Jill Robinson, Malvern

Not exactly a light bulb moment for the Coalition

By laughably suggesting that if Labor legislates a 45 per cent emissions reduction target or moves in any way towards more renewables, voters can "forget night footy" and "forget night cricket", Michael McCormack demonstrates both absolute ignorance of basic science and a willingness to treat the general public as complete fools. Astounding.

Geoff McNamara, Newry

We can lead by example on emissions

Tony Abbott feels our contribution to carbon emissions makes little difference to global warming. Our country is suffering significantly from climate change. Should we not be encouraging big emitters like India to move away from coal? What better way than leading by example.

Simon Costello, Melbourne

Virtue signalling dressed up as social justice

My question to all those involved in the climate demonstration is simply this: do you own an iPhone? If so, are you willing to publicly smash it for the cause?The reason being that the phone was most likely assembled by Foxconn in China, a country which is currently building hundreds of new coal-fired power plants with a capacity equal to five times Australia's entire electricity market (259 gigawatts, as opposed to 50GW). China is also responsible for 48 per cent of global coal-fired power production.If the answer to both postulated questions above is yes (and I suspect we could count on one hand the number of protesters who would be willing to dispose of their personal devices), then this whole vacuous virtue-signalling exercise dressed up as a social justice jaunt should be exposed for the educational fraud it actually is.

Peter Waterhouse, Craigieburn

Barnaby tosses coal on the fire

I am a long and happy consumer of solar energy having installed solar panels on my home many years ago, and took joy in watching the meter go backwards. Not only is the Morrison government fiddling while Australia burns, now Barnaby Joyce is throwing more coal on the fire.

Anne Paul, Macleod

FORUM

Silly old eccentrics

Hear hear, Irene Bolger (Letters, 13/3). Let the esteemed gentlemen and silly old chauvinist dinosaurs remain in their privileged refuges. May they enjoy many long hours of guffawing and chortling in their surreal closeted havens, with their cigars and wealthy chums.

They are outmoded silly old eccentrics, who don't have a place in wider society in 2019.

Megan Rayner, Boat Harbour, Tas

Make $1 million the limit

Exempt the value of the family home (Letters, 9/3)? Yes, but only up to a value of $1 million. This should apply not only to inheritance tax but to all other forms of liability (for example, entitlement to an aged pension).

Miranda Jones, Drummond

Please, make it a Saturday

Despite having concerns seeing the dreadful results of the education system in not prioritising conventional learning over social issues, I am not necessarily against young people protesting over issues they are persuaded are the greatest moral challenges of our time. Could they not do it, however, on a Saturday?

That way both they and their teachers could show solidarity in giving up their own time in meeting their conscience. They could also do without their mobile phones and PCs for the weekend to save electricity generation.

David Adams, Toorak

Lesson for the impatient

The article ("Anatomy of a Melbourne traffic jam, 12/3) of the great work by the emergency team at VicRoads and the police handling the chaos caused by a recent Monash Freeway closure at Blackburn Road in the morning peak hour is a fascinating insight into the way the team handle situations like this.

It is a great lesson to impatient and critical drivers to take heed of. We can be sure that those working to resolve the problems are doing their utmost to keep the travelling public moving safely and smoothly.

Rob Evans, Glen Iris

Not up to speed

Our freeway network was designed for speeds of 100km/h, however peak hour speeds are now as low as 45km/h and much lower if there are accidents that impede traffic flows. Why have politicians got us into such a fine mess?

Geoff Gowers, St Kilda West

Broker backflip weak

The federal government's backflip on the financial royal commission recommendation to end trailing commissions for mortgage brokers is weak and not in the public interest.

Rod Matthews, Fairfield

Model lobbying

Trailing commissions were described by the banking royal commissioner as money for nothing. Yet the Coalition calls them an important business model for mortgage brokers. Maybe the ACTU should rebadge their demand for a living wage as an important business model for workers.

Mark Hibberd, Aspendale

Surcharge inappropriate

With the reductions in penalty rates and coming small business tax cuts, it was galling to see cafes enforcing a surcharge on Labour Day, a public holiday meant to celebrate gains made by workers.

In the past, cafes always managed these costs over the whole week. The surcharge continues a more recent backlash trend to undermine workers, in this case by implying employees are the cause of surcharges and that disgruntled customers should blame them. Not to mention the opportunity it provides for profiteering.

Paul Spinks, Alma

Cool-headed canaries

While some advocate increasing coal mining ventures in Australia, cooler heads warn of the longer term consequences. (Comment 14/3).

Andrew Remington, Travancore

Fair pay is the solution

So the National Farmers Federation says the labour shortages are a "workforce crisis" and Minister David Coleman says there are "genuine workforce shortages".

The Age recently published an article written by an Australian about his personal experience in the fruit and vegetable picking industry (Comment, 4/3). He spoke of slave-like conditions where the workers were paid far below the award wage and threatened with deportation if they complained.

If this is typical of the agriculture industry in general, then there is no wonder that there is a labour shortage.

If farmers, or any other employers, treat their employees fairly and pay the correct wage, then they would be no labour shortage and no need to bring in overseas workers who are vulnerable to exploitation.

Barry Lizmore, Ocean Grove

Perverse priorities

I very much hoped that those running the royal commission into aged and disability services focus on the major problem of people not getting the services they need and instead getting the ones they do not. Many people want help with heavy housework and gardening, but are told only light is available.

In so many cases, it is the service provider not the client who decides what they will have. If the service provider fears insurance premiums will go up or they will have to pay higher wages for more arduous duties, then so be it.

It is true that in aged care, some people are able to get self-managed packages but they are so complex that it requires considerable business knowledge to administer them.

There also appears to be a problem under NDIS of people who need assistance being refused, and also of people who are already getting what they need being granted packages.

Charlotte Brewer, Shepparton

Religious secrecy

I disagree with the assertion that the Pell case shows that no one is above the law. Groups that claim to be a religion, many of which are dubious due to feeble criteria, are exempted from laws governing discrimination, taxation and general financial record keeping which allows them to operate secretively with minimal transparency and oversight under the guise of religious freedom.

Paul Miller, Box Hill South

Simple message lost

Although I am agnostic, I can understand the emotional angst that the conviction of George Pell is causing the Catholic faithful. The simple message of love, kindness and compassion contained in the early Christian teachings has been appropriated by dogmatic institutions whose chief mission has been to accumulate wealth, power and political influence.

My aunt was a staunch atheist and showed much love, kindness and compassion to all she met.

Recent scientific advances point to "encoded information" being a key driver of the origin of life and evolution of the mind, with DNA being an important facilitator. I find this proposition disappointing, as it does not ask the obvious question, where did the information come from?

Tony Priestley, Fitzroy

More money down drain

It's a strange world. At Albert Park spectators are praying for clear skies for a car race while in Gippsland, Victorians are praying for rain so they can keep their livestock alive and food on the table for their children.

The Victorian Auditor-General reports that after the last grand prix admission ticket is counted, the last hotel and motel bill is paid, last T-shirt and cap sold, last meal, taxi, cocktail, haircut, beer, massage, petrol, airplane and train ticket and money lost at the gambling tables at Crown Casino during grand prix week has been calculated, the Victorian taxpayer still has to find an extra $60 million to pay for the losses the event suffers. Go figure.

As a Victorian taxpayer, I would much prefer that my portion of the $60 million would go to the farmers of Gippsland. Or, if the needed rains ever arrived, I wouldn't even mind my taxes helping those waiting in pain on a list for a hip or knee replacement.

Perhaps it's time to stop and think about it before we decided to toss away another $60 million next year. I have a hunch what a Gippsland farmer would say.

Peter Gillespie, Balaclava

Local sport is the loser

For one week Albert Park is closed to more than 99 per cent of Melburnians for a foreign-owned multimillion-dollar business that requires millions in public subsidies every year to keep that sporting event viable. Meanwhile the impact on local sport is huge.

Thousands of participants will be denied access to their sports of Little Athletics, fitness running, football, basketball, squash, table tennis, netball, swimming and hockey. Many sporting grounds will also be unusable for many months, and some areas of the park will not recover at all.

Perhaps we should take "Healthy Parks, Healthy People" more seriously and use our parks for the uses that were intended when the parks were created.

Greg Byrne, Port Melbourne

We did it better back then

Regarding letters about wages and conditions, when I began my first job at the old Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital in 1967, I worked nine-to-five, had free parking, free sandwiches for morning tea, free two-course hot lunch, and free cakes for afternoon tea. When I finished at my second place of employment, parking was deducted from pay, most staff skipped morning and afternoon tea, lunch was just enough time to eat and unpaid overtime was done. I think I can remember fondly the good old days.

James Cassidy, Mount Waverley

Selective concern

How ironic that Donald Trump orders the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft due to safety concerns, but doesn't share the same passion when it comes to gun control.

Ed Veber, Malvern East

Key details missing

Yet another article ("Airport rail could share Metro Tunnel", The Age,14/3) about the airport rail link, but still no clarification. Will the new line be magnetic levitation or just the regular high-speed rail?

Tim Freer, Torquay

AND ANOTHER THING

Climate

Isn't it tragic that school kids are climate clever and caring while the government is not?

Barbara Fraser, Burwood

Beware the ire of marchers.

Lee Kennedy, Box Hill

Pell

The silence of the Catholic Church is deafening.

Jenny Bone, Surrey Hills

Peter Westmore, in his defence of George Pell ("Judge's words ring out, but church stays silent", 14/3), states "that's not the George Pell that I know". They never are.

John Cain, McCrae

Let George Pell spend his time safely in jail as an anchorite. Solitary confinement in order to pray and contemplate .

Carolyn Reynolds, Lake Boga

Will Pell's cell be decorated in cardinal and plain vanilla ?

Jeffrey Kelson, Prahran

Could the Pope please speak up. We can't hear you.

Graham Cadd, Dromana

Politics

The Liberals didn't want a banking royal commission. Now they're ignoring some of its recommendations.

Alan Williams, Port Melbourne

Another "Dog's Brexit". And we think we've got troubles.

Myra Fisher, Brighton East

Scott Morrison must wake up each morning wondering which scare campaign to bring out for that day.

Garry Meller, Bentleigh

Victorian Liberal voters will take time to forgive the dumping of Malcolm Turnbull by the three "amigos". When is the federal Liberal party going to learn?

Barry Sneddon, Mornington

Can we expect Advance Australia to challenge Get Up! to a duel some time soon?

Joan Segrave, Healesville

Finally

There's more to life than football. There's also more to football than football.

Robert Miller, Normanville

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