Striking a better balance between the environment and good policy

John Williams’s article on national parks mismanagement and the fate of koala colonies in bushfires is absolutely correct (“A man-made threat is killing our koalas”, 14/9). From experience, I have seen beautifully managed forests transferred to NSW parks and left to degrade, thus laying the foundation for massive wildfires and the consequent deaths of native animals. In 1972, the vista of dead alpine trees from previous fires on the western side of Kosciuszko National Park, still there today, is a stark reminder. And, again, the wildfires of last summer in that region were catastrophic, killing wildlife in their millions.

There must be consultation between governments and landholders on a broad scale to mitigate the impact on the ecology of parks of uncontrolled fires, exacerbated by the lack of regular hazard reduction. One of the easiest methods would be the reintroduction of grazing in subalpine areas to keep grasses in particular at manageable levels. It’s not the landholders who are to blame for the koala deaths — it is more the restrictions imposed by government regulations.

Lesley Beckhouse, Queanbeyan, NSW

Ian Bayly (Letters, 14/9) is right, the fires on the west coast of the US are not unprecedented, but human stupidity and not climate change played the major part. Like Australia, the US also has governments that refuse to clear the fuel fires need; it has droughts that cause the excess fuel to be tinder dry; it has arsonists who just love to start fires; politicians who blame all fires on climate change; and it has media that is only too happy not to let facts get in the way of a good scaremongering story.

Climate change is real but it is not an existential threat; rather, it is something we need to deal with correctly. At present, we are spending trillions of dollars on ineffective solar and wind farms for little or no result, except to make some very rich people even richer and condemning the poor to decades more poverty.

Don Spence, Ashmore, Qld

If I were Ian Bayly, I would be more concerned with bushfires than climate change. Has he not noticed that California has long adopted the most stringent climate change policies in the US which seem to have had little effect on its annual disastrous fire season?

Liam Hayes, Somers, Vic

Ian Bayly, your home is nestled between two national parks. I hope that you don’t have to experience anything like last season’s fires. If seasoned fire chiefs and the insurance industry believe climate change makes bushfires more intense and more frequent, that’s good enough for me.

Ray Peck, Hawthorn, Vic

Battle scenes

Matthew Denholm’s article (“Sheean’s bravery just part of a bigger picture”, 14/9) highlights the impending production of an Australian movie about HMAS Armidale, its wartime exploits and our latest VC recipient Teddy Sheean.

As a former navy lieutenant commander, I was privileged to read the original script some years ago and it was an enthralling account not only of wartime bravery, hard and demanding service, but also the human insights into the travails of sea service during World War II. Let’s hope that funding of this ambitious project is swiftly forthcoming and we at long last see another exciting chapter of military life unfold on the big screen.

David Keig, Encounter Bay, SA

Community service

On one side of the COVID-19 political fence we have the economy; on the other we have the health and wellbeing of our people. I know which side I am sitting; I live in a community, a society if you like; I do not live, nor do I wish to live, in an economy.

Brian Pymont, Frenchs Forest, NSW