China has done a remarkable job in the last 70 years of becoming the second most powerful country in the world. However, rather than being a good world citizen the current Chinese government now expects smaller countries like Australia to do its bidding or suffer the consequences. We are being made an example of.

No sensible Australian would want to be a vassal state to anyone, let alone a foreign government that has killed over one million Tibetans in the last 60 years, who has over one million of its Muslim population locked up in re-education/labour camps and who is currently destroying the last vestiges of freedom in Hong Kong.

This is not a question of making a choice between our major ally and our major trading partner. It's a question of who we are as Australians.

Australia has a proud record of supporting democracy and basic human rights across the world. The fact that we happen to be by standing up for our rights in the forefront of opposition to Chinese government attempts to cower smaller countries should be a source of pride to all Australians, most of whom I am sure would reject the assertions Mr Haigh espoused in his article.

How blessed we are in the ACT having David Pope in our midst. Not only is Pope a brilliant and incisive cartoonist, he's also a fine artist. His post-bushfires series is an exceptional contribution to both physical and mental recovery. His paintings are nuanced and deeply moving and connect at many levels.

For me, the Nelligen painting is a standout. Paul Parker provided a riposte at the worst of the fires that was not only pitch perfect but also a reminder about what being Australian means. Australians hold hoses and speak truth to power. Paul Parker and David Pope are peas in the same pod.

In his article "We need to defend our democracy" (December 26, p37) Ben Oquist wrote "For a decade China's demand for Australian coal has been used as an economic and political excuse to justify the expansion of coal mining. This expansion has come at the expense of both Australia's emissions and our diplomatic standing". The apparent obsession with coal still lingers both in the federal government and the Labor Opposition. Both are wrong.

ABC News recently reported that the Office of Australia's Chief Economist had forecast a decline in the total value of our global coal exports of nearly $20 billion in 2020-21, after a decline of $14.6 billion in 2019-20. The Coal 2020 report from the International Energy Agency stated that global demand for coal peaked in 2013, and is now 'flatlining'. The IEA also noted that "In China, coal demand is reaching a plateau" and construction of new coal-fired power plants is in global decline, with few new plants expected to be built outside China.

Furthermore, most banks refuse to finance the coal industry, and most large insurance companies refuse to underwrite it. The end of the coal era is rapidly approaching.

Your editorial of December 26 ("Can Australia's tail wag China's dog?") was a well-timed reminder that Australia has proved to be very flexible over the years in adjusting to changed international trading conditions.

These adjustments of course entail short-term costs. My back of the envelope calculations suggest that a complete cessation of trade and services with China, in both directions, might cost up to around 5 per cent of Australia's current gross domestic product in the short term. But there are ample opportunities to replace that trade over the medium- to longer term.

A lesson I learned at primary school is that if one doesn't confront a bully when the bullying starts then the bullying will only get worse. We might pay an economic price in the short term but we should not in any way bend to Chinese trade bullying.

In the meantime we should be actively seeking to further strengthen our diplomatic, economic and even military links throughout our region.

It's 2020 years since the first Christmas. Since then, the people of the world have experimented with varying styles of government, education and health systems. We've learned to value different cultures. Our creativity has flourished. Science has become a particularly inventive, enriching system of thinking but government uptake may prove too slow and disorganized to manage the increasingly intense changes in climate.

While renewable energy is very helpful, nuclear power is not because it produces plutonium which takes, not 2000 years, but 24,000 years to lose half of its lethal toxicity. There's no spare time or resources to waste on nuclear rubbish.

Antony Burnham (Letters, December 23) is correct that Michael Pettersson has a record for promoting decriminalising drugs of addiction. However, the Labor Party, which Mr Pettersson represents, made no mention of this policy (if indeed it is party policy) during the election campaign. If this legislation is introduced electors have been duped.

I have personally seen, in my professional capacity, the results of consuming drugs such as ice, heroin, cocaine and marijuana. The actions proposed by Michael Pettersson is good news for the drug traders who will more easily find new customers, knowing that possession of small amounts will result in a minimal penalty.

The Heroin Pushers Association are rubbing their hands.

Anne O'Hara makes a Christmas wish for more effective government action on climate change (Letters, December 24). A nice sentiment, but what Australian citizens should do if they are concerned about the issue is lobby the government and other politicians to take action and vote for parties with effective environmental policies.

And on the subject of Christmas, theologically it is difficult to understand the point of a supreme being after a year of disastrous fires and COVID-19. Both of these terrible events can be traced back to humanities' disregard for the natural environment in respect of climate change and biodiversity disruption.

Wouldn't it be nice if instead of a Christmas Day we had a serious Earth Day in which we could celebrate and marvel at all life on Earth and think about what humanity should do to protect life on the planet.

It strikes me that our society, and the population of the world, basically needs to grow up.

The general condition of the planet is so dire that we need to stop doing things just because we like doing them or because they make us money. We must come to a mindset in which we fully understand that the health of our planet its non-negotiable, and that each one of us is responsible for the world's future.

I am as guilty as anyone for having happily taken advantage of our economic system, but somehow we need to devise a system of living sustainably into the future with a radically different set of priorities.

The current trend to keep houses cooler is to install air-conditioning which cost money in power bills and may cause power blackout where there are too many of them. I live in a Victorian era inner-suburban coastal house ln Melbourne.

I do not have air-conditioning but I do have small fans which are used occasionally. The main advantage of my circa-1900 house is that it has 4-metre high ceilings which allows hot air to rise and escape better.

The house layout allows for the front and rear doors to be opened to allow breeze to flow unhindered by walls through the house via the central hall.

In the street there are mature trees whose leaf canopy extends over the street keeping the road surface and parked cars cooler. In winter the leaves fall allowing sunshine in as well. I have shady native shrubs in the small front and rear yards which also attracts the birds.

During the day in summer, I keep the blinds closed and open the house up in the evening. Doors should have lockable fly screen/security doors with an internal latch and windows can be locked open at the bottom a little to allow the breeze in and to keep robbers out. This worked last year when the female daytime burglar could not open any rear/side windows.

The police arrested her. No fresh air in gaol.

It is extremely sad to note the predilection of correspondents to hate other human beings that is revealed by letters published in Monday's Canberra Times. If writers can produce nothing better than unsubstantiated abuse they should put down their pens. Nor was the standard of the opinion page uplifted by the pre-pubescent, toilet humour exhibited by your cartoonist.

In the case of mitigating global warming, we first needed to set the goal of zero emissions by 2050. This comes first and then we work out the methods of achieving this goal - burning less coal, more renewables etc. A classic example of this principle was when President Kennedy announced the goal that America would go to the moon - he announced this before they knew how they would do it, before they had the means to achieve it. By setting the goal, the scientists set about researching the means to achieve that goal. The goal of going to the moon came before the technical means were fully developed.

So there are no cases of COVID-19 in the Illawarra and none here in the ACT. But we cannot travel to Wollongong without quarantining upon return? What sort of nonsense is this? In the thick of the pandemic we did not have this level of restriction. Why now?

I have a suggestion, all those people in the UK and surrounds get put onto a cruise liner, be quarantined for up to six weeks given that it would take that long to get back to Australia, be given tests every day and if found COVID positive, get put into the hospital part of the cruise ship. Problem solved. You get one hour a day to exercise, limited movement on board, what could you ask for more? A luxury cruise all the way home.

President un-elect Donald is fishing for an airport to be named after him ("Trump wants airport named in his honour", December 28). May I suggest one in Russia might be appropriate, possibly Siberia. Nauru could also rename their international airport after Peter Dutton but I think the world will forget who he is soon enough, at least I hope so.

Pamela Bores (Letters, December 28) is right. Overpopulation is indeed a big problem on our planet. But the bigger problem I think is over consumption and all that drives it and the energy utilised to sustain it. Who are the main culprits for the latter?

My new year resolution is: Although almost addicted, and despite all temptations, I shall refrain from eating bats, baby rats and pangolins.

How dare they! Prime7 only broadcasting the morning and afternoon sessions of the second Test between Australia and India, then switching over to games 14 and 15 of the Big Bash League. It's unheard of, it's outrageous, and it's just not cricket.