One last little thought for Steely & the other dills, who think we export too much gas at too low a price.

Without the huge volume low price export contracts, we would not have any of that gas. The cost of the infrastructure to harvest the gas required that huge export volume to be viable. Our usage alone could never have funded it.

Without the royalties flowing from those exports we would have much less to fund universities, bureaucrats & welfare.

Better a little of something, than a lot of nothing, as we would have if that gas was still sitting uselessly underground & ocean.

There is plenty of gas to go around. All you have to do is stop buying ratbag greeny votes with fracking banns, & harvest it where it is wanted in Victoria & NSW.

//Driving through the metropolitan area today, and years from now, you think you are in the bush,everywhere you turn, TREES.//

Well that's a new one. Never encountered somebody with a fear of trees before. Apparently it's a thing, though: 'hylophobia', from the Greek 'hylo' for forest.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/10289366/13-of-the-most-unusual-phobias.html

Toni, it's not a phobia or a fear of trees.
It's just common sense, of which govt's have none.
This is a 'metropolitan' area, urban, not rural.
Trees are a huge problem for everyone.
Apart from regular reports of falling branches and near misses, well not for the cars parked beneath them, there are too many problems with too many trees in the metro area.
Plant as many as you want in the rural areas, by all means, but just stop planting in suburbia.

Speaking of cheap energy, second hand solar systems are worth some consideration, depending on the use required.
You can buy a 5kw inverter for maybe $300 and 250w panels for about $40 - $45 each, meaning you can build a 5kw system for about $1200.
More panels in Australia than people now.

Toni Lavis, if you are not scared of trees you are a dill. Our gum trees are about the worst in the world at dropping large apparently healthy branches.

We had a bit of a blow through here, a thunderstorm, in February. This was not a cyclone, or anything like it, but the damage was pretty great.

A tree came down across the road near a local service station. My son was the second car to stop at it. After another 2 cars stopped another tree came down behind them. Now totally trapped branches from still standing trees kept hitting all the cars. My sons ute, the least damaged cost his insurance $7500 to repair.

As they were trapped he called us as the blow petered out to go down with a chainsaw to clear enough to get the cars out. That is when we found the 5 trees down across the 2 kilometres of our road to the main road. With a dozen locals & 5 chainsaws we could just get through to the main road in about 2 hours. Another hour & our sons ute, & other cars were free.

We were only on the edge of it, but it took 2 of us 5 hours top clean up at home.
It took 4 days to get power restored to everyone.
2 houses still have tarps over roof damage from falling branches, & a couple of cars are still wearing cosmetic damage.

Trees are dangerous damn things, particularly when greeny fools in councils try to prevent clearing the most dangerous.

Well what do you know. Britain looks like it might have the hottest summer on record.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-weather-latest-heatwave-ends-hottest-summer-record-began-met-office-a8451421.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-weather-latest-heatwave-satellite-pictures-hottest-summer-met-office-a8453666.html

And in Japan record temperatures have killed thirty people last week.

“In the city of Kyoto temperatures have stood above 38C (100.4F) for seven days in a row for the first time since records began in the 19th Century.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44910435

Those countries obviously didn't get the memo that we are lurching into the next ice age.