Opening borders will be a very merry Christmas present for many

This has been a year like no other in our lifetime. Tragically, the pandemic for many has meant the loss of loved ones, their businesses, their jobs, oppor­tunities, experiences and more.

I had my first child just before the second wave of the virus hit Melbourne. I have been fortunate to have my husband around and we have thoroughly enjoyed raising our baby. But with the border closures in place in New Zealand and Australia, I have not had the joy of experiencing these precious and fleeting moments with my parents who live in Auckland. This has been my personal heartbreak. Each day I see my parents suffer silently because they can’t just reach out and hold and kiss their first grandchild. A FaceTime call can never replace this.

In Australia and New Zealand we are fortunate to be in a good position, in stark contrast to what is happening on the opposite side of the world. This is due to so many individual sacrifices, whether economically or personally, New Zealanders and Australians have made.

I appreciate that we must all be safe and ensure that the two countries continue to experience this somewhat COVID-normal situation. What we now need is compassion and for people to truly empathise. The coming Christmas holiday is not just another Christmas for so many of us. It is an opportunity to be with those we love after an incredibly hard year. It is an opportunity to see 2020 off, not with more heartbreak and disappointment but with love and hope for a better future.

I urge both the Australian and New Zealand governments to consider the human impact that these restrictions will have on so many of us and to work together to open up a full two-way quarantine-free travel bubble so that like you, many of us can also enjoy a Christmas and new year with our families.

Vesa Prekazi, Balwyn, Vic

Deemed necessary

What’s good for the goose is surely good for the gander. If parliamentarians’ salaries can be determined by an independent body, it is surely reasonable that deeming rates on retirees’ savings be similarly independently determined rather than by the federal Department of Social Services.

Retirees are currently deemed to be earning more than 2 per cent on their retirement savings. The reality is that most are earning about 0.1 per cent on their savings if they are lucky. A retired couple would need to have well over $2m in savings to generate the equivalent of the taxpayer-funded Age Pension. Enough is enough.

If this matter is not satisfactorily addressed, the Morrison government faces a significant backlash at the next election from an increasingly impoverished demographic. People who have worked all their lives to provide for themselves in retirement also represent a significant percentage of dedicated voters.

Michael J. Gamble, Belmont, Vic

Dose of own medicine

Would the health professionals who have lent their names to the full-page ad in The Australian on Monday please spell out exactly what it is that you want the government to do about the climate? How much are you prepared to pay to implement what it is that you want? While you may well be in a financial position to afford what you want, I’d bet that large numbers of your patients will not be so fortunate. As usual, they will be the ones to wear the cost.

M. Davis, Corinda, Qld

If the 3400 healthcare workers and doctors were genuinely worried about climate change being attributed to mankind they would surely favour nuclear power. After all, the nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights makes radio isotopes for use in medicine. Why aren’t they busy buying ads to get modern small nuclear reactors so that we can truly have reliable, affordable and clean energy?

Julia Cordukes, Paddington, NSW