![Kangaroos in Weston Park. Picture by Karleen Minney Kangaroos in Weston Park. Picture by Karleen Minney](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/3BUUzmFAhrhLyX9rFCubPq5/908a8e73-d480-4d96-9cd9-c395ca058a14.jpg/r54_0_3401_1881_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Here is a case of the insanity of killing for entirely the wrong reasons.
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In its relentless drive to develop a big Canberra, the ACT government has decided it has a problem with an overabundance of kangaroos. This ignores the obvious evidence that humans have continuously squeezed Canberra's native population of kangaroos into smaller and smaller areas, surrounding their habitats with increasingly busy roads.
The government then has decided that the only solution to this "problem" is to slaughter thousands of kangaroos every year, even though its claimed solution has no connection to the real cause. The government's conclusion is a classic false-cause fallacy.
The Labor-Greens kangaroo cull is hideously cruel. As such, this solution to an incorrectly analysed problem can only be evidence of collective insanity.
John Grace, Mount Fairy, NSW
Time to embrace nuclear option
Well done to the Coalition for putting forward a nuclear policy. Climate change has been the gift that keeps on giving for Labor and the Greens, and more recently the teals.
Whether you accept climate change is upon us, or feel the science is palpably wrong, or belong to a class of agnostics like me, we do need to ensure our future energy needs are delivered and are reliable. The renewables fantasy leaves us exposed during cloudy and windless days. Batteries as back-up will consume incredible volumes of rare earth minerals and will only last for short periods. Solar panels will use up valuable farmland. Rewiring Australia will cost buckets (depriving health, education, roads and defence of funding), and damage pristine environments. Industry will close up and move off-shore without reliable and cheap base-load power.
The left side of politics needs to grow up, and abandon its 1970s aversion to nuclear power. Nuclear power plants have been around for over 60 years in western countries and many more are under construction.
Let's hope the voters can see with local energy security provided by nuclear, the lights will stay on, industry will stay on shore, prices will come down, and we will not be beholden to foreign manufacturers, often in hostile countries. Let the energy debate begin.
Ian Morison, Forrest
Renewables are the answer
The mining industry is currently engaged in spreading many falsehoods about renewables. The following are only a few of them.
Myth: "Wind and solar take more energy to produce than they save." An Austrian study found it would take only seven months for a wind turbine to save the emissions created by its manufacture and installation. Coal plants pollute for their entire lifetime.
Myth: "A third of agricultural land will be needed to meet net zero targets." Renewables replacing coal will only require 0.4 per cent of agricultural land in NSW.
Farmers for Climate Action reports that members are successfully running stock around wind and solar installations, as well as growing fruit and vegetables under solar panels.
Myth: "Wind turbines harm human health." The National Health and Medical Research Council says that "there is no consistent evidence for this claim".
Myth: "What we need is nuclear power." Nuclear power is too expensive, takes too long to build and train for and no Australian wants it anywhere near them.
The only form of this energy that might be considered safe is nuclear fusion and the only company that has invested in developing that (an American firm) has given up on the expense involved and shut the project down. There are no other takers.
These are only some of the anti-renewables falsehoods fossil fuel propaganda is spreading. You don't need three guesses as to why they are doing that.
Bob Montgomery, Wagga Wagga, NSW
Mixed message on boys schools
Simon Smart offers a case for all-boys schools (February 16, p66).
He attended an all-boys school himself, and taught at one, at which he was also a council member.
Why have all-boys schools? Choice is inherently good, he says; not choice by students themselves, though. And the question must surely be whether a choice is really different, in some way that matters.
And boys have particular needs in learning style and in emotional development, says Smart. Do mixed schools not consider the learning styles of particular students and groups, and do they not advance emotional development of boys? Smart doesn't even say so, much less offer any evidence that mixed schools do less or do worse.
He saw a drama class in a boys school that went well. Do no drama classes in mixed schools go well for boys? It would surely be different, says Smart ... without any hint of evidence. If this is a case for all-boys schools, it offers nothing in support of them. And, yes, mine was an all-boys high school.
Christopher Hood, Queanbeyan
The left side of politics needs to grow up, and abandon its 1970s aversion to nuclear power.
- Ian Morison, Forrest
Disturbing hidden fees
I am perturbed by how hidden credit card surcharges are becoming more common, where the merchant doesn't notify the consumer of the added charge even though the Australian Consumer Law requires them to do so.
It's only when you check your credit card account that you notice the surcharge.
This can include cases where the merchant doesn't accept cash, leaving you with no way of avoiding the surcharge.
John Burge, Curtin
Serious failures
What on earth are the Australian Border Force and/or Australian Navy doing if not patrolling Australia's north-west coast line with a view to preventing landings by so-called "asylum seekers"?
If that is not the priority for both forces, you have to question what is.
The Australian government would be well justified in putting the boot into both forces for what appear to be serious failures in their operations. Clearly their respective leaders need to be given a public dressing down and called to account for these lapses.
Don Sephton, Greenway
Our most contemporary poet
I was reading an article about whether Taylor Swift's songs and lyrics should be studied as English literature. Back in the '70s when I was teaching secondary English, I taught the poetry of Simon and Garfunkle. Their songs, The Boxer, Sounds of Silence and I am a Rock, were all beautiful poetry.
The songs of Bob Dylan have also been recognised as exceptional poetry. I think we're very quick to dismiss the quality of some of our contemporary songwriters. We need to remember that Donne, Keats, Coleridge and Wordsworth were all once contemporary poets of their times and now we study them as part of English literature.
It seems that often it is only as we look back that we see the beauty of their words. It's time to recognise the amazing lyrics of our most contemporary poet.
Merrie Carling, Nicholls
Jack has it wrong
Jack Waterford ("Hate speech, doxxing are different things", February 17) has it completely wrong. Anthony Albanese wasn't referring to the doxxing of the Jewish lawyers group when he made the comments Waterford quotes, although that was bad enough.
He was referring to the doxxing of a Jewish creatives chat group made up of writers, artists and musicians who came together to support each other in the face of antisemitism, with very little discussion of Israel. As Mr Albanese said, all they had in common was that they were Jewish, but that was enough for some to think it was appropriate to circulate their contact details and encourage others to attack them.
Jack is also wrong with his often-repeated claim that Jewish community groups regard all criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic.
The Jewish community advocates for the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, which clearly states that criticism of Israel the same as could be made of any other state is not anti-Semitism.
Alan Shroot, Forrest
Sadly out of date
In her piece about how marriage disadvantages women, Virginia Haussegger refers to "data" and "reputable research" to support her view yet she fails to produce any, simply mentioning the "lived experience" of many women. Again, no real evidence.
Haussegger assumes that a term used by a radio commentator, "Missus", reflects a common attitude today. She is sadly out of date.
Nowadays, marriage is seen, in enlightened circles, as an equal partnership based on mutual respect, friendship, support and love. When I married for the first time over 60 years ago, I took my husband's surname as our family name to unite us and the children who would come along by birth and adoption.
Neither he nor I felt in any way subservient to the other, but enjoyed each other's personality, qualities and interests.
Above all, our shared values and sense of purpose in our life together upheld us. Ten years after his death after nearly 44 years of marriage, I married again with the same outcome.
Let us all salute with optimism the forthcoming marriage of the Prime Minister and his fiancee and all others looking forward to a fulfilling life as a couple.
Mary Samara-Wickrama, Weston
To the point
QUALITY COSTS MORE
"Elegant buildings which taxpayers can be proud of can still be created on limited budgets." No, they can't. Quality always has and always will cost.
John Tozer, Weetangera
DISCONNECTED DUTTON
Peter Dutton has said that a future LNP government will repeal Labor's right to disconnect laws. With comments such as this it's pretty clear that Dutton is already disconnected from most voters. However, as his employers, perhaps the taxpayers of Australia should start phoning him in the wee hours of the morning day in day out. I reckon it wouldn't take long for him to disconnect his phone with or without the proposed law.
Keith Hill, New Acton
SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT
Now the educational gurus have decided that learning to sound out words is the best way to learn to read. What an amazing cutting-edge approach. Funny but wasn't that how all kids learnt 55 years ago. Just saying!
Dennis Sweeney, Monash
PM'S BEST CALL YET
Congratulations to the PM and his long-standing partner Jodie on their recently announced engagement. This must surely rate as the PM's most sensible and clear cut decision since his elevation to the top job in the land.
Mario Stivala, Belconnen
NORTHERN BIAS
Tram to "nowhere" Simon Troeth (Letters, February 16)? The good burghers of Woden will no doubt regard that as yet another Northerner slight on the south-of-the-lake regions.
James Mahoney, McKellar
LAY OFF BARNABY
Simply being a politician shouldn't make you fair game. My political views are far removed from those of Barnaby Joyce, but I deplore the pile-on that followed his accident in a Canberra street. Yes, he was foolish if he over-indulged in alcohol whilst on medications, but we are all foolish at times. It is harder to forgive a bystander who paused to take a photograph of the incident, rather than hastening to help someone in distress, and then posted the photo on social media. Nor do I absolve the media outlets who gleefully published the embarrassing picture. Let's remember that a couple of millennia ago someone cautioned against being too eager to cast stones.
Ron Jelleff, Farrer
EASE UP ON ASSANGE
We are now bound by AUKUS to follow blindly whichever crazy president the Americans elect into their dangerous wars. Is it such a big ask for them, in exchange, to take their boot off Julian Assange's throat?
Richard Manderson, Narrabundah
SOLD A LEMON
A property industry executive has said, "The new [planning] system felt overly confusing compared with the rules-based system". What a surprise! He said, "This legislation needs exceedingly bright and motivated minds inside the planning directorate to make these things happen". Good luck with that! And also: "I wouldn't be surprised if [the legislation] had another shift in the next few years." In other words, the whole "Planning System Review and Reform" project has been a colossal waste of time and money.
Richard Johnston, Kingston
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