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Hooray to Kylie Moore-Gilbert’s opinion piece in reimagining Australian patriotism (“It’s time we reimagined patriotism”, July 1). As a dual citizen of the US and Australia, I know which country’s freedoms and institutions I prefer. That’s why I live here. I have long appreciated Australia’s healthcare system, public transport and independent judiciary: things largely lacking in the country of my birth. Yes, racism exists here, but is greatly tempered by a general acceptance and often an embracing of other cultures. We are not perfect: the outcome of the Voice was a great disappointment and the rise of populism makes me fear that too many Australians are buying into the anger and xenophobic rhetoric now so prevalent in my homeland. But we are still, in so many ways, the lucky country. Count your blessings there are no ICE raids in our suburban streets, no open-carry laws in our statutes. Let kindness, openness, laughter be our ideological narrative. Helping those less fortunate. Looking after your neighbour. Let’s be thankful for what we have and work together to make it even better. Jen Hacker, Ettalong Beach
Sign me up, Kylie Moore-Gilbert. I, too, shudder at the sight of Australian flags being worn by cowardly caped crusaders. I’m all for countering the perils of One Nation with a form of positive patriotism. I therefore implore the government not to give in to the headwinds of fear. Indeed, there are hopeful signs that it has the courage of its convictions. Now, more than ever, we need a counter-narrative to fight the corrosive commentary threatening to erode our tenuous hold on the title of best (but far from perfect) country in the world. Janet Argall, Hurlstone Park
Many famous people have expressed acerbic views about patriotism. They include G. B. Shaw, who had a lot to say that was negative about it, Einstein, Orwell, Oscar Wilde, Tolstoy and Mark Twain. Among the more disparaging comments are Samuel Johnson’s “patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel” and G. K. Chesterton’s “My country, right or wrong”. Such attitudes reflect notions of blind loyalty, an unwarranted sense of national superiority and the exclusion of people unlike oneself. Pauline Hanson’s nonsense mirrors all that. Nevertheless, Kylie Moore-Gilbert’s positivity about a reimagined patriotism is surely possible. We are indeed fortunate to live in a wonderful country that has achieved so much in a relatively short time. One can be proud of that and feel pride too in our successful multicultural society. That is, optimistically, a justified positive patriotism. Ron Sinclair, Windradyne
Heat is on
Ross Gittins is again on target pointing out that renewable energy is cheap and reliable, and its usage is rapidly increasing worldwide (“I’m in two minds on climate change, but not like Hanson”, July 1). It should be noted that during the recent European heatwave, with record high temperatures, France, Switzerland and other countries have had to shut down nuclear reactors as the cooling water became too hot. This heated water, discharged into rivers, has exceeded environmental safety limits and threatens river ecosystems. Separately, air-cooled coal and gas plants in the UK have had to reduce their energy outputs because higher air temperature drastically reduces its cooling effect. Yet here we have One Nation calling climate change a hoax and the Coalition dropping its commitment to net zero. With Labor still approving new coal mines and gas fields, is it any wonder that support for these mainstream parties is declining? The new Community Strong party and independents are the only ones who appear to take climate change seriously, showing the leadership and vision that is absent from the other parties. Alan Marel, North Curl Curl
Ross Gittins is allowed to be in two minds about climate change because he can explain clearly what that entails and why he thinks so. There’s no excuse, though, for the federal government to be similarly ambivalent. To claim it’s doing all it can to reduce emissions while happily approving new gas projects and mining ventures? To pay lip service to the uptake of electric vehicles while doing so little to facilitate a realistic charging network? To brag about how well we’re doing with renewable energy while ignoring how easy it would be to do it more quickly and responsibly? And finally, to claim there’s still plenty of time to achieve net zero when we’re actually lagging dismally behind our targets? It’s time to face hard facts and stop relying on hopeful reassurances. And it’s long overdue to call out all the climate-change-deniers for the misguided fools that they are. Jenifer Nicholls, Windsor (Vic)
Australia might be at the “forefront of that (global renewable energy) change”, and that’s wonderful, but we rank fifth out of 15 countries responsible for nearly 80 per cent of global oil and gas extraction since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. In 2024, West Australia’s Labor government commissioned a Deloitte report to support the idea that LNG exports helped “reduce emissions”. When it suggested the opposite, the Cook government rejected it. Sadly, Australia is currently too keen to sell fossil fuels to be the world leader we need in this battle for our children’s future. Lesley Walker, Northcote (Vic)
Hollow claims
Of course the Chinese ambassador will push back against spying claims involving the country he represents; that’s his job (“Top Chinese diplomat attacks spy claims,” July 1) He will always seek to emphasise the benign nature of China’s constant efforts to improve its image among Australians. Mr Xiao is somewhat fortunate that he is allowed the freedom to express his views on the situation. It’s a freedom that isn’t available to people in his own country. And his denial of the spying claims looks pretty hollow in view of the available facts, which are clear to anyone who cares to inquire. ASIO represents a very necessary element in ensuring Australia’s continued security. I’m sure there will be few Australians who will waste any sympathy on Mr Xian’s denial of China’s targeting of our internal affairs. After all, ASIO operatives are merely doing their jobs. Derrick Mason, Boorowa
Herald correspondents repeatedly refer to China as a risk to Australia’s security. The most recent example by Matthew Knott quotes public ethics professor Clive Hamilton saying “Australia would be less nervous about China and the security threat it poses if the Chinese government behaved less threateningly”. Does it behave threateningly, though? In the past 12 months has China commenced an illegal war against Iran and in so doing killed 7000 people? Has China unlawfully kidnapped the President of Venezuela? Does China, without any evidence, carry out lethal strikes on small boats? Has China supplied Israel with weapons and support to invade and kill its neighbours? No, in each case that would be our treaty ally. Graham Cochrane, Balmain
Taylor’s burn
I was one of the hundreds of National Parks and Wildlife Service officers sent to fight the fires in the Snowy Mountains in early 2003. I am disgusted at Angus Taylor’s comments denigrating the staff and volunteers who fought the fires (“Taylor hits back after firefighter criticism”, July 1). I spent more than two exhausting weeks there working extremely long hours, day and night. The reason we failed was not lack of effort or even resources, it was because we had temperatures above 35 degrees at altitude, combined with extremely strong and dry westerly winds. Malcolm Turnbull had a point when he noted that many people viewed Taylor as the “best-qualified idiot” they’ve ever met. Michael McFadyen, Kareela
Unholy behaviour
As an older, cynical Catholic who lived through the era of religious reverence without question, $6 million a month for sexual abuse survivors of the Christian Brothers is absolutely mind-boggling (“Christian Brothers transferred billions but can’t pay abuse victims”, July 1). It’s shocking testament to the sexual abuse that must have been rife and totally ignored. On top of this, the transferring of assets is nothing short of appalling and amoral. Bernadette Scadden, Earlwood
Machiavelli would have applauded the actions of the Christian Brothers in transferring assets to avoid paying compensation to those it harmed. Its claim of poverty reflects not only its assets, but its lack of principles. Catherine Turner, Cremorne
Catch of the day
The government has led us astray by putting forward the Solar Sharer program as a cost-saving alternative for every household (“Three free hours of power begins now – if you ask for it”, July 1). After waiting on the phone for over an hour to sign up for the program, as it is an opt-in alternative, I was advised by my energy retailer that although I could sign up the net result would be higher bills as certain existing discounts would no longer apply. They also told me that none of the callers before me had signed up for Solar Saver. What trickery is this? Please explain, Mr Prime Minister. Stuart Leckie, Port Macquarie
Speak up for languages
Sally Rawsthorne’s article (“Asian languages are dying in Australian schools. Here are the big ideas to save them”, June 30) is a reminder that learning a second language not only improves cognitive ability, it’s culturally, socially and economically desirable. It can help rid us of ethnocentric tendencies, including the expectation that people of other countries should speak our language. If the government accepts the warning from the House Standing Committee on Education that “a lack of language capabilities … undermines national security, removes business opportunities and weakens bilateral relationships in government and business”, then it needs to motivate more schools to offer students Asian languages, such as Mandarin, and perhaps provide funding to enable teachers and students to spend time living in the country whose language they are studying. Paul Casey, Callala Bay
No place for pokies
As a resident of the inner west I am all with Mayor Darcy Byrne and his criticism of the poker machine lobby (“Labor mayor condemns own party for caving to an ‘NRA-style’ campaign”, July 1). The state government is afraid of the loss of revenue if these contraptions were to be banned altogether, but banned they should be. Unfortunately, many problem gamblers would just switch to online betting, so parallel plans to deal with that would be necessary, starting with banning all advertising. Stephanie Edwards, Leichhardt
Liberal inertia
Liberal front bencher Melissa McIntosh said the “polls show that the Liberal Party needs a rebrand” (’Liberals plead for time as poll slide continues”, June 30). Sadly, that’s not going to happen as long as Angus Taylor and Jane Hume are leading the party, under the advice and direction of Tony Abbott and Peta Credlin. Regarding the Liberal’s climate change denial policies, Ross Gittins, in his column this week, said “it’s hard to imagine how anyone who has completed high school could be stupid enough to wave away all the scientific evidence that climate change is real.” That pretty much says it all about today’s Liberal Party. Ken Butler, Mount Colah
Housing stability
Another dramatic headline about falling house prices (“Big fall in home values as market slows”, July 1). What is happening through deliberate government strategy is actually a “stabilising” of house prices for the benefit of first home buyers and young families. Negative gearing and capital gains discounts had become a useful tax avoidance scheme for many investors and pushed prices up. “Grandfathering” the arrangement has not taken this away, rather, it has stabilised the market. Once things settle down, there will be more opportunities for young people to buy their first home and enjoy moderate growth in line with the rest of the economy. Ken Pares, Forster
Ross Duncan says for property to be more affordable it logically needs to fall in value (Letters July). Not necessarily. Just grow wages faster than property prices increase and it becomes more affordable. To do that, a government would need to help grow productivity and enterprise, perhaps by not causing havoc through ill-considered, unexpected and rushed tax changes that massively increase the burden on investors and innovators. The government could instead properly tax resource extractors and huge multinationals that use tax havens to reduce their tax liability, and use the proceeds to educate, innovate and help those struggling to buy a home. Richard Abram, Bexley
Shark spotters
The more you look, the more you will find. Could it be that there have always been a lot of sharks popping in and out at Sydney’s beaches, and that drones simply make the invisible visible (“Beach safety plan unveiled’, June 29)? Peter Hull, Katoomba
Singapore solution
I fully support the legal action taken against the owners of Katoomba’s heritage‑listed Paragon Cafe for their wilful “demolition by neglect” (“The beloved Katoomba cafe, the graffiti and the landmark court action”, June 30). Yet, I’m dismayed by the lack of action against those who wilfully vandalise our towns and cities. Graffiti and vandalism continue to blight our public environments and public transport, and it’s time we treated these offences with the seriousness they deserve. Singapore’s Vandalism Act offers a compelling model: penalties include fines, imprisonment and even caning for repeat or severe offences. Hendry Wan, Rosebery
Crowded pantry
While it may apply to most people, David Russell’s conclusion that the cost-of-living crisis is over (Letters, July 1) forgets a major group. The food pantry I work with has seen record numbers of people through the door in each of the past three months. For people on low and fixed incomes, welfare recipients and pensioners, the cost of food and power are pushing them into genuine crisis. Lee Cook, Orange
Read letter day
Writing letters is good and having them published is better (Letters, July 1), but meeting someone who actually reads them? That’s truly the jackpot. Jenifer Nicholls, Windsor (Vic)
- To submit a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, email letters@smh.com.au. Click here for tips on how to submit letters.
- The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform. Sign up here.
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