Choice of conscience
How heartening to see a parliamentarian braving a conscience vote rather than toe the party line (″Payman votes with Greens, risking expulsion″, 26/6). Senator Fatima Payman reports that every step she took to cross the floor ″felt like a mile″, but she swiftly puts her courage in perspective. She did it ″for the 40,000 killed, for the hungry and scared boys and girls who now walk alone without their parents, and for the brave men and women who have to walk alone without their children″.
In a word, she ″walked for humanity″. She may have had much at stake in doing so, but many continue to walk for humanity week after week by demonstrating their support for Palestinian statehood and protesting at the inhumanity of Israel’s assault on Gaza. It’s a choice of conscience.
Tom Knowles, Parkville
Different perspectives
The opposition has attacked Labor over Senator Payman’s decision to cross the floor, accusing Albanese of ″weak leadership″. I have never ceased to be amazed (amused?) at such Coalition attacks whenever differences emerge within Labor’s ranks. Whenever Coalition members cross the floor it is a healthy sign of a ″broad church″. A Labor member does it and it is a sign of disunity, policy chaos, weak leadership.
Dennis Dodd, Shepparton
Doesn’t work for me
For Fatima Payman, who without a word of condemnation of Hamas for the indefensible atrocities committed against Israelis or any acknowledgment of Hamas’ responsibility in the tragic consequences, to claim she’s upholding Labor Party values, just doesn’t do it for me.
Henry Herzog, St Kilda East
Gender bias
Let’s broadcast this loudly and clearly – Sam Mostyn is a woman. No male governor-general would have faced the scrutiny that Mostyn has. The article ″The PM should have explained GG’s big pay rise″ (26/6) clearly explains the past and present disparity. Samantha Mostyn brings clarity, honesty, and a breath of fresh air.
Anne Kruger, Rye
Profusion not confusion
Australia missed the nuclear fission boat 20 to 30 years ago. Questions have rightly been raised in relation to the costs, timelines, location and waste disposal of building these reactors. Surely, with the recent advances in fusion reactors, money would be better spent with funding here and catching that boat? In the meantime, let’s focus getting renewables sailing full steam ahead.
John Hand, Melbourne
Too many questions
Peter Dutton’s plan to build seven nuclear reactors, two of them by the mid-2030s, flies in the face of scientific advice regarding nuclear power’s feasibility and costs. He discredits reports from reputable organisations such as the CSIRO because its advice doesn’t suit his political ambitions. He announces his plans without any consultation with state premiers and in the knowledge that his plan sits outside current legislation, and refuses to discuss costs – “costings will come after the election”. He’s playing us for fools.
David Conolly, Brighton
Box Hill amenity lost
Perhaps Box Hill should be renamed “Jack-in-the-Box Hill”, to better describe the unplanned visual explosion that will result from the government’s approval of multi-tower developments up to 50 storeys in the area (“Council anger at being shut out of $1.6b tower plan”, 25/6).
It’s sad that such developments are allowed to bypass and ignore the local community’s expectations. We should be aiming to achieve the necessary increase in affordable, appropriate housing in a way that respects and acknowledges local scale and character and the needs of existing residents.
It’s hard to escape the notion that profit and expediency are the motives for the current proposals, rather than adequate design standards or amenity.
Jenifer Nicholls, Armadale
Misguided ABC
Debi Enker has hit the nail on the head in relation to ABC programming (“Aunty’s mid-year report a mixed bag”, 25/6). As she argues, why would anyone want to watch a comedian try to tackle serious issues, and why are ratings relevant? The use of ill-informed comedians has driven us away from so much of what the ABC puts to air.
And on the ratings issue, if “only” 10,000 people watch a deeply complex and informative program and those 10,000 are in positions of influence and able to act on the information they receive, surely that is a greater measure of success than any other huge figure.
Ken Marriott, Williamstown
Ill-defined progress
Your editorial (26/6) rightly questions the Victorian government’s housing plan. Premier Jacinta Allan has said that the state “needs more than 2million additional homes by the 2050s”, but the wider implications seem unacknowledged.
Planning more houses while ignoring the additional infrastructure needed is shortsighted. Our hospitals, schools, roads, public transport, open spaces, power systems, and water supply are under pressure today. Expanding every one of them simply to continue the same service in the future is a massive task, and it is not progress.
It is also stifling efforts to protect the natural environment and control our carbon emissions.
Why are we doing this? The housing plan is being driven simply by projections of population growth – growth that is out of control, irresponsible, and contrary to the wishes of most voters.
Our government is blindly following a growth trajectory that is inconsistent with any concept of a sustainable future.
Ian Penrose, Kew
Tutoring in schools works
As a tutor at a public secondary school, I am highly surprised and disheartened by the auditor-general’s findings last week that the state government’s tutor program has been “ineffective”.
These findings are worlds away from the success the program has had at our school.
Far from a “failure”, I have seen how small-group tutoring can change lives, giving kids who often fall under the radar in large classes the support they need to overcome learning gaps and gain the confidence to succeed at school.
Our results have shown year after year since the program’s implementation that students who receive tutoring demonstrate more than double the learning growth across the year in standardised literacy and numeracy tests than students who are not in the program.
According to the auditor-general’s report, disappointingly, fewer than one in three schools have put in place effective tutor programs. Tutoring can have huge benefits when schools commit to it. When will schools realise its life-changing potential?
Mark Parkes, Altona
Sting in the tale
Now is the time to reshow the documentary series, Twisting the Dragon’s Tail to give people a picture about nuclear power – how a chain reaction works, the release of radioactivity and the consequences of a nuclear accident.
Robert Scheffer,
Bayswater North
AND ANOTHER THING
Politics
Peter Dutton is aiming for voters’ hip-pockets with his false claims of cheaper nuclear power. Logic goes out the window where money is concerned.
Marie Nash, Balwyn
Don’t be deceived fellow citizens, Peter Dutton’s nuclear silver bullet is an expensive, tarnished, radioactive fizzer.
Greg Curtin, Nunawading
Peter Dutton has decided climate issues can be a point of difference between the parties. However, climate change is an existential threat more serious than any war Australia has taken part in. On these occasions action was by bipartisan agreement. Climate change is too important not to be bipartisan.
Cate Lewis, Clifton Hill
Josh Frydenberg must be glad that he decided not to renominate for the seat of Kooyong. Peter Dutton’s pro-nuclear policy has probably allowed Monique Ryan to retain the seat at the next election.
Garry Meller, Bentleigh
If you don’t know, vote no. Funny how this simple argument is now a good one when it was so dodgy only last year.
Lindsay Zoch, Mildura
Why do we get the feeling this solution for Julian Assange may have been arrived at earlier if our federal government had been inclined to fight for him instead of kowtowing to the US?
Doris LeRoy, Altona
I respect people who have deep-seated beliefs and are prepared to stand up for them come what may. Well done Fatima Payman.
Alan Inchley, Frankston
Furthermore
Australia can’t even deal with soft plastics, let alone nuclear waste.
Paul Green, Thornbury
Finally
By the time the AEU gets to phonics, its members will be leavin’. The union just didn’t know, they would really go. (″Teachers slam union over phonics″, 26/6). With apologies to Jimmy Webb, Johnny Rivers and Glen Campbell.
Lawrie Bradly,
Surrey Hills