Credit: Andrew Dyson
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The article ″Pressure on Australia to cut emissions″ (28/8) demonstrates the paradigm shift that is urgently needed to lessen the impact of rising sea levels in the Pacific. Otherwise it will continue the destruction of their ecological, economic and cultural way of living; people will be uprooted. The situation for Pacific Islanders could be called eco-apartheid. The rich countries of the world, including Australia, must heed the warning from the UN and reduce our carbon emissions. The pedal must be put on renewables. We in the rich world must be prepared to make sacrifices. It is our footprint that has contributed so much to the changing climate, yet those with the lightest footprint are already suffering and will suffer more into the future.
Judith Morrison, Nunawading
Pacific countries at forefront of changes
Rising sea levels caused by global warming is a major problem for Pacific nations, including Australia. A related issue is that storms pick up more water vapour and heat from warming oceans. Extra damage is done by stronger winds, heavier rainfall and more flooding. For example, Australia can expect more damaging east coast lows, with higher storm surge levels and increased erosion impacting people and the economy. The low-lying Pacific Island countries are at the forefront of global changes in rising seas and worse storms that are impacting us all.
John Hughes, Mentone
Urgent leadership is required, now
The other night, my heart broke as my son, woken by the relentless wind, asked, ″What happens if the roof blows off our house?″ In that moment, I realised how deeply this climate crisis is affecting our lives. Reading the article “Flood risk could render half a million Australian properties near uninsurable” (28/8) due to climate risks, I couldn’t help but reflect on the broader implications.
As extreme weather events become more frequent, insuring our homes is becoming increasingly difficult and costly. I recognise that I write from a place of privilege – we could afford repairs if needed. But many Australians are facing unbearable burdens, with rising insurance costs and increased risks pushing them to the brink. Those most affected by this crisis likely don’t have the time to write letters; they’re too busy dealing with the aftermath of these events. And what we experienced this week wasn’t even catastrophic – just the new normal in a world of extreme weather.
Every event like this must serve as a call to action. The climate crisis is here. We need urgent leadership now.
Julia Paxino, Beaumaris
Stoking fears is not helping
Seems we now have groups of people lobbying regional areas “nominated by the Coalition for nuclear sites” to change voters
views (“Anti-wind farm lobby mobilising across the regions”, 27/8). These lobbyists would not be so much anti-wind farm, as trying to get Peter Dutton elected as PM.
The widespread use of misinformation is on again. To have wind farms is “going to mean incredible environmental destruction” they say. They are predicting fears of wind farms “effect on landscapes”. This view will become irrelevant if climate change is allowed to continue unchecked, which will create much more havoc on landscapes than wind farms. Voices of farmers and rural communities should be heard in finding the solution to climate change. Deliberating stoking their fears is unconscionable
Jan Marshall, Brighton
Calculating real cost of land clearing
In the article ″Anti-wind farm lobby mobilising across the regions″, the anti-renewables group claim that renewables, particularly wind farms, are responsible for land clearing. Australia clears an estimated 2000 square kilometres of forests a year, mostly for cattle grazing and cropping. Eighteen months to three years of land clearing if used solely for wind turbines (and cattle) would satisfy the current shortfall in renewable energy.
Colin Nicholson, Brunswick West
THE FORUM
Our deeper needs
Any decisions around transport always need a big picture element rather than just a response to immediate concerns. The policy of Liberal City of Melbourne mayoral candidate Mariam Riza to remove bike lanes in Melbourne (″Bike lanes to go under Liberal pick for mayor″, 28/8) is a good example.
For understandable reasons, over the past 100 years people have become highly dependent on the car. Road transport occupies a huge proportion of urban space to move cars around, house them, park them and maintain them.
But we now have a better idea of people’s need to access natural spaces, places where people can safely congregate amd breathe clean air. We now can picture other major ways of moving around a city whether it be public transport, cycling or walking.
I am confident a picture of a city that satisfies our deeper needs would have more bike lanes and less lanes and parking spaces for cars.
Howard Tankey,
Box Hill North
Remember Swanston St
Perhaps Mariam Riza has not experienced the Melbourne CBD in the years when we made cars a priority along Swanston Street to know what it was like – the non-stop traffic jams, pollution and ugliness of a city dedicated to trying to fit as many cars as possible into such a tiny space.
David Blom, Nunawading
Airbnb pros and cons
It is refreshing to see the state government proposing a modest levy on Airbnbs when owned by absentee landlords.
I have stayed at four hosted Airbnbs in locations lacking motels. The on-site hosts have all been non-intrusive but attentive to the few problems (e.g. malfunctioning equipment) that have arisen. Problems with Airbnbs seem to mostly arise in the case of non-hosted properties. Issues include non-enforcement of curfews, non-compliance with garbage collection provisions, guests bringing barking dogs and the infestation of Airbnbs at tourist towns driving out long-term renters.
Absentee landlords should be required to prominently display contact details of their own or their managers outside each of their units, details of the website that contains the terms and conditions agreed to by their guests and to pay a substantial fee if police are called to their properties. The proposal to allow body corporates to prohibit units to be used as Airbnbs is especially welcome given the security implications of allowing strangers to be onsite and the risk of visiting “party animals” interfering with the rights of owner-occupiers and long-term renters to quiet enjoyment.
John Carmichael,
Hawthorn
Opt for remote learning
Many Australian universities are success stories with excellent research and courses that are in great demand here and overseas. Our housing is a sad failure in quantity, quality and value, so the government has put a cap on the number of overseas students who come here to study because we can’t accommodate them.
But do they have to be here to study? During the COVID pandemic, many university courses were delivered remotely with a small amount of time for face-to-face teaching of essential elements. Why can’t we deliver these courses to overseas students remotely and only require their presence for a few weeks over the three- to six-year duration of the course? This will save our university courses, hide our failure to build housing and still earn good foreign exchange for Australia and the states and territories. The best students would then become good candidates for professional immigration.
Kishor Dabke, Mount Waverley
Who has more sway?
When then prime minister John Howard was preparing to introduce tougher gun laws after the Port Arthur tragedy he only had to deal with, in relative terms, a weak Australian gun lobby. Anthony Albanese, on the other hand, has to deal with powerful commercial TV companies as he tries to find a solution to gambling advertisements (Comment, Tim Costello, 28/8). Which of the two interest groups has more clout?
Phil Alexander, Eltham
Harsher alternative
The CFMEU members are blaming the wrong people for forcing the union into administration. What do they think would have happened if the Liberals were in power?
I think probably deregistration.
Robin Jensen, Castlemaine
Builds and blow-outs
The Sydney Harbour Bridge was double the original estimated cost on completion; by the time it was paid off in 1988 it had blown out to 350 per cent of the projected original cost. The Sydney Opera House originally was to cost $7 million and ended up costing $100 million.
Have they both made that money back ? Indeed they have.
Premier Jacinta Allan is correct that cost overruns are part of big builds.
Let’s not mention the Snowy Mountain Hydro 2.0 being Australia’s biggest engineering and cost blow-out debacle.
Brent Baigent, Richmond
Diesel still popular
Your correspondent’s letter (28/8) reminding us that simple batteries can be made from potatoes raises the question whether a boot full of potatoes could power an EV.
On a recent road trip to Queensland I noted that massive caravans towed by diesel utes and SUVs were still the ″go to″ equipment for grey nomad exploration of the countryside.
Could a few sacks of potatoes change all that? After staying at overflowing caravan parks all the way up the east coast to Brisbane, my count of EVs towing vans was zero.
Graeme Lechte, Brunswick West
It’s a woman’s choice
Can we stop criticising women who bottle-feed their babies? The debate resurfaces every time a new report or research emerges, often shaming women who, for various reasons, cannot breastfeed (″Overwhelming or overblown? The evidence for breastfeeding″, 28/8). This relentless pressure overlooks that every mother’s situation is different and deserves respect, forgetting that it’s up to the mother whether to breastfeed, as not all women can due to medical, physical, or emotional reasons.
Each mother’s situation is unique, and she should decide based on her health, comfort, and what’s best for her and the baby, free from societal pressure. Evelyne McMillan in the article wisely notes that only by trying can she determine whether breastfeeding or bottle-feeding is best.
Anne Kruger, Rye
Not so humble
To say the facilities at a top private school is ″humble″ is ludicrous. The ″cream″ for private schools comes mostly from government grants, not privately funded. If parents wish to invest in an expensive education for their children they have to expect to pay and not rely on the taxes of people unable to afford those choices. Great teachers make great schools.
Margaret Raffle, Keilor East
Not so modest
It is appropriate for MPs to advocate for schools in their electorate, but those seeking exemptions for payroll tax which our public schools are already obliged to pay, is disgraceful. As for referring to PLC’s facilities as “modest” and their plan for a new sport, aquatic and fitness centre with a 50 metre pool as “humble” – beyond words.
Jenny Macmillan, Clifton Hill
The shameful state
Victoria is the only state with jumps racing, and continues recreational duck shooting when others banned it long ago. Victoria is unprogressive, cruel and shameful, and needs to reform fast (″Hulls backs new push to ban jumps″, 28/8).
Barbara Fraser, Burwood
Spending to stay in power
Spending an extra $888 million to ensure that the Metro tunnel is finished and operating before the next state election is hardly a responsible use of taxpayers’ money.
Just another desperate effort to stay in power.
Don Burns, Ashburton
Presidential traits
If it were possible to create a thumbnail sketch of the US presidential candidates in the following categories: work history, lies told, convictions, acceptance of the rule of law, impeachments, treatment of women, courtesy, statesmanship, honesty, politeness, general clarity of speech and expression etc, how would they be judged?
Peter Russo, West Brunswick
Something to crow about
I feel that the analysis of the Adelaide Crows performance this season (″The good, the bad and the excuses″, 27/8) ignores how close many games were for a number of teams. To say their season was ″nothing short of a disaster″ fails to take into account that their season was defined by five games lost by under eight and a draw. Reverse these results and Adelaide would have finished third rather than 15th. I actually see this as an example of how close the competition has become and the AFL is the better for it.
Jae Sconce, Moonee Ponds
PM, heed ad ban call
As educators, we applaud the call by Tim Costello for a complete ban on gambling ads across the media (″Albanese faces Port Arthur moment″, 28/8) . We abhor ″the incessant brainwashing″ of the younger generations, through exposure to ″a flood of gambling ads″. Anthony Albanese does indeed need to heed this call to ″stare down the powerful vested interests in sports and gambling industries, and within the free-to-air media companies″. It is imperative that he work to bring courageous bipartisan reform. Let’s stand together for a better future, in legislating to protect young viewers from the harm of normalising gambling as mainstream entertainment.
Nick and Marianne Hale,
East Malvern
Credit: Matt Golding
AND ANOTHER THING
Schools
So PLC has modest facilities like a pool and fitness centre paid for by its own finances. Many state government schools would like to have sufficient finances to be able to have such facilities.
Marie Nash, Balwyn
Maybe the Labor MPs seeking private school payroll tax waivers should visit local government schools to understand modest facilities.
James Lane, Hampton East
It’s an indictment on society that politicians advocate so strongly for private schools while the public school system is marginalised.
Peter Baddeley, Portland
If the development at PLC is ″humble″, then the Taj Mahal is a one-star Airbnb.
Wendy Hinson, Wantirna
Politics
The Tongans greeted Anthony Albanese with a lei. A slap in the belly with a cold fish would be understandable given his government approving new coal and gas projects.
Jenny Smithers, Ashburton
Anthony Albanese, before having a bet each way on gambling ads, think, ″Is this a bet you really want to place?″
Jenny Bone, Surrey Hills
Black T-shirts, sleeves rolled up, Driza-bone, tie on/tie off, a ″blokey″ demeanour. Politicians adapt their stance to suit the crowd, but their ″spin″ remains the same.
David Cayzer, Clifton Hill
I am not sure what anti-wind farm farmers are protesting about. Surely farm animals can graze under transmission lines. Where is the lost farming land?
Ralph Frank, Malvern East
Does Anthony Albanese ever get the ″right to disconnect″?
Malcolm Cameron, Camberwell
Finally
With the AFL finals looming, once again, as many as can be will be played under lights. And then the grand final will be during the day. It is bizarre. John Rawson, Mernda