Whatever the case, Ukraine must win in Trump-Putin deal

President Donald Trump has made statements that Ukraine may or may not one day be part of Russia. After Putin’s criminal invasion and the atrocities committed by his soldiers, he and three other Russians have been indicted as war criminals by the UN Criminal Court. Putin is still bombing Ukrainian cities, including the capital, to cause as much destruction as possible before any peace talks take place. Trump has said that because of all the military aid provided to Ukraine he wants Ukraine to hand over the rare earth metals that Ukraine has, to the value of $500bn. President Volodymyr Zelensky should remind Donald Trump that in 1984 (the Budapest Agreement) the West insisted Ukraine give up all of its 2700 nuclear warheads for security guarantees, two of the signatories being Russia and America. Let’s not dump Ukraine in the same mud again.

Coke Tomyn, Camberwell, Vic

Command economy

The Albanese government’s consideration of buying Rex Airlines plays to its natural Keynesian instincts (“Curb command/control economy”, 13/2). It is a view that all ills are solved by the intervention of government; that nosing around in people’s lives is good for them, and meddling in the market is good for it. The paradox here is that taxpayer funds are disproportionately targeted to mitigate taxpayer problems. It’s a road to nowhere; the antithesis of an open economy and an aspirational society. With the advent of a Labor-Greens minority government after the election this stuff will be on steroids. Australians are at a crossroad: Will they take the opportunity to throw off the shackles of big government or continue to wallow in its ordinariness?

Kim Keogh, Claremont, WA

Why wait for nuclear?

Engineer and inventor Saul Griffith agrees that hydrogen’s inefficiency as a fuel limits its potential (Letters, 13/2). But when it comes to nuclear power he has a very different take to your correspondent’s. Griffith’s objections to nuclear power in Australia are not ideological; he even advocates for Australia’s participation in global research on next-generation nuclear technologies for others who might need it.

But Griffith points out the practical fact that rooftop solar in Australia is generating energy at 5c per kilowatt hour, while new nuclear power in the US costs 20c/kWh, even before reaching the grid.

He calculates that focusing on nuclear could jeopardise potential savings of $1.7 trillion for Australian households. Why wait for expensive nuclear power?

Lesley Walker, Northcote, Vic

Donations on the nose

Australia’s political donation laws have been improved but are still below par and unfair (“Funding law to hit tycoons and teals”, 13/2). In 2023-24, according to the Australian Electoral Commission, Climate 200 received only $4.4m in donations compared to Labor’s $67.5m and the Coalition’s $72.2m.

Sadly, the source of much of the money is unknown thanks to current disclosure laws that allow any donor to remain anonymous provided they split up donations below the disclosure threshold of $16,300. But we know Gina Rinehart gave $500,000 to the Coalition. Legislation to clean up Australia’s political donations was long overdue. But the new laws still advantage the major parties. Australians won’t be fooled.

Ray Peck, Hawthorn, Vic

Build, baby, build

Economist Chris Richardson is absolutely correct in asserting that the easing of home loan rules will lead to an increase in the price of housing (“Ease home-loan rules and watch prices leap”, 13/2). Just like previous policies surrounding housing affordability, this policy will fail to achieve its admirable aims. The first-home buyers grant simply led people to have more money to spend on a dwelling, hence prices rose. Fiddling around with a reduction in stamp duty led to the same result. Making more money easily available just will not cut the mustard. The only thing that will work is to rapidly increase the numbers of dwellings available. To paraphrase Donald Trump, we must build, baby, build. To do this quickly and efficiently governments must review their red and green tape policies.

Peter Surkitt, Sandringham, Vic

Righteous fury

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. After over a year of hearing consoling words from Chris Minns, his Health Minister, Ryan Park, has expressed the righteous fury we should expect when our society is under threat. This man, and the NSW secretary of Health, Susan Pearce, who was visibly upset by the anti-Semitic threats of two nurses at Bankstown Hospital, give the community hope that we will be offered more than just words in addressing this scourge of anti-Semitism.

Vicki Sanderson, Cremorne, NSW