Let me get this straight (“Stop using Trump-like tactics on climate change, independent MPs warn Dutton”, June 10). While in government for nine years, the Coalition failed to deliver any meaningful action on climate change. Now they are saying the Labor government cannot possibly meet the Paris Agreement target in time, a target the Coalition signed onto under Tony Abbott. Their solution is to abandon the target and postpone meaningful action even further while we wait for 15–20 years for the building of nuclear power stations that will produce electricity at many times the cost of renewable energy and battery storage. This is not rational policymaking, but pure ideology. Dutton and his crew simply do not believe in the reality of climate change, no matter how many floods, droughts, bushfires and heat waves we suffer. They don’t deserve to be in government. Neil Ormerod, Kingsgrove
Independent MPs Allegra Spender (left), Monique Ryan (back) and Zoe Daniel, and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.Credit: Marija Ercegovac
Peter Dutton’s crazy climate plans are a gift for Labor. Minister Bowen must follow the strong lead of the teals and spell out for the Australian public what Dutton’s departure from the Paris Agreement will mean for our health, economy and national security. Mark Paskal, Austinmer
Destruction, distraction and disinformation are the hallmarks of Peter Dutton’s leadership. Last year, he destroyed the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, a modest and completely benign reform that could have transformed the lives of Australia’s downtrodden First Nations people. Instead of offering generous bipartisan support he resorted to dog-whistling and disinformation, simply to gain some perceived political advantage. Now, aided by commentators from the Murdoch media empire, he is destroying the hope that Australia can achieve our 2030 emissions reduction goal and become a “renewable energy superpower”, simply by distracting us with a fanciful tale of future nuclear bliss and the bizarre deceit that using even more fossil fuel (gas) will somehow be the miracle cure for the climate crisis that burning fossil fuels has created in the first place! In the next federal election Australians must comprehensively reject the fossil fuel and nuclear charlatans, who are intent on selling us dud solutions for an existential crisis that far outweighs all other issues. Rob Firth, Red Hill (ACT)
In nine years in government the Coalition produced 13 energy plans, none of which came to fruition. All in an attempt to appease the climate change deniers/sceptics in their ranks, as Malcolm Turnbull will attest. During this period 4 GB of obsolete coal generation in Australia was shut down, replaced by only 1 GB of mainly renewables. We are now presented with a new cunning plan. Essentially we’ll do nothing for 15 years and suddenly in 2040’ish an unknown number of nuclear power stations will appear to save the planet or at least Australia because our emissions are local, there is no such thing as a global climate, which is not changing in any case. Denis Minehan, Cooma
Peter Dutton needs to understand that a target is something to aim for, not something to give up on because it is too hard to achieve. Mark Nugent, Lugarno
The Liberals have not put their hearts behind climate change and therefore have done very little to support the huge move towards renewable energies, a move that we know will go some way in helping the planet. They had plenty of time to persuade us about nuclear energy while they were in government. They didn’t and now it is too late because we need action now. We have started down the renewables path and cannot abandon it for the sake of a possible nuclear energy plant to maybe arrive in 20 years time. Claudia Drevikovsky, Croydon
When presented with a difficult target the question should be, “how do we change what we are doing to work towards that target” not “let’s scrap the target.” Imagine if those Australian swimmers trying for Olympic qualifying times had Dutton as their head coach? Bruce Stevenson, Newport
It’s been 13 years and we’re still waiting for an apology from the ABC
Australian women and girls, and one in particular, former prime minister Julia Gillard, are owed a sincere public apology from the ABC for the insulting, hateful and sexist show At Home with Julia, aired in 2011 during her tenure (“A play called Julia made me furious – about the national debates we keep stifling”, June 10). It wasn’t enough that media thugs like Alan Jones suggested she be tortured and drowned or that her body be crudely parodied by Mal Brough at a Liberal party fundraiser or her sexuality questioned by a complicit Perth radio hack. She had to be humiliated in a sitcom on the national broadcaster. True to her dignified form, she kept to herself. When can we expect the public apology from the enablers? The writers, production team, the ABC? Anne Cooper, Earlwood
Amanda Bishop and Phil Lloyd in At Home With Julia, as Tim and JuliaCredit: ABC
Sean Kelly has opened a Pandora’s box on a whole range of issues, including misogyny, racism, the unscrupulous right-wing media and the timidity of the ABC. He suggests we shouldn’t get too caught up in discussions about the Murdochs, the ABC, Dutton, Albanese or Laura Tingle. I beg to differ.
The Murdoch media is causing untold damage to democracy, not only in the US but in Australia as well. Its lack of integrity and ethics knows no bounds. It plays to the worst characteristics of human nature, leaving chaos in its wake. The Federal coalition under Dutton has made negativity, fear-mongering, misinformation and disinformation an art form, which is eating away at our democracy also. Albanese has allowed himself to get caught up in Dutton’s political games rendering him weak at times and open to justified criticism. Graham Lum, North Rocks
Thank you, Sean Kelly. The national debates which we need to have on issues such as misogyny, political licence, immigration, climate change and racism do really need to be aired. As Kelly states, we keep stifling such debates. The bullying, scapegoating and personal assaults by certain media outlets and by certain right-wing politicians using Trump-style dialogue to control the agenda, only works if we as a nation lack the courage to fight back. If we as a nation are to tackle issues such as misogyny and racism, then we need to call out the pile-on bullying of journalists such as Laura Tingle and Stan Grant and we need to once again show the courage to speak out for a vision of a less misogynistic and less racist nation. If this is what we want to become then we, as a society, need to show courage and not meekly succumb to powerful, negative and dark forces which are currently being given licence to fracture our future. Warren Marks, Hill Top
For Sean Kelly, the penny has dropped. We need an honest, fair, open national discourse. The role of the leader of the opposition is not to denigrate and cause fear and division, but successive Liberal opposition leaders have done that. Newscorp’s behaviour adversely affects the national discourse in so many ways and in too many areas. There is no watchdog powerful enough or willing to take on the lies and distortions. The once independent ABC has lost its way. Conspiracy theories abound. Minorities are fair game. Journalists perhaps are our only hope. Geoff Nilon, Mascot
Degrees of dishonesty
Whatever happened to a love of learning, acquiring knowledge for its own sake (The Herald’s View, June 10)? When institutions of higher learning resemble degree factories, existing for those who can afford the exorbitant fees, it is not surprising there is a culture within them of paying for services to cheat on exams and papers. Thankfully, I hear business degrees are very popular, so while the financial health of a company could be jeopardised by employing someone with a dodgy degree, fewer of us might fall prey to those with a fake medical and engineering degree. Unfortunately, with the current high price of basic needs like housing and food and the substantial costs for higher education, money looms large as a concern for the struggling student. Yet in an ideal world money should be seen as the reward for the labour involved in acquiring higher knowledge of a specialised field, not an end in itself. It is about time we had a big rethink of higher education in this country – the healthy functioning of our society depends on it. Lyndall Nelson, Goulburn
Our universities have gone down the drain through unsound practices provoked by government ridding themselves of funding responsibility. Now we learn of a cheating epidemic. Much of the classroom workload is completed through group work, which is being widely exploited in ways that undermine integrity and place totally unfair burdens on a small number of dedicated students. It is a cheap way of outsourcing learning management and smoothing out success levels. It is a blight on our education system in its currently used form, and must be addressed. Brian Jones, Leura
What cost?
The recent attack in Gaza, which killed 210 Palestinians and injured more than 400, is a preventable tragedy (“Noa spent 245 days captured by Hamas. Then an IDF soldier knocked on the door”, June 10). The proposed US-backed hostage deal could have ensured the release of all hostages without fatalities and established a ceasefire. The EU has condemned this as a massacre; Australia should do the same. Celebrating the return of four hostages at the cost of so many lives is unjust. All lives are equal, and disproportionate violence must be condemned. Ehsan Khalid, Cranbourne North (Vic)
Vale, good doctor
Michael Mosley, an enthusiastic charismatic health guru, had the gift to engage and present in a language understood by ordinary people around the world, sparking our interest to own and take care of our health (“The exuberant medical broadcaster who popularised the 5:2 diet”, June 10). An amazing doctor indeed. He will be missed. Susan Chan, St Ives
Michael Mosley’s death will be deeply felt by people across the world. He was a force for cutting-edge health knowledge, overlooked and ignored by profit-driven big pharma and GDP-driven governments. His back-to-basics and revolutionary advice was delivered in bite-sized, entertaining shows and podcasts on free-to-air TV, and covered every aspect of health. Anne Matheson, Gordon
I sincerely hope Michael Mosley broke his own rules that morning and enjoyed a breakfast of buttered croissants with jam and a cup of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream before he set off on that fateful walk. Alicia Dawson, Balmain
TV doctor and journalist Michael Mosley in Sydney in 2019.Credit: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images
Joy of downsizing
More power to Malcolm Knox for putting forward the view that some of us get “joy” from “all the things Kondo and the prophets of purgation tell us to get rid of” (Letters, June 10). I am apprehensive that, after my demise, two skips will turn up outside my house and my entire life’s records, researches and treasures will be tossed into them. The solution? For photos and papers: scanning. For the stuff that is important to you and may be of interest to others, scanning can be a big part of the solution. Scan your old photos, scan your old passports, the old letters and cards … then shred the originals. Yes, it is time-consuming, and of course not even digital records are guaranteed to last for generations. But it forces you to organise, and, down the track, I believe that some yet-to-be born relative will find fascination in what has been preserved.
As you go through these relics of your life, there is the occasional emotional moment; the loss of loved ones, speeches made at their funerals, reminders of others to whom you were once close – and these are worthwhile moments, in fact, they “spark joy”. John Elmgreen, Mosman
We have just found a box of photographs which all the family thought had gone in a clean-up. We now trawl through them going back through family history. What joy. John Crowe, Cherrybrook
Tingle’s truth
Are we not a racist country (Letters, June 10)? The scant representation of Australians in the honours list with an Asian surname says it all. Peter Clarke, Turramurra
I searched in vain through the King’s Birthday awards to find the one for the brave person who “counselled” Laura Tingle. This was bravery far above normal. If she had given him “the stare” it would have taken days to defrost him. Bryce Templeton, Mudgeeraba (Qld)
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
Hope for peace
In Nick Galvin’s article (“This wildly popular music is a source of pride and sadness”, June 7) he quotes musical director of the Sydney Philharmonia Choir, Brett Weymark, as asking “is peace possible? It might be if more of us come together as one and sing in harmony.” What an example we were given when the 1000-voice ChorusOz and Sydney Symphony Orchestra sang Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man, composed in 2000 during the Kosovo conflict. Now we are in the midst of the ongoing Ukrainian/Russian and Middle Eastern conflicts, giving just two examples of a world in continual turmoil. A source of sadness. The concert gave us hope that maybe there will be “peace in our time”. How wonderful it was for us to be able to attend such a great performance – a sense of pride.
Maureen Casey, Breakfast Point
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