Fight the good fight, not each other, for all our sakes

Thank you, Paul Sakkal, for your article (“Angry Liberal rebukes rebel Hastie: ‘This is how we become like the Victorians’”, October 8), in which you quoted first-term Liberal MP Mary Aldred telling colleagues that “she came to Canberra to fight Labor, not to feud internally”. This shows why many Australians are anti-politician. I elected my representative (not Aldred) to do the double job of representing my electorate and making the lives of all Australians better. Their role is not to fight the opposing parties but to present and argue ideas and work with each other to do some good.
Do better Ms Aldred, and instead of fighting Labor, fight the good fight for all Australians. Howard Clark, Ryde

Mary Aldred’s comments say it all about her party’s lack of policy focus. Apparently, she “came to Canberra to fight Labor” rather than play a part in developing sound government policies for Australia. Judith Fleming, Sawtell

Coalition must face facts

Coalition members might like to read (and hopefully some may comprehend) the Herald’s article by conservative economics guru Ambrose Evans-Pritchard on the present and looming disaster for the US as it wilfully and mindlessly pursues “energy culture wars” (“Trump is leading America into an energy crisis”, October 7). This article, along with numerous other reliable sources of information, indicates that the AI and renewable energy supremacy of China now appears both inevitable and imminent. And there’s no question in our brave new digital information world that this in turn would form the path to global supremacy across all fields. It would be best for Australia if Coalition opinion makers could tear themselves away from the inexplicable fossil fuels fixations of our right-wing media and face some facts – among which they’ll find that in the first half of 2025 renewable energy generation surpassed fossil fuels for the first time globally. Maybe there’s a message there, guys. Time to stop being silly and to get real. Brian Haisman, Winmalee

It is extremely unfair of Rob Asser to refer to the federal opposition as “Muppets” (Letters, October 8). The Muppets are highly regarded in terms of education, politics, the environment and racism and, of course, the arts (Dr Teeth, Animal and their many guests). They are also happy to send themselves up but always show solidarity in the end. None of these are traits that readily come to mind with the current opposition. Rob Hosking, Paddington

Poor counsel

It’s no wonder that both the Tories in Britain and the Liberals here have suffered record electoral defeats if they’re taking advice from Tony Abbott (“Abbott addresses faithful at Tory Party conference,” October 8). Apart from teaching them how to undermine, snipe and wreck, his support has meant the kiss of death for everyone he’s backed: Peter Dutton, Warren Mundine, Angus Taylor and Jacinta Price and reportedly now Andrew Hastie. Removed from the PM’s job by his own party, he then lost the Liberals’ safest seat when rejected by the electorate of Warringah. Abbott will always be remembered for all the wrong reasons: his negativity, starting the climate and culture wars, blocking progress on climate mitigation and renewable energy, and ensuring that our NBN would be slow and inadequate, as well as being the subject of Julia Gillard’s magnificent “misogyny speech”. Alan Marel, North Curl Curl

Voice of reason

I thank Ittay Flescher for his heartfelt and educational article on achieving peace between Israel and Gaza (“Traditions of Judaism and Islam violated for this war,” October 8). Flescher’s ideas on building peace are brilliant and apply not just to this specific war, but to all wars – “50-50 representation for women and men in all leadership positions” would see most wars fail to get off the ground. Spending the war chests of nations on peace building is a winner of an idea. But best of all, I loved his human desire for universal peace. “Everything I want for my people – peace, freedom, security – I also want for them.” Let’s hear more from Ittay Flescher and let his vision inform peace educators in every school. Adrienne Truelove, Umina Beach

Journalists and peace negotiators should ponder on the reasoned and sensible sentiments expressed by Ittay Flescher. Instead of the distorted version of both faiths adopted by many involved in the conflicts, the deep traditions of unity and reconciliation of both religions should be brought into play. A focus on conflict, which in many ways is a denial of the traditional outlook that has long governed these cultures, has twisted the commitment to peace which both represent. The hawks on both sides have made a mockery of the heritage of peaceful co-operation in the long history of Jewish and Muslim interaction. Flescher’s views are an expression of moderation and common sense, which should be heeded by negotiators in their attempt to build a permanent peace between both cultures. Derrick Mason, Boorowa

Cost of inaction

The insurance industry is in the business of anticipating the future. We are well advised to listen to it (Letters, October 8). It is worth mentioning that the CEO of Allianz, the world’s largest insurance company, predicts that failure to control rising emissions and temperatures will mean the insurance industry will fail. Then, he says, “The financial sector as we know it ceases to function. And with it, capitalism as we know it ceases to be viable.” We are in a critical moment. And it seems our political leaders continue to fiddle while the canaries fall from their perches all around us. Lesley Walker, Northcote

Another angle

Responding to several letters about the Herald’s renewables mapping article (“New mapping sparks clash over impact of renewable energy projects on farmland”, October 7), I’d urge fellow readers to be more curious (Letters, October 8). Two things can be true at once – farmers can strongly support renewables and climate science, but they can also point out the huge impact of transmission lines and conversion of productive pastures to solar generation. They can validly point out the absurdity of various greenwashed social media claiming a paddock of solar panels is somehow more productive than one with trees and grass, without somehow being a Nationals puppet. This is really important infrastructure, and several parliamentary inquiries have highlighted serious problems and shortcomings. It’s very similar to pink batts, where in the rush to a noble goal we failed miserably in the project execution. Be curious – explore why it might be unfair to a community if one landholder is excessively compensated while all around them have property devalued. Ponder what is an acceptable price in terms of biodiversity loss to build a transmission line. Ben Still, Mount View

The question from Amy Hiller (Letters, October 8) regarding the continued whining from the Nationals over solar farms located on agricultural land, and the demonstrated fact that solar farms are entirely compatible with rural regions, is entirely appropriate. As a resident of the federal electoral region of New England, “represented” by the appalling Barnaby Joyce, I can attest that there is strong support here for solar. The idea that the Nationals represent rural Australians has long been wildly inaccurate. Ian Usman, Armidale

As Australia heads into another summer of bushfires, Nationals David Littleproud, Michael McCormack and Colin Boyce continue to dogwhistle while Farmers for Climate Action get on with business. Diversifying farm income trumps renewables fearmongering. Mike Lovell. Wahroonga NSW

Livable housing

Health Minister Ryan Park is right to be concerned about elderly patients stuck in hospital beds (“The NSW hospital where one in five beds is occupied by an aged care resident”, October 8). As he notes, it is terrible for them, their families and their clinicians. But the fault does not lie solely with the Commonwealth. If more patients had homes with basic accessibility features, they could be discharged earlier and could help also avoid premature entry into aged care. Yet unlike most states, NSW is yet to adopt the Livable Housing Design Standard that would help to make new homes more accessible. If Park wants to reduce bed blockages, perhaps change begins at home. Joel Dignam, Box Hill (Vic)

Celebrate the night

I couldn’t agree more with your editorial’s verdict on living with downtown noise (“Wedding day blues for Darling Harbour residents are absurd”, October 8). I’m just back from a week in Palermo, Sicily, where the party starts after dark and continues into the early hours. At first, my outraged Sydney sensibilities had me grabbing the bedside phone to complain, but then I woke up to the reason behind Palermo’s fame as a vibrant, joyous foodie city of celebration – its night-life is what makes it so special. The best investment locals can make is double-glazing. Peter Farmer, Northbridge

Pesticides’ place

Recent headlines warning of “toxic” pesticides in our food do little to help consumers make informed choices. The reality is not as simple as “food with pesticides” versus “food without”. Without pesticides, we would not have access to the same variety of nutritious fruits, vegetables and grains. With most Australians already eating below the recommended levels of fruits and vegetables, this would have consequences for health and chronic disease. Pesticides play a role in protecting crops from pests and disease, reducing food waste and supporting food security. But, like any tool, they must be used carefully. Pesticide use is not a free-for-all; it is tightly monitored and regulated by state and Commonwealth agencies. It’s not a “set and forget” system: approvals, residue limits and safety assessments are continually reviewed in light of any new evidence. Instead of fear-mongering, we need balanced discussions about how to use pesticides responsibly, minimising risk overall, including risks to our nutritious food supply. Dr Emma Beckett, UNSW

Waste not

Jill Robinson’s letter brought to mind our recent experience when my partner broke our dryer’s latch by closing it too enthusiastically (Letters, October 8). A decent new dryer would have cost more than $600. I researched and then ordered a new latch for less than $30, including delivery, and repaired it myself. The idea that we would have thrown out an otherwise perfectly good machine because of one small broken component was infuriating. I’m sure there have been many occasions where the less handy would have resorted to buying a new dryer, rather than fixing the broken one. Clare Raffan, Campsie

Land squeeze

I most heartily endorse your correspondent when they state the human population increase is driving the need for more farmland, and consequentially less land for nature (Letters, October 8). I was born in 1950, when the human population of the planet was 2 billion. Seventy-five years on and it is 8 billion. There is only so much planet, so it is essential that we control our numbers before we consume all life on Earth. Simon Chance, Richmond Hill

I would like to point out to correspondent Henry Schneebeli (Letters, October 8) that the farmers of the world already grow more than enough food and that we waste huge quantities of it. Also, his town of Moree predominantly grows cotton (as it is more profitable), not food. Andrew Brown, Bowling Alley Point

Back to the future

After reading about Deloitte’s recent use of faulty AI in a government report, I wonder if we have forgotten the lessons of the Terminator movies (“This botched government report should be wake-up call on AI hype”, October 7). Earth was being destroyed by Skynet, an AI application that became self-aware and turned on humans. Truly prophetic stuff, it would seem. Perhaps the major TV networks should show the series again, particularly for generation Z. Shane Nunan, Finley

Going postal

Milsons Point’s post office is closing. I understand that the landlord, Transport for NSW, and Australia Post cannot agree on terms for a new lease. So two arms of government are fighting over what is probably a fairly small amount of money and the public, many of whom are probably customers of both, will suffer. This seems foolish. Can’t the responsible ministers get together to resolve the matter and spare the public the inconvenience of finding a new post office? Ken Nielsen, Neutral Bay

Tubby troops

The national guardsmen depicted in your online story about troops arriving in Chicago are all large men (“Bondi accused of turning office into weapon for Trump as troops land in Chicago”, October 8). One might even suggest overweight or obese, or rudely, fatties. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth should be aiming his rants at unfit troops as well as unfit generals and admirals. C’mon, guys! Get out of Macca’s and get in shape. Anthony Baker, Oatley

French lesson

For those people longing for an end to the two-party system and the rise of multiple minor parties, you might care to have a look at the current multi-party system in France (“French PM quits after 27 days”, October 8). Because of the inability to form a stable coalition, the country has had five prime ministers in the past two years. The situation is as fragile as ever, with no end in sight. Give me our two-party system any day. Ross MacPherson, Seaforth

Images of French President Emmanuel Macron walking alone by the Seine remind me of author John Maxwell’s quote: “He who thinks he leads but has no followers is merely taking a walk” (“Macron wanders alone by the Seine as his grip on power slips away”, October 8). Jeremy Brender, West Richmond (SA)

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