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Credit: Illustration: Matt Golding

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MIDDLE EAST

I feel for Dr Samah Sabawi who has reflected on the death of her elderly aunt of a heart attack in Gaza, after bombing, as the basis for her article (“My family is dying in Gaza. Even the air is a threat,” 1/11). But like so many who are genetically and emotionally attached to one side or another of this tragedy in Israel and Gaza, it is unhelpful of Sabawi to be espousing one side only.

Nowhere in her piece does the author mention Hamas, either in the context of the October 7 atrocities or in the context of its responsibility for the plight of Palestinians in Gaza. Nor does she mention the barbaric terrorism committed on innocents including babies and peace activists by members of the community she advocates for. She does not mention the hostages or the barrage of missiles from Gaza targeting civilians in Israel. And nor does she acknowledge that the leaders of her people refuse to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist, and indeed pledge to rid the world of all Jews. I understand the pain this conflict is causing. And I understand the compulsion to criticise. But if Sabawi wants to use her power as a writer to bring about a better life for her people, she and others must surely realise that the path to compromise is to acknowledge wrongdoing by those you support.
Henry Kalus, Southbank

A safe place
Samah Sabawi describes the hell on earth that her family is enduring in Gaza. How long will the world allow this to continue? Until all Gazans are dead? Until they are all evacuated, never to be allowed to return? Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and it does not seem to matter how many Palestinian families are also destroyed, one way or another. After World War II, the world felt it had a duty to provide a safe place for Jews. When will it do the same for Palestinians?
Lorel Thomas, Blackburn South

A ceasefire helps Hamas
What is happening to innocent civilians in Gaza is a tragedy, as Samah Sabawi sets out. Unfortunately, like the UN resolution our government abstained from, she fails to mention, much less condemn, the Hamas terrorists responsible for this disaster. Any ceasefire would only help those terrorists. Israel is allowing in food, and has restored water flow, while Hamas has vast stockpiles of fuel it is holding to power its rockets and ventilate its tunnels, rather than give its civilians electricity. Israel has established safe areas and is urging Gaza’s civilians to flee there, but Hamas is discouraging them. Where is the humanity in that?
Stephen Lazar, Elwood

Hamas must be eradicated
There is no doubt that what is happening in Gaza is a human tragedy. However, sadly this is what happens when a territory has a confirmed terrorist group as its leadership. Hamas has, over the past two weeks, clearly demonstrated its terrorist credentials. First, it invades Israel and literally slaughters more than a thousand innocent civilians, including pregnant women and children. This is followed by the performance of depraved acts on both the living and the dead. Hamas has taken more than 200 hostages to use as a human bargaining tool – a standard ploy of terrorists. For the sake of all humanity, Hamas must be eradicated and Israel must be supported to undertake this unenviable and difficult task.
John Rosenberg, South Melbourne

Ire misdirected
If David Leser does, in fact, believe that “the denial of Palestinian freedom always stood at the heart of this conflict” (“Stop this massacre of Palestinians”, 31/10), then his ire should be directed at the Arab leadership that rejected the creation of a Palestinian state in 1948, and which has repeatedly rejected Israeli two-state peace offers thereafter. Leser makes it perfectly clear that he doesn’t know how to eliminate Hamas’ leadership, but the large loss of innocent Gazan lives is the inevitability of Israel having a neighbour committed to its destruction, and which uses its people as human shields.
Geoff Feren, St Kilda East

THE FORUM

Immediate ceasefire
David Leser hits the nail on the head in bemoaning the slaughter of countless Palestinians by Israel under the leadership of Netanyahu, the leader under which the catastrophic failure of intelligence occurred, allowing Hamas to invade and massacre so many of its citizens and take so many hostages. Although one can focus on past wrongs on both sides, such as the two peoples’ unequal ownership of land, regardless of the fact that Israel ended up with more after the victories of the 1948, 1956 and 1973 existential wars, it matters not one jot at this juncture. What is needed now is an immediate ceasefire and mediation that unconditionally returns all hostages to Israel and by which humanitarian assistance is rendered to Palestinians of Gaza who have been caught in the crossfire.
Ruja Varon, Malvern

Men must learn
Your correspondent (“Let’s hope sanity prevails”, 31/10) hopes for “a wave of new and saner thought” to create a better, safer world. This will never happen until women take over positions of world and national leadership. Men have ruled the world for thousands of years and all they have achieved is endless cycles of war and mutual paranoia, repression, militarism, genocide, environmental chaos and the possible destruction of our species. Who have suffered the most from the depravations of this patriarchal world ? Women and children and the minority of men who can see beyond patriarchal attitudes … the promise of the future always undermined by the men of the present.

I am willing to bet that in a matriarchal world, the world wars and the Holocaust would never have happened. And if the settlement of the Palestine-Israeli conflict were in the hands of the women of both sides, they would have found a working compromise many years ago.

Instead, we have to watch helplessly as toxic males make a dire situation ever more intractable. Women are the great communicators, they are the life creators and nurturers and, more importantly, they know how to love and show empathy for the suffering of others.
Alex Fazakas, Ashburton

The cost of immigration
Steven Hamilton and Ryan Edwards (“Anti-migrants are so misguided”, 1/11) point to bipartisan support for immigration. This is a result of successful lobbying of politicians rather than support from Australians. In my view, most Australians want immigration decreased, but not stopped.
The authors avoid the main question: How much immigration is optimal? They mention economies of scale but not the costs of congestion, environmental load or cultural disruption. They laud potential productivity increases without accounting for the costs of the required infrastructure, including education, roads and housing.

Immigration has costs and benefits. Levels can surely be too high and they can also be too low. The optimal level depends on our aims as well as current economic and social conditions.
Chris Lloyd, Carlton

Rate a mention
The biggest criticism of orthodox economics is that models don’t holistically consider limitations of the environment or consider real-world outcomes. The view of Steven Hamilton and Ryan Edward on immigration is the latest example. They argue immigration is good, but fail to discuss the ideal rate. Drinking a glass of wine is good for me, but drinking two bottles every day is not. How we examine the upper limit for population growth is conveniently sidelined by those advocating for a big Australia. The effects of high levels of migration on the environment and our water supplies don’t get a mention.
Kieran Simpson, Blackburn North

Infinite supplies?
In their advocacy of immigration, Steven Hamilton and Ryan Edwards largely ignore the environmental impacts. They say the renewables transition can unlock “effectively infinite supplies of electricity and water”. This faith in technology to solve our problems perpetuates the belief that humans rule the planet and can use and control the natural environment for their benefit, regardless of the impacts on other parts of the ecosystem.

It is the attitude which got us into the environmental mess we are now in.
Rod Wise, Surrey Hills

A beautiful outcome
Good on Beau Miles, who has made collecting rubbish fun (“Rubbish runner out in front on can sell culture”, 1/11). Imagine if we all chipped in? If most of us picked up one piece of rubbish on our footpaths, beaches or parks every day, our collective efforts would have beautiful consequences for our natural environment. Victoria’s container deposit scheme has finally launched as a carrot to encourage us to clean our local communities, reduce landfill, and prevent rubbish entering our waterways. Let’s join Beau and keep Victoria beautiful.
Isabelle Henry, Ascot Vale

Too complicated
The current recycling rules make it very confusing to judge what can be put in recycling bins. The new rules for Victoria’s container deposit scheme seem designed to make it even more so. And for most people the effect will be an increase in the cost of living and the necessity to drive to the nearest location to get their refund. Why does it need to be so complicated?
Dave Torr, Werribee

Back to basics
Regarding recent media reports that have highlighted Australians eating too much salt and preservatives, primary school children lacking basics in literacy and numeracy, the high cost of childcare, rents increasing and houses becoming too expensive for deserving families.
For me, many of these issues are exacerbated by our drive for a bigger and better lifestyle, which leaves us time poor and having to outsource so much to others. We should think about going more back to basics, enabling parents to have more time and helping them understand how to parent, which includes sharing shopping, cooking and cleaning.

My children grew up in Switzerland at a time when there were no child-minding services and no fast food. As a part-time teacher, I realised that we needed to work together to run the household and work around school hours. Learning to cook at age 10 has stood my son in good stead.
Judith Hudson, Elwood

Super contributions
Your correspondents (Letters, 1/11) claim retired folk are entitled to tax-free withdrawals on their super because of “decades working hard” and “other taxpayer-funded schemes available to members of the workforce”. Such self-serving claims have no merit.

Superannuation is the receipt of deferred income and should be taxed as such with a credit given for the 15 per cent tax already paid. That would bring “Paul Keating superannuation” into line with other superannuation receipts, which are fully taxable. Retirees have an obligation to contribute to the cost of government services they receive, such as Medicare.
Maurice Critchley, Mangrove Mountain, NSW

Civil disobedience
Re ticket inspectors (Letters, 1/11), getting on the number 12 tram yesterday, at 70+ I was pushed out of the way by a young man who seized the last seat. Most of the other seats were also taken by men. A young woman stood up for me. There had been a delay and at this, the first stop after the free zone, lots of people got on. As usual on this route, I was the only person I saw tap a myki for the whole journey. Oh, for an inspector, or maybe, if you pay, the machine could spit out a seat number ticket.
Heather Barker, Albert Park

Rife with scammers
I hear you, Shona Hendley (Comment, 1/11), re the flaws of Facebook Marketplace. In my experience, the scammers stand out a mile away. They request an item as soon as it’s posted, choose a pricier item and always have a “cousin” or a “friend” collecting. Pickup too is urgent. A recent pickup was imperative because of the customer’s “transplant”. And the buyer demands way too many details for payment.

On the plus side, we are helping the circular economy, saving products from landfill, and it is my own little side hustle.

Not to mention the laughs. For a recent clown ornament, the customer offered me $2. When I declined, the response; “Forget it, you’re a clown yourself.”
Mary-Jane Boughen, Murrumbeena

Power law
Regarding the costs of road damage and the need for “heavy EVs” to pay their way (“Heavy road users”, 30/10), the “fourth power law” is well known in the road industry. This dictates that as the axle load of a vehicle increases, the cost of road damage increases to the power of four. For example, if an axle load of one has a road damage cost of one, an axle load of two has a road damage cost of 16. In other words, light private vehicles cause negligible damage to roads compared to trucks. Rather than charge trucks for the full cost of this damage (as Bob Hawke tried to do in the mid ’80s) governments find it easier to share the cost between all road users.
Jeff Moran, Bacchus Marsh

Values on show
In a world where barbarians are extinguishing human lives in the cause of twisted ideologies, it was reassuring to see the photo of President Macron with bright and eager young French multicultural students at the opening of a new language school housed in a restored Renaissance chateau near Paris. (“Macron rejects gender-inclusive bid”, 1/11). The debate around the French language and gender inclusivity can be resolved. What counts here is that France values its historians, philosophers and writers. “Civilisation” actually counts as a priority. There is a message there for a world where values are being wantonly degraded.
Jon McMillan, Mount Eliza

AND ANOTHER THING

Tragedy
We are living in a world that is subject to a proliferation of guided missiles and misguided men.
Jon Smith, Leongatha

It appears that civilian lives in a conflict matter little. Collateral damage as a means to an end makes you wonder whether leaders have their priorities right.
Greg Tuck, Warragul

Halloween
Seeing all the excitement among children in our street, one would have to say that only a Grinch would be opposed to celebrating the imported American Halloween tradition.
Reg Murray, Glen Iris

Now Halloween is over, I guess the people who participated in it are looking forward to Thanksgiving.
Peter Rodgers, East Malvern

Furthermore
I am delighted to read about rubbish runner Beau Miles. I am generally slower but am proud to be a rubbish walker. Tongs help.
Lesley Walker, Northcote

Has anyone else noticed how much more united Australia is since the recent referendum?
Peter Dann, Blackburn

Free public transport? (Letters, 1/11). Terrific for those with access to it. Meanwhile, those without public transport subsidise us.
Jan Lacey, North Melbourne

Thank you, Shona Hendley – your article on Facebook Marketplace hassles made me feel better. As a seller I experienced threatening abuse from scammers. The local op shop is a better option all round.
Imelda Carthy, Camberwell

Wind farms or wind factories (Letters, 1/11)? Who cares about semantics as scientists show the world is heading towards its hottest year in 100,000 years. Good grief.
Phil Labrum, Trentham

Finally
It never ceases to amaze that the likes of Tony Abbott (“Tony Abbott says ‘climate change cult’ will be discredited”, 1/11) are so certain they are correct despite not having a shred of scientific credibility to back them up.
Ross Hudson, Mount Martha

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