Living in the fifties is not progress
No case for SRL
There is no credible case that we need the SRL. It's envisaged for a Melbourne that doesn't exist, and may never exist. The catchcry that 'Melbourne will be the size of London by 20XX' is a red herring.
If you superimpose a map of London public transport over Melbourne, you see nothing resembling the SRL (the Croydon Tramlink is a tram – it lacks the speed and capacity of heavy rail). What you do see is many extra links in the inner suburbs that the government has no plans to implement.
To create the demand to justify it (which would be a complete transformation from what is there now) would entail also creating demand for local transport options, eg, local trams or buses with tramlike frequency servicing the surrounds of each of the new stations (and preferably joining up the networks in between), none of which is part of the SRL plan (and if it were it would multiply the cost many times over).
It's such an immense distraction from the lack of adequate services in so many areas where the demand exists now but is not being catered to.
Samuel McMahon, Parkville
Remember Gaza?
Israel attacks Iran, America attacks Iran, Iran attacks Israel. Donald Trump calls a ceasefire. The World relaxes. Meanwhile, in forgotten Gaza, thousands starve and hundreds die.
Daniel Cole, California Gully
Nature equals wellbeing
I strongly agree with Ken Henry: our natural environment is very important to our wellbeing, from trees in suburban streets to what's left of the original bush (″ Nature is critical to productivity ″, 25/6). It is good to see a clear, logical explanation of why environmental law reforms are a critical component of the productivity agenda.
We should extend the definition of GDP to include not just the monetary value of goods and services created, but the non-monetary value of our natural capital of forests, national parks, oceans and other less developed assets. We could allow for the enjoyment of nature in an overall measure of quality of life.
This revised definition of GDP would use many assumptions about the relative value of material goods v the use and experience of nature. Any fall in GDP per head would immediately identify problems with our ″natural capital″.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is convening a productivity summit in August, followed by a tax forum. Now would be the time for Henry to prepare submissions for these conferences. He prepared a detailed report on tax reform back in 2009, with 138 recommendations. Few were implemented.
I wish him well this time around, especially for his ″high-integrity environmental laws″.
John Hughes, Mentone
Overblown view
Your correspondent's take (Letters, 27/6) that Julian Assange helped to make Donald Trump 'who has not the slightest interest in accountability' vis-a-vis his selective leaks during the 2016 election campaign, is overblown.
On the contrary, the American people made the ″monster″ by re-electing him twice over thereby cementing his unfettered powers that has effectively facilitated his unchecked dismantling of democracy pillars.
Not to mention that the Wikileaks material has been sourced by journalists the world over for its veracity.
Jelena Rosic, Mornington
St Kilda memories
I love St Kilda (″ Facing up to boho blues: How St Kilda living lost its lustre ″, 28/6) the Palais, the waterfront, the Acland Street cake shops, Luna Park, Catani Gardens and more. As a child my family were regulars at Leo's Spaghetti Bar on Fitzroy Street and the Fairy Stork Chinese restaurant on Ackland Street. Then as a teenager I graduated to the Prince of Wales, the Venue and the Palace, seeing bands such as Hunters and Collectors and Hoodoo Gurus and on occasion even visiting Bojangles. I'm sad to see empty shop fronts and the turn some parts of the area have taken. We need to be regular visitors to the area as we don't have any other place like this in Melbourne and we will only realise what we have lost when it is gone.
Samantha Keir, East Brighton
Farewell to Kyiv
Foreign correspondent Rob Harris reminds Ukrainians how Kyiv has survived through the ages and continues to defy Putin (″ The city that continues to defy Putin ″, 27/6) . How life goes on as normal. Bars are packed, streets hum with life.
The war is not lost as Russia says it is ready for peace talks. Harris in his final visit alongside World Vision Australia says he will not forget Kyiv. I am sure Kyiv will not forget him.
George Jaworsky, Wollert
Not wedded to this
Why do we need to see days of the wedding excesses of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez? Are there really people out there who watch it and don't realise these people are just revelling in their advantage over the rest of us? I don't understand why so much coverage was given to this in Australia.
Maureen Gunn, Strathmore
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Show me the money: Pope launches Vatican debt campaign
Pope Leo XIV has celebrated a special feast day traditionally used by the Catholic Church to drum up donations from the faithful. The Vatican under the first American Pope is rolling out a new campaign to urge ordinary Catholics to help bail out the deficit-ridden Holy See. Leo celebrated Mass in St Peter's Basilica, marking the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and thanked donors who have contributed, using the language of the publicity campaign to say their financial support was a sign of union with his young pontificate. In churches around the world, Masses on the July 29 feast day often include a special collection for Peter's Pence, a fund which both underwrites the operations of the central government of the Catholic Church and pays for the Pope's personal acts of charity. The church is using a promotional video, poster, QR code and website soliciting donations via credit card, PayPal, bank transfer and post office transfer. The Vatican is betting that an American-style fundraising pitch under the Chicago-born Leo will do more to help keep the Holy See bureaucracy afloat and erase its 50 million to 60 million euro ( $A87 million to $A104 million) structural deficit. The video features footage of Leo's emotional first moments as Pope, when he stepped out onto the loggia of St Peter's Basilica and later choked up as he received the fisherman's ring of the papacy. With an evocative soundtrack in the background, the video superimposes a message, available in several languages, urging donations to Leo via the Peter's Pence collection. "With your donation to Peter's Pence, you support the steps of the Holy Father," it says. "Help him proclaim the Gospel to the world and extend a hand to our brothers and sisters in need. Support the steps of Pope Leo XIV. Donate to Peter's Pence." At the end of his noon blessing on Sunday, Leo used the same language about his first steps to say the Peter's Pence fund is "a sign of communion with the Pope and participation with his Apostolic Ministry." "From the heart, I thank those who with their gifts are supporting my first steps as the successor of St Peter," he said. The fund has been the source of scandal in recent years, amid revelations the Vatican's secretariat of state mismanaged its holdings through bad investments, incompetent management and waste. The recent trial over the Vatican's bungled investment in a London property confirmed the vast majority of Peter's Pence contributions had funded the Holy See's budgetary shortfalls, not papal charity initiatives as many parishioners had been led to believe. On top of the budget deficit, the Vatican is also facing a 1 billion euro (about $A1.78 billion) shortfall in its pension fund that Pope Francis, in the months before he died, warned was unable in the medium term to fulfil its obligations. Unlike countries, the Holy See doesn't issue bonds or impose income tax on its residents to run its operations, relying instead on donations, investments and revenue generated by the Vatican Museums, and sales of stamps, coins, publications and other initiatives. For years, the United States has been the greatest source of donations to Peter's Pence, with US Catholics contributing about a quarter of the total each year. Vatican officials are hoping that under Leo's pontificate, with new financial controls in place and an American math major running the Holy See, donors will be reassured that their money won't be misspent or mismanaged. Pope Leo XIV has celebrated a special feast day traditionally used by the Catholic Church to drum up donations from the faithful. The Vatican under the first American Pope is rolling out a new campaign to urge ordinary Catholics to help bail out the deficit-ridden Holy See. Leo celebrated Mass in St Peter's Basilica, marking the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and thanked donors who have contributed, using the language of the publicity campaign to say their financial support was a sign of union with his young pontificate. In churches around the world, Masses on the July 29 feast day often include a special collection for Peter's Pence, a fund which both underwrites the operations of the central government of the Catholic Church and pays for the Pope's personal acts of charity. The church is using a promotional video, poster, QR code and website soliciting donations via credit card, PayPal, bank transfer and post office transfer. The Vatican is betting that an American-style fundraising pitch under the Chicago-born Leo will do more to help keep the Holy See bureaucracy afloat and erase its 50 million to 60 million euro ( $A87 million to $A104 million) structural deficit. The video features footage of Leo's emotional first moments as Pope, when he stepped out onto the loggia of St Peter's Basilica and later choked up as he received the fisherman's ring of the papacy. With an evocative soundtrack in the background, the video superimposes a message, available in several languages, urging donations to Leo via the Peter's Pence collection. "With your donation to Peter's Pence, you support the steps of the Holy Father," it says. "Help him proclaim the Gospel to the world and extend a hand to our brothers and sisters in need. Support the steps of Pope Leo XIV. Donate to Peter's Pence." At the end of his noon blessing on Sunday, Leo used the same language about his first steps to say the Peter's Pence fund is "a sign of communion with the Pope and participation with his Apostolic Ministry." "From the heart, I thank those who with their gifts are supporting my first steps as the successor of St Peter," he said. The fund has been the source of scandal in recent years, amid revelations the Vatican's secretariat of state mismanaged its holdings through bad investments, incompetent management and waste. The recent trial over the Vatican's bungled investment in a London property confirmed the vast majority of Peter's Pence contributions had funded the Holy See's budgetary shortfalls, not papal charity initiatives as many parishioners had been led to believe. On top of the budget deficit, the Vatican is also facing a 1 billion euro (about $A1.78 billion) shortfall in its pension fund that Pope Francis, in the months before he died, warned was unable in the medium term to fulfil its obligations. Unlike countries, the Holy See doesn't issue bonds or impose income tax on its residents to run its operations, relying instead on donations, investments and revenue generated by the Vatican Museums, and sales of stamps, coins, publications and other initiatives. For years, the United States has been the greatest source of donations to Peter's Pence, with US Catholics contributing about a quarter of the total each year. Vatican officials are hoping that under Leo's pontificate, with new financial controls in place and an American math major running the Holy See, donors will be reassured that their money won't be misspent or mismanaged. Pope Leo XIV has celebrated a special feast day traditionally used by the Catholic Church to drum up donations from the faithful. The Vatican under the first American Pope is rolling out a new campaign to urge ordinary Catholics to help bail out the deficit-ridden Holy See. Leo celebrated Mass in St Peter's Basilica, marking the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and thanked donors who have contributed, using the language of the publicity campaign to say their financial support was a sign of union with his young pontificate. In churches around the world, Masses on the July 29 feast day often include a special collection for Peter's Pence, a fund which both underwrites the operations of the central government of the Catholic Church and pays for the Pope's personal acts of charity. The church is using a promotional video, poster, QR code and website soliciting donations via credit card, PayPal, bank transfer and post office transfer. The Vatican is betting that an American-style fundraising pitch under the Chicago-born Leo will do more to help keep the Holy See bureaucracy afloat and erase its 50 million to 60 million euro ( $A87 million to $A104 million) structural deficit. The video features footage of Leo's emotional first moments as Pope, when he stepped out onto the loggia of St Peter's Basilica and later choked up as he received the fisherman's ring of the papacy. With an evocative soundtrack in the background, the video superimposes a message, available in several languages, urging donations to Leo via the Peter's Pence collection. "With your donation to Peter's Pence, you support the steps of the Holy Father," it says. "Help him proclaim the Gospel to the world and extend a hand to our brothers and sisters in need. Support the steps of Pope Leo XIV. Donate to Peter's Pence." At the end of his noon blessing on Sunday, Leo used the same language about his first steps to say the Peter's Pence fund is "a sign of communion with the Pope and participation with his Apostolic Ministry." "From the heart, I thank those who with their gifts are supporting my first steps as the successor of St Peter," he said. The fund has been the source of scandal in recent years, amid revelations the Vatican's secretariat of state mismanaged its holdings through bad investments, incompetent management and waste. The recent trial over the Vatican's bungled investment in a London property confirmed the vast majority of Peter's Pence contributions had funded the Holy See's budgetary shortfalls, not papal charity initiatives as many parishioners had been led to believe. On top of the budget deficit, the Vatican is also facing a 1 billion euro (about $A1.78 billion) shortfall in its pension fund that Pope Francis, in the months before he died, warned was unable in the medium term to fulfil its obligations. Unlike countries, the Holy See doesn't issue bonds or impose income tax on its residents to run its operations, relying instead on donations, investments and revenue generated by the Vatican Museums, and sales of stamps, coins, publications and other initiatives. For years, the United States has been the greatest source of donations to Peter's Pence, with US Catholics contributing about a quarter of the total each year. Vatican officials are hoping that under Leo's pontificate, with new financial controls in place and an American math major running the Holy See, donors will be reassured that their money won't be misspent or mismanaged. Pope Leo XIV has celebrated a special feast day traditionally used by the Catholic Church to drum up donations from the faithful. The Vatican under the first American Pope is rolling out a new campaign to urge ordinary Catholics to help bail out the deficit-ridden Holy See. Leo celebrated Mass in St Peter's Basilica, marking the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and thanked donors who have contributed, using the language of the publicity campaign to say their financial support was a sign of union with his young pontificate. In churches around the world, Masses on the July 29 feast day often include a special collection for Peter's Pence, a fund which both underwrites the operations of the central government of the Catholic Church and pays for the Pope's personal acts of charity. The church is using a promotional video, poster, QR code and website soliciting donations via credit card, PayPal, bank transfer and post office transfer. The Vatican is betting that an American-style fundraising pitch under the Chicago-born Leo will do more to help keep the Holy See bureaucracy afloat and erase its 50 million to 60 million euro ( $A87 million to $A104 million) structural deficit. The video features footage of Leo's emotional first moments as Pope, when he stepped out onto the loggia of St Peter's Basilica and later choked up as he received the fisherman's ring of the papacy. With an evocative soundtrack in the background, the video superimposes a message, available in several languages, urging donations to Leo via the Peter's Pence collection. "With your donation to Peter's Pence, you support the steps of the Holy Father," it says. "Help him proclaim the Gospel to the world and extend a hand to our brothers and sisters in need. Support the steps of Pope Leo XIV. Donate to Peter's Pence." At the end of his noon blessing on Sunday, Leo used the same language about his first steps to say the Peter's Pence fund is "a sign of communion with the Pope and participation with his Apostolic Ministry." "From the heart, I thank those who with their gifts are supporting my first steps as the successor of St Peter," he said. The fund has been the source of scandal in recent years, amid revelations the Vatican's secretariat of state mismanaged its holdings through bad investments, incompetent management and waste. The recent trial over the Vatican's bungled investment in a London property confirmed the vast majority of Peter's Pence contributions had funded the Holy See's budgetary shortfalls, not papal charity initiatives as many parishioners had been led to believe. On top of the budget deficit, the Vatican is also facing a 1 billion euro (about $A1.78 billion) shortfall in its pension fund that Pope Francis, in the months before he died, warned was unable in the medium term to fulfil its obligations. Unlike countries, the Holy See doesn't issue bonds or impose income tax on its residents to run its operations, relying instead on donations, investments and revenue generated by the Vatican Museums, and sales of stamps, coins, publications and other initiatives. For years, the United States has been the greatest source of donations to Peter's Pence, with US Catholics contributing about a quarter of the total each year. Vatican officials are hoping that under Leo's pontificate, with new financial controls in place and an American math major running the Holy See, donors will be reassured that their money won't be misspent or mismanaged.
The Advertiser
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Israel orders Gaza evacuations as Trump urges war's end
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"The (Israeli) Defense Forces is operating with extreme force in these areas, and these military operations will escalate, intensify, and extend westward to the city center to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations," the military said. The evacuation order covered the Jabalia area and most Gaza City districts. Medics and residents said the Israeli army's bombardments escalated in the early hours in Jabalia, destroying several houses and killing at least six people. In Khan Younis in the south, five people were killed in an airstrike on a tent encampment near Mawasi, medics said. The escalation comes as Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, begin a new ceasefire effort to halt the 20-month-old conflict and secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages still being held by Hamas. Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened following US and Israeli bombings of Iran's nuclear facilities. A Hamas official told Reuters the group had informed the mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks, but reaffirmed the group's outstanding demands that any deal must end the war and secure an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal territory. Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, only in a deal that will end the war. Israel says it can only end it if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1200 people and taking 251 hostages, Israeli tallies show. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population, plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis and left much of it in ruins. The Israeli military has ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza, before intensifying fighting against Hamas, as US President Donald Trump calls for an end to the war amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire. "Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel's offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages. But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and UN officials say nowhere in Gaza is safe. "The (Israeli) Defense Forces is operating with extreme force in these areas, and these military operations will escalate, intensify, and extend westward to the city center to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations," the military said. The evacuation order covered the Jabalia area and most Gaza City districts. Medics and residents said the Israeli army's bombardments escalated in the early hours in Jabalia, destroying several houses and killing at least six people. In Khan Younis in the south, five people were killed in an airstrike on a tent encampment near Mawasi, medics said. The escalation comes as Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, begin a new ceasefire effort to halt the 20-month-old conflict and secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages still being held by Hamas. Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened following US and Israeli bombings of Iran's nuclear facilities. A Hamas official told Reuters the group had informed the mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks, but reaffirmed the group's outstanding demands that any deal must end the war and secure an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal territory. Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, only in a deal that will end the war. Israel says it can only end it if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1200 people and taking 251 hostages, Israeli tallies show. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population, plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis and left much of it in ruins. The Israeli military has ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza, before intensifying fighting against Hamas, as US President Donald Trump calls for an end to the war amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire. "Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel's offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages. But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and UN officials say nowhere in Gaza is safe. "The (Israeli) Defense Forces is operating with extreme force in these areas, and these military operations will escalate, intensify, and extend westward to the city center to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations," the military said. The evacuation order covered the Jabalia area and most Gaza City districts. Medics and residents said the Israeli army's bombardments escalated in the early hours in Jabalia, destroying several houses and killing at least six people. In Khan Younis in the south, five people were killed in an airstrike on a tent encampment near Mawasi, medics said. The escalation comes as Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, begin a new ceasefire effort to halt the 20-month-old conflict and secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages still being held by Hamas. Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened following US and Israeli bombings of Iran's nuclear facilities. A Hamas official told Reuters the group had informed the mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks, but reaffirmed the group's outstanding demands that any deal must end the war and secure an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal territory. Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, only in a deal that will end the war. Israel says it can only end it if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1200 people and taking 251 hostages, Israeli tallies show. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population, plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis and left much of it in ruins. The Israeli military has ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza, before intensifying fighting against Hamas, as US President Donald Trump calls for an end to the war amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire. "Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel's offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages. But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and UN officials say nowhere in Gaza is safe. "The (Israeli) Defense Forces is operating with extreme force in these areas, and these military operations will escalate, intensify, and extend westward to the city center to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations," the military said. The evacuation order covered the Jabalia area and most Gaza City districts. Medics and residents said the Israeli army's bombardments escalated in the early hours in Jabalia, destroying several houses and killing at least six people. In Khan Younis in the south, five people were killed in an airstrike on a tent encampment near Mawasi, medics said. The escalation comes as Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, begin a new ceasefire effort to halt the 20-month-old conflict and secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages still being held by Hamas. Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened following US and Israeli bombings of Iran's nuclear facilities. A Hamas official told Reuters the group had informed the mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks, but reaffirmed the group's outstanding demands that any deal must end the war and secure an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal territory. Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, only in a deal that will end the war. Israel says it can only end it if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1200 people and taking 251 hostages, Israeli tallies show. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population, plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis and left much of it in ruins.
