Letters
Letters to
the editor
Struggle for justice
Alistair Allan (“The extinction of decency”, August 16-22) encapsulates dishonesty and capitulation by the government, and not only to farmed salmon. It is the erosion of attempts to forge a sustainable future for the planet. The power of corporate control of the fossil fuel industries and their impact on the Earth is no less than structural violence. The extinction of species alerts us to the struggle for justice and the urgency that is required.
– Judith Morrison, Nunawading, Vic
Fishy facts
Tasmanian farmed salmon were treated with broad-spectrum oxytetracycline antibiotic during the summer disease outbreak where lumps of flesh were found on beaches. The industry is now pushing for the use of an antibiotic called Florfenicol. Primary Industries Minister Gavin Pearce says Florfenicol is not listed on Australian labels and approved, but that process is under way. Why, given the following from Chinese researchers in 2019: “Florfenicol is exclusively used in veterinary medicine in China, but now florfenicol-resistant iNTS [invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella] is found in clinical patients. This finding indicates that antimicrobial resistance produced in veterinary medicine can be transmitted to humans, which poses a severe threat to public health.” The World Health Organization says millions of people die each year because of antibiotic resistance caused by overuse.
– Clive Stott, Grindelwald, Tas
Public model
Rick Morton once again exposed major flaws in the government’s administration of our welfare system (“Exclusive: Government warned over ‘legal basis’ of welfare system”, August 16-22). Following the horrors of robodebt, we find that the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations ignored warnings in 2018 that they were incorrectly terminating jobseekers’ payments. They have oversight of the network of private providers of employment services that have been initiating these terminations. MP Julian Hill chaired a parliamentary inquiry into employment services from 2022 to 2023 and I was very hopeful the report would bring about change. Sadly, it seems not. I worked in the Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) in the ’70s and ’80s and was always proud of the work we did. We weren’t perfect but were far better than the private model, particularly with our specialist officers for youth, migrants, people with disability and the long-term unemployed.
– Pauline Brown, Woodend, Vic
Heartless system
For the past 25 years I have volunteered for a charity that helps the poor and unemployed. Rick Morton’s article tells the story that I’ve been witnessing for years. Private employment agencies have no mercy when it comes to their clients. All they are concerned about is the money they can extract from each case. The more appointments scheduled, the more money they receive. Many appointments are scheduled at school drop-off or pick-up times or emailed when the clients do not have access to the internet in their homes or on their pay-as-you-go Nokia phones. These agencies have the power to cut off benefits and leave vulnerable people with absolutely no money to buy food or pay rent and it can take weeks to have their benefits reinstated. The fear and stress these demands cause exacerbates the massive power imbalance between the two parties. The privatisation of this heartless system has been a total failure and should be discontinued immediately.
– Marilyn Hoban, Mornington, Vic
Planning for reform
Paul Bongiorno (“Moving cautiously on all fronts”, August 16-22) notes that the prime minister and the treasurer have “ruled out touching the capital gains tax discounts and the concessions on negative gearing before the [next] poll” (my emphasis). That’s sensible. But along similar lines to John Howard with the GST, what they should also be doing, by about the middle of this parliamentary term, is proposing reform of those taxes to take to the next election and then arguing their case. They have the political capital to take some electoral damage and survive as a government, if they have the courage. The politics can be enhanced by “hypothecating” the resulting tax revenues for new policies that will enjoy wide electoral appeal.
– Tony Aspromourgos, Bondi Junction, NSW
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This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on August 23, 2025.
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