Territory's three-year Senate term anomaly needs to be fixed

An area very seldom mentioned, but which is in need of amending, is the length of time ACT senators are elected to the Senate.

In all states, senators are elected for a six-year term. But in the ACT and the Northern Territory, senators have to be re-elected every three years.

This anomaly has never been reviewed since its inception. Once again it is an example of how ACT citizens are treated as second-class.

It would be hoped that David Pocock, with the support of Katy Gallagher, could draft a bill which would bring ACT senators into line with the rest of Australia.

Doug Hurst (Letters, June 11) urges Energy Minister Chris Bowen to stop digging himself into an ever deeper hole and forsake renewables. I don't think there has been one reliable commentator saying renewables were responsible for the current energy crisis. On the contrary, they blame outages in coal power stations, Russia's war on Ukraine that has led to a global shortage of oil and gas, and on too much Australian gas being exported and not enough reserved as in Western Australia.

How then to relieve the energy crisis?

According to the CSIRO, renewables are now the cheapest form of energy generation in Australia - coal and gas simply can't compete on price.

The quickest and cheapest way to resolve the energy crisis, it says, is to replace fossil fuels with renewables and electrify everything in our our households and businesses.

The ACT government recognised this years ago, and now ACT residents are bearing the fruit, in terms of slightly lower electricity bills, of policies that delivered 100 per cent of electricity from renewables starting in 2020.

And now the NSW government is the one to be commended for its latest initiatives in investing in utility and community-scale renewable energy assets, transmission infrastructure, and energy storage facilities. Australia is one of the sunniest and windiest places on the planet. It is madness to overlook renewables. They just need to be backed by storage (batteries and pumped hydro) and transmission infrastructure, which is what governments are beginning to do.

And let's not forget that it goes beyond being an energy supply problem. We must address climate change - and, of course, renewables are integral to that.

Re: "Bandit Larrikin or bad dad" (canberratimes.com.au, June 13).

Having done to death the stereotype of Mum looking after the kids - which can only help to strengthen this stereotype - the ABC's Bluey is a program about the few hours when Dad's home and can look after the kids for mum.

He is depicted as an imperfect dad to remind all parents that you can get it wrong and still make happy memories for your children that will last for years to come. But Mum keeps an eye on him.

The recent federal election outcome has raised the question of why the ACT and the Northern Territory are limited to two senators each, when the states have 12 each.

It is timely for Parliament to consider increasing territory representation, given the changes in population and the changing role of the Senate as much more than just a "states' house".

The state representation has increased from the original six in the constitution to 12 since 1983, so perhaps the territories deserve a doubling to four senators each.

The new government should add this to its agenda, and engage all parties and independents in exploring the options.

It has taken 24 days to obtain a result in the ACT Senate ballot. According to the reports I have seen, almost all that time was taken with preparing the votes for the count, after which a press of a button and at most a few minutes the result was obtained.

It should be possible to improve the program by including the number of votes still to be processed, which would be known on election day, so that except in the very closest of ballots, a result could be obtained in at most a few days.

I agree with Peter Moran (Letters, June 15) regarding Brendan Murphy's Companion of the Order of Australia award.

He is too political and refused to cooperate with the Senate last year over questions about medical advice given to the government.

He also refused to release a list of Victorian aged care facilities dealing with coronavirus outbreaks because of "reputational issues".

Outgoing senator Zed Seselja claims he has "always fought for a better deal for Canberra". That's a load of codswallop. The only thing that Zed has ever fought for is his own self-advancement.

It is clear from Zed's departing comments following declaration of the poll that Zed still does not understand that his role as a senator for the ACT was to represent the interests of the ACT, not to advocate his personal moral and ethical agenda.

By contrast, David Pocock has already made it clear that he sees his role as representing the ACT, and that he "actually wants to deliver up for the ACT".

Kangaroo culling is a contentious issue, with complicated pros and cons on both sides. There are alternatives that involve no culls or starving roos.

Why not work to restore our ecosystem? That would include reintroducing dingoes and other carnivores to our alpine areas and national parks. We should restore waterways and reimplement Indigenous water and land management. We could also engage in more human hunting and eating of kangaroos, as used to be a part of life here.

Such steps to restore our ecosystem to a precolonial setting where kangaroo populations were managed naturally would involve a lot more work. But it would be worth it and bring benefits for the whole community, not just the kangaroos.

With Peter Dutton growling in the background, it was always going to be difficult for Marise Payne to make any diplomatic impression in the Pacific and south-east Asia.

Clearly out of her depth when dispatched to the world stage, her position was never improved by Scott Morrison's blundering around looking for all like a missionary searching for someone to take pity on him and shake his hand.

With the admitted advantage or being newly elected, the more calm, measured and understanding approach of Anthony Albanese, Penny Wong and Richard Marles (which shows signs of being well supported by whatever remnants of diplomatic skills are still left in DFAT) will certainly be welcomed in our region.

It is almost certain that, at some time in the future, China will have more of a presence in the Pacific than just a string of diplomatic missions.

Living with that is going to take a lot more skill than was ever present in past Liberal governments. We might even learn to speak French more diplomatically, too.

"We can't be China's punching bag" (June 11, p51) is another ridiculous article by China-hater Bradley Perrett.

The photograph of an RAAF P-8 surveillance aircraft drew attention to the intercept of such an aircraft by a Chinese fighter aircraft over the South China Sea.

The Chinese aircraft dangerously released chaff in front of the Australian aircraft.

I deplore such action, but why was the Australian aircraft conducting military patrols there?

The simple answer is "The US wanted it to do so." I'm sure that the Canadian aircraft also intercepted in the area was there for the same reason. The reason for the US requests is to demonstrate its immoral cold war against China is supported by other countries.

About 10 years ago, a US P3 carrying out a similar patrol collided with a Chinese aircraft off Hainan Island, killing the Chinese pilot. If a similar event had occurred off the coast of the US, most Americans would have been outraged.

The US continually denigrates China as being aggressive and assertive, but itself continually acts in such a fashion. Flights by Western military aircraft over the South China Sea might be "legal", but are certainly aggressive and generate hatred.

Australia should strongly condemn them.

Your story "AEC declares win for David Pocock in ACT Senate race" (canberratimes.com.au, June 14) incorrectly states "It is the first time a candidate not from either major party has represented the capital in Parliament." Dr Lew Nott was elected as an independent to the House of Representatives as the first member for the ACT on December 10, 1949. He lost the seat in 1951.

The RBA governor expects inflation to hit 7 per cent by the end of year, and the cash rate to reach 2.5 per cent. Isn't he the man who said interest rates wouldn't increase until 2023? I will take whatever he says with a grain of salt.

Whilst it was admirable Zed wished David Pocock all the best when conceding defeat, the delusional comments that followed were astounding, especially the claim that "Dutton will return the conservatives to glory". Wasn't there a TV show called The Wonder Years?

I imagine Gary Humphries, the former ACT senator and Chief Minister, is having trouble hiding a deep sense of schadenfreude following Tuesday's declaration of the 2022 Senate results for the ACT.

Sorry Eric Hunter (Letters, June 15), it wasn't Sir Humphrey but the pedant Bernard who told the minister how the bureaucrats translated honours initials. Hacker was pondering the department's honours' candidates.

Eric Hunter (Letters, June 15) makes a strong case for an award that is uniquely Australian. Eric may be drawn to the "Onya" recently awarded to the Queen by a NSW newspaper on her majesty's platinum jubilee occasion. An Onya can currently be bestowed by anyone who thinks one is deserved.

I must confess that despite low initial expectations, I've been impressed by Jim Chalmers as Treasurer so far. Instead of waxing lyrical about how all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds, he is telling it like it really is. That's a big change from what we've seen in the past three years.

A possible alternative to the Queen's Birthday is Canberra Liberation (Got Rid of Zed) Day.

While I wish the Prime Minister luck with his trade negotiations with the Chinese Goliath, I think he should carry a sling and stone in his baggage.

With their solidarity in the struggle to give the Tamil refugee family a life of human dignity, the Biloela community has demonstrated what it means to be good Australians - and good global citizens.

We can make a better world by doing what's right for fellow human beings.