Mal content

Sir: Would The Spectator Australia please reduce the level of Turnbull Hating indulged in by its regular contributors. Most Australians are moderate pragmatists, not big-C Conservatives, and they disliked Abbott for his aggression, dogmatism, and inability to communicate. Abbott won an election that would not have challenged a drover’s dog, and was set to be beaten by Bill Shorten. Long Live Malcolm!
Susan Armstrong
Wandandian, NSW

True Friends?

Sir: As a new Prime Minister it is clear that Malcolm Turnbull is keen on quickly establishing some positive achievements for the government he leads – so called ‘legacy’ achievements – something that he and his government can be proud of. I would suggest that he could establish just such a positive and morally correct legacy by using his position to speak out against Indonesia’s illegal invasion, occupation and violent oppression of West Papua. This criminal act which is being recognised by the raising of the West Papuan Morning Star flag in countries all around the world to commemorate the anniversary of the first raising of the newly independent West Papua’s national flag on 1st December 1961 – which tragically was followed shortly after by invasion by Indonesia.

Reports of continuing appalling Indonesian persecution of West Papuans suspected of being involved in the West Papuan struggle for political and cultural freedom are chillingly similar to the quarter century of repression and persecution that Indonesia inflicted on East Timor – a crime against international law and humanity which, to our shame, successive Australian governments for many years at best ignored and at worst condoned. We must not repeat behaviour in our response to Indonesia’s treatment of West Papua.

It is in the mutual interests of Australia and Indonesia that we have a friendly and respectful relationship, but true friendship cannot and must not be based on sacrificing truth and justice at the altar of political expediency – this is moral cowardice and shames our government and our nation.

The Australian government must make the strongest possible representations to Indonesia – and to the United Nations – in relation to Indonesia’s criminal repression in West Papua and if this does not result in a cessation of repression the government should make every effort to bring pressure on Indonesia. A good start would be to halt joint military training exercises.
Dr Bill Anderson,
Surrey Hills, Victoria

Act of faith

Sir: Matthew Parris’s atheism possibly accounts for his conflating his ethicism with the Christian Gospel accounts. Not all Christians would subscribe to his ‘radiation’ theory, from self love to the global and weakening with distance. Indeed, the Good Samaritan Parable does the rank opposite by exalting the behaviour of the outcaste, leaving those who live in close proximity and presumed affinity to ourselves somewhat disconsolate and appropriately abashed. True; while Christ’s intention was surely not to turn the perfect Mediterranean summer afternoon into a torment, Parris’s existential crisis overlooks the fact that the Christian message was never intended to be a substitute for logic but an act of faith, which, lived by us, would ‘impossibly’ replicate the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes at Galilee.
Michael Furtado
Toowoomba, Australia

Cost of windmills

Sir: Would you pass on my thanks to Professor Ian Plimer for his fascinating article “Climate Crimes” in your 14 November issue.
When reading his riveting analysis, I wondered if anyone in the renewable energy industry has actually calculated the total costs involved in the creation of a windmill generator, starting with the mining of bauxite, its conversion to aluminium followed by the manufacture, testing, transport and installation of the machine.  And, if so, how does that total cost compare with the value of the electricity generated by the machine during its commercial life?  Just a thought!
Maurice Johnson
Bondi Beach NSW, Australia

Bombers without borders

Sir: To define this week’s debate as being about ‘bombing Syria’ (‘The great fake war’, 28 November) is ludicrous. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about fighting Isis. Whatever you call them, and wherever they are.

The current deal, under which we bomb Isis in Iraq but not in Syria, is as if we are content to fight them in Yorkshire but not in Lancashire. If people do not think we should be engaging Isis at all, that’s a different argument. But I would ask, ‘Where do they need to get to before you would engage them?’

Two years ago, we had a similar situation to today. The vote was similarly not about ‘bombing Syria’. It was about fighting and punishing Assad, which was a bad idea. What we should be discussing is whether or not we are going to fight Isis, and whether we have a decent, executable plan and sufficient resources that we are prepared to expend.
Stephen Barker
Grand Union Canal, London

Deeper feelings

Sir: I was very interested to read the article on anxiety and the difficulties there are in treating it or, indeed, deciding what it really is (‘The anxiety industry’, 21 November). I think the problem is clearly expressed in the concluding paragraph. A feeling is not the same as the biological expression of it. You can talk as much as you like about electrical impulses, chemical releases and muscle movements — but none of that explains to me why I am sad. Until we can investigate the feelings themselves, we will not find out how to treat them.
Robin Cook Kings Langley, Herts