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Are other Australians ashamed, as I am? How can Australia, proud of our freedoms, respectful of all our peoples, and insistent on human dignity, inflict cruelty on Australian children as a means of achieving a goal of government policy? The cruelty suffered by Tharnicaa - Australian-born and now in a Perth hospital – is not an unintended consequence of a general policy; it is cruelty inflicted on a child deliberately as a warning to others not to come to Australia by boat without a visa. Tharnicaa has committed no offence; she presents no danger. Cruelty is being inflicted upon her to punish her parents who came by boat without a visa and thus to discourage others from breaching one of our immigration policies.
If we want to enforce a policy to stop people smuggling, we must do so by action taken against the people smugglers or the people being smuggled. It is a hard policy to implement, but if action is ineffective to prevent potential parents from settling in Australia, and the parents do settle and have children here, it is unconscionable to impose deliberate cruelty on those children to rectify the earlier failure to exclude the parents.
The family had settled in the small central Queensland town of Biloela which had welcomed and valued Tharnicaa and Kopika. It would be a cruelty obnoxious to Australian values to deprive those children of their parents and it is cruelty obnoxious to Australian values to isolate them with their parents to discourage future people smugglers. Basic and important Australian values are at stake. They must not be discarded by a show of heartlessness towards Australian children. Gerard Brennan, Bronte
The Biloela family’s plight is primarily a matter of saving face for this hard-hearted government, thinly veiled in hysterical border protection rhetoric (“Liberal MPs privately pushing for Biloela family to move to mainland,” June 10). It’s reported that many within the ranks are privately squirming with guilt at the hardline stance taken by their mighty leaders, but they toe the line regardless. It requires courage and integrity to do what’s right here, but that would be political suicide – and we can’t have that. Judy Finch, Cedar Party
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If Michaelia Cash and her hardline colleagues removed their blinkers they would understand what the bulk of decent-minded Australians want for the Tamil asylum-seeking family: an immediate return to Biloela, the town that is eager to welcome them back home to rebuild their lives (“Cash warns against ‘blinking’ in letting Tamil family remain”, June 10). There surely comes a point where the government’s hardline response is not appropriate anymore. Max Fischer Wollongong.
Senator Cash warns of the consequences of blinking. I know what she means. When one looks at the Morrison government for evidence of empathy, compassion, ethics, morality or even plain old competence, it’s blink and you’ll miss it. Smugness, spin and sloganeering, however … Michael Thompson, North Bexley
If we are so against so-called boat people, how is it that this family was able to comfortably settle in a Queensland town for a number of years and raise two children with general approval from the locals? Did someone blink? Tim O’Donnell, Newport
Minister finally gears up as cars trend electric
NSW Minister for Transport Andrew Constance wants “a future where the only vehicles on NSW roads are electric” (“Electric dreams: minister’s plan for end of combustion”, June 10). That’s because Constance is concerned about the “long-term public health impacts for major projects”. Elimination of polluting vehicle emissions is much better than costly mitigation. The same argument applies to the unhealthy air pollution in towns close to our coal-fired power stations. Air pollution reduction is another benefit from renewables to add to their lower cost and global warming impact. Nothing comes free and renewables will need an answer to long-term design and recycling of batteries. Engineers are working on it. David Hind, Neutral Bay
Fantastic: Constance wants to electrify the whole Transport for NSW fleet in the wake of the damning report into the health effects caused by pollution from such car-centric mega projects as WestConnex. I presume once he has subsidised our purchases of electric cars and trucks, he will turn his attention towards catching up with Queensland’s extensive regional rail electrification and rid us of the nauseous noise and exhaust pollution from gigantic diesel-hauled freight trains which thunder their way with impunity through suburbs and regional towns. It’s good to see the minister finally turning his attention away from removing trees which purify the air to removing pollution from internal combustion engines and I look forward to seeing his plans for NSW to catch up to Queensland’s extensive electrified regional rail network. Lance Dover, Pretty Beach
Constance has ambitious plans for the state transport’s fleet of buses to be electrified in nine years. Good news, but what about our ferries? We operate the third-largest ferry fleet in the world with 33 vessels currently in operation owned by the state and there are more privately owned services in Sydney Harbour. We already have Australian manufacturers of electric ferries for the twin-hulled vessels and we could easily convert the large Manly ferries which could give them a new exciting lease of life. Just think of the benefits – jobs for the builders, less pollution, saving fuel, secure services, enjoyable quiet journeys on iconic spacious ships, fewer cars on the road, even less carbon in our atmosphere, built to last. Evelyn Shervington, Manly
It seems that, once again, the state government is prepared to act for the planet and the people, while the federal government dismisses electric vehicles as luxury cars. It is to be hoped that the NSW government will also come to an equally progressive decision about road taxes on these vehicles. Philip Cooney, Wentworth Falls
Hotel quarantine bad for health
Hotels are for tourists and business travellers (“We don’t need purpose-built centre”, June 10). Returning Australians should be isolated in purpose-built facilities which could be a benefit to Australia, not a cost. Hotels provide travellers with a place to sleep and leave their luggage. It doesn’t matter if the rooms are small, there is no balcony and windows don’t open as the guests will spend little waking time in their rooms. Try that confined for 14 days with three children. A purpose-built quarantine facility with guests accommodated in well-spaced cabins would be much better for their mental and physical health. Between pandemics, these facilities, if appropriately located, would be ideal venues for “retreats” and school camps. Ian Falconer, Turramurra
I do not understand the reluctance to build a purpose-built quarantine centre in NSW. It is not about increasing capacity. Once it is built, people in hotel quarantine can be transferred to the new facility. NSW has been lucky with hotels so far, but there’s no guarantee such luck will continue indefinitely. More significant than that, though, it’s inevitable that COVID-19 won’t be the last virus to descend on us. Let’s be prepared for that as well as improving facilities for the present. There could be possible sites for such a facility at Badgerys Creek, Newcastle, Queanbeyan — even Nowra at a pinch. In the long run, it would surely prove to be the most effective, as well as the most economical option. Ron Pretty, Farmborough Heights
State of great fortune
The inconvenient fact is that NSW has been very lucky (“It’s absurd to ask ‘why Melbourne”‘, June 10). Getting away with the Ruby Princess debacle was certainly luck, not good management.
Sydney’s northern beaches is an easy place to lockdown. It is a peninsula and has three roads in and out. All roads were closed during the Christmas lockdown. Easy.
It was sheer bad luck that the latest outbreak in Victoria came from South Australia, and as bad luck would have it, that person travelled back to Victoria. He could just as easily have come to NSW. I bet Gladys Berejiklian can’t believe her luck. Judy Hungerford, North Curl Curl
You’re wrong. NSW friends who visited Melbourne when there was a gap in lockdowns told me they were appalled by the lack of a unified state QR code and non-compliance at every venue. Good luck with contract tracing. Cate Wikner, Summer Hill
Grubby reasoning
Cleaning hours cut to 460 schools with assurances from the Department of Education that “there won’t be any drop in the standard of cleaning” (“Cleaning hours to be cut back in hundreds of NSW schools”, June 10). Are the midnight elves coming in or is this more Orwellian doublespeak?
It is our children and long-suffering teachers who will suffer, many who may clean in their “spare” time. It is, again, education which will suffer. Janice Creenaune, Austinmer
Neutral Papuan policy
I prefer PNG’s foreign policy (“Japan in pledge to stand up to China”, June 10). They abide by the ethos of “friends to all, enemy to none”. Japan, the US and Australia have a lesson to learn from our northern neighbour. Steve Johnson, Elizabeth Beach
Where’s the water?
The federal Water Minister says “if we want reliability of water supply, that requires storage and water infrastructure” (“Dam projects push ahead as costs soar”, June 10). It also requires water. The Minister needs to check how often water in Wyangala Dam has fallen to below 15 per cent of capacity in recent years. Ian Bowie, Bowral
The state government still has work to do to prove that raising of the Warragamba Dam wall is the best solution (Letters, June 10). The option of widening Sackville Gorges and/or providing bypass tunnels to relieve the “plugs in the bathtub” and allow faster escape of Hawkesbury-Nepean floodwaters must be properly reconsidered. Thorough business cases, social and environmental assessments need to be conducted for all options to determine the most sustainable solution. Embrace the foresight of Bradfield and try more creative engineering. Peter Allen, Castle Cove
Law and fraud-er
At school, students are taught to obey and be both respectful and honorable at the same time. Why is it that when political leaders and politicians, looking at loosing an election, claim the real outcome has been stolen, rigged with allegations of fraud — Trump in the USA, Fujimori in Peru, Netanyahu in Israel, to list but a few — rather than recognise the collective decision of the common people (“Fraud claims as socialist holds tight lead”, June 10)? Stephen Wilson, Kangaroo Valley
Save the translators
Mateship is an excellent reason for not leaving those who have helped us fight the oppressive Taliban to the mercy of that merciless lot (“For mateship’s sake, get Afghan interpreters out”, June 9). A less virtuous but no less important reason is to protect, through our demonstrated loyalty and trustworthiness, our access to the wanted help of collaborators in future conflicts in which we shall inevitably find ourselves. Ross Drynan, Lindfield
Dementia facts and figures
I am not sure where your correspondent obtained his information that Australia’s dementia rate is more than three times higher than the rest of the planet (Letters, June 10). To allay readers’ fears that we appear to be at greater risk than the rest of the world, it should be noted that the Australian government’s Australian Institute of Health and Welfare international comparisons of health data state that “the estimated prevalence of dementia in Australia was 14.6 per 1000 population, close to the OECD average of 15.3 per 1000 population and ranking 17th lowest of 36 OECD countries”. Lies, damned lies and statistics comes to mind. Natalie Mabbitt, Randwick
Costly defeat
That was $8 million well spent by Annastacia Palaszczuk (“NSW conquers Queensland”, June 10). Stephen Manns, Woollahra
Open and exposed
Has the NSW government, fanatically obsessed with the ideal of “Open NSW”, failed to prevent the illegal movement of Victorians into and through this state and thus exposed the citizens of NSW, Queensland and New Zealand to the possibility of further outbreaks (“Husband of woman who left Melbourne lockdown also tests COVID-positive”, smh.com.au, June 10). Do we have a new state logo: “NSW - Victoria’s Transmit Lounge”? Neil Reckord, Broken Hill
A husband and wife left Melbourne in the middle of a lawfully mandated lockdown, drove to Queensland via NSW and roamed the Sunshine Coast for a number of days. Clearly they must be think they are not subject to the same rules as the rest of us. After both testing positive to COVID-19, they are now in quarantine. Given their deliberate breach of a legal health order, they should be subject to a heavy fine. Otherwise, self-entitled people like this will continue to ignore public health orders and the rest of us will be made to bear the brunt of the consequences. Tim Overland, Castle Hill
The digital view
Online comment from one of the stories that attracted the most reader feedback yesterday on smh.com.au
‘The United States is back’: Biden starts trip as US plans to share 500m Pfizer jabs
From sdunne: ″Biden has been a pleasant surprise – his achievements in a very short time period are extraordinary. After months of the ‘sleepy Joe’ rhetoric the truth is emerging and he appears to be on track to become one of the US’s best presidents.″
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