The claim that the Australian War Memorial (AWM) tells a "sanitised and incomplete story" of our history (Opinion, May 29) and that recognition of Indigenous history is lacking, is misleading and just factually wrong.
The notion of "Australian Wars" is an unsubstantiated invention - there was no such thing. Localised conflicts between Indigenous groups and settlers (and occasionally police) do not constitute a war - deaths and suffering undoubtedly occurred, but that does not make it a war.
And if they are so concerned about historical conflict, why did the authors only start at 1788 - do not intertribal conflicts prior to that date not count? Were they not also fighting for their territory?
It is not the role of the AWM to record every aspect of Australian history - its role is clearly stated in the covering act of Parliament, which is to mark and record "service in war or in warlike operations by members of the Defence Force". There is not a single instance of members of the Defence Force being involved in colonial conflicts.
The story of colonisation and conflict is already told at the Museum of Australia and multiple other memorials and museums around the country - it does not require repetition at the AWM.
The authors are also wrong to suggest that Indigenous contribution to our military history is not included at the AWM or on Anzac Day - they clearly are.
Having spent more than my fair share of time in hospitals staffed by many skilled overseas nurses, I can only agree with G. Williams (Letters, May 29) that their magnificent contribution needs to be acknowledged.
I do not understand, however, his claim that overseas nurses will be denied benefits until they obtain Australian citizenship.
Suitably qualified overseas nurses are granted permanent residence which entitles them to work rights, healthcare, education, social security and unrestricted travel. Citizenship, if later granted, would add voting and passport rights but little else.
I agree with Mark Sproat (Letters, May 29) that there is a subtle difference between "avoid" and "evade" and that, in statutory interpretation, the use of a different word implies a different meaning.
Contrary to the view of J. Grant (Letters, May 27), avoidance is usually legal and involves deliberate advance planning, in accordance with the relevant laws, to minimise a potential, but not established, tax obligation.
Evasion usually means not meeting an actual established obligation. Readers may wish to search for the statement by Kerry Packer, who appeared before the House of Representatives select committee on print media in Canberra on November 4, 1991.
My earliest dog memory is from a North Coast dairy farm where the resident dog spent most of his life happily dozing under a Moreton Bay fig tree, but earning his keep whenever the cattle were moved.
It was in our Canberra suburb that I encountered friendly non-working dogs. Our three-year-old annoyed the neighbouring three-year-old who promptly tipped the dog's water over the little boy's head.
His eyes puffed closed, he struggled to breathe. I quickly dosed him with antihistamine. And he survived. And he learned to be wary of all dogs and carry medication.
Thank you Chris Doyle (Letters, May 28) for alerting us to the possibility of environmental change in our city should social dogs be encouraged in our eating places. Just wondering, did the late Queen allow her corgis in the dining room?
Until recently, temperature records were typically broken by fractions of a degree ("Records keep tumbling as spring heatwave hits UK, Europe"). That has changed: records are now commonly smashed by several degrees.
The new 35.1 degrees London record in May exceeded the previous high by 2.3 degrees. Similarly, the UK's 40.3 degrees record set in July 2022 was 1.6 degrees higher than the previous record.
It is not just the UK. Europe has been warming faster than the global average, while the Arctic is warming roughly three to four times faster than the planet average since 1979.
Europeans are poorly acclimatised to extreme heat and, according to the World Health Organization, there were an estimated 61,672 heat-related excess deaths in Europe in summer 2022.
Despite this, the UK equivalent of One Nation, the Reform Party, rejects anthropogenic climate change and net zero policy. What will it take for such political deniers to wake up?
Like boiling frogs, they have been cooking slowly, seemingly without noticing - but now the planet has turned up the heat. Voters should reject these parties for ignoring warnings that are now unmistakable.
The Commonwealth suing the multinational 3M in relation to PFAS "forever chemicals" that contaminated 28 Defence Force bases (Editorial, May 29) is significant for reasons in addition to the size of the $2 billion in damages the government is seeking.
For years local communities repeatedly stated that the Commonwealth downplayed the issue, treated impacted areas as isolated cases, and hesitated to admit the full scale of the problem.
When impacted communities launched class actions against the Commonwealth for negligence and property and health damages, the government initially defended these lawsuits.
The Commonwealth later settled these claims rather than allowing them to progress fully to trials, paying out hundreds of millions of dollars to affected communities in places such as Williamtown, Katherine, Oakey, Richmond, Wagga, and Townsville.
Assistant Defence Minister Peter Khalil says this new case is not about personal injury or health claims, and is solely focused on the environmental, economic and cultural impacts.
Sooner or later, I believe the Commonwealth will also reverse its position on health claims. There is already evidence of the health damage done such as a large cancer cluster in the Wreck Bay Aboriginal community at Jervis Bay.
It will take time though. It took the Commonwealth decades from officially denying the link between Agent Orange and Vietnam veterans' illnesses to finally acknowledging the damaging health impacts.
Australians like to think of themselves as egalitarian and defenders of the underdog. But since the 1990s Australians have elected governments that increasingly promote efficiency (actually just the lowest cost) over effectiveness (that is, achievement of the human and community benefits which were the rationale for the measures passed by parliaments).
By the late 1990s governments themselves were considered a blight on Australians, and the governments we elected increasingly adopted policies to reduce the scope and powers of government.
Markets free from constraint by government, and all forms of private enterprise, were seen as superior means by which individual Australians could achieve their aspirations. Government bodies that produced anything (such as electricity, clean water or munitions) or that provided a service (for example, Qantas, the Commonwealth and State Banks and Telstra) were sold to private investors (often below market prices), while private companies were encouraged to bid for the provision of services such as childcare, aged care and hospitalisation.
Over the past 20-odd years, these policies have been spectacularly successful with wealth increases being driven primarily by rising real estate values and accumulating superannuation.
Most of this wealth went to the already rich; the wealth of the richest 20 per cent of Australians has risen four times as much as that of the poorest 20 per cent.
These are the policies that have caused the large increase in inequality in Australia.
Sadly, D.Bogusz (Letters, May 29), never underestimate the gullibility of the voting public.
He warns incoming Liberal party president Tony Abbott against a "Dr No" stance, aggression towards journalists and that social media nowadays has pitfalls for "old school" operators (meaning Abbott).
He also thinks the public are more sophisticated now meaning they should know better. Well, I don't think so. In fact, I know so.
See the Farrer federal byelection result; see the continued support of racist, denialist, bigots attract many who crave being in their gang.
This was the scene at the bend in Woolley Street, Dickson, on Thursday morning. I think something needs to be done about it. It would be really easy. Impose a standard parking infringement on Lime for each case. Lime knows who the users are and has their credit details. It can recover its costs if it chooses.
In shopping centres there needs to be a sign near the rest area seats that read "These seats are for people in need - not for children to play on." "Younger people must vacate seats for elderly, disabled, pregnant and nursing mothers."
As a name must be found for the new party of independents, I suppose Juliet's musings that any name would do was not strictly relevant.
I always think Trump looks like he's playing an accordion when he speaks, but what comes out is always discordant.
To all those who are worried about dogs in cafes, I ask you this: what germs have you caught from a dog? I have had pet dogs all my life and I have never caught anything from them except loyalty and companionship. I would be more concerned about catching something from a coughing adult, or a snotty child in a cafe, or the waiter who may not have washed their hands after going to the bathroom.
On the morning of May 28, ABC radio stated that we were in for a sunny day, no rain and about 20 degrees. They would have got that information from BOM. If anyone had looked out the window, they would have seen rain in Wanniassa. It was never reached 20 at my place. I used to be more accurate predicting the weather when I could access the bureau's charts. Perhaps that is why those charts seem to have entirely vanished from new website.
The alleged brutality exercised by the Israelis in dealing with the international aid flotilla for Gaza in international waters can only help to illustrate how the Israelis have dealt with innocent civilians in Gaza during the war. The Israeli military itself has conceded that more than 70,000 have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7. All these actions are a breach of international law. And it is hard to argue that these views are anti-Semitic.
My local service station is selling premium diesel today for $2.40 per litre.
The independent sole service station at the small coastal town of Tomakin on the South Coast is selling premium diesel for $1.85. That is a difference of 55 cents per litre. If this is not pricing gouging, I don't what is.
How is it that the man who has risen from the LNP ashes is one of the main stokers who caused the fire in the first place. Go figure.
