policy message when combined with the subsidies and encouragement of the public to undertake the not-inconsiderable initial investment in solar power. If ever there was an initiative designed to speed up the research and development work now being carried on towards domestic storage of solar power, this is it. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, it will only exacerbate the problem for those who remain on the grid, unable or unwilling to invest in solar power.
I sincerely hope that Mr Mannix has selectively reported on this questionnaire and confined his report to its controversial elements, masking the broader and more enlightened thinking apparent to those who have received it.
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