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Credit: Illustration: Jim Pavlidis
ENERGY
I agree with columnist Shaun Carney that attention to complex issues is often edged out by dogwhistle messages that have ″political resonance″. Brexit and energy policy are clear examples (″Nuclear Becomes Dutton’s Brexit″, 11/7).
It is particularly worrying that the next federal election may be fought on renewables v nuclear for the 2040s, rather than renewables v gas in the 2020s and 2030s. Even if all of Dutton’s nuclear power stations were built, they would only supply between 3 and 12 per cent of Australia’s electricity. Welcome, but not a game changer by 2050, and obviously useless right now.
We hardly hear anything about greenhouse gasses except ″zero nuclear emissions″. This is a masterstroke of spin and distraction. It allows the Liberals to pay lip service to climate action without tackling the core problem – that Australia still produces more carbon emissions per head than the US, China, India and Europe.
So, how could Peter Dutton think he could get away with promoting a nuclear solution, without consultations with Australian power companies or even state Liberals? The answer is political. His spin about ″cheap nuclear″ resonates with an electorate focusing more on the cost of living issue.
John Hughes, Mentone
An avalanche of misinformation
Shaun Carney (″Nuclear becomes Dutton’s Brexit″, 11/7) is spot on: “Just like Brexit, the proposed solution, which for the moment is nuclear, counts for less than the underlying message behind it. That message is ‘you are right not to want to accept change, especially if it might involve any cost or sacrifice’.″
This would go some way to explain the fact that, no matter how much expert scientific, economic and environmental data is put out into the public domain, nuclear is still an issue. Communities are encouraged by the Coalition to view our renewables transition as costly and damaging, rather than a rational approach to inevitable change. Our transition is costly, but not nearly as costly as ″waiting″ for nuclear, and not nearly as costly as nuclear power would be.
Just as Brexiters promoted “British culture … freezing immigration and stopping the boats”, nuclear-ites deny any global responsibilities and cling to 20th-century technologies which are the cause of our problems. As with the Brexit campaign, the conservative media promotes nuclear in an unrelenting, undisguised, avalanche of misinformation.
Meanwhile in Britain, a May 2024 poll shows 55 per cent of people thought it was wrong to leave the EU, compared with 31 per cent who thought it was the right decision.
Fiona Colin, Malvern East
ALP policies are as flimsy as the Coalition’s
Shaun Carney argues that the Liberal-National Coalition are improvising their energy policy as they go along, or at best giving that impression.
Even if he is correct, readers should not assume that ALP policies are less flimsy. Its plans depend on massive deployment of energy storage technology. But it has yet to be invented or proven.
So, to be blunt, if the Coalition is offering voters a thorium-powered flying pig, the ALP is offering a battery-powered flying pig.
It is time for debate to shift to discussing a broader range of solutions, particularly rethinking energy demand.
Alun Breward, Malvern East
A bridge too far
Shaun Carney takes Peter Dutton’s nuclear unicorn seriously. Shaun, do I have a bridge to sell you. Ross Hosking, Blackwood, SA
If you thought Brexit was a bad idea, try this
If, as Shaun Carney asserts (11/7), nuclear has become Dutton’s Brexit, it sends a stark warning to the Australian electorate given how pear-shaped conditions in Britain became after its electorate voted to leave the EU.
Phil Alexander, Eltham
THE FORUM
Why the envoy is needed
Many are querying the necessity for a special envoy for antisemitism, and why this form of hate cannot be tackled under existing anti-racism initiatives. There are several reasons standard social research methods fail to measure or monitor impacts on the Jewish community. The purpose of social research is to understand the attitudes, behaviours, concerns and living conditions of the average Australian, or of groups of particular interest. Social researchers also measure the impact of government initiatives, to ensure they deliver desired benefits to the relevant people.
Generalisations have to be made by reaching out to representative groups according to age, gender, socioeconomic status, location, and cultural diversity. Cultural diversity is measured by looking at language other than English spoken at home, and whether the individual was born in ″culturally diverse″ country. Almost all Jews in Australia speak English at home, are rarely regarded as ″culturally diverse″ and their experience of discrimination based on cultural diversity is simply not measured. Jews also comprise only 0.3 per cent of the population, and the majority live in a very few locations. Under business-as-usual circumstances, the government has no need to seek out the views and experiences of such a small minority group, and nor would it be appropriate. However, while antisemitism is rising, a specialised approach is required.
Tamara Taylor, North Caulfield
Conflict resolution
I agree with Gareth Evans’ summary (9/7) of what l think history will record as a sad pointless episode in our federal politics.
I have never been in caucus but as an ordinary member of the Victorian ALP l have been on a policy committee. I was able to educate and inform the members of the validity of my case and ultimately achieve a positive outcome.
It took time and perseverance, but the channels of communication are there. Considering the seniority of Senator Payman’s colleagues and their commitment to solidarity l think it unlikely that if she had pursued her case internally that the issue could not have been resolved.
Now, we are at risk of fracturing our precious multicultural nation at the next federal election.
Maree Williams, Kew
Far right appeal
The article “Far-right threat a long way from over”, (9/7), seems to imply that Western democracies are threatened from the rise of the so called far-right.
Surely, in democracies the far-right can only rise if an increasing number of the population vote for them, presumably because they’re dissatisfied with governments of left-wing persuasion?
Tony O’Brien, South Melbourne
Love without religion
Re your correspondent (“The Moral Imperative”, 9/7). Can you not teach ethics based on love without a religious teaching? Surely non-religious education can achieve the same outcomes, it’s not specific to the domain of religions. It’s how my family live our lives, and we are all atheists.
Dean Capp, Keysborough
Boomer hard work pays
Reading that the ‘Xennials’ were more likely to be better off than their parents because of Australia’s higher levels of mobility is a credit to the baby boomers. Surprisingly, we are above Scandinavian countries in this regard. The reported data suggests that the boomers, often more recently maligned for their wealth, were instrumental in making sure that future generations enjoyed improved opportunities in life. Yes, they did get some things easier, but their primary focus was on providing a good life for their family.
I observed my own boomer working class parents do just that, and I’m indebted to them for the opportunities they afforded me. They might now be enjoying some of the benefits of their generation, but we need to recognise that this is due to hard work and more often than not living within their means. The boomers leave a legacy that we should both appreciate and acknowledge, and moving forward it’s up to the Xennials to do the same.
Michael Cormick, Carnegie
Centrelink on hold
I have occasion to contact Centrelink. When I eventually reach them, I am given a wide range of options to choose from. What I am not told is vital information for my sanity, such as the number of my call in the inevitable queue, or how I can arrange for Centrelink to call me back. This is a very helpful and customer-friendly service that many enterprises have provided for years, if not decades. How can we force Centrelink to give us equivalent service?
Ian Price, Albury
Resources have limits
If younger generations are to have as much, or more, wealth as their parents, we must apparently rely on continued economic growth (″Most ‘Xennials’ better off than their parents″, 11/7), However, we cannot rely on our planet, or country, to provide the resources we need for this growth. As Ross Gittins stated (5/7), we have already exceeded planetary boundaries and are suffering the consequences, including extreme weather events, poorer soil and water quality and biodiversity loss, as our natural capital has depleted. If our grandkids, and theirs, are to have the quality of life we have taken for granted, we must turn around our growth agenda to focus on rapidly improving our planet’s lifeline.
Jennie Epstein, Little River
Repair starts upstream
Re “Flood risk for more than 22,000 inner Melbourne properties, new modelling shows, 10/7. Can this be channelled, excuse the pun, into a wider effort to reduce the volume of stormwater going into our drains and therefore the risk of property damage? Upgrading the stormwater system is costly and must be done, but in addition, we must work harder to retain and use stormwater to not only mitigate against flooding, but also improve our environmental resilience.
There is considerable research evidence to support change. Victorian government agencies the EPA, DEECA and Melbourne Water all have initiatives to reduce pollutants and reduce the impact of stormwater through better design. As our climate heats and dries up, we need to collect and store stormwater to support more green space to offset the urban heat island that comes with intensive development.
Designing streets, carparks and other spaces to be more porous reduces runoff and the risk of flooding. Importantly, for those in inner-city Yarra, we need our friends in the middle and outer suburbs to take up this challenge to reduce the volume of water coming down the river and down the drains towards the city.
Community groups such as the Yarra Riverkeeper Association have been campaigning to reduce the impact of stormwater for many years. We need local and state governments, developers and households to help.
Candice Charles, board member, Yarra Riverkeeper Association
Biden must stay, and win
Joe Biden must win the next US presidential election – and not merely for democracy’s sake. His electoral victory in November will see Donald Trump defeated, but critically, it will be proof that ageism does not define Western society. Reading further columns about Joe Biden’s age – instead of rallying cries to unite against Trump – reminds one of the wisdom of The Simpsons: ″We’ve tried nothing, and we’re all out of ideas″.
George H.W. Bush lost the 1992 election not because he was a 67-year-old man who had vomited on the Japanese prime minister. He lost because there was a third candidate - Ross Perot - who appealed to those tired of the major parties’ civil wars and took enough votes away from the incumbent president. There is too much at stake to let that happen again.
Anders Ross, Heidelberg
Left-leaners’ confusion
We hear that Joe Biden’s fundraiser, George Clooney, is urging him not to stand. For years, the US mainstream media have hidden Joe’s cognitive decline from their viewers, saying that it’s all a right-wing conspiracy.
Watching the debate, many left-leaning people were genuinely shocked, seeing the real Joe for the first time. They are divided over whether to still claim that it’s a right-wing conspiracy or to urge him to stand down. Some are scared that if he stands, then Trump will win; some are scared that Joe might win. Of course, Jill Biden is so desperate to hang on, she blames everyone except Joe, and would never allow him to stand down.
Robert Box, Chelsea
Pass the torch, Joe
″Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.″ The idealism of JFK’s inauguration speech in January 1961 must have inspired a young Joe Biden. Now is the time for Biden to draw on, and rekindle that idealism and to hand the torch to the new generation of Americans by standing aside for a younger candidate.
Dan McGlade, Brunswick
WS Gilbert’s wise advice
Your correspondents (9/7, 10/7) have rightly referenced WS Gilbert who, in several of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, offered satiric references to politics and society generally. Iolanthe was his most incisive work of political satire.
His insight into the frailties of humanity is nowhere better expressed than in a line uttered by the Mikado in the opera (1885) of that name: ″It’s a cruel world and virtue is triumphant only in theatrical performances.”
Seems very relevant in the current world environment.
Brian Kidd, Mt Waverley
AND ANOTHER THING
Credit: Illustration: Matt Golding
Biden’s choice
Joe Biden should heed the disaster that happened when Ruth Bader Ginsburg refused to retire whilst Barak Obama was president. Her death during Donald Trump’s reign of terror ensured that the Supreme Court can now do pretty much what Donald Trump tells it to.
Marie Nash, Balwyn
The Democrats concerned about Biden need to watch Hawthorn coach John Kennedy’s famous speech to his players during the Grand Final, ″don’t think, do!″
Michael Brinkman, Ventnor
The US president must never leave home without the nuclear codes and a teleprompter.
Ralph Böhmer, St Kilda West
Joe Biden won’t give up the race, and he is saying he’ll be happy to give it his best shot, even if he loses. So he ignores the flow on effects if, as is likely, Trump wins. Perhaps we can view him as the ultimate entitled boomer (although he was born during the war).
David Fry, Moonee Ponds
Joe Biden will be referred to in history as the president who through his negligence and culpability, enabled Donald Trump into the White House, who in turn destroyed the USA.
Scott Ramsay, Kennington
Furthermore
All lobbyists should be banned from entering parliament house (“Albanese’s $22.7 billion spendathon a lobbyist honeypot”, 10/7). Full stop. They serve only the interests of their clients. Australia’s interests do not figure in their machinations. They are a blight on good democracy.
Ross Hudson, Mount Martha
If only Mother Nature had the same deep pockets to retain well-connected defence industry lobbyists.
Jenny Smithers, Ashburton
Finally
As my mother used to say, Kerri Sackville (Comment, “Why am I so angry at a sink”, 11/7) “should have a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down”.
Sandra Torpey, Hawthorn
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