DEAR News Of The Area,

LAST week’s article in NOTA about manufactured power poles replacing wooden ones was interesting.

Essential Energy, which has researched and proposed the change, is a NSW Government-owned corporation.

The benefits include fire resilience, meaning that power is less likely to be lost in a fire event. Very important in a time of global warming.

The Forestry Corporation of NSW is also a NSW Government-owned corporation.

However, unlike Essential Energy, the Hardwood Division of Forestry Corporation runs at a loss, meaning that we are subsidising a state-owned corporation to chop down our forests.

And then there is the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) which is the peak national industry body representing the resources, processing, and pulp, paper and bioproduct industries covering the forest products value chain.

The aim of AFPA is to “Create a positive image of our industry”.

They are a public relations firm for a collection of industries.

So, we have a public relations association acting on one side of a change in usage between two government owned corporations.

I must say that the arguments put forward by the chief executive of AFPA are very poor, especially when juxtaposed against the photos supplied by Essential Energy showing the burnt wooden pole next to the undamaged composite pole.

The shift to composite power poles appears to be a very positive move.

We will be less likely to lose power in a fire event and we won’t have to chop down so many trees, meaning that the losses of the Forestry Corporation will be less.

I imagine that it will take several decades to replace all the wooden power poles but it means that we can stop chopping down those trees now.

Regards,
Peter SOBEY,
Valla.