Now we’re talking of importing gas – can the renewables failure get any worse?

Of the many failures of Labor’s “reliable renewables” transition the proposal to import gas surely takes the prize (“Plan to underwrite LNG imports faces political, business test”, 10/3). Labor failed to institute a gas reservation policy when we emerged as a world-leading exporter of LNG. The warnings of domestic supply shortages were lost in the demonisation of fossil fuels.

Labor remains conflicted about gas, allowing its energy policies to be driven by the virtue signallers. Even recently Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen refused to include gas in Labor’s capacity reservation scheme or consider it as a necessary transition fuel. Now Labor’s paying the price. In desperation, its only resort is more Band-Aids and taxpayer subsidies. Failing to ensure reliable and affordable baseload power has placed manufacturing and thousands of jobs at risk.

It’s not too late to change course. When Labor’s support from the Greens and teals overrides our national interest, we are in dangerous territory.

Jennie George, Mollymook, NSW

Hey big spenders

Labor’s economic plan is fast becoming more obvious as the election looms (“Flood of cash, no restraint”, 10/3). Its much-hyped plan for cost-of-living relief goes something like this: Wait for everyone to spend all their savings to survive and when things are darkest introduce income tax reductions, electricity rebates, childcare rebates and so on. This all helps but it doesn’t restore people’s savings, so they are poorer than three years ago when Labor came to power. Now there is talk of another income tax reduction in Labor’s March 25 budget as well as continuing the electricity rebate. A pattern is emerging that suits Labor because this year it is enjoying a $12bn jump in tax receipts despite giving everyone a tax reduction last year. Funny what bracket creep and inflation can do. Unfortunately, Labor’s big problem is it doesn’t spend money wisely – increasing defence spending or retiring debt. It spends money on votes.

Paul Haege, Darling Point, NSW

Israel, Ukraine truth

In the rough ocean of contemporary journalism, Brendan O’Neill has a steady hand on the tiller of truth (“Ukraine is to the batty right what Israel is to the mad left”, 10/3). As O’Neill writes, move over Israelophobia, there’s a new bigotry in town – Ukraineophobia. As to Ukraine’s vilified President, Volodymyr Zelensky, O’Neill notes it is as if he were a modern-day Idi Amin rather than a leader whose only crime was that he faced down Russia’s invasion of his country.

Further, O’Neill correctly asserts, neither the Ukraineophobes nor the Israelophobes demonstrate any understanding of geopolitics – that it is in America’s interests to provide assistance to allies under assault. O’Neill helpfully reminds his readers that it was Ukraine and Israel that were violated, Israel by Hamas and Ukraine by the imperial forces of the dangerous, delusional Vladimir Putin. To say otherwise is to absolve Russia of its responsibility for what O’Neill describes as the hellish calamity that is the Ukraine war, and this in the same way that Hamas has been absolved of its responsibility for its horrific pogrom that started the war in the Middle East.

It is comforting to read O’Neill’s conclusion that if Ukraine and Israel win then so does humanity. This provides a sliver of hope for the future in an otherwise dark tunnel of despair.

Ian Dunlop, Hawks Nest, NSW

Believing in our nation

David Kilcullen has written a brilliant death sentence for Australia. To have any chance to defend ourselves we would need more than weapons; we would need “national cohesion, political will and shared culture” (“Trump’s gift to the world; a wake-up call to geopolitical reality”, 8-9/3). Kil­cul­len’s right, of course. For, to pull together and make the extraordinary sacrifices that our forebears have made throughouthistory, we would need to believe in our nation and its inherent worth, believe in the concept of nation, and in the value of sovereign, rather than global, identity and decisions. Patriotism. We would need to vote for leaders who would announce measures that would hurt. Wean ourselves off the constant drip-feed of government payments, subsidies and welfare. Fortitude. We would need one culture, one flag, one language, one people. Australians without hyphens. No imported hatreds. And an end to the activists’ subversion of our culture. Identity. And we would need courage, a sense of duty and a strong set of values based on realism not relativism. Character.

Patriotism, fortitude, identity and character. Armed thus, we would stand together as a people, as the fortunate heirs to this extraordinary country. Like plucky little England, like the doughty Israelis, like so many others who have stood as one and fought back against the odds, our time would have come.

Jane Bieger, Mount Lawley, WA