Climate is too serious to be obstructed by politics

1 week ago 7

Nick O’Malley tells america each we request to cognize astir Peter Dutton’s clime argumentation (“Peter Dutton has revved up Australia’s clime war”, June 15). That is, Dutton has nary policy, helium is conscionable a wrecker similar his arch-conservative leader Tony Abbott was earlier him. Dutton seems funny lone successful creating conflict, adjacent if it distances himself from the Coalition’s accepted friends successful the concern assemblage who conscionable privation argumentation certainty to assistance their guardant readying aft a decennary of clime obfuscation nether the erstwhile Coalition government. Dutton offers the assemblage thing but disorder and a pig-headed denial of the subject supporting clime change. Sadly, determination are capable voters who, for immoderate baffling reasons, find this appealing. Ross Hudson, Mount Martha (Vic)

The instrumentality of the clime warfare has entrenched aged responsibility lines.

Our adversarial governmental strategy works good but is not suited to responding to an existential situation similar planetary warming. The past 15 years of clime warfare has slowed our effect erstwhile we needed and request concerted consistency and enactment implicit decades. Adversarial enactment authorities is producing the inevitable scare campaigns and hyperbole connected some sides of the emissions simplification argument. Bipartisanship is indispensable and tin beryllium highly effectual arsenic was demonstrated during COVID. Both large parties tin and volition person to marque argumentation compromises to get there. David Hind, Neutral Bay

There is simply a elemental mode consumers and concern could reason Dutton’s atomic proposals: take lone vigor retailers that root from renewables. It’s presently casual for vigor consumers to motion up for renewables-only electricity. People could publically perpetrate present to refusing nuclear-fuelled supply. That would execute 2 goals: undermine a willingness to put successful atomic and lend assurance to investors successful caller renewables. This would beryllium a virtuous circle, driving atomic adjacent much costly and expanding renewable supply. Start the sign-ups now. Ronald Watts, Newcastle

It seems adjacent the Saudis tin spot the penning connected the partition erstwhile it comes to fossil fuels (“Saudi Arabia’s vigor modulation prepares for a aboriginal without oil”, June 14). So wherefore can’t the national Coalition? Even with its abundant supplies of lipid and gas, star powerfulness is inactive the cheapest signifier of vigor successful the Kingdom, truthful what does that archer america astir our vigor future? In Australia, we person renewable vigor sources that are the envy of the world, truthful we should beryllium taking vantage of them arsenic rapidly arsenic we can. To bash different is to cling to technologies that are expensive, inefficient and environmentally dangerous. Ken Enderby, Concord

Just due to the fact that the national Coalition has revealed their embarrassingly inadequate clime intentions, doesn’t mean we should fto Labor disconnected the hook. Yes, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has ticked disconnected 51 renewable vigor projects. But she’s besides approved 4 ember excavation expansions and deferred the promised biology instrumentality reform. Apart from our fossil substance of prime being state not oil, Australia remains comparable to different petrostates similar Saudi Arabia, which aggrandise their star credentials portion continuing grounds levels of fossil substance extraction. These disappointing realities volition not support us, nor our Pacific neighbours, harmless from clime harm. Amy Hiller, Kew (Vic)

Face the world of ageing earlier you caput for a fall

The perpetuation of the modern truisms specified arsenic 60 is the caller 40 is ridiculous (“Sixty’s the caller 40, but not each assemblage gets the memo”, June 15). They halt radical facing the world of ageing. The information is that our bodies bash alteration arsenic we age. Balance tin beryllium harder, joints deteriorate, reflexes aren’t arsenic lightning-quick. We request to larn to respect and recognize our ageing bodies truthful that we tin support them arsenic steadfast arsenic imaginable and frankincense not load the wellness system. Lisa Clarke, Watsons Bay

As immoderate older idiosyncratic knows, 1 travels with the representation and feelings of the younger aforesaid until confronted by a reflector oregon erstwhile incapable to bash thing formerly performed with ease. This leads to the hazardous undertakings outlined by Deborah Snow. In a seminar, a manus surgeon mentioned galore of his champion customers were over-60s males utilizing their Bunnings powerfulness tools for the archetypal time. My precise sage 89-year-old fittingness trainer, a Bondi Iceberg, had precise bully proposal printed connected the T-shirts for his over-55 clientele: “Don’t ascent ladders”. Louise Dolan, Birchgrove

Cruel but fair, Deborah Snow. I’m connected the mend aft joining the esteemed nine of over-60s men who autumn from ladders. From hitting the platform till present astatine six weeks, the lasting symptom is the look of my GP beingness partner, ambos and RPA clinicians – I had crossed the Rubicon and nary magnitude of wintertime swimming, hiking, yoga oregon renos would reconstruct my spot among the competent, capable men of ladders. What’s next? Be benignant and look the different mode if you spot maine admiring RAMs and different ample utes. John Feneley, Balmain

As a follow-up of what Deborah Snow wrote successful today’s insubstantial astir 60 being the caller 40, my thought wholly is “listen to your body”. Yes, support active, support moving, bash not vegetate, but beryllium realistic. Your 80-year-old assemblage is not arsenic fit, flexible, energetic arsenic it was astatine 25. Listen to what it is saying, modify your movements, arsenic frustrating arsenic it whitethorn be. Bottom enactment – instrumentality attraction of yourself. After all, a autumn positive breached bones equals hospitalisation. Marjie Williamson, Blaxland

Thanks, Deborah Snow. Your nonfiction makes indispensable speechmaking for my kids. I’ve sent it to them and hopefully volition beryllium capable to guilt-trip them into helping astir the location repairs! Manbir Singh Kohli, Pemulwuy

Artist Warren was a existent giver

Helen Pitt’s communicative connected the precocious Guy Warren was a invited acknowledgment of a large Australian creator (“Artist who made entity his canvas dies astatine 103”, June 15). Not mentioned was his directorship successful the aboriginal 1980s of the Sydney University Art Workshop, affectionately known by each arsenic the Tin Sheds. Formally catering to, and funded by, the architecture module and the good arts department, Guy was portion of the broader encouragement of different students to be the workshops. And this extended to the broader assemblage arsenic a spot of learning, statement and creativity.
Covering everything from painting, beingness drawing, ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, poster production, photography, movie and beyond, it besides became a much-loved venue for unrecorded music, poesy readings and assemblage activism. He was pivotal successful promoting the thought of arts signifier crossed 24 hours a time and helium benignly supported his tutors gathering lofts successful the Sheds for america to “illegally” squat in, myself included. Throughout, helium was gentle and supportive implicit those years of hundreds of artists, students and assemblage members. Vale Guy Warren. Chips Mackinolty, Darwin (NT)

Guy Warren with Peter Wegner’s 2021 Archibald Prize-winning representation of him.

Gong for Spence

It whitethorn beryllium of involvement to readers of the Herald’s Letters leafage that connected Monday night, regular analogous Bruce Spence volition person the 2024 Equity Lifetime Achievement Award. He wins this peer-voted grant for his fantastic efforts implicit galore years arsenic a performer, relation model, volunteer, fundraiser and protagonist of others successful the acting manufacture via his enactment with the Actors Benevolent Fund. Congratulations, Bruce. Bill Young, Killcare Heights

Home truths

Suppose we physique each the caller houses the Greens support screaming astir (“Attention-seeker oregon renters’ champion? The Greens MP driving pollies up the wall”, June 15). Will the Greens truthful reply the pursuing questions? How galore koalas volition suffer their homes successful the land-clearing for each these caller houses? How galore different koalas volition suffer their homes for the involvement of caller transport corridors, buying malls, parks, sporting fields and assorted unfastened spaces?
How galore of these caller houses volition beryllium adjacent capable to their residents’ jobs to fto these radical thrust bicycles to work? How galore of these caller houses volition beryllium truthful acold from solar-powered electrical trains oregon trams that petrol-powered cars volition inactive beryllium needed to get to school, enactment oregon the shops? How galore caller roads, streets, footpaths, dams and h2o pipes, powerfulness stations and powerfulness lines, gutters, drains and sewage works volition beryllium needed to service each these caller houses? How galore of the caller houses volition beryllium adjacent to a caller sewage works? How volition these caller houses beryllium allocated to those who request them? How galore of these caller houses volition beryllium built successful areas the needy don’t privation to determination to? How galore of the homeless, for instance, volition beryllium forced to relocate?
What volition hap to those who garbage to determination to a caller location successful a spot that isn’t suitable to them? Will they beryllium conscionable chopped escaped and dumped? If the Greens can’t oregon conscionable won’t reply these questions, past some they and we person to see the alternative. How galore houses successful inner-city electorates bash the Greens privation to sound down and regenerate with blocks of flats, successful bid to supply homes for the needy? Grant Agnew, Coopers Plains (Qld)

Dutton’s ‘democracy’

Nick Bryant refers to Australian antiauthoritarian safeguards (“The information of leaning illiberal”, June 15). Vigilance is required to support our afloat democracy. Truth successful governmental communications is not legislated and Peter Dutton’s thrust to the close usually does not embody it. “If you don’t know, ballot no” seeks to suspend a cardinal antiauthoritarian safeguard, the close and work of the elector to enactment successful the antiauthoritarian process. I would similar to spot the media situation Dutton connected the values and principles that underlie his pursuit of either Donald, Trump oregon [Polish premier minister] Tusk, to recognize him and to pass our choices. Anne Eagar, Epping

Bryant is spot connected successful informing Dutton of the dangers of taking cues from different countries’ populist policies. From the existent trends successful European elections, it seems that rightist parties are gaining crushed but successful India and South America, caller elections person displayed that the populist policies bash not ever wage dividends arsenic the authorities parties determination person mislaid immoderate ground. Negative and populist authorities whitethorn springiness you a impermanent ascendency but it won’t past long. Australia’s unsocial compulsory and preferential voting strategy doesn’t springiness the aforesaid vantage to populist leaders arsenic successful different countries. Let’s anticipation it works against Dutton, too, for his anti-immigration and anti-climate policies. Bipin Johri, Epping

Fiddlers, not diddlers

The small country known arsenic Fiddletown was named aft the musicians who played astatine state dances astir determination and not aft taxation alleviation gained by mounting up tiny farms successful the area. My household had a citrus orchard astatine Fiddletown. The NSW Lemon Board was precise strict. To merchantability lemons via the board, each lemons had to beryllium the aforesaid shape, the aforesaid size and with nary lumps oregon bumps. That near retired our lemons for merchantability truthful for astir 10 years we gave each our crops to our favourite Chinese edifice and dined connected delicious Lemon Chicken each Friday night. Jane Waddy, Boronia Park

Here’s to Beer

Maggie Beer is an inspiration for each of america octogenarians (“People don’t deliberation they’re being ageist: personage navigator Maggie Beer”, June 15). Don’t springiness up; support going; bash what makes you fulfilled. Her engaged manner is present dedicated to helping others, particularly successful aged care, with applicable and life-enhancing advice. Years agone astatine the Art Gallery of NSW to presumption the Archibald accumulation astir radical were clustered astir the superb representation of Maggie and Simon Bryant and relating to it arsenic if they were aged friends. Nola Tucker, Kiama

Maggie Beer astatine location successful the Barossa.

Not truthful super

Sometimes Bec Wilson gives bully proposal for retirees but the 1 happening that she and galore different economists ne'er notation is that what seemed similar capable status funds 5 years agone is present mode nether fund (“How to discontinue sooner with little (and inactive beryllium comfortable)”, June 15). As the system fluctuates, truthful bash our nest eggs. What we could bargain 10 years agone with our ace is obscurity adjacent that fig today. Everything is much costly from food, vigor costs and mundane goods. So the $200,000 successful ace you thought was a windfall is really going to spot you scope poorness levels overmuch faster if you unrecorded longer. Inflation affects super, too. Pamela Shepherd, Balgowlah

Mark of cane

Jordan Baker’s nonfiction brought a wry grin to my look arsenic it made maine callback my archetypal Communion astatine Holy Innocents, Croydon successful 1952 (“Tradition’s wide entreaty to young Christians”, June 15). This required immoderate signifier successful moving from the pews successful an orderly manner, kneeling down on the altar rail, opening our mouths to let the clergyman to spot the big connected our tongues, swallowing (not chewing) the big and then, erstwhile everyone had received Communion, returning to our seats. The signifier was conducted by 2 nuns. One walked down america arsenic we kneeled and to anyone who wriggled, looked sideways oregon was different distracted, she gave a whack crossed the backmost of their legs with the cane she was carrying. The nuns and their habits. Michael Costello, Ashfield

Shop level blues

What volition this mean for the Ladies successful Black (“Online buys unit DJs, Myer to chopped floors”, June 15)?
Allan Gibson Cherrybrook

Vivid wordplay

Covid. Vivid. Livid. Covid (“The nighttime our crush connected Vivid became a problem”, June 14). Alicia Dawson, Balmain

Parent problems

I, similar Charlotte, americium a closeted precocious schoolhouse teacher, but astatine a authorities schoolhouse (Letters, June 15). The crushed that I am, is not owed to the students, it’s really due to the fact that of the parents. The genitor successful Charlotte’s lawsuit utilized the net to bring her down. Now that’s hatred successful anyone’s book. Name and code withheld

Recipe musts

I’m sorry, The Old Fitz, Woolloomooloo, but you simply can’t service Yorkshire pudding with crackling pork belly oregon chickenhearted Maryland (“Roasts with the Most”, May 23). Paul Hewson, Clontarf (Qld)

God golfers

It seems unfair that Malcolm Knox chose to azygous retired play champion Scottie Scheffler’s narration with God (“Why Scottie, and God, ne'er miss tricky two-foot downhill putts”, June 15). I’ve heard tons of golfers talking to Jesus Christ. And connected immoderate time of the week, not conscionable the Sabbath. Kent Mayo, Uralla

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