Credit: Cathy Wilcox
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.
Bravo Ross Gittins (Comment, 16/7). The question of defence spending is not a stand-alone one. As Gittins points out, the money spent on defence could alternatively be spent on something else ... health, education and climate change for instance, all of which we are told are in need of funding, or it could reduce our national debt, agreed to be another worthy goal. Also, who do we rely on, and more particularly who do we trust, to advise on the amount to be spent on defence? And on what items the money is to be spent? Have Defence Department experts advised? Has the Foreign Affairs Department? What input from academic defence experts? Has the general public been told the alternative ways that this money could be spent?
That a politician, with no specific expertise, clearly being pressured by a foreign government and with a forward view of three years, makes these decisions that shape a 40-year national future, seems unlikely to produce a sound result. More work needed.
Peter Moore, Clifton Hill
There will always be a use for the sword
Not to make light of Ross Gittins’ excellent suggestion that we shouldn’t spend too much on useless military hardware when there are more pressing needs at home, has there ever been a time when a more powerful neighbour, human nature being what it is, has decided not to plunder its neighbour’s undefended assets when they seem there for the taking?
One might offer educational opportunities or trade deals or bribes in exchange for ″protection″, but sooner or later hard reality dawns and just like at the end of the Bronze Age when the hill fort on the other side of the valley acquires cutting edge technology, there comes a time when you need to upgrade to your own iron swords and spear tips if you don’t want to become a footnote of history.
Claude Miller, Castlemaine
Happy to pay more tax for peace of mind
Spending whatever is necessary to make us feel safe in our own backyard can never be a waste of money. The thought of being a sitting duck to an attack and not having the America fully engaged in our defence is something that should not sit well with all Australians. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should be taking orders from Donald Trump on our defence spending and I am happy to pay higher taxes to ensure my grandchildren don’t have to look over their shoulders in years to come. You can’t put a price on peace of mind.
Steve Naumovski, Southbank
Relationship with China is important to us
Thank you Ross Gittins for a balanced and much needed article regarding the constant warmongering, sabre-rattling and the calls from the United States for NATO countries and Australia to dramatically increase their defence spending. Australia needs to continue to forge a strong relationship with China. It is our most important trading partner, with the health of their economy being intrinsically linked to ours. Gittins is right to point out the ″glee with which our defenceniks″ those with vested interests, accept calls of increased spending. Continuing a Cold War mentality approach, sold through the virtues of misplaced nationalism and irrational fear, certainly lines the coffers of many.
As for looking to recent history as a guide for war and aggression, it is interesting to note, that since the end of the Vietnam war, the United States have conducted conventional bombing campaigns of more than 20 countries including, Cambodia, Grenada, Panama, Bosnia and Sudan to name a few, while China has conducted none.
Craig Jory, Albury, NSW
THE FORUM
Trade and money for us
Columnist Shaun Carney, writing of our national values, suggests change can be hard to accept in assessing our relationship with the United States under Donald Trump (″Trump or Xi for Albo? Maybe both″, 17/7).
With our lax defence spending it is clear we are happy to be a nation of freeloaders on security and one that values trade and the economy ahead of traditional democratic freedoms that evades a billion or so Chinese.
We expect our AUKUS security partners to do most of the heavy defence lifting while we pursue national wealth and prosperity through better economic relations with a communist dictatorship that has an abysmal human rights record and an open policy of eventually taking its neighbour by force.
Sadly, if Anthony Albanese’s assessment of ″public sentiment″ is correct, we now stand for a combination of trade, money and not much else. Good luck, Taiwan.
Brian O’Neil, Heidelberg Heights
Reality check on care
Thank you Dr Jacqueline Wilson (“I survived care, my brother didn’t”, 16/7) for describing such a heart-wrenchingly sad journey you and your brother faced in the child welfare system from such a young age. For those of us who haven’t experienced such difficult childhoods it’s a disturbing reality check on how life can be so hard and unsatisfactory for all too many young children and adolescents caught up so powerlessly in the care of the state.
It’s good to know that some former wards of state have also kept this issue in the public eye and had some compensation, albeit small, but it seems little has changed despite many reports and recommendations for future improvements in the child welfare and protection systems.
I was a social worker in the 1970s and am ashamed to say I didn’t want to work in that area as even then, it was woefully under-resourced. It seems little has changed.
Let’s hope things do change for the better so that all your grit and determination ending up working in a similar field and as well, so that a life like your brother’s hasn’t been lost in vain.
Kerin Tulloch, Hawthorn
Grateful commuter
Carriage comes off the rails at Clifton Hill on Sunday evening, two train lines are suspended and major delays ensue for north-east commuters. On Wednesday morning I braced for the worst, radio news telling me bus trips would be long, uncomfortable and trips delayed. Walking to Heidelberg Station I hoped there would be information and that my wait for a bus would not be long.
I was greeted by PTV staff who were friendly, guiding commuters to the bus services. I quickly joined the queue for the express bus to Parliament and five minutes later a bus arrived to take me into the city. The journey was quick, free and pleasant. My trip home took a little longer due to peak-hour traffic, however it was just as pleasant as my morning commute. Plenty of PTV staff were in place to guide and assist passengers and I thanked them all as I began my short walk home.
It’s not all doom and gloom, leave a little earlier, know it will take a little longer but know that when things don’t always go to plan, there are people doing their best to get us all to where we need to go as quickly as possible. I, for one, am grateful.
Franca Mosca, Ivanhoe
Not really a nightmare
Sunday’s train derailment on the busy Mernda and Hurstbridge lines at Clifton Hill is described as “chaos” and “a nightmare” (″Nightmare commute for 100,000 Melburnians as cancelled trains trigger long delays″, 16/7).
The inconvenience of long delays for commuters is undeniable. But replacement buses were quickly dispatched along the line, with public notices and signage rolled out to help passengers. Is that chaos? Metro’s CEO has publicly apologised, not concealed the incident or deflected blame. Reporting on the derailment and possible reasons for the incident are out in the public domain, not repressed. Underpinning train infrastructure and rolling stock are built, maintained and repaired to enforceable standards and public safety. The driver safely stopped the train. Passengers safely disembarked.
A nightmare? Melbourne’s transport system has plenty of faults. But if this represents a nightmare, we have little concept of the real thing.
Anna Ridgway, Abbotsford
Slap-happy feet
With the present preoccupation on the skills of drivers, old and young, it is worth asking how many drivers use their feet properly. An old and seemingly untaught maxim is left foot brake, right foot accelerator. But from discussion, I have found drivers, young and old, use the one foot for either pedal, with the possibly high-risk factor of a driver mistakenly hitting the accelerator pedal instead of the brake in a moment of crisis. This may account for vehicles ending up in shop fronts or other places instead of the intended car park.
If separate feet were employed all the time for the separate pedals, it would be instinctive in a moment of crisis. More public education on driver pedal use – and how to find the indicator – would seem overdue.
Brian Kidd, Mt Waverley
A purpose for the young
I agree with your correspondent (Letters, 17/7) about putting youth to use. Our young Australians are needed in many ways, and the suggestion about training them to respond to emergencies we face in our sunburnt country is an excellent idea. Not only will this increase the numbers of ably bodied people to help in a crisis, provide them with paid employment and an opportunity to see more of the country, it would also get them off their screens.
Julie Ottobre, Brunswick East
A nation’s health
Ken Henry has told the National Press Club that ″while the pace of environmental degradation has been accelerating, our economic performance has also been deteriorating″ (″Australian workers robbed of $500,000 each, says Henry″, 17/7).
This implies that the healthier our environment, the better our economy. Or the better our economy, the healthier the environment. This may surprise many people who regard Australia’s degraded environment as a direct consequence of economic development. And it is hard to see how a pristine environment, largely untouched by economic development, does much to improve economic growth or productivity, things which Henry also regards as important.
Henry has the challenge of demonstrating how an environment in which indigenous plants and animals are free from threat is compatible with economic considerations such as jobs, growth and progress.
Rod Wise, Surrey Hills
Who speaks for others?
Since the introduction of the two special envoys for antisemitism and Islamophobia, I have been perplexed.
Notwithstanding the rise of disgraceful desecration, graffiti and other senseless behaviours we have seen in recent years, I, like Josh Bornstein (Comment, 16/7), wonder what happens to those people in other minority cultures or groups who suffer racist and other excluding behaviours with no one to speak up for them.
I would like to see someone draw a connection between these persecuting behaviours, and the lack of emphasis on valuing our commonalities over highlighting differences. We used to celebrate the richness that these differences made to society, which was the dominant reason for having a separate minister for multicultural affairs. That role is now shared with immigration and citizenship. And the minister sits in the Department of Home Affairs, alongside Border Force, surely not the positive vibe we once proudly celebrated.
Margaret O’Connor, Balwyn
Stand with islanders
It’s too costly to hold back the rising sea, and Denmark is being evacuated. The country is in chaos. That is the scenario in the television series Families Like Ours. Meanwhile, Torres Strait Islanders, Australian citizens, are faced with the same scenario right now. And sadly, through no fault of their own, they are caught in a climate catch-22 (“Commonwealth not liable for Torres Strait climate damage”, 16/7). On the one hand, Federal Court judge Justice Michael Wigney acknowledges they are being “ravaged” by the impacts of climate change brought on by the burning of fossil fuels; on the other hand, he rules that the law is inadequate to protect them.
In his summation, Wigney urged concerned citizens to advocate and protest for changes to the law. But this is easier said than done. The nation’s budget and super funds are tied to export earnings from coal and gas. Fossil fuel lobbyists have the ears of those who make the laws, and it’s hard to imagine these lawmakers introducing legislation that makes themselves more accountable. It took Mabo two tries to overturn terra nullius. Uncle Pabai and Uncle Paul are equally determined. We must stand with them.
Ray Peck, Hawthorn
Climate? Not our problem
Climate fatalism is being held at bay by apathy. We are not all in a state of fatalism because we can’t be bothered even thinking about what we are doing to the planet. We live in a disposable society and see the planet as a disposable entity too. It is the way our brains are wired. If problems seem too big for us as individuals to try to make inroads on, then they are someone else’s problem. It means our leaders can get away with doing nothing except promoting and modelling apathy. Clever.
Greg Tuck, Warragul
The Priscilla way
Now the barriers that divide traffic on West Gate Freeway are adorned intermittently with Pride rainbows, can I suggest calling it Priscilla’s Highway?
Mike Reed, Richmond
AND ANOTHER THING
World affairs
Whether we would go to war alongside the US, under the AUKUS agreement, raises another question: will the Americans demand that our submarines, if we get them, be required under American command to be armed with nuclear weapons.
Kim Kaye, Surrey Hills
Donald Trump thinks raw economic and military power is sufficient to direct the world order. He will discover real leadership is based on perceptions of legitimacy.
Peter Bennett, Clifton Hill
Why doesn’t someone just leak the Jeffrey Epstein files?
Reg Murray, Glen Iris
Ducks
Your correspondent (Letters, 16/7) muses about duck shooting in Yarra Bank and Wattle Park Reserves. It seems more barbaric in the city somehow. One standard for the city, one for the country.
John Gare, Kew East
City ducks and city folk can live in peace, while country ducks and country folk cop the carnage (Letters, 17/7).
Neil Wilkinson, Mont Albert
Furthermore
I am happy to pay more tax to support our need for services. However, I will not support the proposed nonsensical tax on unrealised capital gains, even it affects only 80,000. It doesn’t directly affect me, it is the principle.
Vince Vozzo, Elwood
Given the recent abysmal performance of our opening batsmen in the West Indies series, perhaps we should consider replacing them with two additional bowlers for the upcoming Ashes series. They couldn’t do any worse and they would add to our bowling power.
Tony O’Brien, South Melbourne
Finally
With talk of an AFL team in the Northern Territory, don’t tell me, they’ll be called The Darwin Stubbies.
John Rawson, Mernda