Tumbling gas supplies foreshadow nation’s energy calamity

Tumbling gas supplies foreshadow nation’s energy calamity

Since Labor came to government, warnings of a gas supply shortage have been coming thick and fast. But the latest warning seems dire (“It’s peak angst as gas supplies keep tumbling”, 7-8/9). Energy consultancy EnergyQuest says Australia has run out of time to replace east coast gas supplies and is now in “peak angst” about the prospect of future bill shocks.

Our vital manufacturers have weighed in, warning their viability is at stake. So much for Anthony Albanese’s grand Future Made in Australia plan. Not only are urgently needed gas supplies being withheld, but Labor is also presiding over the closure of our coal-fired power stations to make way for a national energy system dominated by weak, inefficient, weather-dependent renewables, backed up by a hodgepodge of batteries, pumped hydro and whatever else is lying around.

With economic growth at a new low, productivity slowing and a record number of households unable to pay their utility bills, things seem like they will only get worse. Under Labor, we are hurtling towards an energy calamity, a future devoid of the cheap, secure, reliable power provided by coal and gas that is crucial for keeping the economy buoyant, productivity flourishing, jobs secure and households functioning normally.

Dale Ellis, Innisfail, Qld

Defence doldrums

For several years now, highly regarded senior figures who served in the ADF have been sounding the alarm bells regarding the current state of defence and the need to increase spending to develop a strategically capable deterrent; Sir Peter Cosgrove being the latest (“Cosgrove warns: ‘Plan for a more dangerous world’ ”, 7-8/9). But Albanese government ministers, in particular Defence Minister Richard Marles, seem to be ignorant of the dire situation they have facilitated. We are being led down the garden path by this government, which has done nothing to improve the defensive capabilities of the ADF.

Greg Sheridan couldn’t have put the current situation any clearer in The Weekend Australian and it does not augur well for us as a nation (“Five big mistakes that are crippling the nation’s defence”, 7-8/9).

The fact it will takes years and a king’s ransom to get the non-AUKUS ADF capabilities up to a suitable standard has not yet registered. Our current situation has Australia bordering on being defenceless. We can only pray the penny drops soon before it’s too late. We deserve much better from both our elected and uniformed leaders.

Tom Moylan, Dudley Park, WA

Taming fire

It’s an amazing effort by the Binna Burra lodge owners to be rebuilding (“Now the Ash has Settled” 7/9). It is great to read ranger Wil Buch and researchers Rod Fensham, Andy Baker and their associates are progressing our understanding of fire management in southern Queensland and northern NSW, including that undisturbed rainforest is more resilient to fire than previously thought.

I agree with Wil Buch, the answer to managing fire in the Australian landscape is to increase burning frequency in eucalypt forests, at times when the soil is moist.

Paul Williams, Malanda, Qld

Moral clarity

Gemma Tognini sets out, with piercing clarity, the inescapable truth about Hamas and its enablers (“You want Mid-East peace? Hamas wants bloodshed” 7-8/9). There is no hope of them agreeing to a two-state solution. Wishing cannot make it so. So why pretend? US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s valiant efforts cannot bear fruit and are now an illusion, ultimately counter-productive. What a marvellous contribution by the Global Imams Council in its excoriation of Hamas and its enablers, while the Greens apparently turn their faces away from it.

Leni Palk, Unley, SA

Hamas executed six Jewish hostages in cold blood as Israeli forces approached. The murders were carried out with deliberate cruelty, reminiscent of the October 7 massacre. As Gemma Tognini points out, this violence reflects Hamas’s clear intent to eradicate Israel, as laid out in its charter. International responses to this latest atrocity have been inconsistent.

While Canada condemned the killings, the UK cut arms sales to Israel, effectively rewarding Hamas. The Global Imams Council condemned Hamas for the violence and held Iran accountable for supporting it, in stark contrast to the Australian Greens, whose silence on the matter is appalling.

Despite calls for peace, Hamas continues to reject ceasefires and promote violence. The US Justice Department charged Hamas leaders with war crimes, but these actions fall short of addressing the enormity of the atrocities. Clear moral judgment is essential when confronting Hamas’s terror, unlike the vague responses of some political figures.

John Kempler, Rose Bay, NSW