I AM a 73-year-old white privileged male who attended the enough rally last Monday. On hearing the stories of survivors I was appalled and angered that fellow human beings could be treated in such a manner, not only by the perpetrators but also by the police, government support services and the courts.
I think Scott Morison refused to attend and hear the speakers at the Canberra rally because it was in public, he had no control over the agenda, the photo opportunity was uncertain and his slogan, "at least we don't shoot them" would not go down very well.
My anger was rekindled last week when I read an opinion piece by Joel Fitzgibbon (Herald, 17/3), which was well constructed rhetoric with excuses for inaction but short on plans for action. 'We have to do more' - from the man I consider was instrumental in undermining and deposing Australia's first female prime minister - what a hypocrite. What is now happening in NSW?
COVID-19 might have robbed us of our democracy but we should not let it rob us of our humanity and respect for others. Parliamentarians are our lawmakers and shape our nation - they must be visionary and act now - no more pandering to mates.
We, as members of society and our lawmakers must insist that everyone we deal with acts with integrity and respect for without this our own actions and laws come into question.
Jim Simmons, Lambton
Charisma not a crucial quality
THE question of Anthony Albanese not having enough "charisma "to lead the Labor Party back into government continues to be a topic of conversation in some sectors.
Integrity and substance in my opinion over-trumps charisma every time. The charisma of candidates seeking my vote is never a consideration for me. However, for some Australians, seemingly it is.
Perhaps a review of the achievements while in office of the only two truly "charismatic" Australian prime ministers, Edward Gough Whitlam and Robert James Lee (Bob) Hawke might provide a measure of what "charisma" delivered?
Gough Whitlam's "charisma" came from his almost messianic presence. Bob Hawke's from his affected "Aussie larrikinism." The "charismatic" Whitlam delivered among other things; universal health care, free merit-based university entry and, the national sewerage program.
Hawke delivered the workers of Australia "The Accord," and banking deregulation, enough said?
This makes the value of "charismatic prime ministers" in my humble opinion, a 50:50 option.
Hopefully, come the next election; it will be won on good policy, integrity and substance - attributes absolutely lacking with Scott Morrison and the LNP.
Barry Swan, Balgownie
Feral animals a massive problem
I HAVE read with interest the letter from Darren Brollo of the Animal Justice Party, (Letters, 15/3) and the brilliant letters in response from Doug Hoepper and Glen Wilson (Letters, 18/3).
Whilst Mr Brollo is right to point out the terrible damage to our native animals by habitat destruction, a larger threat is predation by introduced species, the worst of which is the feral cat followed by the fox.
According to the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, feral cats have already directly contributed to the extinction of more than 20 of our Australian mammals and they are implicated in another eight extinctions.
They put direct pressure on at least 124 Australian species endangered with extinction. Yet it appears from the AJP website that the policy of the AJP is to oppose the reduction of animal populations (even introduced species) by "lethal" means (i.e. culling) and instead to use population control by "non-lethal techniques, including desexing, immunocontraception, relocation and other emerging technologies".
There could be between 2.1 and 6.3 million feral cats and more than 7.2 million red foxes in Australia. How does the AJP propose that these populations be reduced by non-lethal techniques? Fertility control? Good luck with that.
Robert Muir, Fennell Bay
Jobs figures are misleading
FOR decades, successive governments have been tampering with the definition of unemployment, to make the figures look better.
Now we are being told that unemployment is falling, and at the same time the number of people out of work is increasing. How can this be? The answer is that the figures are designed to be misleading.
Some people blame the job centres, for forcing people to apply for jobs that they cannot possibly get, and enforcing "mutual obligation" operations that will do nothing to get anyone a job. I don't believe that these box-ticking trivia are deliberately fraudulent. In a collapsing economy - it was in trouble even before the COVID crisis - jobs disappear, and all the job agencies can do is try to maintain the illusion that someday there will be more jobs.
The federal government is smugly praising its success in creating more rural jobs, but what is going to happen to these bright new careers when the fruit-picking season ends?
Unemployment is a national crisis, and there is no end in sight.
There are no easy solutions, not even the Murdoch-Rinehart party's plan to make it easier to sack people. But we could at least stop sweeping the problem under the carpet by cheating on the statistics. At the very least, we should go back to reporting employment in terms of full-time equivalents. A two-hour-per-week job is not a real job, and shouldn't be reported as such.
Peter Moylan, Glendale
Caution needed on hydrogen
HYDROGEN in the water molecule is vital for most of the life on earth. Water also provides thermal stability. Hydrogen, when separated, is a very light, elusive molecule. It will easily escape and travel up to the stratosphere.
When used on industrial scales, world-wide, there will be accidental industrial scale losses and some general unavoidable leakage.
Before we enthusiastically endorse the hydrogen economy, we should fully research the consequences of lost hydrogen.
Maybe it recombines with oxygen during electrical storms, or, maybe not. If the hydrogen is lost into space, the water it came from is lost forever.
Dave Hamilton, Jewells
Consent app is not the answer
I DON'T believe that this proposed consent app is the answer to non-consensual attacks on women/men.
Realistically if two adult both consent to have sex they won't be sitting in bed filling out this consent app prior to the event, and then do they give a rating score after the event?
If it not consensual/forced, then an app that you can press automatically sends your GPS location and an emergency notification to the closest police station would be a more sensible suggestion.
A consent app is not the best answer.
Graeme Kime, Cameron Park
SHORT TAKES
WHAT a shame Cr Duncan found Dr Connor's public voice presentation on the future of the former bowling club site in King Edward Park "irrelevant"(Park member behind calls, Herald, 18/3). She would have found out like I did that there were diverse views amongst Aboriginal people about its future and that 100 Worimi people had signed a petition in support of its heritage listing. These people absolutely need to be listened to.
Christine Everingham, Newcastle East
STEVE Barnett wants to know how Indigenous Australians would fare under his hypothetical Chinese invasion. Leaving aside the insinuation that Indigenous people, unlike us white fellas, are some kind of innocent, child-like group with no tolerance to adversity, I'd forget the hypothetical Steve and look at the past for your answer. Indigenous Australians have history with an invading empire. The British Empire, the mightiest in the world at the time and for a long time after, invaded Australia and try as it might with all the modern technologies and inhumane practices at its disposal, it couldn't destroy Indigenous inhabitants or their culture. Indigenous Australians have a proven history of resistance and resilience to invasion.
John Arnold, Anna Bay
I DO not understand how the consumer watchdog can continuously come down on lenders such as Afterpay when payday lenders who charge ridiculous interest rates can still perpetuate the market seemingly unnoticeable. They can even advertise their services in the media. While in my dealings most of these buy now, pay later companies such as Afterpay operate in a reputable and responsible manner, most payday lenders are unscrupulous and clearly take advantage of people's situation. Until they crack down on payday lenders I really don't see that criticism of companies such as Afterpay is warranted.
Karen Starkie, Waratah
I HAVE to point out to John Davies (Letters, 17/3) that while we might appear an attractive target for a Chinese invasion, why would they bother? They can buy anything, including infrastructure like ports, agricultural land or minerals and usually at bargain prices from governments who will sell anything that isn't nailed down. However while it is true that China cannot feed its huge population, nor can Australia, we currently produce enough food to feed about 50 million and there are precious little "virgin" lands left to exploit since our ancient continent, large as it is, has only about 6 per cent that is fertile and well watered. Even that portion is being destroyed by urban sprawl, erosion and salt build up with the prospect of higher temperatures and storms threatening to significantly reduce yields while growing populations will likely make us a net food importer.
