Bean harboured his time's prejudices but changed his mind

But let us make the decision against honouring Charles Bean without the ludicrous, offensive and groundless objections made by Mike Kelly ("Opposition to using name of 'racist' for area", May 8, p3) that Bean was "stridently" racist. He certainly harboured prejudices against Jews, like most Anglo-Australians of his generation. Unlike them, he repudiated racist ideas and showed a notable willingness to change his mind.

If we are to deny recognition to those whose ideas we now decry, the AEC should erase the names of electorates honouring all politicians who supported the White Australia policy. Common sense would lead us to object that their contributions amounted to more than the support of that discredited policy.

Likewise with Bean. Do not name the electorate after him, by all means, but do not distort his life and achievements by exaggerating the significance of a view from which he later resiled.

Professor Peter Stanley, UNSW Canberra

The naming of Bean as a new electorate for Canberra has attracted needless trauma because the author had been anti-Semitic. This was very commonplace in Australia until well into the 1950s. Religious bigotry has now been supplanted essentially by racism, yet it was the latter which dominated the lead-up to Federation.

Many suburbs in the nation's capital are named in honour of men who, in "less enlightened" times, feared the "yellow peril".

Moreover, you need nearly two hands to count PMs who resorted to uniquely private practices and kept Catholic aspirations for employment and preferment very much in check.

So Bean had warts. Monash did too, and he has been adequately honoured. He openly sported a mistress in England during his years as a standout military leader. The men had a rapprochement, by the way, in the late 1920s.

The same cannot be said for Billy Hughes, for example, who openly hated everyone who dared to disagree with him. President Wilson described him as a "pestilence". Reconciliation was never part of his modus operandi. As the great conceptualiser of Australia's memory of war Bean deserves to be remembered.

Patrick Jones, Griffith

Anti-Semitism, like any racial hatred, such as hatred of the Rohingya in their homeland, can't be tolerated or ignored.

Rather than call an ACT electorate after Charles Bean, reportedly an active anti-Semite, we should name it after a great and kind Australian, Nugget Coombs.

I don't think it's understood by many how deep anti-Semitism is even today; while we've probably all thoughtlessly without intended cruelty told the odd Jewish and racial joke over years past in less understanding times.

There are people that carry on hatred from their families, brainwashed from birth. I recall talking to some fellow, an educated character who liked to present as a gentleman, whose family came out of Nazi Germany, and I thought he was just being playfully irreverent and provocative with his anti-Semitic remarks, but when I pulled him up after he went too far, he replied to my astonishment, "Do you know anyone who likes them?"

No, Bean is unacceptable; pick a man with human compassion for everyone like Nugget Coombs.

John Dobinson, Herston, Qld

I recently visited the new, $13million foreshore works adjacent to the Commonwealth Bridge, which was opened with much fanfare. There are some nice barbecue areas, kids playground and a range of seating adjacent to and along the foreshore works. It looks great.

Then we noted the nearest toilet facilities are some 300 metres away. What planning bright spark didn't consider this to be an important issue?

Perhaps they can at least drop a couple of portaloos in there, which will assist visitors in the short term.

J. Bodsworth, Phillip

I totally agree with the need to enforce minimum distances from cyclists. But how do we solve the issue of cyclists riding around at night with dark clothes on and no lights? It happens all the time. It's time the government brought in some regulations about cyclists riding safely. Cyclists need to learn how invisible they can be without bike lights from a car driver's perspective, sitting behind a windscreen in the dark, especially if it's raining.

Chris Kain, O'Connor

I have to thank S.W. Davey (Letters, May 8) for explaining that use of either fission or fusion would lead to production of steam to generate electricity. And he (or she) asks to what purpose. Well, the purpose is the same however energy is converted, and that is to satisfy our demand for electricity.

The purpose of my letter (Letters, May 7) was simply to explain the difference between fission and fusion. I had no other reason and I was certainly not recommending any preferred form of energy conversion.

But while plugging the adoption of solar and wind as forms of electricity production, he neglects the fact that the equipment – solar panels or wind turbines – have to be manufactured and, at present, that requires the production of steam to generate electricity. Should the day arrive when solar or wind provides all our electricity, we will still have to manufacture that same equipment and that cannot be done without generating heat. And when that electricity is used, it releases heat in one form or another as energy conservation laws dictate. The difference is that whether we generate our electricity by solar, wind, fission, or perhaps some day fusion, we will reduce production of carbon dioxide, which is the main contributor to global warming, not heat.

Alan Parkinson, Weetangera

Despite being a thick-skinned mere male, I admit to feeling a little nettled by the header, "Boards with women are better, but you have to have the ovaries to make the moves" (May 8, p16).

Jenna Price's article was full of opinion but short on facts and had no problem with self-contradictions.

In paragraph four she wrote, "So do we ban all men? I'd argue that's an excellent idea in the short term." In paragraph nine she wrote, "Women (working together with men) are clearly better."

Clearly impressed by boards which go in for a bit of stage dressing, she is quick to excuse the women leading the AMP misconduct as merely "tokenistic".

As an academic, Ms Price remains about as logical and consistent as a politician.

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor

I have been pondering for several days about the article which appeared in The Canberra Times regarding anticipated cuts/reorganisation to staff at the Canberra office of the ABC. In recent months the quality of broadcasts on radio seems to have deteriorated and it appears that the same fate is about to happen to the quality of TV news presentations with the jobs of some of our top-quality news presenters/journalists in jeopardy.

It seems a travesty that our top journalists are being required to apply for the positions they already hold and where they already perform at a top level. When is ABC management going to realise that top-quality broadcasting requires top-quality presenters/journalists to carry out the work at the highest level to give Canberra the public broadcaster we deserve, not only at a local but at a national level.

I hope ABC management at all levels take recent comments from Canberra Times readers on board so that our ABC remains our ABC. Please give us programs both on TV and radio that we all enjoy and find stimulating to listen to and watch.

Neredah Crane, Monash

The letter "ABC breakfast dire" (May 7) commented on the incessant interruptions to ABC breakfast programs with promos etc. The same happens on the ABC Classic FM station where the excellent music offerings are continuously broken into with voices telling me I am listening to ABC Classic FM (as if I didn't know) as well as promos for forthcoming and even previous programs I could catch up on with various apps. Very irritating. I have written to the ABC on a number of occasions to no avail. The fault is clearly with ABC management, which seems intent on destroying and dumbing down the ABC at all levels.

R. Allnutt, Deakin

While I do listen to ABC radio between 10pm and 5.30am daily I now no longer tune into our local ABC at other times.

I was listening to Chris Smith on 2CC/2GB last week when he was broadcasting his afternoon show live from Ireland.

The broadcast was seamless with no obvious technical issues. This got me thinking. If our local ABC broadcast the morning show live from where ever Ross Solly is in Asia I, and I suspect quite a few others, would return to our local ABC.

Valdis Juskevics, Flynn

Maurice O'Loughlin (Letters, May 8) is not the only correspondent to complain about the breakfast program on the ABC, however, help is at hand. ABC Radio National (846) breakfast with Fran Kelly, 6 to 9am weekdays, is excellent. Great interviews with really knowledgeable individuals world-wide, interspersed with local items of interest.

Well presented, no giggling.

However RN deteriorates during the day with many repeats, though not as bad as ABC TV, which frequently shows repeats for the whole day and night, save the news and 7.30. The saving grace is adverts do not interrupt the programs and occasionally there is a brilliant drama.

John Daly, Lyons

The obesity epidemic is in the news again ("Most don't understand kilojoules", May 6, p6). As usual the finger is pointed at greed – individual greed. What is never mentioned is corporate greed.

For years I have enjoyed a tip-top breakfast, including one slice of raisin bread.

Two loaves last me a month. Suddenly the slices sold by my favourite baker are 40 per cent thicker, and I would now need three loaves a month to get one slice a day. More sales for the company, more girth for me. Bad luck baker, your monthly sales to me just fell from two loaves to zero.

Tony Eggleton, Belconnen

I fully support Paul Bowler's opinion that the ACT should be abolished, with Canberra becoming legally a city within NSW with local matters governed by a Canberra City Council.

Anyone who suggested that Newcastle (much larger than Canberra), Wollongong, Geelong and Townsville should be separated from their states, and become independent jurisdictions with representation on COAG, would generally be thought to have a few sheep loose in the top paddock. Why then do so many people, other than puffed-up local politicians, consider that Canberra should be a separate jurisdiction?

The ACT serves no purpose. It was created only as a project office to facilitate the creation of a capital city.

That task was completed decades ago.

Unfortunately, the ACT's continued existence creates enormous waste and confusion. Each day thousands of people cross the NSW/ACT border for work, education, health services, shopping and pleasure. For all practical purposes Canberra is a city within NSW, and so identical state legislation should apply on both sides of the border.

A city council, with the same number of politicians as the current Legislative Assembly, would be able to apply far more attention to local government, and thus govern better. It is ridiculous than Canberrans, who comprise about 2 per cent of Australia's population, should be governed differently from the other 98 per cent. Is it any wonder that Canberrans are sometimes resented as elitist? The sooner this anomaly is abolished, the better.

Bob Salmond, Melba

David Murray will have them rolling in the aisles, with his joke that "Tightening the law is potentially a bad thing for credit generation..." and could lead to "moral hazard" ("Gym rats unfit in banks' new era", May 5, p5). Westpac's Hartzer, similarly, noted tougher advice laws in the UK caused many banks to quit the sector. So that's negative for consumers of bank products it seems? Rather than becoming, as NAB's Thornburn fears, more "timid", banks might be mentors to the hugger-mugger corporate sector and engage in overtly ethical behaviour, post Hayne. Wishful thinking perhaps. When bankers accrue to themselves "compensation" of $19.65million, plus receive commission and bonuses for merely turning up, Turnbull's vendetta against welfare recipients looks ever more vindictive. Albert M. White Queanbeyan, NSW

TOILET HUMOUR

Penleigh Boyd's article ("Does Parliament House serve us well?", May 8, p17) reminds me of the attributed comment of the late Bert Kelly MP (The Modest Member) that the new Parliament House with its self-contained members' suites would never work because all the deals previously were done in the public gents toilets.

Greg Cornwell, Yarralumla

MATTER OF PRIORITIES

Just a thought, maybe the government money spent on devices for cyclists to measure distance between us (car drivers) and them (cyclists) could have been spent on buying blankets and clothing for the children that are living in terrible circumstances, especially with winter upon us. Priorities people.

God help the taxpayers of Canberra denying the pushbike riders anything.

P and L Baker, Macgregor

COLOURFUL REVIEWS

I have often wondered whether Huon Hooke, your "Good Food" wine writer, is reviewing wine or fruit salad. I am yet to read him describe a wine as being of grape flavour.

David J Richards, Moruya, NSW

CONTAINER DEPOSITS

The ACT would do well to learn not only from NSW's container deposit scheme, but also the long experience of South Australia over several decades ("Watchdog to monitor beverage prices", May 8, p8).

Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook, NSW

ANZAC DAY SHEMOZZLE

It is now two weeks since several letters to the editor were published regarding the shemozzle that was the Anzac Day march — and not one word from the RSL explaining why it was so and suggesting a plan of attack (pardon the pun) for next year's ceremony. Is this a case of "mea culpa" or are we to expect a salvo some time in the future?

Some form of response would be a matter of courtesy, I would have thought.

B.J. Millar, Isabella Plains

ROOS OUT OF GRAZING

Like so many people in Canberra, I abhor the shooting of kangaroos and it appears to be futile as it has to be repeated every year. But I take heart, as I expect that there will soon be no open grassland in Canberra for kangaroos to graze. Problem solved!

L Roy, Hughes

WHO FOOTS THE BILL?

Our self-proclaimed "Nation Building, Infrastructure, 2.0 Innovator" PM conveniently forgets to tell us who is going to really pay for today's "apparently free" infrastructure transport boasts. It will, of course, be our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren who will have to pay for today's toll roads and rail — if they can afford to use them. What a legacy our National/Liberal Coalition government will leave them.

P.R. Temple, Macquarie

Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message field, not as an attached file. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610.

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