Maybe less on-field brutality would cross over to less domestic violence in society. It is setting a bad example to our young men and women that violence is OK and it’s time to put a stop to it before it’s too late.

OUR federal politicians and senior public servants should take note of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden. Not only has she won voters' respect by introducing legislation not to accept the latest NZ politicians pay increase recommendations of 3 per cent, her comments on the issue has done her no harm either.

“We do not believe, given that we [politicians] are on the upper end of the salary scale, should be receiving that kind of salary increase,” she said.  

No such comments here though by our counterparts who earn even more than our Kiwi cousins. It's the see-no-evil syndrome, as they have just been awarded an extra 2 per cent while cutting penalty rates to the average Joe Blow trying to get ahead.

SYD Edwards (The Examiner, August 7) writes in defence of “aged care workers”. He describes the inappropriate and condescending nature of the Prime Minister’s response to a hypothetical question from the Opposition Leader regarding the taxation of a person in their 60s caring for older people.

The PM’s response that these people “may aspire to get a better job” and such aspiration would entitle the workforce “to earn more money” tells us many things about the PM and politics in general in Australia.  

As Syd highlights in his letter, carers become like family and enable older people and their families to experience life quality. While paid less than child care workers, carers save the government millions each year. Through their efforts older people are enabled to stay at home longer saving considerable taxpayer dollars.

The economic value of this predominantly female workforce is immense, however their work ensuring life quality for older people and their families while immeasurable is discounted.  

THE Fatal Five (The Examiner, August 17) is fatally flawed.  None of the five result in deaths unless the car hits something.

The lethality of a car accident rises substantially with the traffic density as police remind us in high density periods such as peak hour, Easter and Christmas holidays.

Many fatal accidents occur when a car drifts to the wrong side of the road and hits another car.

Lowering the speed limit also lowers the probability of an accident, but the resulting increase in the traffic density means that such accidents are more likely to be fatal.

None of the ‘fatal five’ result in deaths on their own, increased ‘traffic density’ does, so why ignore the most fatal contributor of all?

HAVE you ever wondered why electricity reliability is not as big a problem in most other advanced economies as ours?  

Could it be something to do with our not being able to rely on neighbouring countries to make up any shortages or our large land area occupied by a small population that cause network costs to be disproportionately high?  

In being called upon to do our fair share should these factors be ignored?

THE reason power prices on the mainland have gone up, is because insufficient supply has been planned.

The only guarantee from baulking governments has been uncertainty, and that has stopped investment in both the renewable sector and the conventional sector.

Had we competent governments, we might have plenty of supply.

It is not, too many renewables, driving prices but not enough supply and storage.

Remember, how those ugly wind turbines caused a storm which knocked over the poles in South Australia … not.

Remember the coal stunts in Parliament.

At least then we could see the disingenuousness laid bare.

So we now have the National Energy Guarantee, known as NEG, or the No-action Energy Guarantee, the first honest policy description I have seen from a political initiative in the last decade or so.

We also have an industry-based environmental agency controlling where government environmental funding will go.

Sorry did I mention the Great Barrier Reef?

Now how is that going to work out?

Talk about putting the foxes in charge of the hen house.

ARE our energy bills an excuse for Australia to keep exporting coal?  

And is the emissions target scheme failing to reign in climate change because it does not address the root causes of our climate heating up?  

Australia, for example, is a global leader in coal export.  

It is surely now imperative this scheme address state industrial and trade practices if we are to reduce global carbon emissions.