The dingo is a unique animal with special spiritual and cultural significance for Indigenous Australians, many of whom regard the dingo as their totem animal.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It features in Aboriginal cave paintings and dreamtime stories dating back thousands of years before white settlement of the continent.
What government consideration is being given to Indigenous cultural beliefs when the "Acknowledgement to Country" statement made on behalf of us all permits the killing of dingoes under the false label of "wild dogs" at the Tidbinbilla and Namadgi National Parks.
It is a shame on Canberrans and an insult to the Ngunnawal people if we allow this cruel slaughter of a totem animal to continue.
Susan Cruttenden, Kambah
Climate group-think
Jenny Goldie (Letters, June 16) seems, like too many others, to have swallowed litres of the "renewables" Kool-Aid and is unable to distinguish the broader issues from the narrow views of her favourite experts.
There is no such thing as "renewables"; they are merely energy collection systems as the laws of physics state energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
It can be converted from one form to another which is what the collection systems of solar, wind and hydro do. Only hydro has a built in storage system which can be augmented by dams. Unfortunately Australia has neither the topography nor reliable rainfall to supply all that is needed.
When the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow, or blows too hard, the other collection systems do not produce electricity and thus need back-ups. These are principally coal fired with some gas fired. Both being fossil fuels, they are denigrated and opposed by the Green mentality to the point that some have been closed by states and others threatened with closure are not adequately maintained.
The current crisis stems from the headlong rush into "renewables" without regard to the unintended consequences.
We should not be fooled by the suggested storage systems. The world's largest battery proposed to replace the output of a power station would do so for only minutes. Hydrogen has a molecular weight of two, is prone to leaks and has low energy content.
The least worst carbon-dioxide-free energy generator is nuclear.
Michael Lane, St Ives, NSW
No transparency
The incompetence of the ACT government is again on display (Andrew Barr's Civic Stadium comments contradict ACT government's feasibility study, canberratimes.com.au, June, 14).
It has not has not been transparent or accountable in its decision making. What is needed is a publicly available infrastructure plan justifying projects and their timing.
The Canberra community could then consider the reasoning of why projects such as the light rail are considered higher priorities than alternatives including housing, health, football stadia and conference centres.
A move to the centre by the ACT Liberal party and the emergence of local teal-like independents would place pressure on the increasingly tired, lazy and arrogant Barr administration to improve its governance.
Mike Quirk, Garran
Too many senators
The ACT has one senator for every 220,000 people. Australia has on average one senator for every 340,000 people.
If the people of the rest of Australia were to be as well represented in the Senate as Canberrans are we would need to increase the number of senators outside the ACT from 74 to 118.
Several correspondents, most recently David Purnell (Letters, June 16) argue that the ACT should have more than two senators.
That would exacerbate the over-representation of the ACT in the senate.
Leon Arundell, Downer
The sensible centre
Australia might have entered a period after the recent federal election with a "sensible centrism" of the right and left variety that actually works to deliver at least some overdue and necessary reforms.
The new federal government, combined with the current cohort of state premiers, really does seem to have the genuine potential to make a real difference over the next three years.
A combination of political energy, policy smarts and cooperative leaning has replaced what had perhaps become one of Australia's most counterproductive governments, notwithstanding the success of elements of the response to COVID.
The challenge now is to squeeze all the value that we can out of centrism, from improved productivity to value-adding and making more things to delivering on sustainability, health, housing, the indigenous gap and much, much more.
It will, of course, take more than the current variety of centrism to drive the scale of change required in Australia to come close to thoroughly dealing with the suboptimal performance, inefficiencies, inequalities and injustices embedded in our economy and society.
The definitive challenge of the next three years is for the Greens, the teals and the independents, along with members of the major parties, to create momentum for the more ambitious policies required to drive larger reforms in the next and the next and the next term of government.
Stewart Sweeney, Adelaide, SA
Cull is heartbreaking
As someone who has been opposed to the kangaroo cull ever since I first came to know about it (since 2016) each winter I have been left feeling overwhelmed with hopelessness over the fact that the very same roos I lugged hundreds of litres of water up into the reserves for in 2019 and 2020 are now being killed in the cold of the night.
Each night once 6pm comes around, I take a moment to think of the roos and hope that some of them can get away.
This cull is enormously traumatic to the roos, with their mob structures decimated and orphaned joeys left out to die from the elements. But this cull is also traumatic for me, and all the animal lovers I know.
This trauma will stick with us forever.
Aisha Bottrill, Weston
Headline was sensational
I am writing in response to the article "Influencer complains of being 'so disrespected'" (canberratimes.com.au, June 17). I would have thought this was describing a tabloid headline and not the proceedings of a rape trial.
Young women look to the media and your reporting of these trials in deciding whether or not to come forward with their own stories.
I felt the headline was trivialising a very serious issue. I expect better from The Canberra Times.
I have fixed your headline for you: "Alleged rape victim is traumatised and emotional in her own rape trial".
Jennifer Kerr, Bruce
Systems science works
It is reassuring to learn that complex systems science and thinking is used effectively to address major economic and social upheavals and help the business world face challenges, and that this is able to be done in plain English ("Don't give up on systems thinking yet", canberratimes.com.au, June 16) .
In comparison CIT seems to have been sold a daisy chain of jargon words designed to create both a false sense of security in the minds of the chief payers and leadership group, and silence from those lower down who probably had qualms about more rounds of human resource development fad and fantasy.
The costs of not turning off this funding tap go well beyond the financial and reputational damage done to date.
Sue Dyer, Downer
Verdict devastating
Israel's court decision against Mohammed El Halabi is devastating. The accused, formerly Gaza director for the international organisation, World Vision, has been under arrest for six long years.
Israel keeps its so-called evidence secret while independent forensic reviews of World Vision activities show the accusations of fraud and terrorism to be utterly baseless.
The court proceedings took place in Beersheba where in 2017 the centenary of the World War I battle of Beersheba and the famous charge of the Australian light horse took place.
The then Prime Ministers, Turnbull and Netanyahu, applauded each other.
No Palestinians were invited to the ceremony. Israel did not exist in 1917, the land was called Palestine.
This is how Israel works - denying the very existence of millions of Palestinians.
The treatment of the innocent Mohammed El Halibi is outrageous.
The Australian government needs to protest on his behalf and to stand strong against Israel's continuing acts of injustice and cruelty.
Claudia Hyles, Kingston
To the point
WHAT A CHANGE
How the wheels of history have turned. We're now building military ties with Japan, the only nation to bomb Australia.
Rod Matthews, Melbourne, Victoria
SOME DISAGREE
Ex-Liberal Hugh Crawford (Letters, June 15) says that Zed didn't represent his constituents. But the 70,000 people who voted for him thought that he did.
Paul Temby, Bruce
MAD ABOUT RABBITS
Walking around Commonwealth Park and and along to Kings Avenue I have been astonished at the number of rabbits grazing on the lawns. Are they not a major threat to the displays of Floriade?
Martin Butterfield, Civic
HERD IMMUNITY
In regards to Peter Moran and others on herd immunity (Letters, June 15), Sweden went for herd immunity and experienced 1,874.87 deaths per million. The UK, which had innumerable lockdowns has had 2,632.26 deaths per million. Do the maths and obey the science.
John Coochey, Chisholm
FACIAL RECOGNITION FLAWED
A memo to all the organisations thinking about using facial recognition security systems. Think again. They are not going to be of much use to anyone until such time as customers stop using masks.
Mario Stivala, Belconnen
TIME TO CHANGE
So we're advised to wear warm clothing on these cold days to preserve energy. Gosh, what a novel idea. The days of dressing according to a ridiculously wasteful thermostat setting should be well and truly behind us. A permanent slashing of energy wastage must become a top priority.
Sue Wareham, Cook
NOT CONVINCED
I read the letter "Decriminalisation defended" (Letters, June 17) and realise the people behind the decriminalisation of ice are struggling with lousy justifications like " ... forbidden fruit attracts some personality types to drugs ... " Really? I'm not convinced.
G Gillespie, Scullin
ARGUMENTS OF CONVENIENCE
In reply to Douglas McKenzie (Letters, June 17), you can always use hot spells as clear proof of global warming, and cold spells as simple old fashioned weather variability, all the more so if you wish to push a particular point of view ahead of impartiality.
Ian Morison, Forrest
WHAT A SURPRISE
The philosophy of "small" government, including the sale of utilities such as power, is paying off - for the new owners.
Linus Cole, Palmerston
IT'S A MYSTERY
Minister Rattenbury has repeatedly boasted that the ACT has 100 per cent renewable electricity. So why are Canberrans being asked to use it sparingly due to diminished supply caused by the high cost, and reduced availability, of coal and gas? I am certain that the price of sunlight and wind has not recently risen.
Jim Coats, Fadden
INDEPENDENT? REALLY?
I'm puzzled. Commentators keep bracketing David Pocock with the Greens to give Labor a Senate majority with his vote. I thought Pocock was an Independent?