So the looney right, headed by Cory Bernardi, again trashes rational climate policy in the Liberal Party ("Backbench forces Josh Frydenberg into backdown", 7/12). The right has forced the more sensible leadership group to rule out an electricity emissions intensity scheme, the economy's largest greenhouse gas-producing sector, thus robbing industry of the long-term policy certainty it craves. Those favouring such a scheme include not only the energy supply networks, the independent Grattan Institute, the government's Climate Change Authority and the CSIRO, but also Innes Willox. Mr Willox heads the Australian Industry Group, representing a wide range of business from manufacturing to defence, ICT and labour hire. Tony Abbott's ideological attempts to destroy the renewable energy target failed and this will too for the same reasons. It's not rational, responsible or what industry wants.
Lynne Holroyd, East Hawthorn
Illustration: Andrew DysonCredit:Andrew Dyson
Rudderless ship
Within a day of saying the government would consider an emissions intensity trading scheme, Josh Frydenberg is in denial. Yet another backdown in the face of the hard right of the backbench. Who is running the government? Clearly not the Prime Minister or anyone with a progressive idea; meanwhile, Australia is a rudderless ship.
Geoff McNamara, Newry
Politicians have no duty of care
I read with alarm that the proposed wide-ranging review into the Coalition's climate change policy has been cut off at the knees by the ideologues in the right wing. This group is saying it doesn't want any rise in electricity prices, although I didn't hear its members bleating when massive over-investment in poles and wires caused equally massive price increases. Their real agenda is their ideological disbelief in the science of climate change. What role ideology has to play in interpreting scientific data is hard to fathom. They don't want anything done to cut our emissions, despite our treaty obligations, and our global moral duty as one of the richest nations, worst polluters and prominent victims.
We all remember how ideology got in the way of the acceptance of the centrality of the sun in our solar system. Truth will eventually out, but this time with an ever-rising cost, as the extent of climate change we have to tackle grows by the year. But, while company directors have a duty of care to their shareholders, parliamentarians have no such duty, so why should they worry? Shame on them. Their grandchildren, if not their children, will suffer the terrible consequences of their ideological blinkers.
Joan Selby Smith, Blackburn
No avoiding price rises
Someone should tell NSW Liberal MP Craig Kelly that there's no way of avoiding paying higher electricity prices. Either due to the inevitable catastrophic climate events resulting from the continued unregulated burning of the right's beloved fossil fuels or by taxing pollution. After all, we can change the laws of economics but we can't change the laws of physics. The loss of our competitive advantage is less worrying than the loss of our planet's life-support systems.
Mark Carter, North Melbourne
Insurance companies missing in action
We have seen high winds, flooding rains, bushfires on the one hot day of last month,and an extraordinary asthma event caused by high pollen count combined with lightning. Who knows what awaits us this summer? It is surprising that large insurance companies are not lobbying governments hard on immediate and meaningful action on climate change.
Ray Kenyon, Camberwell
THE FORUM
Not the real deal
The Coalition claimed Julia Gillard would not have been prime minister if she'd revealed a carbon tax policy before the election. But would Mr Turnbull be prime minister if he'd revealed to voters that his policies would be determined by Messrs Joyce, Bernardi, Christensen and Abbott?
Joan Reilly, Surrey Hills
Don't ignore experts
Julia Baird laments the declining faith in factual reporting and the increasing tendency for journalists to support "the left", particularly in the US (Comment, 6/12).
But if the leaders of the Republican Party, and their cheerleaders here, are those most inclined to disparage expert opinion and factual evidence – clearest perhaps in the right-wing responses to climate change – how can responsible journalists support them?
If the right is concerned at the lack of diverse opinion in the media it should see it not as a sign of bias but a warning that ignoring expertise is inconsistent with an informed public opinion.
Dennis Altman, Clifton Hill
PM on another planet
What a lot could be done with $1billion in North Queensland to create jobs and clean energy, provide rapid and frequent public transport services, and protect and enhance that most precious ecosystem and tourist attraction, the Great Barrier Reef. Instead, our climate change denying government wants to give it to a coal mine that will never survive in a world already transitioning to clean energy. The price of coal will have to double to make the mine viable, says Tim Buckley from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, with most of the jobs from the mine not created in Australia.
The Australian Conservation Foundation's report, "Jobs in a Clean Energy Future", outlines how 1 million jobs can be created by transforming our energy production to a carbon neutral scenario by 2040.
Yet both Coalition and Labor governments at state and federal level want to back this relic with our taxes and ignore the win-win possibilities of more creative thinking and economic planning. PM, what planet are you on?
Jenny Grounds, Riddells Creek
On level playing field
One objection we are hearing to any new carbon costing is that it would increase electricity prices, and so make our industry uncompetitive. However, this argument does not stand up; since virtually all our competitors have also signed up to the Paris protocol, they, too, will have increasing prices through their efforts to reduce emissions. It is also debatable whether the new technologies will necessarily be more expensive, but that is another issue.
Robert Scopes, Hurstbridge
Benevolent PM
Age pensioners will soon receive Christmas cards with this inscription: "Merry Christmas from Mr Turnbull and the Greens. As our gift to you we are donating some of your pension to such deserving recipients as Adani, Chevron and negative gearers (some of whom are politicians). Unfortunately you can't collect your present until January 1, but please accept our benevolence this festive season."
Conrad Corry, Fairfield
Shallow policies
The increasing dominance of Melbourne shows how shallow are state and federal economic policies. The politically important GDP growth rate comes mainly from rapid population increases in urban areas. The rural-urban drift intensifies growth differences.
Economists and politicians disregard "diseconomies of scale" as the rapidly growing population outpaces infrastructure improvement, leaving Melbourne in constant "catch-up" mode. More calls for an airport rail link are indicative of decades of inaction.
Regional areas will continue to suffer. Decentralisation hasn't worked as "old industries" have become globally uncompetitive. The Portland aluminium smelter is a case in point. The challenge is for governments to come up with policies that promote sustainable population and environmental outcomes, rather than just relying on urban population increase to boost GDP growth.
Geoff Hall, Mentone
Apply law without fear
I refer to the article "Courts defy minimum terms" (The Saturday Age, 3/12). The courts were merely applying the law of sentencing as it was passed by parliament. And while predictable, the Premier's demand that judges respond to public opinion in the same way that politicians do was disappointing.
While Victorians want justice, they do not want judges who make decisions based on the 24-hour news cycle, PR-driven focus groups, lobbyists for vested interests, or the demands of wealthy backers. Victoria needs, and has, judges who will apply the law without fear or favour.
Rule of law is under pressure globally – who could have imagined that the mainstream media in the UK would denounce as "enemies of the people" the judges who decided the Brexit procedure based on an interpretation of British constitutional law? We have come to expect this type of attack from the alt-right, but not from those who should know better.
Bruce King, Malvern East
Populism dangerous
Many will no doubt welcome laws that will prevent Craig Minogue from being released on parole. This law effectively says a child rapist and murderer, or a multiple murderer, is less evil than a police killer. There is good reason not to make retrospective laws, as there is for the separation of powers and for politicians not taking over a sentencing function.
Even if Minogue were considered for parole, there is no guarantee he'd ever be released, particularly given he committed another murder in jail and is still regarded as dangerous.
If the government wants to make a change it should make the penalty for murder life and legislate that the only consideration is the non-parole period. And back this up with laws that only in exceptional circumstances can a person who has breached parole for murder ever be released. And the "no body, no bail" provision could be extended so no leniency is shown to a person who has destroyed the body of a victim.
We are heading in the wrong direction when politicians are happy to disregard strong legal principles for populist reasons.
Douglas Potter, Surrey Hills
Police lives on line
Police put their lives on the line every day they go to work to ensure the community's safety. In the past few months Victorians have experienced or read about, an escalating lack of respect for the law. Offenders are putting at risk members of the public and police officers.
Politicians quote statistics that crime rates are not increasing. However, anecdotal evidence is strong. Security firms are experiencing an upswing in business as the public feel less secure in their homes and on the street. While the murder of an infant is abhorrent, the murder of a police officer tears at the very fabric of our society, putting its security and very foundations at risk. As a result killing a police officer calls for a more serious penalty than that for other murders.
Jenny Hobbs, Port Melbourne
Experiment has failed
The continuing decline of educational standards, as measured by the PISA results, raises the question: What has changed since 2003 to explain this decline? There are no doubt many contributing factors but there is an obvious one. Since 2003 government has shovelled ever increasing amounts of money at private education, either to already wealthy schools that don't need the money or to fringe education groups and sects that have no record of delivering quality education. This extra money that has gone to the private sector has necessarily been at the expense of funding to the government sector. This experiment has failed. It is time to reexamine the allocation of funding.
Ross Hudson, Camberwell
Reduced to prayer
Like everyone I am pleased to see Jarryd Roughhead's return to health after fighting cancer but it is not a miracle. It is the result of the application of good science, the skill and dedication of medical teams and his strength in undergoing medical treatments. We need to recognise the value of science, science research and science education. From what I read about declining school results and concerns about teachers' conditions, I can see a time when science and medical research will also decline. Praying for a miracle may then be our only option.
Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill
Clash of anthems
I love the one day internationals against New Zealand because each is a short sharp contest: not five days, not even one day, and the Kiwis always win! Forget Warner, Smith and co; the real contest is the clash of ideologies before the match: the two national anthems. It's these five minutes that really mark the difference between the trans-Tasman rivals.
NZ's richly textured anthem speaks of cultural diversity and struggle. It has deep musical integrity; it has soul, man. This from an old Aussie cricketer who has not renounced his birthright. Let them change their prime minister and their flag if they must, but please let us continue to hear this iconic anthem. And the cricket's not bad, either.
Malcolm Macmillan, Arthurs Creek
AND ANOTHER THING...
Melbourne Airport has realised too late that its real business is in running an aerodrome, not a giant car park.
Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills
I'll be watching through the Pearly Gates by the time an airport rail link is built.
John Manfield, Blairgowrie
The Coalition
The Bernardi government seems determined to cook the planet.
Andrea Bunting, Brunswick
What does it profit a man to hold on to his leadership at the price of his credibility? This Earth will not thank Turnbull; who cares if Cory does.
Carolyn Ingvarson, Canterbury
It's summer and both Turnbull and Frydenberg are wearing their flip-flops.
John Kirk, Canterbury
Is Frydenberg being frozen out?
Brent Baigent, Richmond
Leadership 101: stand up to bullies, Josh.
Jenny Bone, Surrey Hills
While we're selling our souls down river (and on to the reef) to mine destructive material, let's reopen asbestos mines, eh?
Leith McPherson, Elwood
We've moved from core and non-core promises to "little p" and "big P" promises.
Adrian Cope, Gisborne
Imagine how much further behind Turnbull would be in the polls if he faced a decent Opposition Leader?
Corrado Tavella, Rosslyn Park, SA
When Abbott speaks of a "centre-right government", he means he's the centre and he's right.
Tony Lenten, Glen Waverley
Other matters
Culleton culled?
Rob Ward, Lake Tyers Beach
Curiously, the invaders of Hawk Brendan Whitecross' home weren't described as "white" or "Caucasian". Are race and colour only relevant when offenders are black?
Jillian Staton, Glen Iris
Atheists could wear a question mark above their heads (Letters, 6/12).
Caroline Stinear, Berwick