Credit: Illustration: Andrew Dyson
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Justice system
The leaked email written by former Dame Phyllis Frost Centre general manager Tracy Jones advising her staff not to take Veronica Nelson’s death under their watch “personally” not only raises questions of leadership, but is indicative of a culture that fails the duty of care (“Prison boss dismisses Veronica Nelson’s family criticism in leaked email”, 1/2).
Moreover, in a spurious rationalisation, Jones said that Nelson’s family is searching for “someone to blame”. In the wash of the coroner Simon McGregor’s findings, we need not look any further at who to lay blame for Nelson’s wholly “preventable death”, but for institutional negligence.
Jelena Rosic, Mornington
Shames us all
Dame Phyllis Frost must be turning in her grave. The sheer inhumanity displayed by the prison officers, including the nurse who watched a movie, were plain to see in the video that has been shown on TV. The general manager’s efforts to minimise the publicity and encourage her staff without acknowledging the horrors of the video make one afraid that improvements in the prison service are unlikely. I am ashamed to be part of a community that tolerates the way Veronica Nelson was treated.
Margaret Ady, Avondale Heights
Costs of a ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric
Your report that the general manager of the Dame Phyllis Frost prison warned staff about Veronica Nelson’s family looking for someone to blame makes no effort to look at the underlying causes behind Nelson’s unfortunate death.
Instead it’s demonising a hapless prison bureaucrat. Veronica Nelson’s death was totally unnecessary. For too long, governments have failed to implement all the recommendations from the royal commission on Aboriginal deaths in custody. The Australian press has also been “sensationalist” in reporting and lobbying for tougher bail conditions, particularly following the tragic deaths of six pedestrians in the Bourke Street Mall in 2017, caused by James Gargasoulas.
Daniel Andrews is the one who needs to answer questions: about whether his government’s bail laws contributed to Nelson’s death, and Victoria’s inhumane and overcrowded prison system.
John Glazebrook, Abbotsford
Outsourcing doesn’t change anything
Changing bail conditions for those on remand is well and good, but that doesn’t take away from the fact the current fashion for governments to outsource problematic duties means their duty of care to people in their charge never gets tested. However you spin it, governments are still in charge. Their tactic may be clever, by shrouding their own role in the cloak of some for-profit agency, but in the case of prisons it’s ineffective, because a profit incentive for prisons as storage units does not reduce the criminal population. And the taxpayer is funding it.
Marguerite Heppell, East Hawthorn
System not so just
The use of words in the titles and references to systems is so important. I would desperately like to see our so-called justice system named and referred to as our legal system. It is always the latter, but, despite good intentions, it is not always the former.
Jenny Callaghan, Hawthorn
Too quick to incarcerate
As bail laws are revisited, the question is asked why there are so many, particularly Indigenous Australians, in custody. Why do we incarcerate people for minor offences?
In any case, anyone in jail, when the state takes over as your guardian, should be safe, no matter what the colour of their skin, no matter their alleged offence. But they are not, as Veronica’s example shows. And that is the issue that is swept under the carpet by authorities.
Dieter Liebrich, Swanpool
THE FORUM
Future proofing
Ross Gittins is right to poke holes in Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen’s proposed Safeguard Mechanism reform (“What did you do in ‘the war’?” 1/2). The success of the mechanism, a policy covering 28 per cent of Australia’s domestic emissions, is vital for Australia to achieve our emissions reductions targets. The loophole allowing big emitting corporations like Chevron and Santos to buy unrestricted carbon offsets instead of reducing absolute emissions is deeply concerning. These are companies that emit millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide and pay little to no tax despite incomes in the billions. To safeguard our children’s futures, they must be held accountable.
Sue Rechter, Talbot
Protests shut down
The Australian Open tennis tournament may well have “smashed” attendance records (The Age, 31/1) but organisers also attempted to smash the right to peaceful protest despite protections afforded under the Victorian Charter of Human Rights. Peaceful climate activists from Extinction Rebellion bought tickets, passed security checks and did not attempt to enter any arenas, disrupt the crowd or interrupt events. Instead they unfurled banners, chanted and engaged in theatrics highlighting ANZ Bank’s role as a partner at the Australian Open. ANZ Bank happens to be Australia’s biggest investor in new coal, gas and oil projects – $65 billion and 33 new projects over the past two years, according to campaign group Market Forces.
Police stood aside as security guards hit and pushed over non-violent protesters before ejecting them from the tennis precinct. How did we get to a point where a private security company, empowered by the Major Events Act 2009, can trample over citizens’ rights?
Brenda Tait, Kensington
Super switching
As a 72-year-old self-funded single retired nurse who considers my carbon footprint in all my actions, I found John Collett’s recommendations for living greener useful and reassuring (“Super switch effective way to live greener”, Money, 1/2). I switched to sustainable and ethical investments in my super years ago. Buying ethical and sustainable investments felt somewhat risky, but it has worked. Alongside my vote, these are some of the biggest actions I can take. It feels good to act in line with my values.
Isabelle Henry, Ascot Vale
Hybrid theory
If you need a new car but are reluctant to buy an EV (“Why I won’t go that extra mile and buy an EV”, 31/1), why not go part of the way and buy a hybrid EV for the next few years? There will definitely be a reduction in fuel use, and if you are mainly driving locally, you will be in electric mode most of the time. When you pull up at the lights, you will not be emitting exhaust fumes. On long trips, once you speed up the petrol engine will come into play, but if you use cruise control and drive modestly, you will be surprised at how often the car switches to EV mode.
Chris Pearson, Kyneton
White knights
Australia’s EV policy is backwards. Jenny Sinclair (Comment, 31/1) says she won’t buy an EV until it makes her life easier and her arguments about limited range, charging bottlenecks, and travel restrictions make complete sense, because we are bringing in the wrong vehicles. While we are struggling to roll out a national recharging system we should be focused on light commercial vehicles, those white vans and tradie utes with woeful fuel consumption that clock up thousands of kilometres each year from depot to depot, while carrying hundreds of kilograms of gear and goods.
The few currently on the roads have no government subsidy, no tax incentive, and pay a road tax in Victoria, despite producing less emissions and less pollution, while costing businesses about 80 per cent less to run and maintain.
I know because I have one. I can top up the battery while loading for the next job, but the 300-kilometre range makes that hardly necessary. I can recharge my tools from the 240v outlet built in. I can run the aircon all day if needed. I have a zippy, silent, comfortable ride — and so should tens of thousands of others like me, but for our ridiculous range of national EV policies.
Tom Danby, Coburg North
Pressure point
By “slashing the staff allocation of independent MPs from four to one” the government seems to have intentionally manoeuvred the MPs into overworking themselves and the people around them. The “poor outcomes” for staff predicted when the cuts were made are now emerging, unfairly focusing criticism on the MPs themselves. (“Unreasonable hours centre of the Ryan, Rugg dispute”, 1/2). Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his colleagues should not be too quick with self-congratulation. As the first unreasonable hours claim plays out in the Federal Court, the government’s bad faith in “attacking the crossbench” by under resourcing independent MPs, will likely be exposed to embarrassing public scrutiny.
Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills
Private v public
Jenna Price writes an effective, persuasive article regarding funding (and sometimes ethical) disparities between public and private schools. My question is why is it so? Why are private schools getting so much public money? If parents wish to send their children to a private school that is their right, but they should cover the cost, not the rest of taxpayers who are rightly funding public schools.
Vicki Jordan, Lower Plenty
How much is enough?
I agree with Jenna Price that most private schools should be defunded. The main reason is political, as the Labor Party found out when soundly beaten under Mark Latham’s leadership during his attempt to cut funds to private schools.
The main reason for defunding should not be due to the ethics of the schools, as this criticism could perhaps be directed at some government schools as well as private schools. These issues should certainly be examined and dealt with, but the main issue is the amount of money that some private schools possess. If the former pupils wish to donate huge amounts to endowment funds, that is their right, but these amounts – one school in 2022 revealing a total of $100 million in their fund and $11 million surplus in their funding from fees – should be key in considering defunding. It is outrageous to be allotting large amounts of money to these schools while starving the public system.
Alan Cobham, Ocean Grove
Let us have antivirals
As reported in The Age (1/2), author and journalist Tracey Spicer ended up with long COVID. I cannot understand why so few Australians have affordable access to COVID antiviral medications. They are proven to reduce both duration and severity of illness for many. Taking them may even help reduce the risk of developing long COVID. At the very least, COVID antiviral medications should be on the PBS for all Australians over the age of 50.
Sharon Rishel, Toorak
Spread the message
Last year 240 Victorians died on our roads. This year we have seen weeks when 149 Victorians died of COVID-19. The minister of health and medical leaders need to mount a concerted campaign to inform Victorians of the ongoing COVID risk.
Bill Clark, Melbourne
Deflecting attention
The epigram published on Tuesday, “Russia, Israel. You tell me the difference” (Letters 31/1), has hit a raw nerve for two of your correspondents (Letters, 1/2). They have sprung to the defence of Israel, in the first place by a fair characterisation of Russia’s criminality, but also by labelling Palestinians generically as terrorists and regional regimes as “autocratic and murderous”. Israel, they claim, has made Palestinians “generous offers of a state” and is “a beacon of democracy.” Neither of these claims stands up to close scrutiny. They only serve to deflect attention away from Israel’s on-going dispossession and disenfranchisement of Palestinians, whether in Israel, Gaza or the West Bank. The continued expansion of Israeli settlements and of military control in the Palestinian homeland is nothing less than a slow and relentless invasion. It must be called out for what it is.
Tom Knowles, Parkville
Seeing both sides
I find it a little sad as I religiously trawl through the letters section of The Age to find many of the correspondents seem incapable of seeing both sides of the argument. Many have divided the field with a certainty that they are right and the “other” hasn’t a clue. We see it most clearly in the nation’s political posturing. We see it in the reactions to the endless conflict in Israel-Palestine where you can read the one-eyed responses to the violence there. Surely there is fault on both sides and solutions are only possible through bipartisan responses. Few things are black and white.
Tony Duncan, Berwick
Past and present
The policy that includes selection of an Australian poet laureate is encouraging news as our society journeys towards its own unique identity (“Streaming quotas coming as PM slams ‘calculated neglect’ of arts”, 31/1). This is an opportunity to appreciate the work of modern poets and gain understanding of our history. It is not an exercise in determining our “best” poet. We can all benefit from reading modern works plus those of historical wordsmiths such as Dorothea Mackellar, Judith Wright, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Henry Lawson and Andrew ” Banjo ” Paterson. Our first national poet, Adam Lindsay Gordon, who was also a parliamentarian and champion jumps jockey was recognised as worthy of his bust being placed in Westminster Abbey. A poet laureate can broaden our understanding of the significance of poetry in our cultural psyche.
Russell Harrison, Adam Lindsay Gordon Commemorative Committee
And another thing
Credit: Illustration: Matt Golding
Who’s listening?
The elite donor list (“Elite donors call shots in political funding race”, 1/2) is the big business/trade union Voice to parliament.
Steve Dixon, North Melbourne
Unlike the whispered voice of political donations, an indigenous Voice will be heard by all.
Malcolm McDonald, Burwood
Radioactivity
A new Australian version of “needle in the haystack”: finding a capsule in the outback.
Tom Stafford, Wheelers Hill
Sounds like there’s some nuclear fishin’ going on in WA.
Bryan Fraser, St Kilda West
Furthermore
If what we have seen and heard about the case of Veronica Nelson is her being treated “sensitively” by prison staff, I would hate to see what being treated insensitively looks like.
Marie Nash, Balwyn
Ah, sweet mystery of life! Separated by subs, reunited by artillery ...
Harvey Mitchell, Castlemaine
Re: school refusers, there’s an old adage “school isn’t for everyone”. But if everyone needs to go, why isn’t it?
Julia Macmillan, Hawthorn
Rachelle Miller’s testimony about putting positive spin via friendly media outlets just about summarises the nine years the Coalition was in government (“Robo-debt probe told of dole bludger strategy”, 2/1).
George Djoneff, Mitcham
Do I need to purchase an additional seven replica premiership cups to add to my already impressive collection of 10? (“Carter out to right the footy record, not rewrite it”).
Mark Hulls, Sandringham
Finally
Paul McNamee calls Federer, Nadal and Djokovic “the Holy Trinity” of tennis (“Djokovic is No. 1 – but is he the GOAT?” 31/1). Once they have all retired, this should settle, once and for all, the question of who should be named Father, Son or Holy GOAT.
Harry Zable, Campbells Creek
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