Patriotism goes well beyond 'my country, right or wrong'

In contrast, I would instead hope that our incoming governor-general's form of patriotism results in her expression and amplification of views held by many parts of the Australian community, including a majority of Indigenous Australians.

Even better, I would hope that such views expressed by a sitting governor-general could result in meaningful change. Finding a new date for Australia Day might be a handy place to start.

Assume you are a young Palestinian man or women. Over the past six months your entire world has disintegrated around you. Thanks be to Allah, your parents and brothers and sisters have not been killed or injured but many of your friends haven't been so lucky.

You are constantly hungry and can't concentrate on what few classes are still being held. You aren't particularly interested in politics and normally wouldn't give Hamas the time of day.

Despite feeling depressed and powerless much of the time, the one feeling that keeps your inner fire going is a growing hatred of Israel and Jews.

In time, the Israeli Defence Forces will prevail in southern Gaza and will quash Hamas in its current form. But it will not suppress the Palestinians' desire for retribution and their own homeland, it will only intensify it.

Out of the ashes there will emerge a movement much more unpredictable and deadly than Hamas. This will be a movement that young Palestinians will be signing up for in droves.

The atrocities of last October were the result of a long standing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Netanyahu could have tried to defuse the situation rather than stoking the fire. Preventing illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian land would have been a good start.

There's one very important word missing from Jason Lee's article about Gaza, "Australia must now back up ceasefire calls with action" (April 3). That word is Hamas, the terrorist group that started this war and is therefore responsible for the suffering of Gaza's children.

He claims Israel is systematically depriving Gaza of aid. But the BBC reports COGAT, the Israeli body that coordinates humanitarian aid to Gaza, as saying on April 1 that an average of 140 trucks a day carrying food entered Gaza.

It said this was more than the 70 trucks carrying food specifically that entered Gaza before the war (500 trucks in total entered Gaza each day before the war).

One of the problems is that Hamas (there's that word again) steals much of the aid. Another is that military operations and the breakdown of social order have severely hampered aid distribution.

The ceasefire Lee demands would leave Hamas free to start the further wars it vows, and just lead to further devastation in Gaza.

Clive Williams's comment about "Israel's ... uncaring attitude about the horrendous loss of civilian lives in Gaza" (April 5) and Albanese, Wong et al's strident demands for a ceasefire, and change of direction by the IDF, all indicate total amnesia regarding the atrocities committed on October 7.

Israel is fighting for its very existence. It would be interesting for those espousing the "proportionate doctrine" to give a definition.

Re "We're not perfect" (Letters, April 3).

Why do so many people want to come here? It's because of what of Australia offers. One of those things is that citizens have the right to vote. We voted overwhelmingly against an unnecessary Voice.

Albo and Burney have known for yonks about the problems in First Nations camps in Alice Springs and elsewhere but, along with their state counterparts, failed to come up with a comprehensive, sustainable plan to resolve those issues.

The Voice was always a bit of Albo grandstanding. Did he forget the other 96.6 per cent of the population?

Indigenous problems need sustainable solutions. That means ensuring errant kids go to school, do homework, play sport and build a career.

Parents need to be shown how to be good role models for their children. In the event of rape or domestic violence the guilty should be punished and vulnerable provided with a safe environment. People need to be responsible for their actions and for their families.

Australians have spoken. The authorities must make it happen. First Nations people need to do their part as well.

A few other relevant facts that Noel Baxndell (Letters, April 2) neglected to mention in his summary of the nuclear "poster children" of clean-energy generation.

Of the 15 highest carbon-emitting countries, 11 have nuclear generation and another (Turkey) is building a large nuclear plant.

Ten per cent of the world's electricity is generated by nuclear reactors, constituting about a quarter of the world's clean electrical energy.

The only countries with significant levels of emissions and a high percentage of clean-energy generation are Canada and Brazil (using hydro) and France (using nuclear).

It has not been demonstrated that a wind and solar mix of clean energy can meet large scale national energy generation requirements.

Nuclear is the only large-scale, dispatchable, clean electricity source and it would seem to have a role in any sizeable national system that aims to get anywhere near net zero emissions.

Much has been said in recent weeks about UNRWA and how it needs to be supported using our taxpayers' funds. Minister Wong has committed $52.5 million to relief agencies in Gaza, including UNRWA, since the conflict began.

The trouble is the links between Hamas and UNRWA. There needs to be an independent, uniformed body ensure the aid gets to the right people, not terrorists.

UN Watch has exposed UNRWA group chats on Telegram in which more than 3000 UNRWA staff and teachers celebrated the October 7 attack and praised the murderers and rapists as "heroes".

I believe the UN needs to send in armed uniformed peacekeepers from outside Palestine to distribute aid, set up kitchens and so on.

Let's also hope that peace negotiations prevail and lasting solutions are found to this conflict.

State Rail dispatched its property team to assess the heritage-listed but currently graffiti-festooned railway water tank (built in 1926) located on the railway embankment above Queanbeyan Railway Station (opened in 1887).

The railway water tank is part of the heritage-listed Queanbeyan Railway Precinct. I initially raised the state of the water tank with NSW Department of Transport in January.

I suggest the graffiti could be replaced with a mural dedicated to the 16 men who lost their lives extending the railway from Bungendore to Queanbeyan from 1885 to 1887.

The water tank at least needs to be fenced inside the railway corridor to protect it from further graffiti. I'm conducting a new history walk and talk about the day an iron horse came to Queanbeyan and the railway's transformative effect on the town as part of the ACT Heritage Festival on Sunday, April 14.

Archbishop Geoffrey Smith is the Primate, not the head of the Anglican Church in Australia.

"In a 'broken world', Easter brings hope: church leaders tell Australians" (March 30) also had the wrong title for the president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Timothy Costello, saying he was the head of the conference.

To most people, quibbling over these titles might seem irrelevant.

But both churches avoid referring to humans as their head.

The primary roles of Archbishops Smith and Costello respectively are: Anglican Archbishop of Adelaide and Catholic Archbishop of Perth.

As Primate, Archbishop Smith is the president of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia.

Archbishop Costello, as president of the Australian Bishops Conference, also chairs the Permanent Committee of the conference.