Commenting on the story: Call for SA to consider banning petrol car sales

I support the move to electric vehicles and will be looking at them more keenly when prices come down. However, a total ban on non-electric cars works in urbanised places such ACT or Europe, but people pushing these ideas seem to have never travelled to rural Australia.

I don’t see electric vehicles being able to cover the ranges needed or have the infrastructure in place that in remote areas any time soon.

Having travelled to many of these areas, where there is not always a guarantee that the next fuel stop will have fuel, you can’t carry an extra battery for range security like you can an extra couple of Jerry cans of diesel.

Electric cars are great for urban cities but a long way off for rural areas. There needs to be a mix of technology options. – Julian Thompson

Great for those who only travel short distances. We regularly travel to Adelaide for appointments. Usually leave around 6am, home for dinner around 7pm: 800 kilometres covered. How would this be possible with an electric car? – Peter De Garis

I live in rural South Australia. Yes, I can charge at home, but how practical is a battery-powered vehicle if I drive to say, Port Lincoln, Poochera, or Ceduna.

By 2035 there probably will be charging stations in Lincoln, but the other two locations are problematic. Australia has vast distances, and so unless the range of one of these vehicles improves, for tourists and rural people, they are not really practical yet. Same for freight vehicles, farm and station vehicles, and buses. – William Cole

There are some considerable assumptions being applied assuming that all South Aussies will live in cities and have regular easy access to subsidised public transport.

It is very easy to see why there is an advantage for powering city-based vehicles in the manner outlined, however a blanket legislative requirement does deliver other complications.

There is the very significant budget consideration of repairs and ongoing road maintenance, new road development and road safety improvements to fund. Where might this significant and ongoing income be derived, as it currently is funded very heavily from fuel tax.

South Australia, as do most areas of Australia has large distances between towns and access to the likely locations of charging facilities and the like. Rural towns have virtually no regular public transport or access to advanced health facilities or many government agencies.

This minimal access dictates that rural folk, which includes not only rural workers but the entire range of ancillary support that communities require to function, all need to be able to access reliable and cost-effective vehicles for these purposes and be able to cover large distances.

If you are on the land, acquired knowledge currently indicates that electrified / battery vehicles do not have a good and reliable record under dusty or on rough unpaved surfaces and quickly prove to be unreliable. There needs to be consideration of these factors, particularly when politicians and well-meaning experts, all of whom live in cities, express, and promote their ideal vision of the path forward based upon their circumstances, determining that this is a good fit for all.

The lifestyle and food supply for all city living persons relies heavily upon near and remote rural areas and it is these locations and the people who live in these regions that are essential for all cities’ survival. – Malcolm Lewis

SA, and the other states, must make the date 2030. We cannot wait until EV prices are on parity with ICE (internal combustion engine) prices, as that may never happen. – David Inkster

Commenting on the story: ‘Something I’d rather avoid’: Malinauskas rejects mask mandate

So what Malinauskas is saying is that infections and deaths from Covid are at an acceptable level from a public health perspective and require no further effort from government. – Paul McKinnon

In regard to the Premier’s statement: “Reintroducing mask mandates doesn’t come without its own consequences,” one wonders what he means by that.

The obvious consequence is that we’d have less death and less pressure on the hospital system, but presumably he means something else sufficiently dire that he would prefer rising death tolls and a dysfunctional health system. Could we please know what this might be?

Like, I imagine, most people, I do not like wearing masks. However, it’s a no brainer to do so when out in public. – Cathy Chua

Commenting on the story: Glen Osmond truck crash: Police investigating, Premier in discussions

More arrester beds won’t solve the problem.

Truckies are understandably reluctant to use arrester beds – it costs thousands of dollars to remove the truck and then there’s the cost of damage to the truck.

Here’s a radical thought. Instead of financially penalising a truckie who uses an arrester bed, they should be commended for putting public safety first.

Another radical thought – use numberplate recognition technology to compel heavy vehicles that are using the freeway for the first time to stop at an inspection/advisory station above the Heysen Tunnels. And make the warning signs to truckies much bigger and eye-catching. – Stefan Landherr

Definitely need an Adelaide Hills Freight bypass, allowing trucks and freight to drive through the suburbs is just ridiculous. – Lynn Graham

Commenting on the story: Film review: Where the Crawdads Sing

Totally and utterly disagree. It’s a beautiful portrayal of a sensational book.

The scenery, acting and story are beautifully woven together. It’s one of my favourite books and I couldn’t have wished for a better movie adaptation. – Michelle Harvey

Liked the movie, hadn’t read the book but irritated by the ‘sanitising’ of her life.

Living in a shack without power (refer to candles in some scenes) but she is always neat and tidy with washed hair, her clothes are always spotless and ironed (no sign of a range on which to heat flat irons) and the most annoying- in almost every scene Kya is wearing a different, perfectly fitting, dress.

That church clothing bin must have had a lot of items just for her size! – Helen Howes