The time has come for us to be truly independent

September 28, 2021 â€" 12.03am

Illustration: Cathy WilcoxCredit:

To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number.FOREIGN RELATIONS

The time has come for us to be truly independent
Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne’s rejoinder to Paul Keating on AUKUS is evidence of the Morrison government’s clumsy amateurism in foreign policy (“Decisive chapter in our evolution”, Comment, 27/9). Mr Keating rightly notes that Australia’s commitment to AUKUS is driven by nostalgia for the “Anglosphere”, an imaginary entity as real as Disneyland (“Morrison is making an enemy of China”, Comment, 22/9).

Senator Payne claims that Australia has many diplomatic connections with its Asian neighbours, but they are mostly paper thin. The reality is Australia remains an odd man out in Asia.

AUKUS can only add to Australia’s ongoing apartness from its region. It’s time for the country’s foreign policy to follow Malcolm Fraser’s advice, to make Australia a fully independent country and good international citizen, no longer America’s lackey or Britain’s colonial relic.
Allan Patience, Newport

More commitment without debate
The joint statement released in the middle of the month following the 31st Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) is a far-reaching declaration of intent between Australia and the US that covers many issues.

While the recent media talk is all about AUKUS and submarines, which will not arrive until 2040, if ever, the critical issue that should be discussed is the agreement outlined in the AUSMIN statement to provide increased access to US forces to base personnel, ships and aircraft in Australia.

The Prime Minister has agreed on our behalf, without either parliamentary or public debate, to rotational deployment of US aircraft of all types, US surface and subsurface vessels, more complex and more integrated exercises and to support high-end war-fighting and combined military operations. Mix warplanes, ships and military personnel together and the result is a recipe for disaster.

Regardless of the geopolitical influences in the Asia-Pacific region, are the implications of the AUSMIN statement a future that Australians really wants?
Roger Hannaker, Docklands

Confected outrage has echoes of an earlier row
The French confected outrage over losing the submarine contract reminded me of Winston Churchill’s tantrum when John Curtin refused to redirect to what was then known as Burma our troops sailing back from the Middle East to defend Australia from Japanese invasion. How dare we act in our own interests?

My sincere hope is that our government will maintain this newly discovered independent foreign policy and not jump to attention whenever an ally beckons. We no longer should be kowtowing to the US and blindly following them into international conflicts and sabre-rattling against China.
Greg Cudmore, Wellington Point, Qld

This should have been worked out ahead of time
Scott Morrison says he is aware of the complexities of advancing the AUKUS nuclear submarines plan (“Prime Minister on front foot to land subs pact”, The Age, 23/9).

In the past the “complexities” would have been worked out before the grand announcement of a “historic” agreement, which may not even eventuate in any meaningful form. But then the timing would not have suited Morrison’s desire to fight a khaki election with China’s threat to our security being a key plank of his platform. He has been aided in this by a US president who obviously sees provoking China as a political winner.

As for Boris Johnson, insulting the French has always gone down well in Britain, even more so post-Brexit, and China is a world away. Scott Morrison says he has gone into AUKUS with his “eyes wide open”. The problem is his gaze seems firmly fixed on March-May 2022.
Bill King, Camberwell

THE FORUM

They deserve HECS relief
During all the hardship and disruption that the interminable COVID-19 lockdowns have brought, tertiary students have been largely ignored.

With being forced into online learning for nearly two years, these students have been robbed of the rich experiences that are part of a vibrant university.

It has been difficult for them to share academic ideas or build strong social networks and new friendships. Students have not been able to take advantage of university facilities, clubs, sport and the other activities that a university offers.

Other sectors in our society have been supported and compensated for losses.

It is only fair that our students’ future HECS debt be reduced and they are not saddled with the full cost of a service that has not been fully provided.
Clelia McCutcheon, Elsternwick

We have to do our bit
Academic Holly Lawford-Smith, who is vaccinated herself, speaks of the reasonable objections those who don’t want the vaccination have â€" the fear of the long-term effects of the jab (“Vaccine mandates must remain the last resort”, Comment, 27/9).

Other than being vaccinated, tell me the alternative of getting out of this COVID nightmare and having some semblance of our lives back.

I had the AstraZeneca vaccine as soon as it was available and, while I initially felt a level of uncertainty, I did it to protect myself and others.

Some can’t get it due to legitimate medical reasons, and they won’t be required to do so. The rest of us need to do our bit to protect them. Have face-to-face conversations and try to reassure those who feel scared.
Ange Mackie, Coburg

This is not your area
Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli alerts us to a “tragedy if two classes of citizens, the vaccinated and the unvaccinated were to emerge” (“Church warns of ‘two-class society’ over vaccine rules”, The Age, 25/9).
Heaven forbid that there be a third class of citizen who might be excluded from work on the basis of their sexuality.

What about a bit less pontificating about health issues (where the archbishop has no expertise) and a bit more thought about interpersonal issues (where he should have some) as “we move towards a sexuality-normal goal”.
Chris Hughes, Southbank

That’s not why I left
I was interested to read Paul Collins’ article about people abandoning Catholicism in droves (“Historic gathering with bland agenda unlikely to stem decay in the Catholic Church”, The Age, online, 27/9).

He attributed the abandonment to the church’s toxic reputation that resulted from the sexual abuse crisis and church leaders’ failure to deal decisively with clerical abusers.

People with a firm belief in a religion’s dogma are unlikely to abandon it because they are unhappy with its administration or its reputation. I would suggest that the shift is partly due to the wider drift away from organised religion in general.

I left the Catholic Church because I considered the basic premises of Christianity to be implausible: that God would create us with the capacity to sin and then be surprised and disappointed at the outcome; and that his preferred way to redeem our sins was to send his son to suffer an agonising and brutal death by crucifixion. The latter concept clearly has its roots in the ancient customs of loading human sins onto a scapegoat and the sacrifice of an unblemished lamb.
Brian Kilday, Jeeralang Junction

Let’s skip daylight saving
With the continued lockdown, surely the Andrews government and its police department would put their heads together with other governments of the national cabinet and not introduce daylight saving â€" especially with a curfew still current.

Mother Nature will bless us with longer days as it is.

Artificial enhancement via daylight saving simply makes continuing police enforcement and community compliance more difficult to achieve.

Daylight saving is not appropriate while these rules of the lockdown still apply.
Justin O’Halloran, Clifton Hill

This must be a new low
What is this cruel game the federal government is playing with the Biloela family?

The 12-month bridging visa extension to the parents and one child is a disingenuous mixed blessing, being a welcome reprieve from immediate deportation to a situation of danger, but consigning them to another year of anxiety and uncertainty.

Using the younger child as a pawn to prevent the family from returning to Biloela is a ploy beyond outrageous. This is the little girl who was so malnourished while in detention that her baby teeth rotted and had to be removed, and whose symptoms and medical needs while on Christmas Island were ignored until she became seriously ill and had to be flown to Perth for urgent medical attention.

This must be a new low in our treatment of asylum seekers. How have we come to this?
Lucille Forbes, Brighton East

Cruelty is plain to see
Last week’s decision by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to provide members of the Murugappan family with a 12-month extension to their bridging visa encapsulates the government’s approach to every issue that adversely reflects on it. Neither acknowledge there is an issue that needs to be addressed, nor make a decision if it can be put off.

The politics of the minister’s decision is clear. The issue has now been put off until after the coming federal election. If Labor is elected and allows the family to return to Biloela, the Coalition can repeat its oft-used “soft on borders” argument, and if the Coalition is re-elected, it can worry about things in 12 months’ time.

Meanwhile, the cruelty of this government’s policies towards the Murugappan family and more generally to asylum seekers and refugees in Australia and offshore is plain for all to see.

The pandemic presented the government with an ideal political opportunity to reset policy. But it was a difficult ask when it is unable to acknowledge there is a problem.
Harold Zwier, Elsternwick

Take a look in the mirror
In recent days a community clinic and a vaccination centre in the city were closed due to healthcare workers being abused and spat on by angry protesters.

The Shrine of Remembrance was littered with rubbish, broken glass and urinated on and two mothers picnicking in a park with their 12-year-old were daughters attacked by people tearing down COVID-19 QR codes and the men coming to their aid had a dog set on them.

Any politician seeking a political advantage by supporting things that encourage this type of violent behaviour needs to take a good look in the mirror.
Gary Roulston, Endeavour Hills

Holding us to ransom
If Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was half the concerned politician he claims to be, he would be fighting for a transition plan for his beloved coal miners in regional Australia.

Right now, he is a stumbling block against which “net zero” Nationals and Liberals are bashing their heads. The rump of “protectionist” coal devotees in the National Party cannot hold the rest of the country to ransom.

The way the world is turning away from coal, there won’t be miners to retrain and support unless a transition plan is developed now. Mr Joyce is doing coal miners a gross disservice by his obduracy.
Nick Toovey, Beaumaris

It doesn’t add up
On Sunday, I watched Barnaby Joyce’s performance on the ABC’s Insiders program. Twice he stated that coal is our greatest export (it is not, iron ore is). Then he reported that 12 per cent of people in his electorate are farmers and the other 78 per cent are not (losing 10 per cent of his neighbours somewhere).

I found myself wondering how our Acting Prime Minister, who is an accountant as well as a farmer, could have such a weak grasp of basic arithmetic.

Through his stubborn insistence on preserving all regional jobs (existing ones anyway), he is showing a degree of myopia that is a threat to all Australians â€" both city and country dwellers.

Perhaps we would all be better served by politicians willing to recognise the realities of the role coal plays in creating climate change, and creative enough to back new non-coal-mining jobs in our regions.
Malcolm Rimmer, Clifton Hill

This is not good enough
Your report (“How the pandemic exposed Melbourne’s house of horrors”, The Age, 27/9) outlines not only shameful behaviour at a supported residential service by the owners but serious neglect by the relevant minister and the department in ignoring for three years the concerns of the Public Advocate and the Community Visitors.

Victoria is well served by its unique Community Visitors â€" trained volunteer auditors/inspectors arriving without notice, acting on behalf of residents .

This is an excellent model and of great assistance to regulators and ministers, should they be conscientious enough to read and act.

Not good enough, Victoria.
John Miller, Toorak

Hiding behind the states
Scott Morrison wants us all open at Christmas. I’d like that too. But calling on the states to make this happen is just too convenient for the Prime Minister. He makes it appear to be their fault that we are not there already.

Remember who promised to have stranded Australians overseas home last Christmas. Remember whose abrogation of federal responsibility for quarantine and total incompetence in providing vaccines has caused us to be in this position.

Scott Morrison likes to hide behind the states. He’s even relying on them, and individual businesses, to work out how to mandate vaccination or deal with non-compliance.

The total absence of leadership from Mr Morrison demonstrates his cowardice.
Marg Arnold, Melbourne

AND ANOTHER THING

The footy
Thanks, Luke Beveridge and Marcus Bontempelli, for an amazing year of footy. Definitely helped me survive these COVID times.
Robin Jensen,Castlemaine

Now Scott Morrison has an extra 22premiers to deal with.
Greg Lee, Red Hill

Does this mean long-suffering Saints supporters can expect a premiership in two years’ time?
Ross Crawford, Korumburra

The submarine deal
If we are upset at the idea of losing a $50 billion coal industry, imagine how the French feel about losing a $90 billion submarine contract.
Les Aisen, Elsternwick

I’ll cast my vote for Scott Morrison when the first nuclear submarine sails into Sydney Harbour.
John Mosig, Kew

Vaccination
What’s wrong with a “two-class society” (“Church warns of ‘two-class society’ over vaccine rules”, The Age, 25/9) if we all have the freedom to choose our class â€" vaccinated or unvaccinated?
David Gentle, Ivanhoe East

Archbishop Peter Comensoli got it right about mandatory vaccination creating a two-class society; that is, those who love their neighbour and those who don’t.
Henry Herzog, St Kilda East

Some of today’s anti-vaxxers are possibly only able to protest because their mothers vaccinated them as children.
Diane Maddison, Parkdale

Politics
Finally we have a parliamentarian who is acting for the people, not the party. Thank you, Darren Chester.
Kathryn Davis, Leongatha

Furthermore
Prime Minister, make a captain’s call and allow the Murugappan family to stay in Australia and return to Biloela.
Sharon Allan, Castlemaine

Finally
The status quo has changed with the death of rock royalty bassist Alan Lancaster.
Linda Fisher, Malvern East

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