Young voices uplifting, even as the PM's absence disappoints

In contrast, our Prime Minister's choice not to attend the COP27 global climate negotiations in Egypt is a great disappointment. Mr Albanese should recognise, as our young people do, that climate change is an existential threat that is increasingly inflicting devastation on our communities and wildlife.

According to the World Economic Forum's 2022 Global Risk Report, climate action failure, extreme weather and biodiversity loss are the top three "most severe risks on a global scale over the next 10 years".

We have a responsibility to act with urgency. May the voices of our young people inspire and motivate us all.

Anika Molesworth is a fine example of a switched-on young Australian farmer walking the talk on climate action ("Climate action is local, personal and urgent", November 7, p16).

Her message is more powerful because she is on the land and has experienced the severe effects of climate change first hand.

City folk, who eat the food farmers grow, have a moral responsibility to support them by, not only undertaking the sorts of low-emission actions Molesworth describes, but also supporting regional movements like Landcare and Farmers for Climate Action. In this way, we help break down the so-called city-country divide the National Party likes to politicise, and send a strong message to our regional neighbours that we are all in this together.

Kathryn Kelly (Letters, November 5) is absolutely right in her comments on the Four Corners program. Not only a propaganda piece for war but worse, with information about our security and defence being regularly filtering out from US sources rather than being declared nationally.

Bipartisanship is indeed dangerous and suggests that neither major party has the courage to engage in political debate over national defence and security policy. They seem to be afraid to question the US view of the region or the role the US designates for Australia in support of US defence and security priorities. A view that assumes eventual conflict with China over Taiwan, open access to Australian territory and Australia's full military participation.

Considering the US record of failure in decades of military endeavours, that is hardly in Australia's national interest. US military presence may well bring great economic opportunity to Darwin and the NT, but the risks are great. It is time for the government to open debate on defence and security, especially the nuclearisation of our defence, and stop kowtowing to US priorities.

In the path outside 79 Anthony Rolfe Avenue in Gungahlin there is a step in the middle of the footpath belonging to the building.

Last July my 82-year-old mother was walking along this path with her walker in front of her and fell down this step. The fall resulted in her suffering a 7cm gash across the knee which went down almost to the bone.

A lovely fireman named Harrison from the Gungahalin Fire Station provided first aid and she ended up having surgery and being in a brace for 6 weeks. She has still not recovered to the same level of mobility that she had before the fall.

I contacted the building owners and they have put a yellow strip along the top of the step and on the face plate. With her walker in front of her she couldn't see the step and I don't think putting in the yellow would have prevented her fall. I think it needs some of those bumps which warn those that who are visually impaired (truncated domes or detectable warning pavers).

The Strata Manager for the building has advised me that they are short of funds which is preventing them from doing anything further although they are investigating putting a sign on the wall as a warning. This letter is an attempt to prevent someone else suffering the same fate as Mum.

I was very disappointed in Jack Waterford's cynical and misguided article on Australia's support for Ukraine (Forum, November 5). Not fighting against a bully is appeasement and invariably makes the appeaser worse off in the end.

Contrary to Jack's view, fighting even losing wars is better than dogging it. Funnily enough, the gutsy little country standing up to a bully often ends up winning in the end.

Is Jack saying we should not have fought Nazi Germany? What would have happened to the world if Britain in 1940 had made peace with Hitler? Who is to say Ukraine won't ultimately prevail?

Poland too has fought many wars, usually against impossible odds and survived. The support given to Ukraine by fellow democracies has surprised many, including Putin and Xi. That support must continue. The old saying "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing." is as true today as it was when it was first said.

So, Alan Joyce has been granted a $4 million share bonus as well as his usual $2.2 million dollar salary, all whilst the lowest paid Qantas employees endure a two-year wage freeze. Tens of thousands of Qantas customers have been treated appallingly by Qantas over the last few years with a complete lack of service or consideration.

It cost me $1600 extra to rebook flights cancelled a year earlier due to COVID and recent flights were bland to say the least. To see the chairman and shareholders say so arrogantly that Joyce has done a good job must gall with all Qantas employees and clients; these people have no idea how the other half live. Shame on you. Heaven help this country if Qantas represents the spirit of Australia.

I see no reason to rename the Cotter Dam, pulling down statues, changing name places and the like do very little hide the past regardless of if it was good or bad.

If there is enough groundswell for a change, and it's considered necessary, then why not rename it the Cotter-Onyong Dam. This would recognise the teamwork and courage of both men and perhaps be an example of how we can all live together in harmony as they appear to have done.

Chickens are roosting at the Australian War Memorial. Having correctly and courageously (if reluctantly) accepted that Frontier War needs to be recognised, the memorial now faces attack from ignorant and ungenerous conservatives, out of step with history or the nation's mood. They are using the same mendacious legalism it espoused for years trying to stop it doing the right thing. Rather than continue to shun its former critics, the memorial might now invite them to help it justify its new policy and refute its former inadequate ahistorical arguments. Those who have the memorial's best interests at heart can explain why the recognition of the Australian Wars is entirely in keeping with its character as the place where Australians remember Australia's wars.

I strongly echo the words of L Kramer (Letters, November 3) regarding the passing of the bill that decriminalises certain illicit substances in the ACT.

Frankly, it is time that members of the ACT community learn the distinct difference between decriminalisation and legalisation - they are polar opposites; sanctions are still imposed for people who do not comply with legislation as per the bill.

It is a known fact that a number of Canberrans, from all walks of life, use illicit substances, particularly on a recreational basis. As quoted by Michael Pettersson and Rachel Stephen-Smith, we require a 'health response, not a criminal one'.

Come on Canberrans, try some progressive thinking - illicit substances are going to be used regardless of legislation; let's get real, and cease the punitive actions of users of small amounts of illicit substances as determined by the decriminalisation bill.

There is an ongoing discussion about the problems of charging for EV owners who live in apartments or only have street parking ("Power struggle: EV charging challenge", November 6). Street parking is difficult, where the EV owner would probably just have to go to a public charger.

Most EV owners in apartments however, only require an ordinary power point at their parking space, so as to slow charge overnight (or whenever). The article mentioned says "... questions about how to charge an electric car when you don't have a garage with a suitable power point".

My correction to that is ALL ordinary power points are suitable for slow charging a car. There is the idea, probably pushed by wall-charger manufacturers, that an expensive charging unit is required. It is simply not required, except perhaps for a taxi or delivery van owner constantly coming and going from the apartment and they require faster charging.

I'm confused with Senator Pocock's hesitancy with supporting the IR empowerment bill which will empower low-income workers to be able to bargain. These workers have missed out on the productivity boom and been victims of Liberal/National Party golden shower economics over the last decade. The Labor government mandate is also to raise wages. If the new Senator does not understand this maybe he should look for some other mission in life.

Once those arguing that Australia will avoid a recession have made out their case, perhaps they could have a go at putting Humpty Dumpty together again.

Why on earth are the streets in our suburb of Macgregor being "resurfaced". There is absolutely no need for this being done. The cost and inconvenience of this work is crazy.

The street surfaces in and around Charnwood Shops are some of the worst we have seen with some pot holes 1m wide and quite deep but nothing is being done.

I'm frequently visited by a Ghost, that of the Windsor Astronomer John Tebbutt F.R.A.S. who I first met on TROVE, the National Library's collection of digitised newspapers. Looking over my shoulder he tugs on my sleeve, metaphorically, to urge me to write letters to the editor, like this, as he used to, on matters of Education, Religion and Politics.

His message on Education remains - to use Globes and models more often as aids to instruction.

Readers should know that there a great many other Ghosts available out there, among the pages of Trove newspapers, and some of them are splendid company.

According to the report ("Act now: world running out of time" November 8, p12), the outgoing chair of the Conference of the Parties (to the 2015 Paris Agreement), the UK's Alok Sharma has said "inaction is myopic and can only defer climate catastrophe".

Mr Sharma should have said 'inaction on climate change is willful blindness and can only invite climate catastrophe'. We should all hope that the delegates to COP27 see the situation that way; as it indubitably is.

The Australian Institute of Sport did indeed "help the Australian psyche" ("Ellicott remembered as the man who changed Canberra and 'revolutionised' sport," November 4). It only supports elite athletes. It can do much more to help the Australian physique, if it supports sport for all Australians.

Jennifer Rayner ("Here's a simple way to get more EVs on Australian roads", November 8) highlights a potential problem with introducing fuel efficiency standards - loopholes. Wouldn't it be simpler to set minimum targets of zero emission vehicles for all car companies? In 2026, a minimum of 10 per cent of cars sold by a car company must be zero emissions. The target then increases by 10 per cent per year until 2035 when the target would be 100 per cent. Failure to achieve the targets would result in a fine.