Rescue shows humanity at its best

Let us fervently hope this lesson is understood in Washington and among those who deride collective action as "socialism by stealth" or similar negativity.

Rod Olsen, Flynn

Example of bravery

The finding, and hopefully soon rescue, of the soccer team and coach in the Thamg Luang caves in Thailand is a wonderful news story and a great example of what people can do.

The international cooperation and support for finding the team is another example of what can and should be done.

It also should be recognised that the search is dangerous and that all the divers involved went beyond the normal expectations of bravery.

Obviously the children are now safer and will soon be fed and checked but next comes the difficult task of actually rescuing them.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill, Vic

Value of work

Renee Richards ("I'll be paying $45 a day to go to work", CT p17, July 3) raises an interesting point. Her calculations are based on her paying the full cost of her child's care, yet she has a highly paid partner.

Does the partner not contribute to the costs of caring for the children? If both Renee and her partner were to contribute in proportion to their respective incomes, Renee might find it worth her while to return to work and the valuable contribution to healthcare that she describes.

Peter Randall, Campbell

Men shouted down

I'm wearing my hard-hat so here goes: Senator Leyonhjelm's personal remarks about another and female senator are distasteful and should not have been made publicly.

Nevertheless, his general comments, as I understand them, are warranted to the extent any public criticism by men of women is now so loudly shouted down as to be virtually silenced.

So effective is this condemnation nobody will defend any adverse comments against women.

Rather, we all keep up the pretence women are still disadvantaged — as unquestionably they are in much of the world.

But the sisters overseas are not helped in their quest for equality by ignoring the failings of those females who have broken through the glass ceiling in banking, entertainment, politics etc and made an equal mess as have their male counterparts.

And at a lower level how many men are fed up at being portrayed in the media, especially television, as the fools in most advertisements, belittled by spouses and even children? The majority in real life are decent, honest, capable and loving husbands and fathers, and respect should be publicly promoted and defended as a two-way street.

Greg Cornwell, Yarralumla

Respect for women

Dear Senator Leyonhjelm, it is just my personal opinion but as an old veteran I was raised to believe that real men used their strength to protect women, not to attack them.

To attack women was always considered the act of a total and utter coward and lowlife.

I guess you and those like you have shown your true colours, you scream about

how political correctness (whatever that is) is wrecking our country, but you cannot cope when someone dares

to speak openly and honestly about gutless snivelling little men who have no respect for women or for themselves.

Doug Steley, Heyfield

Fair assessment

When Senator Hanson-Young pointed out that some men are "pigs and morons" I considered that was, in the context of the debate, a fair and even-minded assessment of the small group of men being discussed.

When Senator David Leyonhjelm reacted as he did, in my view, he served only to grow that group by one. If men ever arrive at a point where we feel we need our fragile egos defended in public we will in all likelihood appoint a suitable spokesperson.

If the day ever comes (seems unlikely at this stage), I would not bother standing by the phone if I were David Leyonhjelm because if we drew up a list of the whole population (men and women) he would on current form be the last name on it.

Mal Wilson, Campbell

Costs of coal power

In his letter headed "NEG is a dud", Alan Barron (Letters, July 5) states that Australia needs to replace the decommissioned Hazelwood brown-coal power plant and the black-coal Liddell plant, which is due to be closed in 2022, with two new high-efficiency, low emissions (HELE) coal-fired plants. Mr Barron also states that "renewables are around two to three times more expensive than fossil fuels". It is true that the cost of energy from existing coal-fired power stations (less than $40 per megawatt/hour) is currently lower than that from wind farms, which is $60-70/MWh — a long way from two to three times higher.

Energy from brown-coal generators is even cheaper — but their emissions are even dirtier.

However, the reverse is true for new coal-fired plants, especially the more expensive HELE type. Power from newly built HELE coal-fired power stations is about $75/MWh — and they still emit huge volumes of carbon dioxide.

Mr Barron is also wide of the mark on the issue of dispatchable power. Wind and solar PV farms, when equipped with battery banks, such as that installed by Elon Musk at the Hornsdale wind farm near Jamestown in South Australia, are ideal dispatchable energy sources because they can be brought into service almost instantly.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

Our caring services

I was involved in a car accident recently. It was relatively minor, but did bring out ambulance, police, and fire and rescue. I was uninjured, but an ambulance officer politely but firmly insisted on checking me over anyway. Then he noticed my dog, Chloe, in the back of the car, and checked her out for injuries, too.

Later an emergency worker held Chloe on a lead to enable me to take down details of the other driver and vehicle.

Police, too, did their best to ease the stress of a difficult morning. Top marks to all, but particularly to the ambo who checked over Chloe.

Bruce Wright, Latham

Charities finally fed

The article on diversion of club payments to charity ("Push to divert club payments to fund", July 4, p.3) was welcome.

Many of the charitable organisations such as St Vincent's, Smith Family, Salvation Army and Canberra's churches have been starved of funding for the homeless and the needy.

One church elder whose church has been feeding and sleeping 20 homeless people told me that the the only help they got from ACT governments was a free needle exchange.

The first item that will cause concern is that it is not the Chief Minister's charitable fund. Rather it should be the ACT Community Charitable Fund. Anything connected to Andrew Barr's name will not sit well with the needy in Canberra. Particularly those priced out of a home of their own.

The second item that caused concern is that it is being run by Hands Across Canberra. On checking its board members there was no representation of St Vinnies or the other previously mentioned charitable bodies.

I have no doubt the board members of Hands Across Canberra are very worthy but it would seem to be commonsense that bodies that are doing the heavy lifting should have at least a majority of board members.

In addition Racing and Gaming should go back to its previous practice of having online a record of each club's total gross revenue from poker machines followed by their net revenues from poker machines and the levy recipients. Apart from these issues it is a good idea and it should have been legislated 20 years ago.

Howard Carew, Isaacs

Sustainable subsidies

I refer to the article by Richard Denniss of The Australia Institute "The real question on subsidies is, what do we want to do less of?" (canberratimes.com.au, June 30).

He suggests reducing subsidies for "old" polluting activities such as coal mining and diesel fuel use in favour of electric vehicles and renewable energy would be popular with the community, but the current federal government is unlikely to ask this question.

While I agree strongly with his thesis it would have been helpful if he had provided some figures to support it.

For example, an article in Solar Choice suggests that the fossil fuel industry in Australia receives "support rebates and tax incentives worth around $10billion each year".

On the other hand research for the Minerals Council of Australia concluded that aggregate subsidies to renewable energy in Australia amounted to almost $3 billion in 2015-16, due to the Renewable Energy Target and "legacy" feed-in tariff schemes. These are however at risk from the federal government's "NEG" or are being wound down.

More broadly, Wikipedia says: "A 2016 study estimated that global fossil fuel subsidies were $US5.3 trillion in 2015" whereas global renewable energy subsidies reached $88 billion in 2011 (less than 2 per cent of fossil fuel subsidies).

The International Energy Agency says subsidies for fossil fuels tend to encourage unsustainable over-production and consumption of polluting, non-renewable resources.

Elimination of such subsidies would have a major effect on reaching carbon abatement targets.

Subsidies for renewable energy in comparison are seen as positive and beneficial for reducing carbon pollution.

Richard Johnston, Kingston

Poor governance

I take umbrage at Alex Mattea's reference to Australia being a banana republic under the farcical "leadership" of this current federal Coalition government (Letters, July 4). Point of fact, Queensland has always been considered a "banana republic", especially under the "leadership" of our own colloquial version of the federal Coalition, the Liberal National Party (LNP).

From the 1960s under what was little more than a gerrymandered dictatorship lead by our peanut premier (Sir) Joh Bjelkie-Petersen, to the short but calamitous reign of the Borbidge/Shelton state Coalition government in the early 1980s to the chaotic and "almost full term, but not quite" Campbell Newman LNP regime in this decade, Queensland has always been able to set the standard example for poor "conservative" government in Australia.

In reality this current federal Coalition government is only following the poor example of their inept northern political cousins in pandering to the whims of the government of Nauru, in failing to challenge the banning of ABC journalists from the Pacific Forum.

As happens now on a daily basis, Malcolm Turnbull has again demonstrated his government's lack of an operational spinal column when it comes to the frank and fearless, impartial journalism from the ABC. If Mr Turnbull, and his Coalition government, can't stand up for the high journalistic standards of our taxpayer funded ABC, what journalistic standards does his government stand for?

Sadly we have become far worse than a banana republic. It's time ... for the federal election.

Michael Darcy, Mount Warren Park, Qld

Selfish cost complaints

If I have understood Renee Richards' article correctly ("I'll be paying $45 a day to go to work" canberratimes.com.au, July 3) it appears that she is complaining about having to pay high childcare fees in spite of having a family income in excess of $351,000 per year.

It appears that Ms Richards can easily afford to pay for the opportunity to use her skills as a physiotherapist for the next few years.

Once her children reach school age she will be able to negotiate part-time hours to suit her parenting needs. But she wants it all and wants it now — and wants taxpayers to subsidise her selfishness.

Alternatively, Ms Richards' partner could choose to become the main carer for the children and she could work full-time as the main "bread winner"; she would then receive the full childcare subsidy.

Such complaints by those who have a family income far above the wildest dreams of most people are beyond the pale.

Families on average incomes truly need the childcare subsidy.

It should not be squandered on those who, by nearly any measure, are very well off.

Steve Ellis, Hackett

TO THE POINT

SELECTIVE MEMORY

Contrary to Mr Abbott's recollection (July 4, p5), I seem to remember the Paris Agreement targets were firm, and that countries were asked to aspire to even greater cuts. Could we revisit the actual agreement, rather than Abbott's memory of it? On Wednesday, on the ABC, I heard Craig Kelly get clean away with claiming that the Turnbull government had created a million jobs in the past year. How can you believe anything these characters say?

S W Davey, Torrens

WALK, DON'T LOOK BACK

I would definitely encourage Tony Abbott to cross the floor. While at it he should keep walking until the Parliament and the broader electorate is rid of him.

Linus Cole, Palmerston

IN THE LAP OF THE DOGS

Leon Trotskyobserved that Nazism degraded political thought to the level of "the dog's bark and the pig's grunt." In this era of social media, Trump's arrogant twitter boasts and crass, childish insults do exactly the same. What conclusion can one draw from this and from those countries that follow the United States like little lapdogs?

Rex Williams, Springwood, NSW

HEY, BIG SPENDERS

So the FFA reportedly spent $300,000 per player on the Socceroos. Sounds fair to me – if we were talking lifetime earnings and not a one-off pre-World Cup camp.

John Howarth, Weston

CORNSTARCH OPTION

Are the cornstarch (biodegradable) shopping bags described by Colin Handley (Letters, July 5) the same as the green-coloured bags made out of vegetable matter that are selectively available? The latter come in various sizes and serve adequately as bin liners and compost containers. I have often wondered why these aren't widely promoted.

Iven Spicer, Gungahlin

GETTING PERSONAL

I was taught many years ago to play the ball, not the man (or woman). I was also taught that if you need to get personal to win an argument, you've already lost. Is it too late for our politicians to learn this?

Rudi Schneider, Pearce

LOOKS AND PERSONALITY

Turnbull and Shorten do not enjoy dictatorial power over their front benches. Senior politicians think for themselves. Any new PM will need a good personality to win the confidence of voters. I have a soft spot for Albanese. He does not look shifty.

Freesia B Orlzov, Flynn

A THOUSAND WORDS

Your picture of One Nation supporter Keith Green, complete with mobility scooter, one-eyed minion, stuffed toys and "oi, oi, oi" Aussie flag (July 5, p6) was a classic.

M. Moore, Bonython

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