This is a tragedy, but the Afghans must come first

CLASSIC WILCOX

Illustration: Cathy WilcoxCredit:

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UKRAINE & OUR REFUGEE POLICY

This is a tragedy, but the Afghans must come first
Abul Rizvi’s article alludes to the inconsistencies that have littered our refugee intake (“Ukraine crisis is also test for us”, Comment, 28/2). The tragedy that is occurring in Ukraine and the plight of new refugees and displaced persons is very confronting and once again challenges countries in different ways. Sadly it is often political imperatives that come to the fore.

One needs to ask what Australia’s response will be, knowing we have an election very soon. However, surely given our involvement in Afghanistan we have a moral duty to provide more places for Afghan refugees (they are now off the front pages) and those already on temporary visas in our community, and release those legally identified as refugees currently lingering in detention into the community and this should be our priority. Then we should support and be guided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees with humanitarian aid to where it is most needed.
Judith Morrison, Nunawading

What if they arrive by boat?
If, in the very unlikely event, some poor besieged people from Ukraine escape the horrors at home and flee to Australia by boat, what will be the current government’s position?

Will these poor people be imprisoned indefinitely, (or at least for nine years and counting) as has been done to similar asylum seekers? Or are some asylum seekers more deserving than others?
Marie Rogers, Kew

Every little bit helps
For those commentators bemoaning that sports should be apolitical, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a moral issue as much as it is a political one, and any athlete who is willing to sacrifice potential success and any sporting organisation willing to forgo sponsorship dollars etc by boycotting sporting events in Russia should be applauded.

These are small gestures that will probably not make a big difference, but any pressure that can be applied to regimes like this to behave in a way that is acceptable should be applied.
Anthony Hitchman, St Andrews

A better relationship with China would help
Vladimir Putin’s actions are disapproved by most nations and when Russian citizens begin to feel the effect of world sanctions, there might well be a general disapproval of his behaviour.
If only we had a better relationship with China we could urge it to press Putin to a close relationship with peace.
Graeme Lee, Fitzroy

Parallels with Paddington
The coincidences of life: Volodymyr Zelensky was the voice of “refugee” Paddington Bear in the 2014 and 2017 Ukrainian versions of the films.

Paddington Bear’s author/creator, Michael Bond (1926-2017), decided to put a tag around the bear in 1958 as a reminder of the World War II child evacuees he saw at London railway stations. “They all had a label round their neck with their name and address and a little case or package containing all their treasured possessions. So Paddington, in a sense, was a refugee, and I do think that there’s no sadder sight than refugees,” he said. Indeed.
Sally Davis, Malvern East

Isolate the oligarchs
One possible solution to the war in Ukraine is to confiscate all the assets – properties, yachts, cars, football teams, companies and bank accounts – held in the West by any Russian oligarchs who have a connection to Vladimir Putin and to refuse to return them until Mr Putin is no longer president and all Russian troops have left Ukraine.
Tony O’Brien, South Melbourne

THE FORUM

At odds with my memory
Now the blame game has started (“The West sowed the seeds with its failed diplomacy”, Letters, 28/2) with people saying we should have treated Russia with more humility.

I’m old enough to remember the invasion of Hungary in 1956, followed by Czechoslovakia in 1968. I also remember the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961, separating families for a lifetime. Trying to scale the wall resulted in being shot, captured or worse, tortured.

And let’s not forget Joseph Stalin, who, it was estimated, was responsible for killing some 20 million people. Where was Russia’s humility and, more importantly, humanity?

Finally, the wall came down in 1989 due to a moderate, Mikhail Gorbachev. The old Soviet Union was disbanded. People celebrated. They were jubilant, ecstatic and, yes, the West might have even gloated, but after all the misery and threats, I think we were entitled to celebrate. NATO was expanded for fear of Mother Russia reverting back to her nasty self, which is precisely what is happening now.
Ursula Miller, Frankston South

A failure to deliver
Peter Hartcher’s excellent article (“Free world shrinks and we dither”, Comment, The Age, 26/2) sums up the performance of the Morrison government in almost every area of endeavour with three words, “as yet unfinished”.

Over the past three years we have seen many grand announcements accompanied by slick marketing campaigns, however little has actually been delivered.

While the Prime Minister is big on promises and slogans he has failed to deliver on nearly every commitment that he has made. As a consequence, we are extremely vulnerable to future shocks including the actuality of war, the impacts of climate change and shortages of imported goods (including fuel) let alone any future pandemic.
James Young, Mount Eliza

Planning for the worst
Alice Clarke is correct when she writes “cyclists don’t want to be killed by cars” (“Just having bike picture ignores wheel life”, Comment, 28/2).

After being cut off twice, ironically on my way to a doctor’s appointment, and then getting stuck behind a poorly serviced diesel, I am having second thoughts about cycling. Next time I’ll definitely wear a mask and I’ll imagine all drivers are out to get me.
Ray Peck, Hawthorn

Enlightened self-interest
The contretemps over the proposed state’s Social and Affordable Housing Contribution (“Call for overhaul of housing tax bill”, The Age, 28/2) is unedifying.

However, it highlights the failure of successive, supposedly socially progressive state governments and less progressive federal governments to adequately fund social and public housing.

Accordingly, scatter-gun approaches are adopted, including sacrificing rare, irreplaceable inner-city land for private housing for modest increases in social housing stock, incentives and subsidies to encourage the private sector to invest in social housing, and, transfer of properties to social housing providers, partly to access Commonwealth rent assistance (this has been an effective management model).

There is no substitute for adequate government funding. The infuriating and frustrating aspect of all this is you don’t need a bleeding heart to justify provision of affordable shelter as a basic human right and community responsibility.

It’s a matter of enlightened self-interest. Australians who are adequately housed have better chances of finding work and participating productively in society, thereby reducing demand on other government services.
Norman Huon, Port Melbourne

Past its use-by date
If the past couple of weeks in the United Nations Security Council is any indication, now is the time to permanently revoke the power of veto granted to the five permanent members of the council and to remove the concept of permanency of their respective memberships.
Garth Mitchell, Euroa

This would be a tragic loss
L.P. Hartley’s novel The Go-Between begins by noting “The past is a foreign country they do things differently there”. Surely, that should be the spirit in which we appreciate the aesthetic value of the art of the past in all its forms.

The implication of Dr Caitlin Vincent’s comments “… many of the most well-known opera productions are full of gendered violence and racist stereotypes” (“Opera under fire for ‘yellowface’ make-up”, The Age, 26/2) is that the works of artists in past centuries who failed to anticipate the ethical mores of the 21st century should be viewed as “problematic”, reworked beyond recognition or worse, banned.

What a tragic loss this would be the richness of our cultural heritage. Opera, of all artforms, has never pretended to reflect the world with documentary-style realism. It’s time for the finger-wagging critics of supposed progressive ideals to pay modern audiences the compliment of having the sophistication to work this out for themselves.
Jane Grano, Blackburn

Loose with the truth
The Game Management Authority is indeed loose with the truth (“Weird justifications”, Letters, 28/2). Its website cites two scientists – professors Marcel Klaassen and Richard Kingsford – to justify a record long duck-shoot this year.

But these experts did not recommend the 90-day season. They said small changes to season length have little impact, but drastic shortening will reduce the bird toll. Last year, for example, the season was cut to 20 days.
The scientists also acknowledged that enforcement is easier for a short season. So it seems a brief season would be cheaper for taxpayers, more sustainable for the birds and fairer to rural folk who endure the din and destruction.

A 2017 independent review found GMA “too comfortable” with shooters. So why does the Andrews government follow its advice?
Joan Reilly, Surrey Hills

Undefinable qualities
Many recent letter writers have called for better qualified and brighter teachers, the “best and brightest”, as these are often assumed to perform more effectively in the classroom, and are therefore deserving of higher pay.

Having been a secondary teacher for many years, I have regularly found that the most effective teachers were not necessarily those with higher qualifications, in fact the opposite was often the case.

There has never been a satisfactory definition of a “good teacher”. The teachers celebrated in the media who excel are outstanding in reaching all kinds of kids because of their personality and love of learning; these qualities are undefinable, and probably unteachable in universities, no matter how advanced the qualification.

The important abilities in the classroom include having good class control, good planning skills, and the ability to form solid relationships with all students.

I have seen many teachers with master’s degrees fail to reach their students, being unable to understand those who did not learn, or who did not seem to value education, as they did.
Barbara Holland, Kingsville

This is not an option
There are many measures that are being implemented against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. But there is one that should never be on the table, and that is World War III. For the future of the peoples of the earth and the planet itself, nations cannot afford to go there.
David Fry, Moonee Ponds

Fostering resilience
Twiggy Forrest was spot on (“Forrest says war highlights ‘energy independence’ need”, Business, 28/2) in saying Australia needs to reduce its exposure to international fuel markets and become “energy independent”.

Outdated policies and, as Dr Forrest calls it “the rear vision thinking” of our leaders has caused our dependence on oil, gas and coal and unnecessarily increased our carbon emissions. This is also constraining our ability to develop economic resilience in these troubled times.

Why are we not focusing on building and encouraging the development of industries that will give us some level of independence and resilience against the unstable fossil fuel markets amid the big changes occurring overseas affecting us with, among other things, an expected significant petrol price increase?

A vibrant manufacturing sector is key to economic resilience, bringing with it skilled workers and the capacity to expand to other high-exposure areas. Why are we not also building electric cars in Australia?

What is stopping our leaders from providing a vision of economic resilience that supports us all from the sudden and expensive impacts of rapid changes in the world markets.
Beverley Middleton, Macleod

It’s not all gloom and doom
Without minimising the mental and physical toll that ageing takes on people, I was dismayed by Anson Cameron’s bleak view of this process (“A slice of life’s final days”, Spectrum, 26/2). Given that he is known for satire and exaggeration, perhaps it was meant to be a fanciful piece.

Although many older people suffer illness, disability and frailty there is always a way of overcoming the limitations of old age with equanimity and hope.

Perhaps he would care to visit my home for the past eight years, a vibrant inner-city retirement community where real older people face their mortality and the inevitability of the “next place” while still living meaningful and purposeful lives.
Irene Renzenbrink, Fitzroy North

A matter of priorities
It is obvious and welcome that Australia should urgently process visa applications from Ukrainians fleeing the brutal Russian invasion.

One hopes, however, that these applications do not take precedence over the visa applications of desperate Afghans who are obliged to flee because of the help they provided to Australian forces.
Juliet Flesch, Kew

Welcome back …
Return to office day one – and the ticket inspectors are on my number19 tram. What a nice way to welcome people back.
David Eastwood, Coburg

AND ANOTHER THING

Politics
Peter Dutton’s GoFundMe page for flood relief confirms the Coalition was deadly serious when it said it was going to get the government out of our lives.
Vivienne Kane, Hawthorn

Credit:

Great idea, Peter Dutton. I suggest we go further and GoFundMe the current federal government’s wages.
Carolyn Milner, Elwood

Will Peter Dutton be also setting up a GoFundMe page to pay for our shiny new subs.
Greg Lee, Red Hill

Given that some correspondents think Scott Morrison is solely to blame for upsetting China, France and Serbia, it can’t be long before they start blaming him for Russia’s actions as well.
Greg Hardy, Upper Ferntree Gully

Because of all the articles I’ve read about Anthony Albanese not being well-known, I now assume he’s “well-known” for “not being well-known”.
Barry Kranz, Mount Clear

Clive Palmer should have the moral and common sense to immediately stop spending millions on political ads and instead use the funds to help flood victims in south-east Queensland and northern NSW.
Peng Ee, Castle Cove, NSW

Is it Groundhog Day in federal politics? Maybe Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott are also considering re-entering the contest as well (“Rudd flirted with political life comeback”, The Age, 28/2).
Martin Newington, Aspendale

Furthermore
My word, we men are doing a great job of running the world, aren’t we?
Nick Jans, Princes Hill

Can-do capitalism without ICAC is kleptocracy.
Anna Lord, Croydon

Australia wants to be a world power on armed conflict, but not on climate change.
David Cayzer, Clifton Hill

Finally
Vale, Moss Cass – a true reformer with integrity and a vision for a fairer, more decent society.
Wendy Logan, Croydon North

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