Credit: Illustration: Cathy Wilcox
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MIDDLE EAST
The brave Gazans protesting against Hamas marks a significant development. It is to be hoped that it exposes the falsehood of that brutal organisation’s claim to be a just defender of Palestinian people’s aspirations.
Since 2007, the predominantly youthful population of the Gaza Strip has been subject to torture by rulers defined by violent torture and elimination of its opponents.
Disturbingly, many members of the Palestinian diaspora, including in Australia, have never acknowledged the terrorist nature of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attacks on Israeli kibbutz communities. These Gazan protests may yet bring an inconvenient truth, for too long concealed, to light.
Jon McMillan, Mt Eliza
Hope, albeit faint, for resolution
Whilst we have seen plenty of dissent within Israel about the manner in which the Israeli government has prosecuted the war, there has been very little public dissent within Gaza at the role of Hamas.
No doubt, it would take a very brave Gazan to publicly take on Hamas because of the feared interior security forces, but at last we are starting to see this with a crowd of protesters on Tuesday chanting slogans seeking the withdrawal of Hamas from Gaza.
With groups on both sides of the conflict demonstrating in this manner, perhaps there is some hope, albeit faint, for some kind of resolution.
Rod Evans, Parkville
Israel’s curtailment of aid is food for despair
It is 15 months since the International Court of Justice determined that the allegation of genocide made against Israel was plausible. It may be years before the court’s final decision is forthcoming.
In the meantime, the accumulation of facts on the ground (Letters, 27/3) only adds weight to the ICJ’s provisional judgment. The situation of Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank has become increasingly bleak. The resumption of bombing in Gaza, allied with Israel’s cruel curtailment of humanitarian aid, is food for despair.
Whether the Trump administration is formally endorsing Israel’s assaults there and in the West Bank, or is just distracted and careless, the result is the same. Israel has the green light to act with impunity.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to see anything but the complete obliteration of Palestinian rights to peaceful occupation of their own land. We must not silently acquiesce.
Tom Knowles, Parkville
Dutton’s support for Israel’s war is indefensible
Peter Dutton’s backward and divisive agenda is a stark reminder of the Liberal Party’s failure to offer real solutions for Australia’s future. Instead of embracing forward-thinking policies, Dutton is doubling down on big handouts to fossil fuel corporations while ignoring the urgent need for investment in renewable energy.
His renewed backing for risky and expensive nuclear energy only serves to delay the transition to a sustainable, job-creating green economy.
At the same time, his party proposes cuts to essential public services, undermining healthcare, education, and welfare—services that millions of Australians rely on. On the global stage, Dutton’s unwavering support for Israel’s war in Gaza is indefensible. As the world increasingly condemns the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding, he chooses to align himself with policies that exacerbate suffering rather than advocate for peace and justice.
Rather than addressing pressing economic and social challenges, Dutton continues to rely on divisive rhetoric to distract from his party’s policy vacuum. Instead of presenting a bold vision for the 21st century, he clings to outdated, fear-based politics that seek to divide Australians rather than unite us in the pursuit of progress.
Suzana Bozic, Clifton Hill
THE FORUM
Fair go extinction
Dr Cassandra Goldie, CEO of ACOSS is not alone lamenting the lack of desperately needed support in the budget for the poorest Australians. How can it be remotely justifiable or conscionable in a wealthy Australia for governments of either hue to include those on very high incomes in tax cuts they neither need nor would notice, yet leave the poorest unemployed starving, with or without shelter, from grossly inadequate Jobseeker allowance?
Many Australians are appalled at the unjust vilification, disempowerment and political collusion punishing those down-trodden by a fate that could befall anyone, while elsewhere individual and corporate greed is tolerated, if not encouraged, by the system.
It is disgraceful and egregious how our collective notion of the “fair go” has morphed into callous indifference towards suffering of fellow citizens. Hopefully, election of more independents of the calibre of Pocock, Haines and the teals may force correction of this trajectory before it reaches the same dystopian US level.
Joe Di Stefano, Geelong
Golden years
I wonder what the great Labor luminaries – Ben Chifley, John Curtin, Gough Whitlam, and even Bob Hawke would make of the $150 energy subsidy being paid to both my nearby neighbour (an age pension recipient), and a senior politician earning just short of $600,000 a year who had just paid $4 million for a clifftop residence?
John Capel, Black Rock
Irresponsible decisions
The economy is important for us, but the environment determines our children’s and grandchildren’s futures. Any politician who cannot, or will not, understand the peril of climate change is not looking after their own family, so it is unrealistic to expect them to consider ours.
Margaret Lothian, Middle Park
Tax cut inequity
Many are doing it tough at the present time, but many are also largely unaffected by the so-called cost-of-living crisis – dining out, taking holidays, buying investment properties etc. The tax cuts should have been larger but restricted to those on lower and middle incomes.
Lindsay Zoch, Mildura
Not just skate at stake
Senator Hanson-Young could soon have more ‘rotten, stinking’ salmon to wave around. (“‘Rotten, stinking’ salmon makes waves in Senate”, 27/3). Since its establishment 45 years ago, salmon farming in Australia has always been at the higher critical temperature tolerance for the species during El Niño summers. Now, with global warming energising the East Australia Current, it’s driving further south than previously, forming a pool of warm water in the Tasman Sea off the Tasmanian coast. With no abatement of atmospheric heating in sight, this ever-warming oceanic hot spot is only going to increase the mortality rate in the salmon pens. It would appear Australians are going to lose more than the Maugean skate.
John Mosig, Kew
No need for nuclear
Governments don’t supply energy these days; that’s done by the big energy companies. Their current actions clearly display the way they intend to supply electricity into the future.
This is by a mix of various renewables supplemented by limited gas-fired generation and power storage, ie batteries and new storage technologies as they become available. The use of nuclear power generation appears not to be any part of their plan. So why do we bother talking about the federal opposition’s consideration of nuclear?
John Groom, Bentleigh
Electrification answer
A domestic gas reservation policy made great sense a long time ago when it was exclusively a WA government initiative. Other Australian governments were too lily-livered, so they didn’t follow suit. Now unfortunately, when inflated gas prices have become essentially intractable due to global and local constraints, diverting gas supply is a high cost-of-living plan little more than fiddling at the edges. Electrification for most makes a lot more sense.
Jim Allen, Panorama, SA
Right place, wrong time
Your correspondent in regard to the Suburban Rail Loop ( ″And Another Thing″ 26/3), sums it up well – “with the SRL as a must-have, the Allan government is positioning itself for electoral oblivion”.
It is not the concept or the need for the SRL that is wrong, it is the timing. There is so much that this state needs to address urgently, health (hospitals completed but apparently no money for staffing 26/3), roads, education and the list goes on. Pause it now to ensure our state’s immediate needs are addressed and ensure the SRL and Allan’s government has a future.
Bill Pimm, Mentone
Construction inquiry
The state opposition’s call for a royal commission into the construction industry and for the return of the Australian Building Construction Commission fails to recognise that the Dyson Heydon royal commission into trade unions and the ABCC failed to identify, let alone do anything, to stop the criminality, thuggery, intimidation and brutality that has existed in the construction industry for decades. What is needed is a powerful crime commission, backed by specialist federal and state police task forces who would enforce and prosecute to drive the criminal elements out.
Bruce Hartnett, Alphington
Heritage status confusion
The proposed Victorian government planning zone changes are causing considerable confusion among residents as to future status of heritage homes, despite the government claims that ‘heritage will not be affected’.
The wording of the new law has removed the words ‘heritage’ and ‘neighbourhood character’ that are in the current zone description, hence the confusion as to how local government overlays for significant homes and heritage precincts will now be treated under this law. The new law promotes ‘densification’. Does this mean replacement of the old heritage building with a new shiny tower block offering up-to-the- minute parliamentary facilities and numerous levels of affordable and luxury apartments? Oops – affordable ones aren’t needed, as instead a 3 per cent levy can contribute to a building fund – held somewhere in Treasury. What should homeowners expect?
Sally Wilkinson, Camberwell
Join club Trump
Trump declares that Jeffery Goldberg is a “sleazebag” and “horrible” while Mike Waltz calls Goldberg a “loser” and “bottom scum”. This, of course, begs the question as to why Waltz invited Goldberg to join the highly confidential group-chat in the first place. Was he suggesting these qualities were prerequisites to become a member of their very exclusive club?
Liz Jovanovic, Moonee Ponds
American despair
People say there are, and have been, many fine and noble Americans. The problem is that they are now in a minority. When American voters re-elected Trump in 2024 they knew he was a liar, a cheat, a bully, a cowardly draft-dodger, and a treacherous back-stabber who betrayed the Kurds in 2019. Worst of all, they elected him in the full knowledge he did not believe in democracy – he refused to accept the vote in 2020 and instigated a mob to use violence to try to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.
Trump is not a random calamity like a drought or a cyclone. He is the choice of American voters, and they must accept responsibility for the damage he is now wreaking.
To tell the truth, I now despise and distrust the USA. I’m sure I’m not alone.
Michael Challinger, Nunawading
DEI questions
Now that Australia has sent its down payment to the US for the AUKUS submarines, it’s time to follow up with a questionnaire to Mr Trump. What DEI measures will he ensure are met, and what climate and environmental justices will be observed over the project’s life, in keeping with our country’s values? Failure to provide satisfactory answers will result in a demand for the return of funds.
Jenny Herbert, Metung
Adolescence veracity
Statistically, it may be more common for those adolescents who commit crimes to be from broken or abusive homes (“Boyhood shouldn’t be a darkened room”, 26/3) but I think the writer is going too far to say that giving the character Jamie from ‘Adolescence’ a loving family is a flaw of this wonderful UK television series.
I can’t be alone in knowing of a charming, sporty 13-year-old boy who was cultivated by a group of disengaged misfits at school. He has a wonderfully loving home, but adolescents need to belong: mates are everything. He is angry, sad and scared about what is happening to him. And his parents are also. Not angry at him, but for him. Their only hope is that their love will overcome the negative influences he is exposed to.
Yvonne Davidson, Williamstown
Disable your device
Cherie Gilmour’s article (“We’re becoming dumb and dumber” 27/3) really struck a chord. Technology appears to be the culprit. We have so many devices now that are designed to make life easier for us but, in fact, prevent us from using our brain.
It began with calculators that made mental arithmetic obsolete, continued on with social media limiting our written arguments to 140 characters, and is now dominated by AI, which promises to do everything for us including job applications and passing exams.
But how to stop or reverse this decline is beyond me. Watching people on the street or on the tram staring into their phones makes us look like a bunch of zombies. For the sake of our children, can we please turn off our electronic devices and begin to think and talk independently again?
Tony Priestley, Fitzroy
AND ANOTHER THING
Credit: Illustration: Matt Golding
Wrong signal
The question to ask Americans is whether are they better off now than they were two months ago.
Alan Contini, Princes Hill
Imagine the absolute fury that MAGA would be venting if the Biden administration were behind the Signal fiasco.
Graham Fetherstonhaugh, Carlton North
Would anyone have noticed if Mickey Mouse had been included in the Signal war chat?
Bernd Rieve, Brighton
If the Trump administration works like this, Australia should wonder about Pine Gap, our intelligence gathering and who we share with. We are at risk too.
Margaret Forster, Aberfeldie
The US can no longer be trusted with international security. It must now be booted from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, re-naming it the Four Eyes.
Ray Pilbeam, Camberwell
Fuel excise
From memory, Scott Morrison’s cuts to fuel excise were largely a windfall for petrol companies. What will change this time round?
Chris Murphy, Hurstbridge
Dutton’s scheme to reduce fuel excise shows his contempt of efforts to lessen pollution. He seems to pluck his ideas from thin air.
Doris LeRoy, Altona
Giving well off people like me cheaper petrol is an indiscriminate waste of money. This money should be spent on more needy people or causes.
Ralph Frank, Malvern East
Furthermore
Australia Post is losing money. May I suggest, as a start, it brings back that its loyal employee, Frank? Friends of mine use unfranked stamps.
Susan Munday, Bentleigh East
It’s time to reduce the tax the government collects on legitimate cigarette sales. Too many criminals are profiting from the import and sale of illegal cigarettes and the torching and destruction of rival shops.
Katriona Fahey, Alphington
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