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The Age
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Age
Australia would be wise to tread very carefully
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@ Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. AMERICAN ALLIES I read with horror the report, 'Marles backs Hegseth speech' (1/6). Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth claims: 'We (the United States) are prepared to do what the Department of Defence does best, to fight and win decisively.″ As far as I recall, the opposite applies. Has he forgotten Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan? And what about Korea? Australia must tread very carefully when dealing with the US. America will do nothing that is not in its own best interests. To my knowledge, Australia (under the Morrison government) is the only country to have publicly stated that it will join America in war with China over Taiwan. If such a war occurs, China will never attack sovereign American territory. Not so for Australia. In fact, the first targets to be taken out will be the American communication bases. If Defence Minister Richard Marles thinks that by supporting Hegseth, we will get a better trade deal, I question his judgment. Jim Lamborn, Doncaster Trump's US must not dictate our defence policy It was disappointing to read of Defence Minister Richard Marles' sycophantic response to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's bellicose stance on China and his push for Australia to increase our defence expenditure. The ALP must stand by its election promise to maintain our strategic relationship with an unreliable Trumpian America while simultaneously fostering our still-recovering rapprochement with China in a way fully consistent with our national interest. It would be intolerable to have Donald Trump's unstable America dictating our defence policy. We must make it clear to Trump that Australia can only guarantee our strategic support when the US proves itself again a reliable ally. Terry Hewton, Henley Beach South, SA We need an independent defence minister Seeking to distract from his country's rapidly increasing disarray, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth comes out swinging with a bellicose return to a 1950s foreign policy stance, evoking all the death and destruction that has involved. Richard Marles responds with his usual grovel but goes back even further with his slogan, 'Peace through strength' – frighteningly reminiscent of 'Peace in our time'. Australia, right now, is in urgent need of an independent forward-thinking defence minister to plan beyond the increasingly irrational and ever-myopic self-interest of the US. John Laurie, Riddells Creek Just what is Marles actually saying? Is Defence Minister Richard Marles endorsing Australia joining the United States if there is war with China over its claims that Taiwan belongs to China? Malcolm McDonald, Burwood 'Peace through strength' a contradiction Yet again, we foolishly acquiesce to the trumpeting of war by the US. As is seen daily in many parts of the US, it is in chaos. Under Donald Trump, it has ambushed many allies on tariffs. Richard Marles does not seem to understand that 'peace through strength' is a contradiction and is not a prelude to a peaceful world. This is demonstrated every day in Gaza and Ukraine. Judith Morrison, Nunawading Marles has placed us in harm's way Here we go again. The last time Australia hitched itself to the Donald Trump wagon, China imposed costly trade restrictions. Moreover, Defence Minister Richard Marles has placed us in harm's way. Trumpian America's self-delusion knows no bounds. America's Vietnam adventure ended in a humiliating withdrawal. That taking on an industrialised China on its home turf wouldn't end in abject failure is ludicrous to the extreme. If Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has any concern for the national interest, he'll rein in his defence minister and ask Foreign Minister Penny Wong to explain to Beijing in diplomatic terms that our sabres will be rattled only in self-defence of our own shores. John Mosig, Kew THE FORUM
The Age
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
Both Israel and Palestine have deep ties to the land
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@ Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. I attended a talk this week in St Kilda by peace activists Gershon Baskin, an Israeli Jew, and Samer Sinijlawi, a Palestinian living in East Jerusalem. Both argued it was essential for peace that there was an end to 'competition of belonging', replaced by mutual recognition that both peoples had a past tied to the same land. They outlined how most Palestinians and Israeli Jews long for peace, but for 25 years, extremists on each side had given the other the message that they did not want to live in peace. I was reminded of the words of the Holocaust survivor Edith Eger, 'I also want to say that there is no hierarchy of suffering. There's nothing that makes my pain worse or better than yours, no graph on which we can plot the relative importance of one sorrow versus another.' Samer and Gershon ended by encouraging Australians to urge our government to recognise a Palestinian state as the next step towards peace. Mark Zirnsak, Senior Social Justice Advocate, Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania We must search our consciences Nicola Redhouse's search for moral clarity and determination is something that we all must emulate (″ When Israel acts shamefully, we Jews must be willing to be ashamed of it ″, 30/5). Day by day the casualties mount in Gaza and the Israeli justification of self-defence and elimination of Hamas becomes ever less believable. This is a war of extermination and we must all search our consciences for the strength to speak out against it. Lorel Thomas, Blackburn South Going forward side by side Feeling paralysingly helpless by the sufferings across Gaza and in other world places, on reading Nicola Redhouse's opinion piece there came a moment of intellectual, moral and spiritual clarity. With a clarion call to her tradition, ″Love that cannot feel shame is not love – it is vanity. Nationalism that cannot feel shame is not love of country; it is mere jingoism″, I found the boundaries shift. She states Judaism ″has never required uniformity of judgment, but it has required a reverence of truth″. With eyes to see, and hearts to feel the reverence of truth of overwhelming evils and suffering, we can still feel love of identity and nation, while we hold our heads in shame, as we rise to work side by side for the shalom, the salem, the intrinsic wellbeing for all precious life and land. Reverend Sally Apokis, South Melbourne Hamas is the intractable obstacle Rabbi Daniel Rabin (' Israel is painted as the villain ', 30/5) is correct about the terrorist instigator, Hamas. Unfortunately Hamas is being written out of the narrative and all blame is falling on Israel. Hamas says it wants a Palestinian state. Very commendable but it also wants the elimination of Israel. Until recently Israel championed and worked for a two-state solution, but its right-wing government no longer supports this ideal. How can one support a solution in which the other side denies your right to exist? Les Aisen, Elsternwick THE FORUM Senseless omission A dearth of safe refuge for women and children escaping family violence is the single greatest factor for why women stay in abusive relationships (' New high-security shelters for women in crisis to sit empty during family violence epidemic ', 29/5). That the May state budget omitted $3.9million in operational funding for high-security units designed to shelter women at high risk of death by family violence (or the $9.6million in ongoing funding requested by Safe Steps), is senseless. Dr Anne Summers in 2022 stated that for many women experiencing family violence (who are simultaneously trying to protect their children), ″the choice: violence or poverty″, is the stark reality, including homelessness (ie couch surfing, sleeping in their car). The state government allocating $727 million for 1000 new prison beds and 88 youth justice beds – 'when money spent on services for child family violence victims' could break the cycle of children exposed to family violence 'using violence in their relationships later in life', is a false economy and short-term thinking. Whereas breaking the complex intergenerational cycle of family violence requires long-term strategic thinking, planning, evaluation and government investment. Jelena Rosic, Mornington
The Age
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
What message does the Woodside approval send?
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@ Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. If you want to lose weight, you don't eat a salad and then tuck into burgers and chips on the side. It doesn't work. Likewise, if we want to cut climate pollution, we can't just add a bit of solar and wind while continuing to flood the atmosphere with greenhouse gases. That's why Environment Minister Murray Watt's preliminary approval of Woodside's North West Shelf gas terminal – allowing it to operate until 2070 – is so wrong (″ Major fossil fuel project tick ends years of uncertainty ″, 29/5). This gas terminal will contribute 4.4 billion tonnes of emissions (10 times Australia's annual total), undermining all our other efforts to tackle climate change. What message does this send to our Pacific neighbours battling rising seas, to regional Australians hit by extreme weather, to Indigenous communities whose cultural heritage is at risk, and to our young people? Amy Hiller, Kew Economic interests are taking precedence With the announcement that Environment Minister Murray Watt has approved the extension and expansion of the Woodside North West Shelf gas project, every young Australian should now understand that we have a government that puts the economic interests of the fossil fuel industry ahead of their future. The fast emerging climate crisis will present young people with a very challenging future. Surely they have a right to expect our political leaders to be taking every possible step not to make the situation worse. Catherine Rossiter, Fadden, ACT Australian fossil fuels have global impact I am a climate scientist. I have a fear for the future of our country and our planet given the published research and Australia's first National Climate Risk Assessment. It does not matter where Australian fossil fuels are burned – here or overseas – their impacts are global, and will hit Australia hard through more climate and weather extremes. This is overwhelmingly the state of the science. Commonwealth approval for gas or coal projects will generate company profit now that will ultimately cost Australia's next generations – our children – massively in dollars, lives and livelihoods. It is clearly now untenable. Andrew Watkins, Research Affiliate, School of Earth, Atmosphere & Environment, Monash University What's the point, when this happens? Labor has used its mandate to approve a gas project that will result in more emissions that will fuel fires, cause more floods and wreak havoc for future generations. When our society has leaders that value corporations over the health of communities, people gradually stop caring, and they won't keep fighting for climate justice. Labor might want us to recycle, compost our waste, walk instead of drive. But what's the point when our leaders are doing the opposite and wrecking the environment? I had a sliver of hope that Labor might have the courage to tackle climate change, sadly it's still not the greatest moral challenge of our lifetime. Shameful. Ben Shaw, Ocean Grove Who is going to pay for the consequences? Federal Labor must be condemned for giving provisional approval to extend the North West Shelf gas project for another 70 years. Farmers and communities are suffering the ruinous impacts of fossil fuel pollution. If the project goes ahead, will Woodside pay the rebuilding costs and insurance premiums of those affected by droughts, storms, floods and fires; for ongoing trauma services for survivors; for more equipment for emergency services; lost income for CFA and SES volunteers; endangered species programs? Will the government look at both sides of the ledger when weighing up the costs and short-term benefits of this project? Julia Croatto, Kew THE FORUM Ineluctably unelectable A notable mantra of Gough Whitlam was that his party had to become electable, and be worth electing. The present version of the Labor Party has certainly shown over the past two federal elections that it is indeed electable. The jury, however, may still be out on whether it has been worth electing. Its actions on several issues will deliver that judgment in time. Electionwise, the Coalition has achieved the opposite. It has become virtually unelectable, its position worsening from 2022 to 2025. Its present policies and conflicts show it is out of touch with modern Australia and not worth electing at all. Graeme Gardner, Reservoir PM's Uluru mission Cathy Wilcox's incisive cartoon (29/5) rightly reminds us of the big lie that was inherent in the Coalition's rejection of a Voice to parliament. The wilful mischaracterising of the latter as equivalent to a ″third chamber of parliament″ ensured that substantive government-initiated reconciliation was brutally undermined. The conservative right-wing line that Indigenous Australians were seeking to divide the nation, and gain social and political preferment, was surreal in the context of Closing the Gap targets not being met and the cross-generational existential impacts of the documented more than 400 Indigenous massacres from 1788 to the 1930s. White Australians' ″cult of forgetfulness″ and the ″great Australian silence″, as articulated by the eminent anthropologist Professor Bill Stanner in 1968, is a continuing phenomenon. In 2025, ignorance and racist colonialist sentiments persist. Crucially, the Voice to parliament and Makarrata Commission ″truth telling″ process remain as relevant as ever. It is to be hoped that the PM, endorsed powerfully in the recent election, revisits the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Jon McMillan, Mt Eliza
The Age
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
Family tragedy leaves my heart scorched
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@ Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. GAZA CONFLICT Like many, I have shed tears over the decimation of Palestinian human life. Then something shattering happens such as the death of nine children from one family, deeply scorching one's heart to ashes (' Nine of doctor's children killed in Israeli strike on Gaza,' 26/5). This destruction of a family is yet another outrage to our humanity and international law: how much more often are we going to hear from Israeli officials statements like, 'the claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review'? Given the children's mother is a doctor and having witnessed so many deaths and severe injuries, and then to rush home to find her children dead, is beyond comprehension. Judith Morrison, Nunawading Horror event I wonder how Gazan paediatrician Alaa Najjar will live with the grief of losing nine of her children, and the horror of viewing their charred and unrecognisable bodies in yet another Israeli atrocity at the weekend. And I wonder how long it will be before our government finds the courage and humanity to sanction Israel. Jody Ellis, Thornbury Ending the conflict Like others, I am appalled at the death and destruction in Gaza. But, it would end tomorrow if Hamas released the remaining hostages. The deaths of women and children would not occur if Hamas let women and children shelter in the tunnels that protect their fighters. Or Hamas didn't hide their leadership under hospitals, schools and UNWRA offices. Starvation would not be occurring if Hamas didn't control the distribution of food in Gaza – delivering it to the needy rather than selling it to the desperate. And peace would be possible if the various Palestinian parties would accept a State of Palestine, alongside a state of Israel, and not instead of a state of Israel. Is one predominantly Jewish state too much for the UN to accept, alongside roughly 50 predominantly Muslim states and 150 predominantly Christian states? Are Jews the only people who are not allowed to live free, in a country they call home? Bruce Hartnett, Alphington Albanese must act While Anthony Albanese reportedly told Israel's President Isaac Herzog last week that Israel's 80-day blockade of food supplies and medical supplies to Gaza was 'completely unacceptable and ... completely untenable', and our Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the comments of some members of Israel's government as 'abhorrent and outrageous', I regard these as achieving no more than water falling on a duck's back. While I'm pleased that Australia joined 22 other nations, including Canada, the UK and New Zealand, in a joint statement condemning Israel's murderous blockade, our government must take resolute action to end immediately its contracts with Israeli arms companies and ban any direct or indirect contribution to Israel's war efforts. Michael Kennedy, Pipers Creek Israel wants peace Your correspondent's claim that Israel needs war for its self-identity (Letters, 26/5) is unfair. Does he know, Israel withdrew from Sinai for peace, withdrew from Gaza for peace, and offered the same with the West Bank. It's arguable that every major conflict Israel has been involved in was started by its opponents. Hamas, by contrast, readily identifies its entire reason for existing as being the 'resistance' against Israel to wipe Israel off the map. It is not speculation what influence Hamas would have in Gaza if there was a ceasefire. It would have the control it has now, where it violently suppresses the people and steals aid. It's also certain it would keep attacking Israel and starting future wars, as its charter, past conduct and statements of future intent make clear. What your correspondent asserts as certain, that Netanyahu has no intention to allow the rebuilding of Gaza, is speculation. Netanyahu has spoken about a technocratic multinational administration rebuilding Gaza. But that can only happen with Hamas gone. Stephen Lazar, Elwood THE FORUM Save the trees Re ' At home among the gum trees? Not in Rowville ', (26/5), it is alarming to read statistics by tree expert Dr Greg Moore saying 'in Melbourne we are losing canopy at about 1 to 1.5 per cent per annum and the consequences of this is the city is going to be much hotter'. There are many threats to Melbourne's tree canopy cover and it is crucial that we increase it. Our planet continues to warm and trees play a vital role in cooling our cities. This is something we need to urgently plan for and it is imperative we listen to experts. Moves such as developing minimum canopy cover measures on new private residential and commercial developments, increasing the number of penalty units to disincentivise illegal tree removals, and reducing pruning around power lines in non-bushfire risk areas have been suggested by experts and need to be seriously considered. Yvonne Bowyer, Surrey Hills
The Age
24-05-2025
- General
- The Age
It's beyond time to walk for truth
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@ Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. Walk for the truth It's well past time that we heard truth telling about the lives of First Nations people since settlement (' After 191 years, long walk for truth takes 400 km ', 24/5). The staff of the Yoorrook Justice Commission have been hearing these truths for some years, mostly without publicity. Many are unaware of this dark history. It is so important that the Reservoir East Primary School with its many Indigenous children and teachers publicises the commission's work and celebrates the final stage of the commission's report to parliament on June 18 by walking the last leg on that day. If truth telling had been heard before the Voice referendum perhaps Australia would have voted for a Voice to parliament. Indigenous people are best placed to advise what will work to Close the Gap. Why don't we join the 4000 already registered for this walk (see Yoorrook Justice Commission website) and walk part of it with our First Nations people? Or join the ceremony at the end at Parliament House on June 18. Jan Marshall, Brighton Beaches need protecting What a retrograde step of councils to abandon selective hand cleaning in favour of indiscriminate mechanical raking (″ Seaweed stink ends cleaning of peninsula beaches by hand ″, 21/5). I commend the hand-cleaning trial and hope it continues for the majority rather than minority of sites. Our beaches are not just for the view, they are part of a larger ecosystem in need of protection. I am dismayed that beachside residents prefer to look at a picture perfect beach, but have no understanding or appreciation of the environment. The habitat and nutrients provided by seaweed are essential. Why waste and create another problem with landfill? We need to stop taking and instead give back by cleaning up our industrial mess and leaving the seaweed and natural debris alone. What's next, complaining that the beach is too sandy and the water too salty? Belinda Isles, Ormond It's all mental The Liberal and National parties have a new theme song – If You Leave Me Can I Come Too by Mental as Anything. Peter Heffernan, Balaclava The bigger issues The article ″ Australians can't stand sore losers. How did politicians miss the memo? ″ (23/5) makes some extremely important points in support of our long-stable and healthy democracy. Sour grapes and a desire for ″their representation″ and not more representation does not justify a fundamental change to the voting system. Historically, those in a losing position after an election have been gracious in their acceptance of defeat, duly recognising and accepting the merits of the system. This includes prime ministers and opposition leaders. There will always be losers and there must always be the opportunity for the electorate to move when necessary to restore a balance that favours the centre and not the extremes as happens in some other countries. With so many bigger issues to deal with, government processes should not be distracted by this unwanted argument. Let's instead focus on climate change, energy security, tax reform and restructuring of education funding.
