Could Zed have an epiphany on climate change?

While being whisked around recently to many European nations in a RAAF Falcon jet so he can more easily spruik his credentials for the top OECD job, former finance minister Mathias Cormann boldly declared: "I'm committed to ambitious and effective action on climate change."

Cormann's erstwhile Coalition climate change-sceptic colleagues, whom he left behind with blinkers still on, may now feel a bit lost and betrayed. Senator Seselja is one of this coterie, and recently described his former colleague as "legendary". He has the time and opportunity before the 2022 election to show he, too, is capable of epiphanies and is willing to help lead the ACT Liberals down the path of reform and modernisation.

Many will be looking for some evidence of how he, his running mate and the ACT Liberals will commit to pursuing far more effective climate change mitigation action and proactive emissions reduction and targeting.

There are also key territorial matters that need addressing, including the overturning of Kevin Andrews' retrograde legislation that prevents governments in the ACT and NT from considering, let alone enacting, legal support mechanisms to underpin real end-of-life choices.

There is a growing number of older ACT voters who wish to have control over when and how they die. Over to you, Senator.

Ian Warden writes of the peace and contentment that his "black, three-legged cat" brings him ("Green with envy over a simple black cat", Sunday Focus, p15). His piece reminded me of the book Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, by Vicki Myron.

Dewey Readmore Books, sensing when readers were troubled, would snuggle on their laps. This led to his being invited to the Spencer, Iowa, hospital, where he would jump onto the beds of those who most needed comforting - especially the elderly and dying. One of the comments on the dust jacket of Ms Myron's book reads: "Dewey is a hero. I wish there were more people like him."

The photo of the counter at Impact Records ("Signs of a changing city", Panorama, November 21, p7) bought back a lot of memories. Our son Brendan worked there for many years. He actually took the photo. Brendan was still living at home at the time and never paid board. With my interest in early rock and roll and rockabilly he would bring home records and paid for his board that way. As a result I amassed a huge collection of records which were not normally available at Impact.

Could someone please run an audit on just who the foreign "specialist workers needed by businesses" are that the NSW government wants to prioritise over Australians homebound return from overseas? This is especially important given the unemployment rate here now, and in case 457 visas are definitively proven, as long suspected, to be mostly a scam by industries to suppress wages and conditions and to get workers who'll just take it and like it.

Many commentators have claimed that the actions of Australian SAS personnel in Afghanistan don't represent who Australia is. Yet week-in, week-out, more than one woman in Australia is brutally murdered by a partner or known acquaintance. Sometimes children of the partnership, too. And the problem of domestic violence goes much deeper than just the murders. Clearly what happened in Afghanistan does represent a significant proportion of the Australian population and it's time we fixed ourselves. In the words of ADF chief General Angus Campbell on Insiders: "If we don't fix it, this horror will continue."

Forget about the sleeps to Christmas; I'm counting down the days to January 20 when the adults reclaim the White House.

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