GRACE Tame was a well-deserved, intelligent and articulate choice for 2021 Australian of the Year who, in her emotional and compelling acceptance speech, described how she had been regularly sexually abused by someone in a position of power, one of her teachers.
It had clearly been a lengthy, harrowing experience for her, and one that took a lot of courage to revisit in such a public manner.
After she had finished, Grace explained he (the PM) leant over and right in her ear said" "well, gee, I bet it felt good to get that out".
Underwhelmed by the PM's response, she left the ceremony weeping. One podcast host commented: "Christ. You know, even if he thought that was a nice thing to say, that's also an issue". Personally, I think he was lucky to be just ignored a year later.
Richard Mallaby, Wangi Wangi
Aged care election issue
AT the next federal election, swinging voters need to look no further than aged care as their big issue to decide which way to vote.
The aged care sector, which is solely the federal government's responsibility, is in a state of crisis. The government will tell you differently, but the facts speak for themselves.
As an ageing population, many of us will spend the last years of our lives in this care. So the voting public has a major responsibility to make sure this sector is fully funded and fully resourced.
The LNP have had their chance and failed miserably. So Labor must be given the opportunity to form a government and fix this problem once and for all. People's lives depend on it.
Darryl Tuckwell, Eleebana
Electioneering via the reef
ALTHOUGH $1 billion in funds for our precious Great Barrier Reef is very welcome, this recent pledge by the Morrison government reeks of electioneering ('Extra $1b for Barrier Reef', Herald, 28/1). First, the timing of the announcement prior to an election, and just before the report to UNESCO on the reef's status is due, is a deliberate and purposeful attempt to win votes, particularly in the marginal seat of Leichhardt in Queensland.
Second, the federal government continues to ignore that climate change is the single biggest threat to the reef. The proposed conservation projects are treating the symptoms and not the cause.
Sadly, until our governmental leaders develop the policies required to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions before 2030, and cease support for fossil fuel expansion, the beautiful Great Barrier Reef will remain 'in danger'. For the sake of the reef, we voters must hold our leaders accountable.
Amy Hiller, Kew
Sacrificing god of COVID
MOST of us accept the medical scientists' explanation for COVID. But there is a small minority, most of whom are anti-vaxxers, who believe and promote their belief that COVID is a conspiracy between big pharma and the government. Their belief is reinforced by social media algorithms in order to swell the coffers of the social media sites.
People have always looked to religion and superstition to explain the things they don't understand, like diseases and natural disasters. The superstitious ascribe fault to the victims of these things and offer sacrifices to their god to escape his or her punishment.
The only thing missing in the current pandemic is sacrifice. No animals have had their throats cut. But maybe the COVID superstitious have already made a personal sacrifice of another kind: they have sacrificed logical reasoning and rejected scientific explanations. I hope their god of COVID is pleased with them and spares them.
Geoff Black, Caves Beach
What's new world order?
G'DAY Mac Maguire. Can't help you with the explanation about NWO Mac. As I said, 'just asking'. What exactly is your Old World Order that you appear to be familiar with? No doubt there are many others out there who could contribute to the 'theory'.
Yes, I believe the NWO concept has been around for many years but it has been confined to the conspiracy basket along with who really shot JFK? Did the USA actually put a man on the moon? Is Elvis still alive?
Meanwhile I'm sure you will be aware of this bloke named Klaus Schwab (World Economic Forum founder and speaker for The Great Reset). His take is that "we will own nothing in 2030 and we will be happy". This statement, I feel, seems threatening to our way of life at least here in Australia. Another conspiracy, perhaps? I look forward to your response. Maybe this website (World Economic Forum) will help in our quest to explain NWO. Check it out!
Ken Ian Jurd, Tea Gardens
Junk neutral by 2050
HERE we go again. We have polluted the earth's oceans and rivers, soured the air we breathe, dug into the earth and filled the voids with our wastes. We have littered our own local planet space with 2000 active and some 3000 dead satellites amid a legacy of some 34,000 pieces of space junk.
On March 4, 2022, the spent upper stage of Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will crash into the moon to complement the 16 previous crashes by international space agencies, not to mention those also on Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus.
SpaceX's plan for a mega-constellation of 40,000 satellites, Amazon's plan for 3200 and Californian Astra's plan for 13,600 more shows the scale of the growing problem; a problem driven by the need for commercial advantage.
We have countries testing satellite strike capabilities to take out another country's communication systems, producing more space junk, such that the international space station had to take evasive action from the debris. Also, in December 2021 the space station had to dodge a decades-old rocket body.
Like industrial inspired climate change, space technology has advanced without considering the "initial insignificant details"; the need to get there is more important. Like plastics and climate, these accumulate over time into significant and difficult problems. We have learnt nothing from our past. The world is just our oyster to trash it as we like; hardly the sign of an intelligent species.
Paul Duggan, Garden Suburb
No empty shelves during GFC
DISPLAYING a worrying ignorance of political systems of government, Steve Barnett (Short Takes, 31/1) predicts a "Socialist Green Communist victory" in his scare campaign of support for the current incompetents at federal level. With the Greens being more of a social democrat leaning, there are three ways of governing there Steve so which one is it going to be? And a reminder Steve, the empty supermarket shelves have been the result of the inept stewardship of the conservative LNP government. Didn't see empty shelves during the GFC under Labor.
John Arnold, Anna Bay
SHORT TAKES
THE media should have asked the prime minister what the hourly pay rate for aged care nurses is. Not a stupid question about bread and milk. Could journalists please get serious about what matters instead of playing silly gotcha games? I bet no politician on either side would know how little aged care workers get paid, let alone what the job involves.
Steve Barnett, Fingal Bay
ARE lunchtime specials at these takeaway joints really so special, that your plastic tub is filled with rice and veggies and stuff-all of the main ingredients - chicken or beef, for example? Just selling old stock, in my opinion.
Bryn Roberts, New Lambton
PETER Devey ('Value of renewables', Letters, 3/2), I'd rather spend $3 billion subsidising clean, low-emissions renewables in Australia as you claim, than the $10 billion, according to The Australia Institute, that Australian governments spent in 2021 subsidising polluting fossil fuels.
Ray Peck, Hawthorn, Vic
THE contrast between ScoMo and Albo's political careers could hardly be more stark. One whose career has been characterised by dishonesty, subterfuge and duplicity since swindling his way into the seat of Cook 14 years ago, and another who has relied on dedication, loyalty and integrity without scandal since being elected to Grayndler 26 years ago.
Mac Maguire, Charlestown
HOW Pamela Pirona (Short Takes, 2/2) can presume I am another middle aged privileged man when she doesn't know me from a bar of soap is beyond me. Just because Grace Tame was raped and has autism doesn't excuse her uncalled-for behaviour towards the prime minister. After all, civility and good manners cost nothing and I would have thought someone who had the honour of being named an Australian of the Year should at least show common courtesy to the prime minister of the day, whether she likes him or not. Anyway you can't put the milk back in the cow so let's put this all behind us and move on.
Ian King, Warners Bay
STEVE Barnett (Short Takes, 3/2) says a vote for Labor is a vote for the Greens. That doesn't add up. If it was true, Greens voters would just vote Labor to stop splitting the vote and make sure they get what they want. Why don't they? Because Greens voters aren't happy with Labor's policies.
Michael Jameson, New Lambton
COL Parkins (Short Takes, 2/2), after robodebt, his Hawaiian holiday in the middle of a national emergency, late action on the bushfires, late action on COVID-19, the Ruby Princess, the vaccine stroll-out, mishandling of acquiring RATs, multiple allegations of corruption, and an accusation of sexual assault leveled against a party member, I would argue that Scott Morrison and his government have not done much to deserve "common courtesy" from Grace Tame (or any Australian for that matter).
