Qantas Chairman’s Lounge: so what?

Gurner’s plan ignores an obvious downside

Not a great plan there Tim Gurner, When you’re a multi-millionaire (good luck to you) I understand you don’t get a lot of time to study strategic questions. Taxes are too high, labour too constrained, but a 50 per cent increase in the unemployment rate has downsides. Broke and unemployed people can’t buy units, for one thing.

Andrew Wilson, Parramatta, NSW

Voice debate should focus on wording

The increasingly fraught dialogues over the Voice referendum focus on accusations of racism and misinformation rather than the wording of the proposed changes to the Constitution and their significance.

We would all benefit from closer scrutiny of the proposed changes and what they enable, since a successful referendum will implement the wording of the constitutional changes and disregard the text of heated exchanges.

The proposed changes allow the widest possible scope for representations from the Voice and are set to operate at both practical and strategic levels. Although the wording states that representations may be made “on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”, Australia’s legislation and policies do not ordinarily distinguish between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

As such, those representations have the capacity to affect all of us. Much of the current controversies arise from interpretations of the proposed constitutional changes which offer no framework or scope of operation. We are being asked to endorse an enabling mechanism with a very wide ambit and it is important that we understand its implications.

Liz Burton, Camberwell, Vic

Albanese, Burney need to hit campaign trail

Since the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, announced the commencement of the official campaign period for the Voice referendum over a week ago neither he nor the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, have hit the campaign trail.

I can’t understand why they are not out vigorously arguing the Yes case given the referendum voting day is so close and there is declining support for the Yes case.

Given the Voice referendum is probably the most important commitment the prime minister has made, I hope he and Ms Burney start serious campaigning later this week. If they don’t they will only have themselves to blame if the referendum is lost on October 14.

Adrian Hassett, Vermont, Vic

Don’t let hindsight be governor Lowe’s judge

Headline inflation was in the 2 per cent to 3per cent range for only four of the past 28 quarters, as John Kehoe (September 14) states.

But of course the Reserve Bank’s target has always been expressed as a medium-term average (which it achieved). It is not an electric fence.
Kehoe correctly points out that the RBA governor’s forward guidance on interest rates was a forecast, not a promise; “conditional on how the economy evolved and not a commitment”.

It is unfortunate that your editorials (most recently, September 8) have persistently, and misleadingly, described it as “nailing interest rates to the floor”. Kehoe is right that a full assessment of Dr Lowe’s record will await the arrival of more data, but his “calmness and decisive action” certainly served the country well during the COVID recession.

I also agree with Kehoe that any critique of the governor’s decisions should refer to the data and expert epidemiological opinions available to him at the time, rather than the views of “Harry Hindsights”.

John Hawkins, University of Canberra

Carbon efforts working, but much more needed

While it’s still going to take a concerted effort to return the planet to a sustainable level for our current lifestyle, it’s encouraging to hear that the global effort to decarbonise our energy grid is making a difference (“We’re nearing fossil fuel peak at last and can see what lies beyond”, September 14).

However, the oceanic heat-bank the burning of fossil fuels has created will take decades to run down. In conjunction with renewable energy sources, we need to develop an environmental system that draws carbon back into our depleted soil and woodlands.

John Mosig, Kew, Vic

Attacks on ‘callow’ teals insult the voters too

I can understand why Tim Wilson and Jason Falinski will use every opportunity to diminish any input from the teals as they both lost their seats to them and are on a mission to reclaim them for their party.

One of the major benefits of having independents in our parliament is that they introduce fresh ideas about issues such as tax cuts, housing, climate policy and the GST. They do so in the hope some will find favour among other MPs and senators and the public, or will at least bring to the fore further new approaches to these problems.

To describe these contributions as “signalling to their electorates” and coming from “callow” teals is insulting to these elected MPs and those who voted for them.

Introducing the class weapon by their reference to the Woolies and Aldi suburbs is also not worthy of two former MPs who represented the people of those Woolies suburbs.

Peter Nixon, Belrose, NSW

Time Santos and others invested in the future

I’m sure the CEO of Santos, Kevin Gallagher, would think “Abated gas must be part of the mix” (September 13). But he doesn’t convince me.

Seems only the fossil fuel industry thinks this is a good idea, when even it hasn’t been able to make it cost-effective despite substantial government handouts in the past.

Best not to burn the carbon in the first place. There are much cheaper energy sources right in front of us. It’s time Santos and others wrote off their fossil reserves and invested instead in the future.

Tom Hunt, Oak Flats, NSW