Letters to the editor: Dept of Defence, not attack

I wish our Defence white paper said something similar about international law prohibitions and other restraints on weapons of mass destruction, and also about non-military measures to prevent war and protect Australia.

Acknowledging the importance of these measures in no way undervalues the importance of military preparedness, including US nuclear deterrence, which are entirely separate matters.

But giving them no prominence in the context of Australian defence policy is illogical and can help those who misguidedly denigrate and underfund them.

Ron Walker, Campbell

Lost in the modern dynamics of international diplomacy and domestic ratings is the difference between the children of Idlib and the children of Mosul.

Luca Biason, Latham

As Australia is preparing to let itself be dragged into another pointless, unending bloodletting in the Middle East – as politicians both here and in the US seek a cure for their disastrous approval ratings – it's time for all citizens to demand that the war powers be removed from a small cabal of self-interested ministers, and vested in the Parliament as a whole.

Only the Parliament should decide, by a majority vote of both Houses, whether this country should go to war.

Julian Cribb, Franklin

Americans predictably rally around their president in times of international tensions.

They tend to be followed closely by Australian political leaders, Coalition and Labor alike.

Lest we be dazzled by the passions of the moment, spare a minute to recall Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, neither of whom was significantly less despicable than Bashir al-Assad.

Saddam's demise, we were told, would usher in an era of peace and democracy in Iraq. No such luck. Gaddafi's overthrow, rather than leading to harmony in Libya, brought about the civil war that he himself predicted.

It should come as no surprise that the demise of dictators can unleash ferocious centrifugal forces that produce uncertain outcomes.

One hopes Donald Trump and his Australian cheer squad have given some thought to what might come next.

Peter Grabosky, Forrest

Does anyone believe that, on the eve of peace talks, just after the White House said the Syrian people should choose their own leaders, that President Bashar al-Assad would launch a gas attack to turn the whole world against world against him?

These are the Iraq weapons-of-mass-destruction lies again.

Do we ever learn to question the propaganda out of America, supported mindlessly by our own feckless politicians?

Alan McNeil, Weetangera

The use of chemical weapons in the Syria conflict is horrible.

But why does it take this episode to trigger the Americans to react the way they have?

The protracted conflict comprises a myriad sinister and ruinous actions. That America responds so vehemently to the use of chemical weapons opens the question of why it and other nations have so far condoned more conventional means of killing, which killed so many thousands of Syrian civilians and many others swept up in this debacle.

Bruce Kennedy, Melba

I must correct Brian Robbins's selective article "The inconvenient truth about the increase in energy prices" (April 7, p30).

He extensively quotes, without comment, the warning given by Gary Banks, formerly of the Productivity Commission.

To blame government regulation and failure for the current crisis in energy supply and cost is simplistic at best.

The fact that coal and oil production are subsidised by the government and indirectly by ourselves through taxes and levies is conveniently ignored by Banks.

The privatisation of most of our power stations and supply system by state governments, determined to reduce debt or obtain funds for election-winning projects, moved essential services from government control, where profit was not a motive, to private enterprise, where profit is king, is also ignored.

In fact, a lack of investment in infrastructure by private enterprise contributed to this crisis.

Coal and other non-renewable energy sources are not low-cost as Banks claims.

Indeed, the economic, social and environmental costs are considerable compared to renewable-energy production.

Once again, his non-response to costs to the climate, environment and society is indeed conveniently ignored.

Gavin O'Brien, Southside Weather Watch, Gilmore

It is difficult to address all the inaccuracies in John McKerral's letter about climate change, which asserts that it is a cyclic phenomenon, in this space (Letters, April 8).

So I will take just one.

McKerral says that while Vikings grew crops in Greenland centuries ago, none are grown there now because it is too cold.

It is quite easy to Google the fact (with photos) that Greenlanders have been growing potatoes commercially for some time now, thanks to a warming climate.

Other vegetables previously impossible to cultivate outside greenhouses – such as lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli – are now grown outside in small commercial quantities, as the photos show.

I advise McKerral to check his claims before broadcasting them as certainties.

David Roth, Kambah

I wish to thank Phil Brown for his excellent piece on public housing ("Care for refugees? Why not your neighbours?", April 17, p17). He has said something valuable.

Objections to public housing have nothing to do with conservation, preserving social amenities, and so on.

They simply reflect dislike of people who are allegedly different and somehow inferior.

My small business adjoins public housing properties and the people in them make good neighbours.

They raise their children, enjoy their retirement, pursue their studies, and work at their jobs, just like the rest of us.

Why hate them?

John Mason, Latham

What a beautifully written article by Phil Brown. My first thought was of a common expression from my youth: there but for the grace of God go I.

Then Brown reminded me of an uncle, a labourer who raised a son and two daughters on his own during the Great Depression and World War II, after which he moved into a housing commission flat. To him, it was a godsend in the then industrial suburb of Balmain.

My wife and I hope Brown's article changes the minds of many Canberrans.

John F. Simmons, Kambah

Thank you, Phil Brown, for your article about the plight of public tenants who are being removed from their tenancies close to Civic – where they wish to stay – and taken to other parts of Canberra – where they are not being welcomed.

It is likely that several people who care about refugees or are refugee activists have lived or live in public housing – this was the case for me.

They will understand what you are experiencing.

I am alarmed by the ACT government's attempts to create a privileged monoculture in Civic. At the same time, I am distressed that a similar kind of wilful blindness underlies the government's failure to give voice to the views of the many Canberrans who believe that the suffering of refugees on Manus Island and Nauru must stop and that they should be welcomed to Australia.

Both matters are very important for many Canberrans who, like me, wish to live in a good and just society.

Dr Anne Cawsey, Hackett

Phil Brown's article tries to take the moral high ground and completely misses the concerns of both residents and local community councils regarding government proposals for public housing in established ACT suburbs.

The issue is not really about public housing per se; it is about the government's "refusal to consult meaningfully", as Chris Braddick wrote ("We're not nimbies. We just love our parks", April 6, p15).

Brown also completely dismisses concerns about the effect of bushfires in the area proposed for public housing in Chapman, despite the fact that, three years ago, the Land Development Agency rejected the block for aged care due to bushfire danger.

Obviously, Brown – unlike Braddick, myself and many other Chapman and Duffy residents – did not have his home burn down.

When I lecture masters students on bushfire disaster scenarios, I make a point of illustrating the danger for houses on the urban fringe like those in Chapman. That said, Braddick did point out one of the factors that results in the government ignoring a meaningful consultation process.

That is the fact that Chapman residents were fairly evenly split between Labor and Liberal at the last election.

As one who studied political science and economics, I believe that because Canberrans have, in the main, refused to accept independents and minor parties into the Legislative Assembly, and have continued to vote Labor for the past 15 years, this government will continue to be arrogant and insensitive to their concerns.

A highly educated Canberra electorate? I don't think so.

Ric Hingee, Duffy

Congratulations to Kirsten Lawson for her excellent article "Putting the LDA in the spotlight" (April 7, Forum, p5).

Her revelations of the cosy relationship between the Land Development Agency and important members of the development business sector were deeply worrying.

It behoves Chief Minister Andrew Barr to do something about it.

If he doesn't, he will be seen, quite properly, as an enabler of potential corruption and inside dealing.

Canberra deserves better.

At the same time, it is very refreshing to see the kind of old-fashioned, wearing-down of shoe leather that Lawson brings to her investigative reporting. It is all too rare.

Robert and Wendy Macklin, Weston

The article "Adani mega-mine defies energy trend" (April 6, p19) makes you wonder what's going on.

Most of Queensland is suffering from drought and farmers are facing very difficult times, not to mention all the people severely affected by Cyclone Debbie.

At the same time, the Queensland government has given this toxic mine, about to be opened, 26 million litres of water per day for free!

Elsewhere in the world, coal mines are closing, and more money is being invested in alternative energies that can provide many more jobs than toxic coal mines.

However, in Australia, the biggest-ever coal mine is given permission to pollute groundwater, destroy the Great Barrier Reef and produce more greenhouse gases.

We need to make sure that Australian taxpayers and banks do not fund the Adani Carmichael coal mine. We need to wake up to the fact that the time for coal mining is over.

Marja Rouse, Rivett

Could someone who understands the bureaucracy (surely there must be one person out there) please explain to me: if you need 100 points of ID to get a passport, why doesn't a passport count as 100 points?

In a similar vein, why do we need to pay the government for pieces of paper (e.g. birth and marriage certificates) so we can give them to the government to prove who we are?

Peter Nelms, Kambah

From The Canberra Times on April 10: "Pro-refugee Palm Sunday rally draws hundreds"; "Thousands turn out for Canberra marathon on a wet morning". Says it all, sadly.

Eric Pozza, Red Hill

TIRED OLD DENIALS

I prefer the considered expert opinion of every reputable scientific institution in the world over John McKerral's tired old climate-change-denial talking points (Letters, April 8). These points are all refuted straightforwardly at skepticalscience.com.

Peter Campbell, Cook

CRUMBLING VICTORY

Malcolm Turnbull's "success" in ramming through his Australian Building and Construction Commission legislation is an increasingly Pyrrhic victory, as more royal commission "star witnesses" are shown to have had a poor understanding of truth ("Another TURC witness in trouble", April 7, p8).

Albert M. White, Queanbeyan, NSW

WHAT'S HEYDON THINK?

Given the ongoing revelations of dodgy practices in the building industry, it might be time for a review of exactly what Dyson Heydon's royal commission achieved for the ACT, and what he now thinks of his star witnesses who clearly misled him about their business practices. We have heard the shock at Sally McManus's preparedness to break the law, presumably when it denies union officials access to worksites. Let's hear the outrage against builders who deny access when it is legal.

S. W. Davey, Torrens

SYRIA TRUMPED

It was kind of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to include some chemical agent in his recent bombardment of his enemies. It provided an ideal opportunity for Donald Trump to clarify his relationship with Russia, al-Assad's close supporter.

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor

GREAT AGAIN?

Donald Trump's missile attack on Syria has achieved its primary goal: to make America feel great again.

Hugh Smith, Deakin

MISSILE MOTIVES

Donald Trump's use of Tomahawk missiles to attack a Syrian airfield serves a double purpose. The more important is the signal it sends to North Korea that the US won't hesitate to strike North Korea if it continues to develop nuclear missiles that can hit the US.

Roger Dace, Reid

FADING SIGN OF TIMES

Michael McCarthy (Letters, April 7) is dead right in sticking up for punctuation. I always gave this example to my students: "Which of these is more accurate? 'A woman without her man is helpless' or 'A woman: without her, man is helpless'?" As the wise man said: "Punctuation marks are the road signs placed along the highways of our communication." Ignore them and you can easily lose direction.

Eric Hunter, Cook

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