So according to Sebastian Cole (Letters, 31 May), one can pick and choose what social disadvantage and injustice, and the level thereof, one can be concerned about?
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No doubt it depends upon one's personal agenda and maybe what issues affect you, your family and maybe acquaintances enough to get disturbed about. With everything else you can just misuse "woke" as a slur to denigrate those you disagree with.
I'm afraid "woke" doesn't work like that. Injustice and disadvantage are issues everyone should be awake to at all times. If some are a little more passionate, then they are in reality just the social conscience of those who continue to be asleep and or ignore the issues.
Keith Hill, New Acton
A powerful fallacy
R Webb (Letters, May 30) has fallen for the fallacious argument that renewable power requires "kilometres of transmission lines". Irrespective of how the electricity is generated, power lines are essential to deliver it to users.
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The growth of rooftop solar and small solar or wind farms actually offers the possibility of shorter power lines. If nuclear generators are placed where existing coal or gas-powered stations are, we still need "kilometres of wire" to distribute the electricity.
On the other hand, with rooftop solar and/or small local solar or wind farms and battery backup, Widgiemooltha in WA for example (miles from civilisation and with a population of 28 in 2021) could have its own cheap reliable electricity without power lines stretching off into the distant yonder.
Why would you want to spend billions for nuclear stations, with the attendant problems of fuel cost and waste management, and still have to install thousands of kilometres of wire?
Rod Carter, Murrumbateman, NSW
Just take it easy
Keith Hill (Letters, May 30) repeats the old truism that if you leave a safe space in front of your car, another car moves into it. This is often used as an excuse for tailgating.
In fact, the defensive driving people years ago calculated that if you do the safe thing and fall back to a safe distance, and do that many times, you arrive at your destination only a few seconds later than otherwise.
On the other hand, if you do have a rear end collision, you may be delayed for hours or, if you end up in hospital, even days.
Stewart Bath, Isabella Plains
Proof of racism
I find it interesting that those who believe Australia isn't a racist country are generally those of the white majority who have probably never been discriminated against in their lives.
I've experienced it personally, even in Canberra, and so have many others as told at a recent symposium on racism by the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum. Indeed, Professor Kim Rubenstein pointed out several clauses of the Australian constitution that were clearly racist.
The White Australia Policy was legislated by the federal government by the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 to limit non-British immigration. That it was not officially repealed until the 1970s under Whitlam is a testament that people alive today grew up during that racist time.
Gary Fan, Reid
Be afraid, very afraid
Maria Green (Letters, May 27) is quite justified in being very afraid of what the ACT government will do with their proposed change of regulations to allow suburbs to be denser. Take a walk around Woden and see how money now appears to be more important than people.
Woden now has many closely spaced 20-storey or more multi-storey residential units on narrow streets.
Many of these units look straight into the unit next door, have no solar access, and most only have one carpark space not big enough to fit even a modest builder's ute.
Most of the green open spaces are either fenced off, or earmarked for the future tram.
I have had a lot of support, and no rational opposition, for my proposal for Canberra to have high-speed radial freeways to new spacious suburbs in the former sheep paddocks surrounding Canberra.
John Skurr, Deakin
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