Israel deserves sanctions after latest hospital strike

Netanyahu’s response to the IDF’s deadly “tragic mishap” at Nasser Hospital – the deaths there of 20 civilians including journalists linked to major Western media – is notable for its chastened language: “Israel values … journalists, media staff and all civilians” (“Trump hits out at Netanyahu over Gaza hospital bombing”, August 26). Maybe he is being sincere; it’s certainly different from his usual rhetoric. The targeted killings of Palestinian journalists Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022 outside Ramallah, and of Anas al-Sharif and colleagues at Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital two weeks ago, produced only the usual Israeli chutzpah: dissembling, evasion and excuses. Now, all the signs are shouting from here to the White House, via Europe, that the people and governments of Israel’s “friends” are no longer listening. Such moments as this often seem an overture to action. Is this the point at which our leaders realise that stringent sanctions are the only honourable option to end the war? Ken Blackman, Inverloch

Congratulations to ASIO and the prime minister for their prompt response to evidence that Iran was behind the attacks on Jewish institutions in Australia. At the same time, we should also condemn the Israeli government and PM Benjamin Netanyahu for the attacks on innocent citizens in Gaza, including this week’s bombing of a hospital and the death of tens of thousands of innocent women and children. Ferdo Mathews, Robina (Qld)

Another hospital, another slaughter by Israel. This time it was a “tragic accident”, according to Netanyahu. Usually it is because Hamas is hiding in the hospital – as if that is a valid reason to attack a hospital. I can assure Israel that Hamas fighters were in the hospital – children so embittered by the massacre in Gaza that in a few years they will be taking up arms to defend Palestine. Neville Turbit, Russell Lea

What will it take before our government imposes sanctions on a rogue regime? In the latest atrocity, the state of Israel bombed a hospital, then, 15 minutes later, bombed it again, killing civil defence workers, doctors and journalists. Netanyahu called the slaughter a “tragic mishap”. I call it a war crime. Mark Paskal, Austinmer

One day, hopefully very soon, the starvation and slaughter of innocent civilians in Gaza will cease. What, then, will be the punishment imposed by the international community on Israel for carrying out such widespread destruction and indiscriminate killing? The world should demand a return to the pre-1967 boundaries and the removal of all “settlers” from the West Bank and Gaza. I won’t hold my breath waiting, though. Dale Bailey, St Leonards

Trouble is building

Allow me to add some historical context to your article about redevelopment in Potts Point (“Divisive plan to bulldoze units to make way for millionaires”, August 25). In the early 1800s, successive governors encouraged the building of fine Georgian villas along Macleay Street, Potts Point, to be visible from both Sydney Town and the harbour. A century later, well-planned art deco skyscrapers began to appear along this prominent ridge line, all highly visible from numerous city vantage points. The Macleay Regis (circa 1939), quite literally the king of Macleay Street, is one such important, heritage-listed, nine-floor art deco architectural gem. The proposed demolition of the Chimes, itself a very cool early-1960s modernist building that already contains 80 affordable apartments, and its replacement with a 13-floor, curtain-like structure directly opposite the Macleay Regis, is a fundamentally flawed idea. Such a plan, if approved, would completely obscure the Regis’ visibility from the city, The Domain and the AGNSW’s outdoor spaces. These alone attract more than 2 million visitors annually. Prominent heritage-listed buildings need to be viewed and appreciated from both near and afar. Our early governors and planners laid great foundations in Potts Point – let’s not destroy them. Justin Miller, Potts Point

Your correspondents are correct in saying that the only way to solve the housing affordability crisis is for governments to again build housing-commission housing on government-owned land (Letters, August 26). As a developer for more than 50 years, I can confidently state that it is not possible to build affordable housing today, with the exorbitant costs and taxes, and it’s wrong to expect developers to subsidise affordable housing at a loss. Peter Icklow, Pymble

Smoking them out

Sending underage kids in to buy what was already illegally up for sale is a despicable case of entrapment on the part of NSW Health (“Children used in illicit tobacco stings”, August 26). Why send in kids to trick someone to commit a crime in order to secure a prosecution for selling to a minor when you could arguably get the same outcome by sending in an adult? In any event, hiking taxes on tobacco, making them all but prohibitive to the average punter, spawned this flourishing black market in the first place. Conservative governing has yet to accept that adopting a prohibition-like approach will not work, encourages an unregulated black market, and leads to even more expense, violence and corruption in and about the enforcement process. Further, tobacco consumption is not illegal, so why not reduce the taxes to an extent the cost is more manageable and people don’t choose the illegal route? Frederick Jansohn, Rose Bay

Have the means

The NDIS is a valuable service but there has never been a suggestion of means-testing it (“Labor needs billions more in NDIS savings”, August 26). There is a strict means test to receive the aged pension as either a full or part pension. I feel sure there are NDIS recipients who are financially secure and could contribute to the cause. It seems unfair when those in the same league as Gina Rinehart can receive funding for the NDIS. Robyn Lewis, Raglan

Off the devices

As witnessed by political journalist Paul Sakkal during question time in the House of Representatives on Monday, 22 Coalition MPs were fixated on their electronic devices as Treasurer Jim Chalmers was on his feet in the chamber talking about his economic record (“As Ley tries to attack, her troops are on their devices”, August 26). As Sakkal pointed out, under former opposition leader Peter Dutton, laptops and tablets were never seen on the opposition frontbench. Current leader Sussan Ley should impose the same ban on every one of 42 Coalition colleagues because it was, quite frankly, embarrassing to see half of her House of Reps MPs otherwise engaged during question time. Eric Palm, Gympie (Qld)

Debt becomes them

The government’s 5 per cent deposit scheme shows it is seeking a political rather than a practical solution to the housing issue (“Deposit scheme benefits the quick”, August 26). With its supply target already way behind schedule and unlikely to be met, it now turns its focus to the demand side. The scheme, coupled with a falling interest rate environment, will have banks salivating at the prospect of saddling prospective buyers with a mountain of debt. Evidence from previous schemes, as well as current modelling, points to higher house prices. Demand side pressures will only ease when the generous tax incentives property enjoys are modified. Market equilibrium cannot be achieved when supply and demand are out of kilter yet this is exactly what the government is overseeing at present. Mike Kenneally, Manly

Norway shows the way

Thank you, Lucianne Tonti, for what amounts to an incisive criticism of Australia’s system of vested interests lobbying, political donations and post-political favours (“My summer in Norway left me sad for Australia’s future”, August 26). How else would successive governments have accepted the hijacking of our resources while other countries like Norway tax the multinationals properly, so their citizens can live better, healthier, happier lives? It’s clear those multinationals do not withdraw their business, as they threaten to do. Why was taking steps to levy a proper tax on those draining our sovereign wealth and depriving us of cheap domestic gas not the number-one discussion point at the recent productivity roundtable? It would see many of our funding shortfalls solved. Alison Stewart, Riverview

Lucianne Tonti makes a timely comparison of Australia and Norway, which demonstrates generations of poor long-term politics and short-sighted politicians in Australia. It comes as I was ruminating on the many disasters caused by Australia’s failure to get the balance right between privatisation and a responsible functioning bureaucracy. Consider the recent Four Corners exposé on disability housing and lack of ATO control over fraudulent claims, add to this unscrupulous and uncontrolled “private enterprise” in disability, private colleges and childcare services, robo-debt and an inadequate NACC. I could go on but it’s too depressing. Susan Tregeagle, Yarralumla

The extensive use of electric cars in Norway is a consequence of the massive hydro-power development in the 1970s and ’80s that flooded high valleys and now makes up 90 per cent of current power production. This plays a major role in Norway being 99 per cent carbon free – with no power failures. In the same period, Australia called off construction of Tasmania’s Gordon-below-Franklin dam and set a precedent effectively banning any more hydro-electric power development. Geoffrey Toon, Wagstaffe

Lucianne Tonti tells readers how wonderful it is to live in Norway with its multitude of electric vehicles. Try living in Norway in winter. She also quotes her brother who “loathes a sunburnt country”. What is sad is their duel denigration of Australia, a county to which so many nationalities wish to migrate. Tonti needs to understand some basic differences between the two nations. Norway’s population is 5.5 million whereas Australia’s is 27 million. There are only five million vehicles in Norway compared to 21 million in Australia. Norway is 385,200 square kilometres whereas Australia is 7,688,000 sq kms. Seventy per cent of Norway’s energy comes from hydro whereas Australia, by necessity, relies on a mix of coal, natural gas and renewables. Economic naivety is no substitute for facts. Riley Brown, Bondi Beach

Your opinion piece on Norway moved me to return to that beautiful country, where I spent winter in 2019. That winter was a wonderland of snow, fjords, northern lights and friendly, happy, welcoming Norwegians who are proud of their country and its achievements. As Ms Tonti writes, Norway’s welfare system provides great benefits for its citizens and treats immigrants with respect, fairness, jobs and housing. Australia could be as wealthy, resourceful and fair as Norway with a petroleum resource rent tax, if we had the bottle to do it. Christine Tiley, Albany Creek (Qld)

Australia has far more resources than Norway but receives far less revenue through the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT). The main reason is that the Norwegian government owns 67 per cent of Equinor, the Norwegian oil company, whose revenue last year provided the government with about $US67 billion compared with about $US1.3 billion from our PRRT. For the 10 years the Coalition was in power it did nothing to increase this revenue and the current government is too scared of another advertising campaign by our largely foreign-owned resources companies to change the present arrangement. The result of this tragedy is that our government has to hold a roundtable to find ways of improving our productivity and balance its budget. Peter Nash, Fairlight

Wealth gap

On the subject of the intergenerational wealth gap, Janet Cook’s claim that we have imported the elitist English system to Australia hardly stands up to scrutiny (Letters, August 25). In the UK, median wealth per adult is $US163,515 (ninth in the world) with a GINI inequality coefficient of 70.2. Australia’s median wealth per adult is $US261,805 (third in the world) with a GINI of 66.3. Our GINI compares favourably not only with the UK’s, but with that of most European countries and, of course, is far superior to the USA’s 83.3. There might be intergenerational difficulties in Australia, but they are minimal compared to other countries. Bruce Hyland, Woy Woy

Customer complaints

We hear plenty about theft from stores and the measures taken to prevent it, but what about the honest customer (“Dan Murphy’s amps up security measures”, August 26)? Coles and Woolworths need to consider what shopping feels like for these customers, who comprise the majority. We now do all the work – scan, sort and pack our own groceries – under constant surveillance and checks. Staffing has been cut, service has vanished and shopping feels uncomfortable – more like being policed than valued. Service availability is so poor that often even large weekly shops need to go through self-service. It’s time grocery chains rethought their approach and invested in a better experience for the majority of their customers. Marina Cardillo, Beecroft

Perfectly put

I got up on Tuesday planning to write a letter to the Herald in response to George Brandis’ unfair criticism of our prime minister (“White House? Looks like Albanese’s in Trump’s doghouse”, August 25). There was no need. After reading the letters pages over breakfast, everything I had planned to write was well and truly covered by your contributors (Letters, August 26). And the letters were well written and clear, better than I could have ever managed. Then there was the Wilcox cartoon, clever and brilliant as always. So, thank you letter writers, Wilcox and The Sydney Morning Herald staff – as often happens, the letters pages made my day. Ken Butler, Mount Colah

Oh, how I wish that there was the option of giving a “like” reaction on the letters pages – digital edition, of course. The Herald is blessed with erudite and intelligent contributors who are able to express their opinions far better than I can, and there are many times when I would give a hearty thumbs up if I could. Deb Xuereb, Concord

Blaze of ingloriousness

Like everything he touches, Trump’s “heaven” will be more like “Don T’s Inferno” (“I want to try and get to heaven: Trump”, August 26). Lee-Ann Groblicka, Turramurra

• To submit a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, email letters@smh.com.au. Click here for tips on how to submit letters.
• The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform. Sign up here.