Carbon levy can counter WA’s emissions ambitions

It’s time for them, along with our courageous local member, Kate Chaney, to take a principled stance.

Richard Smith, Claremont, WA

Heed ancient wisdom on climate risk

Well may the Santos chief executive rail against the “shrill voices” of climate activists, but he also needs to listen to the voices of our ancient cultures from whose land he profits handsomely (“Santos says ‘shrill’ critics will cost jobs”, November 16).

In his review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, Professor Graeme Samuel said the act is “ineffective” and “not fit to address current or future environmental challenges”. In his final report, Samuel highlighted the need to “harness the knowledge of Indigenous Australians to better inform how the environment is managed”.

While some may say that, at seven kilometres off the coast of Bathurst Island, the Santos pipeline is nothing to worry about, the Tiwis have been there for 65,000 years and submerged ancestral sites are still in memories and stories.

Researchers analysing 18 stories from around Australia’s coast found that all recall coastal inundation as sea levels reached their present level 6000-7000 years ago, after the last ice age. The change in sea level was significant – around 120 metres – and Australia became 40 per cent smaller.

Our First Peoples have a right to protect their culture. We must listen to them.

Ray Peck, Hawthorn, Vic

Carbon ‘sink’ pretence is sheer folly

On the face of it, the idea of using Australia to store carbon dioxide would appear to have some merit (“Australia ‘can be Asia’s carbon sink’”, November 17). The carbon dioxide would come from carbon capture and storage (CCS) when fossil fuels are burnt.

The problem is that CCS does not work in any meaningful sense. Much of the carbon dioxide is not captured but released into the environment. Gorgon’s West Australian plant has shown us this. Billions of dollars have been invested in CCS to no avail, but it is still held up by fossil fuel producers and their captive governments as the way forward.

The best way to prevent CO2 from entering the atmosphere is to not release it in the first place, but that would not suit the fossil fuel industry.

Ross Hudson, Mount Martha, Vic

Let’s silently observe Xi-Biden talks

In China, there is a popular adage: “Watching chess without speaking is a true gentleman”. This proverb signifies that a gentleman maintains silence while observing a chess game.

Now, in the western hemisphere, two top players are engaged in a geopolitical chess game. It is evident that the discussions between the US and China have a significant impact on the rest of the world. As a spectator, it is in Australia’s best interest to remain silent.

The US-China relationship is both complex and straightforward for us. The complexity arises when these two superpowers are in confrontation. We naturally choose to stand by our big brother, not only due to kinship but also because we share the same values. However, while China may not be our friend, it is undeniably our largest customer, and this stance may cost us.

We find comfort when tensions between the two superpowers ease. When they prosper, so can we. The pursuit of prosperity is in the best interests of people everywhere.

As Australians, we consider ourselves gentlemen; we observe without speaking, navigating the delicate balance of international relations.

James Wang, Artarmon, NSW

Immigrants not the housing culprit

The impact of record immigration on the housing/rental crisis may not be as draconian as portrayed by the Coalition, media and economists. National rental vacancy rates, according to Domain, were 1.7 per cent in December 2021 (when international borders were reopened); 1 per cent when the government was elected (May 2022); and 0.8per cent in November 2022 as well as November 2023.

Among the 2.3 million temporary visa holders in Australia there are 550,000 Kiwis on long-term visas (already housed); 850,000 on student and graduate work visas, predominantly in campus/private student accommodation, or staying with friends/diaspora; and 130,000 on working holiday visas (hostels, etc).

Far stronger factors have been a reduction in the number of people in a household following COVID-19; the working from home trend; and our ageing society, as people live longer and choose home care over nursing homes.

The Coalition is signalling its intent to weaponise international students and immigration. They should focus on the facts.

David Nelson, Chapel Hill, Qld

Careful what you wish for, Vic Libs

Even backflipping on his original pledge of support for the Voice to parliament didn’t save Russell Broadbent’s preselection from the wrath of the Victorian Liberal Party (“Broadbent quits, joins crossbench”, November 15).

While Peter Dutton, at least publicly, has acknowledged Mr Broadbent’s past service, your correspondent advises that other former colleagues consider his reaction to being dumped nothing short of ungracious.

Would they prefer it if the member for Monash reconsidered his pledge to stick around until the general election, due in 2025, and instead tendered his resignation to the Speaker forthwith, thereby giving the Victorian Liberals’ preferred candidate the opportunity to contest the seat at a byelection without further delay?

Nigel Thompson, Queanbeyan East, NSW

John Roskam has cause to celebrate

John Roskam says (November 17) that in the last 10 years, “the size of the federal government grew by 10 per cent”. Does he mean in “real” terms, as in relative to per capita? Is he taking into account that in the same time period, the Australian population grew by 15per cent, or that inflation devalued the dollar by about 25 per cent?

Otherwise, unless I’ve read it the wrong way, a champion of small government like himself might want to celebrate.

Don Dowell, Kew, Vic

Mind your language, tax isn’t theft

I was astounded by your characterisation of taxation as government confiscation of citizens’ incomes (The AFR View, November 16). Citizens of liberal democracies have long accepted that taxation is required, and is the most efficient way to pay for services and infrastructure that we collectively use. While we often query whether the level of taxation and some of its uses are appropriate, we accept the principle.

Unless you are challenging that principle, you should avoid intemperate language that implies that the governments that we elect are stealing from us. They are not.

Graeme Russell, Clifton Hill, Vic

Optus CEO keeps her options open

The Senate inquiry into the Optus service outage reveals that its CEO, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, has a Vodafone phone and a Telstra SIM card with her, and presumably an Optus phone.

Having options and preparing for a disaster seems sensible, but it surely also implies a lack of faith in your own company’s reliability.

Maybe Optus could supply Telstra SIM cards to all of its affected customers, just in case. Triple zero must be available, no matter what happens. Fix it.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill, Vic