Whatever inflation we’re calling it, prices just keep rising

We seem to have more types of inflation than I have had hot dinners. There is headline inflation, underlying inflation, trimmed mean inflation, core inflation and, of course, annual inflation and quarterly inflation.

Meanwhile, the price of everything just keeps going up despite all the government’s fiddling and twiddling.

Alexander Haege, Tamarama, NSW

We might be “taking it in the shorts” with interest rates but now is not the time for a premature cut. All it will do is stoke Labor’s fiscal irresponsibility in buying votes prior to the election and ramping up the national debt.

P. Reynolds, Gilmore, ACT

As I buy for a school canteen, my job involves visiting all the local supermarkets daily chasing the best deals.

I am, therefore, across every price change on essentials and Jim Chalmers’s fine words are insulting, with the compound effect of inflation. A dose of humility and a little less smugness might help him save his job.

Dave Chibeba, Toormina, NSW

Why does Jim Chalmers expect the RBA to lower interest rates when the electricity price is going up? Higher electricity price means inflation must go up. Chalmers needs to understand that his government’s energy policy is causing that.

Ross McDonald, Gordon, NSW

With our increasing reliance on imports for almost everything manufactured, the low Australian dollar, and rising energy prices, I cannot share Spooner’s (Cartoon, 30/1) apparent confidence that Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock has the inflation wolf out for the count to end the current bout.

Bob Reid, Fig Tree Pocket, Qld

Test of immigration

Peta Credlin delivers a remedial lesson on all those naive citizenship tests originally designed to filter off hostile incompatible immigrants (“Citizenship test failing to weed out trouble”, 30/1).

Our current immigration procedures warrant major reform to preserve our culture and safety.

Australia must join countries such as Switzerland and the US which are deporting immigrant criminals from alien incompatible cultures.

The government’s routine platitudes of remorse and empathy for Jewish victims of terrorism are no substitute for strong political leadership.

Betty Cockman, Dongara, WA

Peta Credlin makes a good case to do more to stop immigrants from importing overseas conflicts into Australia.

Our citizenship pamphlet could be improved to contain more relevant Australian history, especially our history of defence of democracy. Even the questions asked in the citizenship test could be more explicit to make it clear that importing foreign conflict into our country is a disqualification for citizenship.

Credlin’s column is right to mention the importance of history in teaching in schools and universities. If we can’t learn from history, we will continue to make the same mistakes. The celebration of past cultures is fine, as long as our culture and values are embraced as well.

David Muir, Indooroopilly, Qld

Energy fallacy

The surge in energy prices in the final quarter if 2024 – “more than 80 per cent” – exposes the fallacy of simply analysing the production costs of wind and solar and claiming that they are the cheapest forms of energy generation (“Coal slump sees electricity prices leap”, 30/1).

The flaw in this approach is, of course, the inherent lack of reliability of generation from those sources and the unavoidable requirement for back-up or firming capacity from other forms of generation, currently gas or coal-fired generators. It is the overall cost of energy generated by the whole system and not just individual components thereof which should be considered.

It is interesting to note that at a time when renewables are making their highest-ever contribution (46 per cent), energy prices have hit record highs. Is this an indication of what could be the case when renewables’ contribution reaches Labor’s planned target of 82 per cent? The Coalition’s proposals for nuclear are looking increasingly pragmatic.

Bill Pannell, Dalkeith, WA

It’s no surprise that electricity prices keep rising while those with vested interests blame each other. The core issue is poor engineering – specifically, integrating intermittent renewables into a grid that requires reliable, dispatchable supply. Ignoring this fundamental mismatch only worsens as renewables gain market share.

A fitting analogy is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In their rush to build, engineers neglected a solid foundation, later requiring costly modifications to stabilise it. Similarly, the push for renewables to meet emissions targets overlooked their intermittency, assuming the issue could be fixed later.

Don McMillan, Paddington, Qld