Even Argentinians envy Australia’s colonial luck

By comparing Australia with Argentina and not Singapore (with its stability, stellar education and stewardship), you make us shine by contrast with the tinsel regime. Talk about aiming for the pits!

Ramani Venkatramani, Rhodes, NSW

AusSuper’s commendable Origin resolve

Chanticleer’s commentary under the heading “No wonder the Origin deal looks dead” (November 23) is perspicacious and I commend AustralianSuper for putting the better, longer-term interests of the wider community ahead of the immediate rewards sought by the privileged few.

The continuing and increasingly desperate efforts on behalf of the Brookfield/EIG Partners consortium to secure their prize is eloquent testimony to AustralianSuper’s judgment and resolve.

Kevin Troy, Kirribilli, NSW

Colonisation cost us valuable traditions

Your editorial of November 23 neglected to identify the dysfunctional, unethical, and undemocratic “institutional and cultural foundations inherited from Enlightenment Britain after 1788”.

Indigenous Australians managed competition for life-sustaining resources, as explained by Elinor Ostrom in her 2009 Nobel prize acceptance lecture, without “markets or state”. Self-governance by competing tribes who built and used the ancient Brewarrina fish traps in NSW was achieved by distributed decision-making, described by Ostrom as “polycentric governance”.

Rather than introducing polycentric governance, colonising countries introduced centrally controlled command-and-control hierarchies. Corporations became private dictatorships, undermining democratic government. Corporate boards obtain absolute power to identify and manage their own conflicts of interests to allow directors, businesses, and society to become corrupted absolutely.

No changes in corporate laws are required to eliminate systemic unethical dysfunctional conflicts, by corporate constitutions separating the power to manage a business from the power to govern the corporate entity.

Polycentric governance also allows the introduction of stakeholder voices to mentor managers to protect their interests and/or become whistleblowers and/or co-regulators to enrich democracy. Distributed decision-making simplifies complexity, managing risks, and integrates management into governance without markets or state.

The ability of living things to become self-managing and self-governing has been adapted to make self-governing automobiles. It’s time our universities combined this knowledge with Indigenous wisdom to educate modern Australians how to sustain society on a more productive, ethical basis that also enriches democracy.

Shann Turnbull, Woollahra, NSW

Good move, Chris, but stick to the diet

Kudos to Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen for the welcome Capacity Investment Scheme announcement (“Bowen acts to ease green energy fears”, November 23). Given Australia is not on track to meet its climate and clean energy targets, big investment that will expand renewable energy and storage by 32GW before 2030 is just the ticket.

Like a weight-loss program, however, Labor’s scheme needs to ensure that while pumping iron and beefing up renewables, it doesn’t keep consuming Big Macs and Coke (gas and coal) on the side. It will work only if we stop indulging in the fossil fuel buffet. We need full commitment to a clean energy pathway.

Amy Hiller, Kew, Vic

Still travelling in the wrong direction

Chris Bowen is mistaken if he believes that his proposed Capacity Investment Scheme will satisfy those calling for more decisive climate action. Australia’s emissions are increasing, and the Albanese government has approved about 740 new coal, gas and oil projects. We’re being led in the opposite of the direction necessary to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin, ACT

The end of coal is nigh

Chris Bowen’s Capacity Investment Scheme is to be commended. It’s about time clean energy projects took precedence over coal and gas. Coal-fired power is fast becoming unprofitable, with many stations due to shut in the next decade.

Anne O’Hara, Wanniassa, ACT

Anything useful in ASIC’s ‘toolbox’?

How seriously should anyone entertain Joe Longo and Sarah Court’s assertion that ASIC, even by world standards, is an active corporate regulator (“ASIC one of the most active enforcers in the world: Longo”, November 22)? Evidence entirely to the contrary is now legion.

Research and recent parliamentary testimony by Professor Ian Ramsay, Dr George Gilligan and Associate Professor Andrew Schmulow point to a timid, ineffectual ASIC, permanently in thrall to big corporates, and with an enforcement appetite which only extends to small business and individuals.

Economist John Adams’ regression analysis of ASIC’s enforcement record concludes that it pursues 0.03 per cent of the complaints it receives. So 97.7 per cent of our corporations never need worry.

Mr Longo refers to the extensive “toolbox” at ASIC’s disposal. If judged by the number of prosecutions, the default toolbox probably contains a wet tram ticket and the odd lettuce leaf. The spectre of Kenneth Haynes’ royal commission continues to hang over this utterly discredited regulator.

Peter Frost, South Yarra, Vic

Gaza’s fate is payback for Hamas’ actions

Tony Walker states in his letter (November 23) that he has no sympathy for Hamas, though he does have a great deal of concern for the Palestinians under siege in Gaza. However, he fails to connect the two and note that the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza is a direct result of the barbaric actions of Hamas on October 7 and its failure to surrender, thereby resulting in more unnecessary deaths and injuries.

Everyone knows that when Hamas committed its atrocities on October 7, it was well aware of the consequences that would flow to the people in Gaza. Hamas was content, and perhaps even happy, to let these Palestinians die as so-called martyrs in its crazed cause.

A.H. Krochmalik, Pearl Beach, NSW

Mystery around maritime incident

According to the article “Japan has ‘serious concerns’ about Australian sonar incident” (November 22), a “Chinese warship activated sonar pulses normally used to identify submarines while two navy divers were trying to disentangle fishing nets from beneath the HMAS Toowoomba, according to the Australian government. The divers had to cease the operation, and one was slightly injured.”

Floating objects in the ocean are a well-known hazard to mariners. How did our naval vessel get entangled and immobilised by a fishing net to such a degree that divers were sent down? If that is what actually happened (I have my doubts).

Despite all that has been written about this incident, we are none the wiser. That is not helped by our politicians’ and journalists’ knee-jerk acceptance that the Australian account is completely correct and the Chinese version is totally wrong.

Bob Muirhead, Port Melbourne, Vic