Credit: Alan Moir
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My electricity bills are quite affordable as I have rooftop solar. With a heat pump hot water system that runs during the hours my home is making its own power, and running appliances like the dishwasher and washing machine during the day, I still generally have excess power to export to the grid – for which I’m paid a pittance. In my own small way, I’m working for net zero emissions for Australia. Australia may not be a significant emitter of greenhouse gases, but on a per capita basis, our emissions are significant. If the Liberals’ aim is to give Australians cheaper electricity prices, they should be championing more renewable energy production and battery banks. If I was paid the retail rate for the energy I can export, I would hardly ever need to pay my electricity retailer. The bonus being Australia would meet agreed international emission targets of greenhouse gases thus giving some protection to farmers from the extreme weather events attributed to climate change. Could the Liberal Party be any more shortsighted?
Kim Smith, Hughesdale
Following the Nationals is not a way forwards
Instead of providing much-needed fresh new proactive leadership of the Liberals, Sussan Ley is meekly committing the party to following the Nationals back into irrelevant environmental oblivion. (“Ley buys time by dumping net zero targets as Nationals declare victory”, 14/11). In the face of overwhelming popular support for maintaining net zero emissions targets, how can the Coalition hope to form a credible alternative government?
Jenifer Nicholls, Windsor
Coalition, where is the evidence?
As good decision-making is based on evidence, it would be useful if the Liberal Party and the National Party would publish the evidence that they used to reject the net zero target. It would also be useful to know what their new target will be and how they plan to achieve it. That will enable voters to make voting decisions based on evidence.
Genevieve Leach, Carlton
It all goes into the same atmosphere
If politicians don’t get us safely to net zero within 20 years, then nothing else they do will matter. Droughts, fires, cyclones, floods, algal blooms, habitat destruction and the loss of our birds, insects, animals and coral reefs – if we don’t get a move on and get this right, the future will repay our wilful blindness. We must stop new fossil fuel developments. It doesn’t matter if the fuels are burnt here or overseas, it all goes into the same atmosphere. Putting the energy transition on the backburner, as the Coalition seems determined to do, just won’t cut it.
Mary Macmillan, Brunswick East
Future generations will not be happy
Dan Tehan says energy affordability should be the focus. Given that renewables are the most affordable energy source will he argue for a faster transition to clean energy or is this just a front to keep the fossil fuels burning? I wonder if the younger generations can ever vote for a party that so recklessly endangers their future welfare?
Michael Weadon, Ballarat
THE FORUM
Don’t rush change
I was horrified to read about the state government’s indecent rush to push through radical reforms to its social services regulatory regime (″Disability watchdog axe plan″, 14/11). I write as someone with more than 15 years’ experience in the disability sector in Victoria.
I believe careful consultation must be made with the disability advocacy community to ensure that any proposed changes are an improvement and not detrimental to those in the government’s care.
Why the rush? Is it just to save money? Of all the government’s services we must retain strong oversight and an effective complaints system in the disability sector otherwise vulnerable people will be more likely subject to harm and bad treatment.
Tim Hoffmann, Brunswick
Cause for joy
Congratulations to the Victorian Indigenous people and the Allan Labor government, making history this week by the signing of the first treaty in Australia. A decade in the making, a first step towards a more just and positive future for the First Peoples of Victoria.
I felt shame when the Yes vote failed, but today I feel proud.
Marg Pekin, Thornbury
Expediency wins
The decision to treat juvenile offenders as adult offenders is a cowardly and expedient kneejerk reaction, which pretends to do something about a problem, while harming children and laying down more pain and crime for the future.
It is well known in the criminological literature that the severity of sentence does not affect the incidence of crime. What does affect it is the likelihood of being caught.
This is compounded by the fact children have immature brains and do not have the executive function to rationally foresee consequences and balance choices. This is especially so for males. I shudder when I think of some of the decisions I made in my teens.
Incarceration for these children is a guarantee that they will emerge as hardened criminals with the contacts to match. Our ability to retrain and reform kids has been fatally damaged by years of bipartisan neglect. The same applies to the educational, therapeutic, child protection and other social systems on which these kids have depended. Most come from difficult environments with no real prospect of better opportunities.
Until we tackle the root causes of their issues the cycle will repeat. We need evidence-based policy, not policy driven by shock jocks and political cowardice.
Dr Andrew Watkins, Olinda
Stupidity reigns
As a former lawyer, probation officer and (most relevantly) 20 years as a youth worker in Victoria’s juvenile justice system, I never met a child who refrained from criminal activity because of the threat of the sentencing regime. Adult criminals commit violent crimes despite the sentences applicable to them and that now the state government wants to apply to children whose brains are years away from full development. The threat of hanging children – and the actual public hanging of many – did not reduce child crime in England centuries ago, and pretending children are mature adults will not reduce child crime in 21st century Victoria. Mindless (adult) stupidity has many forms; this is one.
Dennis Dodd, Shepparton
Warning signs
Several years ago, some members of the Liberal Party warned us that a vote for the Labor Party was a vote for the Greens.
Today, the warning is that a vote for the Liberal Party is a vote for the National Party.
James Proctor, Brown Hill
Going backwards
It simply beggars belief that the once forward-thinking Liberal Party for their survival are coerced into following the Nationals’ policy (if you can call it that) on climate change. It is all very well for the Nationals to want to protect their future, however, don’t they realise that if the rate of change in the climate keeps up the momentum that is now happening, in a few years many regional areas will not have a future to look forward to. In taking the decision that they have announced, has the Coalition spared a thought for our Pacific neighbours? Is this the way we treat neighbours, where rising sea levels will accelerate their inability to survive as a nation? The look on the National leader David Littleproud’s face following the Liberals’ announcement said it all, and not a response we should expect from the leader of a major political party. It is a shame, no, a disgrace, that the Liberal Party was forced to take a survival approach as a party, rather than decide what is in the best interests of the nation and the other neighbouring nations.
Bruce MacKenzie, South Kingsville
The price to be paid
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said: “Our emissions reduction goals will never come at the expense of Australian families.” What an extraordinary statement. Any weakening of emission reduction goals will certainly come at the expense of the young members of Australian families because they will be facing a bleaker than necessary future from catastrophic climate change.
Ian Bayly, Upwey
AFL, think of the littlies
The AFL has continued to schedule Thursday night games in 2026, at the expense of weekend day games. My Collingwood-mad preschool-age children love going to the footy. In rounds 1-15, there are only three Pies games which start before their bedtime. The AFL is chasing more broadcast revenue now, at the expense of the next generation of supporters. It’s short-sighted, and it’s not fair.
Nicholas Baum, Hawthorn
Six as 10
The AFL’s new wildcard round is a shameless money grab. I would point out to those media ″experts″ who argued it would provide more interest and excitement to the end of the season, that the gap between 10th placed Sydney and 11th place Carlton last season was a massive 12 premiership points. Not only that, had there been a wildcard round, we would have missed out on the Dockers/Bulldogs intrigue of the final week of home and away.
So now we have a final 10, where the bottom four of that 10 have literally zero chance of taking out the flag. While the wildcard remains, we will never see a repeat of the Bulldogs 2016 heroics, since no team will be winning five finals in a row from 6th place or below. It is now effectively a final six system masquerading as a final 10.
Duncan Foster, Maidstone
Wealth inequality
Liz Gooch (Comment, 14/11) provides an update to the Good Weekend article by Amelia Lester five years ago. Writing on the decline of America, Lester quoted a friend: ″America is not a rich country, but rather a poor country with a lot of rich people in it.″
This situation is now becoming a global pandemic.
Peter Thomas, Pascoe Vale
Challenges at home
While the government under Anthony Albanese is not perfect, it is difficult to see what further steps can, or should, be taken by Australia to have any reasonable impact on the Palestinian situation. Over the past 50 years, any meaningful resolution of the conflicts between peoples of this region, who all want to occupy the same territory, has eluded many great political and religious leaders, as well as a succession of expert negotiators. Conflict in the Middle East is complex, generational and widespread.
At the same time, Australia is beset with serious economic and environmental challenges that could easily have an impact on standards of living and societal cohesion. They demand the government’s attention particularly as the opposition has apparently failed to heed the electorate, especially on climate change. We need to be vigilant to ensure Australia does not slip backwards in thinking on critical matters such as reducing carbon emissions, generating clean energy more sustainably, and future population and development pressures. With so many competing problems, calls by some to do even more for Palestine are unfortunately but realistically out of reach.
Lynda Graf, Mount Eliza
Wrong thing dumped
The Liberals should have dumped the Nationals rather than net zero. Why can’t they see that?
Jan Kendall, Mount Martha
Credit: Matt Golding
AND ANOTHER THING
The Coalition
Sorry, Mother Nature, but the Liberal Party has voted, and unfortunately you lost.
Henry Herzog, St Kilda East
Liberal Party going to join the dinosaurs. Goodbye Sussan!
Ron Reynolds, Templestowe
The Liberal Party, fearing years of political wilderness, have aligned themselves with the National Party, and rejected net zero, thus guaranteeing themselves years in the political wilderness.
Matthew Hamilton, Kew
Memo to LNP: If you don’t like change; you’ll enjoy irrelevancy even less.
Michael Cowan, Wheelers Hill
Memo to Sussan Ley. Didn’t Jim Hacker of Yes Prime Minister, say, “I am their Leader. I must follow them.“
Les Aisen, Elsternwick
“All those in favour of zeroing in on the target of political oblivion? The ayes have it.“
Claire Merry, Wantirna
I can’t understand all the ″noise″ around the Liberal Party and net zero. They have reached that target already. Net zero credibility.
Mick Mirovic, Balaclava
I would think removing a target represents not knowing where you’re going.
Peter Baddeley, Portland
No doubt the opposition parties will be renamed as the National/Liberal Party.
Bruce Dudon, Woodend
Furthermore
Put a child of 14 years in jail and what you get out will be a schooled criminal. I expected Labor to try to fix the problem, not make it worse.
Sara Ginsbourg, Bentleigh East
I grew up in the Garden State. I worked in the Education State. I’m going to retire in the Incarceration State.
Barry Greer, Balnarring
Finally
It was so lovely to be at Fed Square to hear the bagpipes. So many happy T-shirted AC/DC fans and people just enjoying the fun. No anger, no arguments. So needed among all the angst in the world.
Carolyn Brand, Pt Lonsdale