Your time is now, Albo (“Fuel crisis: ‘Prepare for the worst,’ warns Bowen”, March 20). Protect Australians from unnecessary energy price spikes. Fuel is perhaps out of your immediate control, but natural gas is leaving our shores, and by not controlling the domestic price in a favourable way you are damaging local productivity. The cost of living for all Australians is, well, un-Australian. Peter Willis, Orange
I have a plug-in hybrid car, solar panels and a solar battery. I am so pleased that I embraced renewables with the sun so that I won’t be dependent on petrol to fill up my car. But I also find it silly that businesses are asking employees to come to the office when many could work from home with better productivity, less traffic on the road and save travel times. Governments could mandate businesses and even government employees to work from home where possible. If we learnt lessons from COVID, working from home was a perfect invention, but I guess we don’t like to work smartly. Mukul Desai, Hunters Hill
It’s just a suggestion that won’t be received well by everybody, but to preserve petrol supplies, perhaps there should be a limit on those gas guzzlers that make no sense in city environments. Perhaps limit them to being used only every second day, or perhaps limit them to receive only a small amount of fuel every week. If you have to squeeze into a normal shopping centre parking spot, then probably your vehicle is not suited to city living and, even though you can afford it, maybe you should leave it at home until the Middle East crisis is sorted. Eric Sekula, Turramurra
Green hydrogen could have been part of the solution to the current fuel crisis – produced here, non-polluting and without the EV’s need for “wait while charging” delay. Twiggy, Albo – perhaps it’s time to take it out of the “too hard basket” and have another look. John Croker, Woonona
To paraphrase a comedian some years ago, “How come our wind and solar is stuck in the Strait of Hormuz?” Calls for more self-reliance, while insisting we can drill for oil and continue to rely on fossil fuels, is nonsensical and hypocritical. It tries to reassure people that we do not need to change. The easiest way to be self-reliant for energy is to harness the cheapest and most abundant energy source Mother Nature has ever given us. Brenda Kilgore, Red Hill (ACT)
In 2025, Dan Tehan (opposition energy spokesman) accused Chris Bowen of a “reckless renewables rollout”. With the petrol shortage looming, I can promise him that renewables will be powering my EV as I bypass the petrol queues. Tim Schroder, Gordon
It may be timely to remind everyone that storing petrol in plastic jerry cans is a really bad idea. Apart from the obvious high fire risks, there are other risks, including a chemical reaction between the plastic and the petrol, causing leakage and releasing harmful chemicals. John Swanton, Coogee
US power and dispassion
It was inevitable: Donald Trump was always going to go too far. Even before he was elected president again, he had made America grate (“America has become refusable”, March 20). Waleed Aly rightly claims that Trump sees American power as linear – as president of the most powerful nation in the world, that should be enough. Trump’s inadequacies as a leader became crystal clear to the world during his first term, but the majority of American people who could be bothered to vote suffered short-term memory loss. Trump has tried to dismantle the world’s business and trade mechanisms for his own gain. Now, through poor decisions, lack of planning and goals, and a devil-may-care attitude, he has overseen the murder of innocent people, turned the world upside down and caused economic crises. How long can the gutless members of his own administration who advised him not to do this Iran war thing continue to hold their tongues and not say “I told you so”? Geoff Nilon, Mascot
Waleed Aly presents a cogent account of US war failings over the years. If I didn’t know better as to the chaotic mind of Trump, I would think the poor articulation on the Iran mission has been deliberate, allowing him to pull up stumps and declare victory while simultaneously declaring why the US waged war. Clever Trump. I somehow doubt it. Bruce Hall, Avalon
President Trump’s attack on Iran has put America into a deepening strategic quagmire, for as noted by Waleed Aly: “That’s because Trump sees American power in blunt, linear terms”. The problem is that Trump fails to see instead how American power does not easily translate into having omnipotence over a broken, divided and geopolitically complex world. Ever since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where a power of unprecedented proportion could bring Japan to a point of unconditional surrender, America has harboured such false pretensions of omnipotence. But as also noted by Aly, while America has not lost any wars, “it doesn’t win them either”. All that Trump can now hope for is a newly reconstituted Iranian regime that will agree to end hostilities and return to the negotiating table. Vincent Zankin, Rivett (ACT)
Waleed Aly has got it wrong. Trump has requested China to protect the Strait of Hormuz because it is the stretch of water that China relies on for its oil. “User pays” – if there has ever been a better example. Also, interesting that the Americans are worried about NATO. That is what the American administration was worried about during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. Funny how history repeats. Pasquale Vartuli, Wahroonga
Waleed Aly is right: No one can deny that the United States is militarily the most powerful country the world has ever seen. So powerful that 163 Iranian children, sitting in their elementary school, were no match for a US Tomahawk missile. As Egyptian author Omar El Akkad wrote, the moral component of history is, when it mattered, “who sided with justice and who sided with power”. Mark Paskal, Austinmer
We should ask, “What have the Americans ever done for us?” Since World War II, the answer must surely be “not a lot”. Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan have all been monumental failures, leaving hundreds of thousands of locals dead to go with hundreds of Australians and tens of thousands of Americans, not to mention the many more maimed and just plain angry at the abuse of what looks a lot like imperial power. Waleed Aly doesn’t quite ask Australia’s leaders, but when will they wake up and end our costly relationship with the US? A good first step away would be to dump AUKUS, a scheme that is friendless outside the political in-crowd. Colin Hesse, Nowra
Apple of his own eye
From time to time, Australia proudly claims successful and talented people from elsewhere as our own. In the case of the “alpha male” and Trump sycophant Nick Adams, we should reverse that trend and pretend he was never here (“Trump’s new job for ’alpha male‴ , March 20). Colin Stokes, Camperdown
Well, Nick Adams’ constant declarations of himself as an “alpha male” are a tad suspicious. My mum would always bring us down a peg or two, when needed, by saying: “Self praise is no honour”. Pauline McGinley, Drummoyne
Green space doesn’t grow on trees
As well as, or in place of, mandatory planting of a canopy tree on each verge and front yard suggested by Professor Peter Davies (“Front yards under threat as homes and drives get bigger”, March 20), could I suggest some compensation or concessions for tree owners to encourage such planting? As my trees overshadow my house, I have no opportunity to access the benefit of solar panels and, while I very rarely use my air conditioner, I still have expensive power bills. In addition, maintaining the health and safety of trees is expensive – pruning has cost me more than $7000 in the past few months. We tree owners are contributing to the welfare of others in terms of beauty and climate change mitigation but our efforts, rather than being appreciated, are usually met only with complaints from neighbours because of fallen leaves. Heather Johnson, West Pennant Hills
The article on disappearing front yards highlights another problem – flooding. Every increased driveway, every large house, every footpath and every disappeared front garden adds to run-off. Even without climate change, flooding, particularly flash-flooding, is going to get worse if the loss of green space, both public and private, is allowed to continue unabated. Bring on the regulation to have a tree in every front yard. Ann Clydsdale, Bathurst
Macquarie University research showing a 46 per cent decline in front garden space in Sydney’s west and north-western suburbs should alarm us all. The same study revealed a 62 per cent reduction in tree canopy and a 57 per cent increase in driveway size. Australians’ obsession with large houses (and cars) and minimal yards means we are exposing ourselves to ever-increasing temperatures. Apart from mandating tree planting in all new builds, perhaps a more sensible approach would be to place higher taxes on houses which exceed a certain square metre size. Luxury McMansions do nothing to alleviate supply but are having a very significant impact on the environment. Much heavier fines for illegally removing existing trees on a block should also be mandated. Having to stay indoors in air-conditioning due to urban heat will be our future if we do not act now. Robyn Thomas, Wahroonga
The additional spin-off from the increase in site coverage of residential blocks was not mentioned. This is the increase in water run off from the roof/hard surfaces which result in soil erosion from the banks of/and destruction to life and quality of our waterways. This increases the chance of flooding, and of sediments entering our rivers and harbours, killing fish etc. The overall detrimental effects to our environment outweigh the unnecessary waste of our limited resources and tradies on oversized dwellings, which eventually end up being occupied by one or two people. Brian McDonald, Willoughby
Mowing your lawns at the moment is like painting the harbour bridge. The grass grows so fast by the time you finish you need to start again. Michael Deeth, Como West
Urban desolation
Your correspondent (Letters, March 20) nails it when he says, “your urban living standards, in fact, begin in regional areas, not in how much your piece of real estate is worth”, as does another correspondent, who talks about the abomination of “black roofs over cheek-by-jowl houses”. Imagine coping with another (slightly more virulent) pandemic or fuel crisis, restricted in a two-bedroom flat on the 17th floor under martial law with rationing. This is Labor and the Greens’ high-rise and high density overpopulated dystopia. Look around you and witness how many new parks or urban forests have been created, how much power and telecommunications have gone underground while ignoring litter, graffiti, homelessness and rather hot treeless expanses of concrete. In my house, we’ve begun collecting STEM textbooks and tools, learning to grow food and wondering about other “doomsday preps”. And your other correspondents wonder why the awoken and desperate consider supporting One Nation. Ronald Elliott, Sandringham (Vic)
Attention levels
Queensland disaster co-ordinator Chris Stream trying to warn residents of impending danger of flash-flooding says, “we cannot underestimate the risk” (“Cyclone Narelle approaching Queensland”, smh.com.au, March 20). The attentive? They went about their business as usual, with nothing to worry about. The ordinary man in the street? He went inside to change his underpants. Her indoors? She’s busy washing. Me? I’m being hyper-attentive. Matt Canavan? He’s happily laughing at the latest telling of a dinky-di joke about the Aussies. Ross Drynan, Lindfield
War gambling horror
Australians are indulging their gambling addiction by betting on the Middle East war events through, you guessed it, an American betting company, using cryptocurrency (“Australians use banned site to bet on Iran war”, March 20). This has resulted in death threats to journalists to change the details of their war reports from gamblers who had lost a bet. This company and cryptocurrency have the advantage that it is virtually impossible to trace who is making bets. The report states Donald Trump Junior is an investor and advisor to this company. Donald Trump cancelled regulations on cryptocurrencies and set up his own crypto soon after his election. There have been reports of large bets being won on the timing of Trump’s Venezuelan adventure and Middle East war with speculation there may have been leaks from the White House – modern insider trading. While gambling on war events may seem inherently immoral to many people, it is not illegal. This is the world we live in today. Gary Barnes, Mosman
Free market’s fault
Your correspondent (Letters, March 20) is correct that it would be wrong to blame Labor for our fuel insecurity, but it would be equally wrong to blame Coalition governments. Australian oil refineries closed mainly because they became uneconomic compared with much larger and more efficient refineries in Asia and the Middle East. Local plants were relatively small, ageing and costly to upgrade to meet modern fuel and environmental standards. Improved global shipping and supply chains also made it cheaper to import refined petrol, diesel and jet fuel than to produce it domestically. Weak refining margins, declining local crude supply and a long-standing policy preference for market-based fuel supply rather than strategic domestic capacity all contributed to closure decisions by major operators such as BP, ExxonMobil, Shell and Caltex. Government subsidies or guaranteed refining margins might have kept refineries open or encouraged investment in new plants. However, governments on both sides preferred and continue to prefer free markets over regulation. John Kempler, Rose Bay
Big changes required
James Massola’s article highlighting the government’s failure to take notice of submissions and reports is disturbing (“Don’t mention the war excuse, Jim”, March 20). Besides being disrespectful to the hundreds of organisations and individuals who spend days, sometimes weeks, preparing submissions, it captures the sense the government lacks ambition and is determined not to rock the boat. The surge in support for One Nation illustrates this strategy is foolhardy. The public is looking to government to come up with policy that will make a difference to their lives. Making minor policy adjustments is clearly not having the desired impact. Alan Morris, Eastlakes
Teach about breech
While Sassica Francis-Bruce’s “maternal assisted caesarean” for the birth of her second child was clearly a more positive experience than her first caesarean birth, the question is whether any natural breech delivery trialling or options were offered to this mother, either because she didn’t meet criteria or the specific services weren’t available (“After a traumatic birth, this rarely discussed caesarean option was healing”, smh.com.au, March 20). It’s disappointing that trialling, assessment and planning for vaginal breech birth isn’t offered through more dedicated clinics. While breech presentations are statistically slightly more risky than cephalic presentations, breech clinics have specific protocols and criteria that must be met if planning to try for a vaginal breech delivery. Often first births won’t meet criteria, but it is possible with the specific, expert clinical support, assessment and planning following prior uncomplicated vaginal births. I had three breeches from six natural births, all of which were assisted but without any interventions, made possible by the obstetric expertise and skill that only develops through active practice, and sustained training. I still often look at my breechies and thank my obstetrician for so compassionately and expertly working in partnership with me. Robyn Dalziell, Kellyville
Higher power
Japan is ranked sixth in the world, Australia 15th (“The final approach: Matildas hatch plan to beat ‘complete team’ Japan”, March 20). The fans will need to work overtime to bridge the gap. Mustafa Erem, Terrigal
Key development
Just when life seems at its darkest, along comes the story of Anna Lapwood (“Accidental social media star picks up four million followers”. March 20). Her joy at playing the organ is uplifting. Vicky Marquis, Glebe
- To submit a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, email letters@smh.com.au. Click here for tips on how to submit letters.
- The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform. Sign up here.
