Today (Tuesday, March 12) I saw the photos of the vandalism of the Vietnam War Memorial in Canberra and I am livid.
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How dare they. Get out of my country.
![Vandalising the Vietnam War Memorial on Anzac Parade in support of Palestinians living in Gaza was an act of sacrilege a reader has said. Picture by Karleen Minney Vandalising the Vietnam War Memorial on Anzac Parade in support of Palestinians living in Gaza was an act of sacrilege a reader has said. Picture by Karleen Minney](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/LLBstgPA4H8EG9DTTGcXBL/9003303e-4a13-4522-8453-048b94286164.jpg/r0_0_5568_3712_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
If it was not for those who served in the Australian military and the thousands of Americans who died defending Australia the freedoms the perpetrators abuse would not exist.
If they think Australia's responses to the Malayan Emergency, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War were wrong then go and live in North Korea and enjoy the paradise they must imagine exists there.
The police have to prosecute those responsible. They have crossed a line.
No leniency should be shown.
Michael de Percy, Gunning, NSW
Don't defend Israel
I'm surprised by the number of contributors to these pages expressing points of view seemingly devoid of all thought, empathy and humanity.
Israeli propaganda talking points are often regurgitated without even the most superficial examination.
What's also surprising is what seems to me a disproportionate preponderance of support in these pages for Israel's military campaign against the civilian population of Gaza when compared to polling of wider Australian society.
Could it be that a large proportion of contributions criticising Israel's actions are deemed unfit to print?
Contributors who see a genocide taking place right before our very eyes are understandably upset, and far more emotionally invested in the conversation than those of the opinion that thirteen thousand dead children are an unfortunate and unintentional, but somehow unavoidable consequence of a modern military force doing their very best to avoid civilian casualties.
If this is the case I'd like to direct the editor to something said by Barry Goldwater, but penned by his speechwriter, Karl Hess: "Extremism in defence of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue".
James Allan, Narrabundah
Stamp it out
On Insiders, climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen reckoned that the Coalition's upgraded nuclear power plan "crumbles like a Sao in a blender" when scrutinised.
But there is no need to drag out kitchen equipment to test the substance of Peter Dutton's steadfast scourge of a masterplan for locating not small but large nuclear reactors on retired coal-fed power plant sites.
Instead, a firm twist of a shoe, as if stubbing out a smouldering ciggie, would be sufficiently apt and just as effective.
Sue Dyer, Downer
Israel is culpable
As someone with a strong personal commitment to the security of Israel I have become increasingly annoyed at the number of your correspondents who unquestioningly side with the actions of the most extreme right-wing government that country has ever had. Those actions reduce the likelihood Israel can ever exist in secure peace with its neighbours.
G T W Agnew (Letters, March 9) is a good example. Rather than focus on the culpability of Israel for the enormous humanitarian disaster unfolding in Gaza and on the threat to the functioning of UNRWA he tries to throw the blame on Hamas.
How can any Palestinian organisation meet the needs of its people when most of them have been displaced, most health and education infrastructure has been destroyed and, according to the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, 5 per cent of the population is dead, injured or missing?
It is not Hamas that has abandoned the people of Gaza, it is the international community that has done this.
Peter Zoller, Yarralumla
Include nuclear
Dr Mackenzie says, correctly, that small modular nuclear reactors are a developing technology (Letters, March 11). But that's also true of many renewable technologies.
The International Energy Agency has observed that "half the emission reductions needed to reach net zero come from technologies not yet on the market". He also says that it would take at least 10 years to have nuclear energy up and running.
That's about the same time it will take to install all the wind turbines the Climate Change and Energy Minister says are needed.
Nuclear power is one of the few options available to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Excluding nuclear from the mix of technologies as the federal government has done makes no sense.
R Webb, Griffith
An imperial hangover
I am afraid I can't agree with David D'Lima (Letters, March 9) that the Commonwealth is a "grand association". It is just a contemporary manifestation of the British Empire.
Although the position of Head of the Commonwealth is not technically hereditary, King Charles III inherited role thanks to his mother's wishes.
Colonisation was all about exploitation and that exploitation continues in some cases. For example, as during the colonial period, the UK government ensures that British mining companies have access to Africa's raw materials.
Having lived in Nigeria, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Brunei and Sarawak as a child, I observed the British administrators' arrogant and unedifying attitudes to the "natives".
The Windrush scandal wasn't that long ago either.
Felicity Chivas, Ainslie
Nuclear too late
The argument against nuclear power in Australia is simple. We have an urgent need to replace our decrepit coal-fired generators and to reduce both our emissions and our cost of electricity. Nuclear power would be too expensive and too late.
The widespread Victorian blackout was due to coal-fired generators dropping out because of the demand spikes. The solution is to strengthen the grid to withstand this type of shock as SA has done with the Hornsdale battery.
For many areas the blackout was prolonged by storm damage to the reticulation network. This network is needed irrespective of the type of generation. The only solution is to move it underground. On the other hand, failure to address climate change will make the problem worse.
Paul Pentony, Hackett
Mass of contradictions
Peter Dutton is a marvel of contradictions.
Apparently we can have nuclear power because the rest of the developed world has nuclear power.
Don't worry about the ridiculous timeline and the cost even though we need solutions today.
And we can't have vehicle emissions and fuel consumptions standards despite the fact that the rest of the developed world have imposed them with none of the cost increases the Coalition is bleating about.
In the long run they save consumers money as vehicles use less fuel.
So what is it Peter?
Can we or can't we do what the rest of the world does?
Does the mindless scare campaign always trump logic?
Ross Hudson, Mount Martha, Vic
France's wise decision
Bravo France for making abortion a constitutional right. When Roe v Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court, American women lost a basic right that they had enjoyed for 49 years.
Thus it was heartening to see France under President Macron ensuring that existing laws, which give women the right to abortion, cannot be overturned by a future government.
It would be nice if there were no need for abortions, but there is. Contraception sometimes fails, women get raped, and circumstances change after conception, such as death or disappearance of the partner.
Without access to safe abortions women turn to illegal unsafe ones, sometimes resulting in death. It may mean that a young mother dies leaving her existing children without proper care. In some countries, they die too or, at best, lead diminished lives.
France has set a precedent that I hope other countries will follow. In the meantime, all women and adolescent girls who need it should have access to affordable contraception, along with sex education, so the need for abortion is minimised.
Jenny Goldie, Cooma, NSW
Not our problem?
Re Rod Holesgrove (Letters, March 9).
Most people would agree that there is global warming but Australia's contribution to carbon dioxide emissions is about 1.5 per cent.
We could get to net zero by 2030 to 2050 and not have one jot's effect on global warming as long as the major contributors, China and India and possibly the USA with Trump continue to use coal-fired power stations.
In addition it is a joke that to get to net zero we will be importing wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles from China which will all have been manufactured by their coal fired power.
In the process we will trash our own economy.
Dave Roberts, Canberra
TO THE POINT
JENNA PRICE IS WRONG
Racial vilification laws relate to the vilification of a person by another because of their race. They don't state one race has "privilege" and can therefore be vilified at leisure. Jenna Price's article (March 8) is offensive and wrong. Racial abuse is racial abuse no matter what race the person being targeted belongs to.
Dennis Sweeney, Monash
JUST SHOW RESPECT
Eric Hunter is correct when he says that in the past we were using racial slurs (Letters, March 12). Now we must respect other people, regardless of race or other differences. This even applies to drunken sports stars.
Paul O'Connor, Hawker
WHO DID WHAT?
Mark Sproat (Letters, March 12) bemoaned the fact he was expected to support "a well-known athlete" who misbehaved by getting "drunk, throws up in a cab, and abuses the driver to the extent police have to be called ... while getting paid an obscene amount of money to kick a bag of wind". Which male rugby union, rugby league, or AFL player is he referring to? So many fit the bill.
Kathryn Spurling, Chifley
IS IT SCHADENFREUDE?
Re that royal photo. Can anyone else hear the loud chuckles from Montecito?
James Mahoney, McKellar
STORM IN A TEA CUP
I don't get it. A media frenzy, especially on ABC news, over some sort of inconsequential photo manipulation of some British royals. Meanwhile hundreds of Gazan children are being operated on in appalling circumstances as a result of the Israeli bombardment.
Roderick Holesgrove, Crace
IT'S OUR MONEY
The online headline read "Labor to pay super on paid parental leave". Make no mistake, Labor will be paying nothing. The only money they have is ours.
Mark Sproat, Lyons
WHAT ABOUT THE WASTE?
I am angry every time the Coalition states they want to introduce nuclear power. Not once is there a mention of the toxic nuclear waste that remains dangerous for thousands and thousands of years. Haven't we ruined our planet enough with the use of fossil fuels?
Victoria Lilley, Monash
BUT THERE'S NO CASH
Janine Haskins' comments about how to improve the AMC (Letters, March 11) are laudable and indeed workable. The AMC's model of operation and funding were flawed from the start. To make the improvements Janine suggests would require political and community will. But it's a moot point. There is no money anyway. Barr has spent it all on light rail.
Ian Jannaway, Monash
RALLY BEHIND UNITED
Thank you to all who turned up on Saturday (March 9) to support Canberra United. Now, at the eleventh hour, a cry of anguish and uncertainty from Michelle Heyman, your support is needed if we are to see Canberra United playing next season. Come on United.
John Madelly snr, Melba
WHILE THINGS LAST
Rod Holesgrove is right about global heating (Letters, March 9) but I am enjoying the moment.
S W Davey, Torrens
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