AGL power play exposes dangers over lack of control of energy grid

Although the bold Mike Cannon-Brookes pitch for AGL has been rejected by the board (“Rich lister’s $8bn anti-coal bid”, 21/2), such a corporate play should serve as a warning because his entry into the energy ownership mix highlights the predictable and eventual folly of the selling off of an essential service. That is, you never know who is going to buy it and what ideological baggage they bring to the table.

If this sale or similar were to proceed, Cannon-Brookes has indicated his ideological determination to turbocharge the transformation of the AGL energy grid to renewables into an even tighter time frame. All of this is the end result of an equal determination of privatisation by a combination of a big end of town, lobbyist and banker class and a shortsighted and ideological political class.

For the last 10 or 15 years, while coal has been doing the heavy lifting, renewables – with taxpayer subsidies – have had a free ride and never been put to the test as a stand-alone concept, able to produce 24/7 energy.

Jim Ball, Narrabeen, NSW

It is infinitely depressing that the future of this country is being determined not by the actions of our government, but by those whose main claim to fame is their wealth.

Perhaps a viewing of Downfall: The case against Boeing on Netflix should be required viewing for any who are convinced by the righteous ethos of privately owned companies interested only in their share price.

What do we become as a nation on such a critical issue when energy security is being controlled in boardrooms, not our national parliament? Those who decided privatising energy and power was a good thing definitely were not concerned with future consequences or most importantly Australia’s national interest.

Julie Tadman, Wamuran, Qld

Last financial year, AGL posted a $2.06bn loss. Its share price has taken a staggering dive. It is therefore apparent that AGL, as Australia’s largest greenhouse gas polluter, needs a new strategy for both financial and environmental reasons.

Although it is bold, the possible takeover bid by tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and asset manager Brookfield is timely. The transition from coal to renewable energy is upon us. Evidently, any deal that proposes such rapid change needs to work closely with energy policy providers and ensure that coal communities are protected and supported throughout the transformation.

Despite these challenges, if Australia embraces renewables as a vast opportunity that offers cheap, clean, abundant energy now and into the future, all will benefit.

Dr Amy Hiller, Kew, Vic

Populist rhetoric

Yes, Nick Cater (“Post-pandemic fear of populist protests infects progressives”, 21/2), and it’s not just that the officials don’t trust us to do the right thing. It’s that they believe that they, and only they, have the wisdom to know what to think and therefore what to do. A whole generation, indoctrinated in our single-lens universities, has become a stifling, groupthinking, faux-aristocratic, bureaucratic mass, steeped in Critical Theory and its offshoots and ready to swoop on the odious rabble. We have spawned a new class of people who firmly believe what their parents told them for so long - that they are special, superior and always right.

Jane Bieger, Gooseberry Hill, WA

School of thought

Noel Pearson’s column (“Pride in our work defies barbed reporting”, 21/2) should resonate with all who are committed to educational outcomes for Indigenous students. I believe that the need for positive Indigenous educational outcomes has largely been lost in misdirected research. The essence of education has been diffused. Amid an outpouring of grandiose ideas that characterise students as guinea pigs within fields of educational experimentation, straightforward teaching and learning practices have been abandoned.

My experience as a teacher and principal in Indigenous communities in WA and the NT during the 1970s and 80s taught me the following. Children who attended school every day did well. Truancy and non-attendance was the biggest drawback to progress. Adherence to high standards was critical. Oversimplification of curriculum content was sensed by students, who gave up on learning. Direct teaching (yes, it was practised decades ago) led to positive learning outcomes. Meaningful discussion with students and their parents cemented the partnership between school and community.

As Pearson intimates, knockers and foolish experimentation diminish what can be achieved in terms of educational accomplishment. Sadly, distraction continues to wreak educational havoc in far too many remote Indigenous communities.

Henry Gray, Leanyer, NT