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VINTAGE LEUNIG

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CLIMATE CHANGE

Court’s finding gives us all hope for the future
The Federal Court finding against Environment Minister Sussan Ley in a court action brought by eight students that politicians have “a duty of care”to children to protect them from the impacts of climate change (“Politicians have ’climate duty of care‴⁣⁣, The Age, 28/5) should give us hope for the future as these schoolchildren and many thousands of their friends are aware, motivated, committed and passionate in their fight to repair the damage we have done to the planet and they will soon be old enough to vote.

Good on you, kids. Maybe it is way past the time when we old fogeys sat up and took notice and acted before it is too late.
Ron Hayton, Beaumaris

We adults can learn from these children
Bravo and congratulations to the young people who have taken Sussan Ley to court. While not achieving what they may have hoped for, they have, by their courage and determination, highlighted the issues that concern many young people today. There is no doubt politicians have a responsibility and duty of care for our environment, as the judgment accepted “climate change was caused by carbon dioxide emissions”.

It seems witless for the minister to approve an extension to the Vickery coal mine in NSW. These young people give recognition and hope for people power. We adults can learn much from their endeavours. We do not have the right to leave the earth uninhabitable for them.
Judith Morrison, Mount Waverley

Even powerful leaders cannot stop the tides
King Canute proved that even powerful leaders cannot stop the tides. Evidence – of the demise of fossil fuels – is lapping at Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s knees yet he continues to resist the inevitable.

The Hague court has determined that Shell must reduce its emissions by 45 per cent by 2030, and Chevron shareholders have voted to reduce their own and customers’ emissions (“Big emitters caught in vice”, Business, 28/5).

European countries are legislating to ban flights of up to four hours where there are high-speed-train alternatives (“Europe shifting in net-zero push”, The Sunday Age, 23/5). Our major allies (Britain and the US) are pleading with Australia to support them in their emission reduction crusade. Major purchasers of our coal (including Japan) are racing to reduce their consumption. Europe plans to impose a carbon levy on our exports if our emission rules are not strengthened.

Maybe Justice Mordecai Bromberg’s (“Politicians have ‘climate duty of care’”, The Age, 28/5) admonition that the government has a duty of care to its citizens will finally alert the PM to the rising tide.
Peter Thomson, Brunswick

Individuals play a part, but governments’ role is vital
Yes, it is important that Australians as individuals play a part in reducing carbon emissions (“Australians must curb overseas flights, drive more slowly to hit net zero by 2050”, The Age online, 29/5). But governments also have a vital role to play. The federal government has recently committed $224 million to developing gas infrastructure in the Northern Territory Beetaloo Basin.

Gas is an emissions-intensive fossil fuel and not a viable energy source in the transition to renewables, as some would have us believe. Committing to a “gas-led recovery” is not leading our country in the right direction to net zero emissions.
Anne O’Hara, Wanniassa, ACT

Industries have always had to face change
Patrick Suckling is correct that coal industry workers have to face the reality that the coal industry is being phased out (“False prophets fail coal communities”, Comment, 29/5).

For hundreds of years industries have had to face up to and adapt to change. Real leaders help the workers to accept and prepare for the change.

Joel Fitzgibbon needs to get real.
Peter Hogan, North Fitzroy

THE FORUM

Let down at the coal face
We have three weapons to protect us from COVID 19: quarantine, vaccination and QR codes. We all know about the failures of quarantine and the vaccine rollout. I want to address the lacklustre use and resultant limited efficacy of QR codes. Particularly in Victoria.

Yes, we now have improved contact tracing. But, it can only be completely successful when there is swift access to precise, readily available contact information. The sort that is provided by QR codes.

We currently find ourselves in another lockdown because the spread of the virus is broad and has outrun the ability of the contact tracers to locate citizens who have been exposed at more than 170 sites, many of which were not actively enforcing QR-coded entry into their premises.

Through complacency and slackness, businesses and customers have not only failed to protect themselves and the community, they have caused everyone to lock down while contact tracers and testing centres struggle to sort out the mess.

We, as citizens cannot fix quarantine. Nor can we manage the vaccination rollout. But, as customers and business owners, we can adopt a “No QR code – no entry” approach to protect ourselves and empower the contact tracing team.
Robyn Kay, South Yarra

Dodging the runners
So I set off on my favourite walking path, carefully donning a mask for the protection of myself and others. It’s not long before I am approached by a huffing and puffing jogger – unmasked, of course – who passes within half a metre, spraying me with possibly COVID-saturated droplets. A few minutes later, another one passes. Then another.

What do I do? A) give up walking on that path? B) take my walk at midnight, when joggers aren’t around? or, C) carry an aerosol can of disinfectant to spray the joggers?

y activities as a chorister have been severely constrained by COVID restrictions, which I accept as sensible. Why are joggers allowed to do as they please?
Mike Puleston, Brunswick

In a race with the virus
The Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and now the Trade Minister keep telling us that the vaccination rollout “is not a race”.

While obviously we are not in the race to get all our population vaccinated as soon as possible, we are in a race with the virus. If our safety is the PM’s primary concern, then follow Professor Mary-Louise McLaws’ advice (“Call for jab shake-up to put young workers first”, The Sunday Age, 30/5) to prioritise vaccine distribution to Victoria and let’s get on with it.
Motivation was never so high.
Alison Fraser, Ascot Vale

I want that watch
After reading another absolutely terrific article (“Testing, very testing”, Spectrum, The Age, 29/5) by Anson Cameron, a conclusion could be drawn that an awful lot of people (and worryingly, perhaps most) don’t want to hear the truth.

Add to that, that a lot of people (perhaps the majority) actually don’t listen to what is being said (thinking only of what they are going to say in a minute), and it’s no wonder at all that Australia has the entrenched two-party political system, which most of us profess to not like, but, unsurprisingly, we have.

Politicians evade telling the truth and do everything possible to avoid doing so, so that when an honest pollie comes along, we just don’t know what to do.

Truth telling … what a great world it would be, if we all had a watch like Anson’s.
Jill Loorham, Carrum

It doesn’t add up
Who came up with the strange way of counting that uses the term “patient zero” for the first person to be infected at the start of an outbreak? That person is obviously patient number one.

When counting the number of items, occurrences etc, you start counting at one – otherwise, if you counted, say, 10 apples, and started at zero, the 10th apple would be number nine.

Starting at zero is appropriate for lineal measurements, such as the length of a piece of timber. If you wanted to measure off a certain length, you would hook the tape measure onto the starting point, which would be zero length. Metre number one would be reached at the end of the first metre, and so on.
Laurie Martin, Croydon North

Multipurpose housing?
In Peter Hartcher’s article (“PM’s complacency is infectious”, Comment, 29/5) a “person involved in the [quarantine] decision-making process” says the federal government refuses to carry the extra load of using taxpayers’ funds to expand or build new quarantine facilities.

However, given increased probability of future pandemics, non-hotel quarantine will be necessary.

Why could the cost of these camp-like facilities not be mitigated by allowing homeless people to live there when quarantine numbers are low? If these camps were built in spaces with access to public transport, such as near airports, then non-quarantine residents could live safely and still connect with their community, rather than being on the streets.
Andrew Smith, Leongatha

A media bunfight
I have always supported the idea of a free media and have applauded their dogged investigation of issues. Like Anne Kruger (“The media’s lack of respect”, Letters, 28/5) however, I too am appalled at the tone of those questioning Brett Sutton and James Merlino as they announced the latest lockdown.

That media conference was a bunfight of shouty journalists, many trying desperately to outdo each other in forming the “gotcha” question they think might snare them a, award.

It was a howling mob, baying for blood and someone, even better if it could be more than one, to crucify. Now it’s the contact tracers – those lazy so-and-sos – who are asleep on the job.
Anna Giovannoni, Ormond

No wonder there are delays
Early in May, I phoned to make an appointment for a vaccination. I was given a time early the next day and was welcomed to the centre. The whole experience took about 15 minutes and I was free to go.

The reason for the current whingeing about getting an appointment is that for some time people were: a) anti-vaxxers b) afraid of the possibility of a blood clot, or c) waiting for the ″⁣safe″⁣ injection in October.

Now that we are facing a possible third wave, people are all trying to get an appointment at the same time and it is no wonder there are delays.

I suffered no ill effects from the injection and if people are prepared to get in the queue and wait, we may yet reach herd immunity before it is too late.
Michael Nolan, Capel Sound

Look in the mirror
There has been a lot of noise about six-hour queues for the jab, blaming the Andrews’ government, when only a little while ago ago you could stroll into the Exhibition Centre and get your jab in no time.

Look in the mirror before bellyaching about the delay.
Rex Condon, Ashwood

In the brace position
The Prime Minister maintains that hotel quarantine has a 99.99 per cent success rate.

I am glad the aviation industry doesn’t use the same measure. A failure rate of 0.01 per cent equates to six aircraft crashes a year on the Melbourne to Sydney route (based on 2019 flight statistics).

On this basis hotel quarantine is like a plane crash in slow motion and in Victoria we are the luckless passengers in brace position.
Tim Davis, Heidelberg

The knock-on effect
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute group leader Professor Fiona Russell admonishes the state government for ordering a state-wide lockdown (“School closures come under fire”, The Age, 28/5), particularly of all schools, because statistics show low COVID-19 infection levels in the children (does that include the newer identified Indian strain?) and high child emotional distress when blocked from attending school.

Unusually, it seems, I prefer to include the welfare of adult teachers and other staff at schools who attend work from a range of localities and the families they go home to in various locations. And don’t forget the children’s carers taking children to and from schools.

The reality lesson for children, and perhaps Professor Russell, is that statistics and routines are not necessarily locked in stone and there are many other people to consider beyond ourselves.
Bruce Watson, Clifton Springs

He does have a point
Before you have a go at federal Trade Minister Dan Tehan for telling us that the “Melbourne Cup is a race, the Stawell Gift is a race” and that the vaccination rollout isn’t a race, remember, he does have a point – the two events he so succinctly pointed out are professionally run events that occur on time and have definite, well-publicised outcomes.
Peter Gribben, Drouin

Shouldering the blame
I went for a walk around my local area on the first day of the lockdown. I saw many people, including older people, totally ignoring the directive about mask wearing. Their arrogance and bloody-mindedness was astonishing.

There has been the predictable outrage directed at the federal government, the state government and health authorities. Perhaps people should be pointing the finger at the community as well.
Tim Douglas, Blairgowrie

Adding to the stress
The media, in an attempt to show us the government’s COVID-19 telephone system is over-stressed, ring the government numbers.

Yes, I know it’s only a couple of calls, but surely radio personalities could find another way to illustrate the situation rather than putting further stress on the system.
Peter McGill, Lancefield

AND ANOTHER THING

QR compliance
Any business that has clearly decided not to control and enforce QR scanning and any individual who refuses to sign in should be publicly shamed as well as being fined heavily. There is no excuse.
Kevin Ward, Preston

Credit:

Life in lockdown
First Saturday night of lockdown and NBN failed to deliver. But we had toilet paper .
Bryan Fraser, St Kilda

On Sunday morning, a number of traders in the seafood section of Queen Victoria Market were not wearing masks correctly. Why aren’t the responsible authorities enforcing compliance, especially at this time of lockdown?
Leslie Kilmartin, Carlton

Hotel quarantine
Was King Harold’s armour at the Battle of Hastings (1066) 99.99 per cent effective?
John Rogers, Tarneit

The Tokyo Olympics
I cannot understand the foolishness of sending athletes and support staff to Japan in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Australians should be responsible global citizens and not impose upon an exhausted Japanese population.
Janet Cohen, Caulfield North

A trip down memory lane
What a wonderful column Kate Halfpenny writes (“That nostalgia hit that keeps on giving: My Corona! (Ooh you make my memories run)”, Comment, 29/5). Her stories of past cars brought back so many memories.
Peter Davies, Templestowe

Furthermore
The evidence is in. Sunday and public holiday penalty rate reductions phased in from 2017 have not impacted “positively on employment in retail and hospitality sectors” (My Career, The Age, 29/5). Surprised, not.
Kate McCaig, Surrey Hills

Finally
The mantra spouted by the federal government that the vaccine rollout is “not a race” is absurd. Of course it’s a race – it’s a race against time.
Jenny Bone, Surrey Hills

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