Cutting income of the lowest earners in the country makes absolutely no sense and the "Liberal" government should take back this decision immediately.

Working weekends is often done out of necessity, whether it be lack of other job opportunities, study or family life. Effectively punishing those who are already working the unpopular hours is counter-intuitive and will not produce the effect the government wants.

To seriously bolster the economy, look at the big leaks in our nation's profits: underpriced coal and natural gas that we ship overseas for example.

In the meantime, stop kicking the little guy in the teeth.

Robin Monro, ACT

I work five days a week and am also required to work weekends to support my family, one of whom has a small disability.

This required additional medical expenses that ate into my weekly pay.

I am not begrudging that, but to compensate my family for my working so hard seven days a week and being without their husband and dad, weekend penalty rates covered my higher income bracket creep and provided that extra needed for medical help.

Rather than work for the Tax Office our family will have to make a choice to tighten their belts and do without or take a risk that tips and donations will cover the losses due to penalty rates being lost.

Ray Seymour, Karabar, NSW

What a blood-boiling attack on the battlers, downtrodden and marginalised. To reduce penalty rates for hospitality, retail, and fast-food workers is disgustingly appalling.

I suggest the Fair Work Commission be made subservient to a newly created Fairness Commission.

Consider, for example, negative gearing, the present capital gains tax, and the profit shifting of multinationals, not to mention exorbitant executive salaries.

Pollies, for the sake of decency and a fair go, get off your backsides, stop your pompous posturing and legislate for a fairand just society.

We have reached rock bottom.

Dennis Hale, Beecroft, NSW

Here's an update on the Australian Class War. The Coalition makes progress on the Penalty Rates Front and rolls out the big guns (including the Ken Henry repeater) for the Battle of Company Taxes.

The scorched earth tactics of the lads in the Baby Boomers Brigade is making it extremely difficult for the hordes of young and forgottens to make progress.

Class war hero Ahmed Fahour, AO, appears to be suffering from shellshock but says he will return to the fray in 2018.

Max Foster, Melba

It is ironic that a decision to reduce the take-home pay of 650,000 workers was announced on the day after the Reserve Bank highlighted the economic problems for Australia caused by low wages growth.

It is also ironic, and more than a bit Orwellian, that the decision that cuts the income of people already struggling to make ends meet was taken by an organisation called the "Fair Work Commission".

But it is tragic that there is so little concern from the Turnbull government and the business community for the fate of the victims of this latest wage cut disguised as workplace flexibility.

Tony Judge, Woolgoolga, NSW

I am a retail manager and full-time student. I've recently taken on my six-week placement for my university course. This entails working at a school Monday to Friday to gain experience in my field, unpaid.

In order to have a least one day off in this time I agreed to work Sundays. Without penalty rates I will be forced to work all weekend and take no time off.

I am not alone. Nursing and teaching students are out in this position multiple times throughout their course.

We are not being greedy.

Sian Harrington, Scullin

Given the clampdown on penalty rates for employees working on Sundays, and hearing businesses both big and small, will either open on Sundays where they did not previously, and/or employ at least one extra staff member, can we expect data matching to see [if] such undertakings ensue?

Greg Simmons, Lyons

It's a pity that the Fair Work Commission doesn't set CEO pay.

Rod Matthews, Melbourne, Vic

According to your gently sardonic reporter Lucy Battersby, the hubristic former head of Australia Post's unexpected resignation has "nothing to do with outrage over his salary, but [is] rather because he has finished the job he set out to do".

I wonder if the faint scepticism of her report was prompted by her observing Mr Fahour stoop to recover his cricket bat and ball before exiting the "bizarre and sometimes rambling press conference" ("I'll be gone post-haste", February 24, p.4) then setting off and "reacquainting himself with his family later this year".

His somewhat "Macarthuristic" assurance of returning to corporate life in 2018 appears to indicate that his world of big business sees no virtue in remorse for greed.

Hugh Gibbon, Pearce

Apropos John Richardson's letter on Defence projects (Letters, February 23). A project is governed and judged by compliance with three measures: agreed delivery schedule, agreed cost and agreed performance targets.

A project which falls short of one of these measures cannot be considered an unqualified success, although it is usual for Defence projects to do so and still be hailed as triumphs.

A project which falls short of two of these measures is a failure. The Joint Strike Fighter project has fallen short on all three measures – it's very late, it's over budget and it's not meeting its performance targets.

Looks like a lemon to me. Why persist?

Peter Moran, Watson

I haven't seen such foggy thinking as Peter Martin's opinion piece ("The light bulb moment", February 23, p.18) for a long time.

He apparently hasn't heard of the Renewable Energy Target (RET), which mandates renewables be used when available in preference to any other source.

Also the renewables receive Renewable Energy Certificates (REC), at present around $95 to $110 each MWh generated plus the wholesale price for the electricity sold. When you consider that coal-fired electricity wholesale price is $40 to $60 per MWh one might begin to wonder how more intermittent renewables are going benefit us.

The RET is pointing us towards a future of unreliable and extremely expensive electricity. Look at South Australia's experience.

The RET, by the priority given to renewables, makes coal and gas-fired electricity non-viable driving them out of the market.

Just what those suffering from the delusion our CO2 emissions are causing catastrophic climate change want.

I seriously doubt they will be happy with the results. Lets face it, we are used to reliable electricity, aren't we? Will you be happy with no airconditioning on those very hot summer days, that's when wind usually fails.

Batteries will probably double the wholesale cost of electricity supplied. Remember, you have to pay to generate it before you can store it and batteries will receive RECs as well.

Rescinding the RET is the only way to improve the situation.

John McKerral, Bateman's Bay

It is hard to disagree with your editorial ("Energy policy should be bipartisan", canberratimes.com.au, February 23) except to say it should be tripartisan to include One Nation.

Senator Malcolm Roberts' performance in the Senate select committee inquiry on the "Resilience of electricity infrastructure in a warming world" was just plain embarrassing, given he denies climate change is happening.

As one commentator said in response to the ReNew Economy report on the hearings: "Why do we have a One Nation senator on this panel who denies the existence of thermometers?"

CSIRO energy division's principal research scientist Paul Graham said there were no barriers to 100 per cent renewable energy. The existing generation capacity already had a lot of flexibility to deal with variability in the coal-dominated grid. Thus, even with their variability, renewables providing up to 40 per cent of supply are not a problem. It is only when renewables supply over 40 per cent of supply, as in South Australia, you need to introduce other mechanisms such as storage, and "dispatchable renewables", such as solar thermal, biogas and biomass.

Given renewables are now cheaper than coal for supplying electricity, there should be no barriers to a multi-partisan approach to energy.

Jenny Goldie, Michelago, NSW

As a recently retired 40-year veteran of the classroom, I have closely followed the discussion of the reintroduction of "grammar" to the NSW syllabus.

But I wonder if the use of the word "grammar" is misleading. What needs to be done is to give greater emphasis to "usage", promoting the use of standard, "correct" English in both written and spoken forms.

An understanding of the basic rules of grammar is obviously part of using the language fluently and correctly, but the more arcane intricacies of formal grammar are not necessary, just as learning calculus is not required to be numerate.

"Usage" should be the key word. Given that few teachers under 50 were ever taught formal grammar themselves, perhaps we should concentrate on the bigger task of teaching all aspects of literacy.

Steve Ellis, Hackett

Gary J. Wilson (February 24) has got it wrong when he accuses many Marist brothers of being "complicit by their silence".

The unquestioning trust that victims of abuse placed in their abusers was also held by peers.

One brother, who is owed a great debt by a thousand men and women in Canberra for the character formation that they received under his guidance in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, told me: "I lived with Kostka Chute and I had no idea."

That said, some of them got it very wrong in other ways.

John L. Smith, Farrer

We recently heard again of the flawed processes used in approving industrial development on WA's Burrup Peninsula ("Acid levels 'will destroy' ancient art", canberratimes.com.au, February 19) and the consequent real threat of damage to the largest concentration of ancient rock engravings in the world.

We have the only place on earth where for over 40,000 years people have been engraving their stories as enduring rock art. Despite credible new evidence questioning the damage to this art from industrial development on the Burrup, we read ("Woodside eyes Burrup Hub expansion", canberratimes.com.au, February 23) of Woodside Petroleum looking to increase activity there.

While the more immediate threat to the rock art is emissions from ammonium nitrate plants surely all new development on the Burrup Peninsula [should] be reviewed in the light of the new information.

Hopefully we can expect a report from last week's Senate environmental committee that will lead to greater recognition and protection of this site.

Dr M. Taverner, Turner

Despite his protestations, Tony Abbot was a failed PM, hence he is an ex PM.

Abbot's comments that the LNP is "drifting towards electoral defeat" (canberratimes.com.au, February 23) are also incorrect. The LNP is running towards it.

As Turnbull et al continue on with their Trump-like agenda, the public is biding its time until it can get rid of this "accursed" group. (Apologies to T. S. Eliot.)

E. R. Moffat, Weston

I look forward to Parliament sitting on Saturdays and Sundays (Fair Work case).

John Passant, Kambah

POOREST SUFFER

Penalty rates are paid for unsociable hours. Workings weekends is not considered as unsociable as previously, so penalty rates reduce. This is logical. The problem is weekends are now considered more sociable. Society should value rest more highly; it does not at its peril.

Christopher Budd, Turner

His honour, Mr Justice Iain Ross has pontificated from his well remunerated and comfortably sinecured bench and decided the poorest of the poor need a pay cut. I note he did not have the intestinal fortitude to take on the heavily union-represented nurses, police or firemen.

Andy Hogan, Bonython

I am in my fifth year of a double degree in politics, international relations and law (honours) at the University of Canberra. I live out of home and work two week-day shifts and a Sunday shift to survive. Cuts to Sunday rates will force me to work another shift and almost certainly affect my capacity to study.

Jessica O'Neill, Hackett

Now the Fair Work Commission has done such a good job in cutting casual workers' rates, perhaps they could turn their attention to executives' and politicians' remuneration.

Eric Hunter, Cook

Wages growth just slowed further.

Thos Puckett, Ashgrove, Qld

The rich get richer, the poor get poorer.

Janet Rickwood, Greenway

Can we (now) expect Civic coffee-shop proprietors to reduce their extortionate prices – ie: "cookies" $3-plus although similar cost $5 per half-dozen at any nearby supermarket?

D. N. Callaghan, Kingston

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