Military spending is not the path to peace

In his announcement on Monday of a $1 billion weapons deal with South Korea, PM Morrison referred repeatedly to Australia's quest for peace.

But if our desire is peace, why are we not working actively for it?

Why have successive governments starved our diplomatic capacity of funding, so that Australia is no longer capable of skilfully reducing tensions with other nations? Where are the peacebuilding and confidence-building measures, such as arms control dialogues, in our region?

Where is the democratic discussion of all this in our parliament? Where is the action on climate change that is the number one concern of our Pacific Island neighbours, whom our PM opportunistically claims are as dear to us as family?

Defence Minister Dutton loves to lead by fear, with visions of 1930s appeasement, but he should read Douglas Newton's Hell-Bent: Australia's leap into the Great War about the war that set the stage for World War II.

In early August 1914, war was looming in Europe, but the British Cabinet was deeply divided over the prospect. In Australia, Liberal PM Joseph Cook, heading for an election, offered 20,000 Australian troops, ahead of any British declaration of war. The warmongers in London were delighted, and they prevailed.

Australia commemorated World War I to the hilt, but learnt zilch.

When will The Canberra Times do a peace supplement rather than a war supplement?

Minister Paul Fletcher (Letters, December 14) should re-read my article ("National Film and Sound Archive needs sustained funding, not grants" CT Dec 10), but more carefully this time. I was actually complimenting, not criticising, the government on the prospect of any funding increase at all for the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA). I will be glad to see the figures confirmed in the forthcoming budget update, as I have since learned that a separate announcement included a starting date of January 3, 2022 for the four-year funding.

Instead of misquoting me on the issue of digitisation, Mr Fletcher could ask the NFSA to refer him to the relevant literature on archival and curatorial principles.

Regrettably Mr Fletcher has ignored the main thrust of my article, which relates to the integrity of the NFSA's governance and curatorial standards, and the questions raised on October 18 by MP Zali Steggall on the expertise of NFSA Board members which I do not think he has yet answered. The NFSA requires a sustained increase in ongoing base funding rather than just fixed-term project grants, and a reversal of the continual staff attrition and memory loss which has occurred over the last decade.

Penleigh Boyd (Letters, December 12) supports distance charges on motor vehicles. He seems not to have spent decades exploring by road our wonderful but vast country. If he had Penleigh would have realised every litre of fuel consumed already includes a substantial distance tax. Some mature drivers may recall the "3x3" signs on the highways, reminding us that the new three cents excise/litre on fuel was matched by the government to improve the roads.

Those signs, along with the levy linkage to road maintenance, have long since disappeared and the current excise is 42.7 cents for every litre of fuel purchased.

If Penleigh had numerous times, like me, circumnavigated Terrific Tassie, criss-crossed most of south eastern Australia, then explored The Great Ocean Road and western Victoria, the wine regions of South Australia, driven to Alice Springs via Port Augusta, to Karumba on the gulf through the centre of Queensland or several times explored the east coast up as far as the Daintree, he would know he or she had already made a substantial "distance charge" contribution.

But he is right that the current crop of urban EV drivers should pay their share by a per km charge.

I must disagree with Murray May (Letters, December 15). Obesity, diabetes and poor dietary habits are not contagious diseases.

COVID-19 is very contagious, and measures to stop its spreading are fully justified.

Having said that, treatments should be available to everyone under normal payment rules, not vaccination status. Sadly, if an unvaccinated person becomes very ill, I can only say - you were warned and you chose not to believe.

The summary of the current political landscape by Michelle Grattan was "on point" ("Albanese is ending the year well, but has plenty of challenges ahead", canberratimes.com.au, December 11).

Albanese is indeed putting one foot gently but consistently in front of the other. Holding the "middle ground", particularly on climate, is a sensible strategy.

The dire global climate situation needs urgent action, not another Coalition scare campaign.

Meanwhile, Morrison continues to use his well-oiled empty slogans and boy-next-door charm as his way of appealing to the masses.

Many formidable, intelligent, female, independent candidates are looking to cause a stir.

Voters are frustrated with inaction on issues such as integrity in politics, gender equity, and climate change. Trust is also at the centre of voter's minds. Many are hoping for change.

Who will come out on top in 2022?

I loved the ad for the InvictusX9, so judiciously placed in The Public Sector Informant for the attention of public servants (Public Sector Informant, December 7, page 4).

This powerful, cordless, vacuum cleaner will be ideal for hoovering up the year's public service failures - the egregious rejections of FOI applications, the failures to give frank and fearless advice on poverty, inequality, refugee internment and climate change, the various exculpatory reports on the ICAC-worthy behaviour of ministers, and any draft legal advices that Robodebt was unlawful and that the ineligible JobKeeper millions should be recovered.

The LED light will be particularly useful here in locating those documents that haven't yet been shredded.

Whether or not anyone believes in the sky fairy and whether or not most of us are Christian atheists or atheist Christians as Bill Deane wrote (Letters, November 29), the sad thing is that as a nation we don't practice the tenets of the religion that underpins our society.

An easy example comes from the announcement that we'll be joining the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics because of China's human rights record.

Are our politicians not aware of the biblical verses invoking critics of others to examine and remedy their own weaknesses first (Matthew 7:5, Luke 6:42)?

If not let me remind them that there's a long list of human rights abuses on Australia's card that would well warrant an international boycott of any major event to be held here in the future. We could try doing something about the innocent incarcerated refugees, or our appalling record with regard our indigenous peoples, or ceasing political persecutions of whistle blowers just to name a few to start with.

In his talk to the National Press Club on Wednesday, December 8, the NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, took aim at "older people" for ruining parts of Sydney's architectural face in the 1960s and 70s. He singled out the Cahill Expressway at Circular Quay for special mention.

How refreshing and rare it is to hear a senior politician not only discussing urban design but also acknowledging past failures.

In 1958, these "older people" ruining Sydney with poorly designed infrastructure were the elected custodians of the city at the height of their political careers. They thought they knew best. Sixty years later their successors deplore their decisions.

So to Canberra; how will the urban design decisions being made today be viewed by our successors in 60 years time? Will they applaud or condemn the 2020s transformation of Canberra from its once unique and promising origins to becoming a bland and overbuilt city like many others? The current city shapers will become the "older people" of tomorrow and future urban commentators, like Perrottet, may wonder how they got it so wrong.

The NSW government's move to allow unvaccinated people to enter premises without the need to show their vaccination status is a cheap grab for political capital at the expense of the safety of the entire community. It is a grubby move which demonstrates the naiveté and ambition of the Premier.

The beneficiary of the New Zealand's proposed tobacco control will not be population health, but the organised crime gangs who will happily move in if legal supply is restricted. Hopefully, Australia will have more sense than to criminalise a section of the population in a failed attempt at prohibition.

NZ's Jacinda Ardern has done it again with her smoke free plan. Just how much would it cost to engage her as our prime minister? Could we join New Zealand as its fourth and fifth islands?

North Pole HQ has announced Santa went into quarantine on Sunday for the kids in Western Australia.

In respect of my letter about speed traps (December 3), the logic in K Moylan's critical letter (December 11) escapes me completely.

If you were a competent, independent-minded, articulate woman pondering a political career that would make a difference, why would you follow the path of others like yourself who've not been treated fairly and respectfully in an LNP party environment? Why not run as an independent, serve the community without the distractions of a party hierarchy, and side-step the shenanigans of a broken culture dominated by blokes, factions and cronyism?

According to the NCA website, the closing date for submissions on the proposed raising of City Hill has been extended from December 10 to December 24. City Hill is entered into the Register of the National Estate and the ACT heritage places. It is also listed by the National Trust of Australia (ACT). Somebody used to care for our city, please don't lose sight of what little history we have.

It appears our diplomatic "networking" will be foregone at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Big deal. The athletes aren't boycotting and the lobbyists and the captains of industry will be there. Only the politicians will stay away, apparently because politics has nothing to do with sport. They should put a stop to this taxpayer-funded rort for good. The Olympic boycott in one word? Fatuous.

It's interesting P McCracken (Letters, December 10) doesn't drink at work functions "because losing my licence would be dire". I would be much more worried about inebriation causing a minor or major accident.