



We must not gamble with innocent lives




Illustration: Matt Golding.

Illustration: Matt Golding.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison must not be allowed to play Russian roulette with innocent lives (''Punting on a person's life is another form of torture,'' Opinion, 29/6). The proposed introduction of the Migration Amendment Bill is a denial of any form of fair play, for which Australia is supposedly renowned, and is a chilling reminder of how far this government is prepared to go in its abrogation of any kind of responsibility for those who most need our help. Refoulement, meaning driving or pressing back (of people), is the very antithesis of Australia's responsibilities under the UN Convention Against Torture. Australians may have given Tony Abbott a mandate to govern, but it surely shouldn't extend to the cruel dismissal of refugee rights under the aegis of ''increased processing efficiency''.

Helen Scheller, Benalla

Murky morality

Warwick McFadyen dissects the chilling language - ''increased processing efficiency'' - used by Scott Morrison to justify his torture calculus for returning asylum seekers to their country of origin. The Immigration Minister's approach is consistent with his ongoing nonchalant disregard for the human rights violations that propel people to seek refuge in Australia. A telling example of Mr Morrison's disingenuousness was seen in February 2013, when, at a joint news conference with Julie Bishop, following a ''fact-finding'' visit to Sri Lanka, the then Coalition immigration spokesman dismissed talk of ''midnight abductions in white vans'' by paramilitaries and the brutality of torture in Colombo as ''events that had taken place some time ago''. Disturbingly, his cruel semantics in relation to refugees appear to reflect his complete confidence that the Australian public view such people as ''non-persons'' whose life histories count for nothing; and for whom torture in their home countries is a risk they will have to tolerate on return. The Abbott government has moved into very murky moral territory.

Jon McMillan, Mount Eliza

Shameful act of betrayal

Unconfirmed reports that Australia has handed over Tamil asylum seekers to the navy of the very country they had fled have left me feeling desolate. What has happened to this country's ideals of fairness and decency that it can perpetrate such an act of cruel and shameful betrayal? This government appears to be on a moral slide into darkness, for it was only a few days ago that we learnt of the latest of Scott Morrison's fierce attempts to shield this country from helping others. How can Mr Morrison even contemplate sending back people to the regimes from which they escaped if they cannot prove there is a more than 50 per cent probability they will be subjected to torture? In 1945, under the Yalta agreement, the Allies forcibly repatriated most of the Russians who at war's end found themselves stranded in Europe. They went back to death, torture, exile and work camps. I never thought that I would think of Australia and the Yalta agreement in the same breath.

Janna Hilbrink, Northcote


Life of triumph

As I read ''Tommy Hafey: the untold story'' (29/6), I can't help but think that the writer has missed something. The story is written as a tragedy and precautionary tale. While acknowledging the real grief of family, friends, and fans, the real story is one of triumph. Except for having brain surgery at age 82 in a futile situation, I would happily choose my life and death to be like Tommy's. He lived the way he chose, enjoyed his relationships and his success, received good treatment for cancer 20 years ago, lived to be 82, died surrounded by his family. What's not to celebrate and to emulate?

Rev Thomas Miller, Ballarat

A tragic reminder

We were saddened to read ''Tommy Hafey: the untold story''. Hafey was more than an AFL legend, he was a great family man and a passionate advocate of healthy lifestyles at all ages. We commend his family for speaking out about the cause of his cancer fight - melanoma.

Melanoma is the fourth most common cancer for Victorians, with more than six people diagnosed every day. Your article helped address a common misconception about melanoma - that these cancers can be cut out and got rid of, leaving nothing more than an unsightly scar.

But, as Hafey's story highlights, melanoma if left untreated can spread through the body causing unimaginable harm and ultimately death. His story is a tragic reminder of the importance of protecting our body's largest organ from the harsh Australian sun.

Craig Sinclair, Cancer Council Victoria

Grow out of it

How many marriages of commitment survive till ''death do us part''? I ask this to highlight that a three-decade-old social construct called the man-child (''The rise of the man-child'', Sunday Life (29/6) reflects nothing other than a conformist, conservative and conventional idea that to be married and be-kidded is indeed to be adult. Marriages fail for many complex reasons, and men who choose not to marry and have children are not necessarily afraid of commitment per se, but simply choosing another avenue and a lifestyle of their own making.

They are not just well-disguised Peter Pans seeking to stay forever young, but simply opting for a less restrictive way of life. So, too, women, as I have done. Sadly for some, our society sanctions marriage, living in suburbia with the 2.2 children and 2.4 cars as a desirable norm for responsible adults. Dare you challenge this so-called norm by refusing to live that way, society condemns you as a mere child masquerading as an adult.

As a society we must jettison the destructive labels so glibly attached to those who choose not to marry to enable men and women a real freedom of choice without childish connotations.

Paulyne Relske, East Melbourne

Stars in our eyes

Tom Chivers (''The myth of Disney'', 29/6), you were probably never a child of limited imagination, stagnating in a staid and stultifying suburb, where you relied almost entirely on Sat'dy arvo and Walt Disney to bring faraway stars into your eyes with his magical figures of grandeur and fantasy.

Without Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Bambi, Fantasia, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs etc., life would have been much duller. Don't you get that it was immaterial and remains so, whether Disneyland was strictly ''business'', or whether Walt had another ''side''? Thing is, he fulfilled a wonderful need, and without his ideas, his style, and his investment in an entertainment empire, would we have been so readily dazzled by the wonders of our stimulated imaginations?

Rosemary O'Brien, Georges Hall, NSW

Balls-up of a game

I have recently returned to Australia after more than 25 years abroad, hoping to reacquaint myself with AFL football. After a few months' viewing now, I can honestly say that this league has not evolved in a direction that enhances its watchability.

It is mostly rolling mauls and crowded tussles for the ball, resulting in close quarters (bad) handballing and constant tackles that are hardly ever called by the referees. The rare time you see well-placed kicks to position and fast-paced, exciting plays through the middle usually comes as a result of a large lead and one team literally giving up on the tagging.

I have turned my attention back to rugby (both codes) as they seem to understand the concept of viewer engagement.

Bradley Dulvarie, Mysterton, Qld

Defend neighbourhood

I'm not surprised that Liberal-voting areas have ended up with better protection of their neighbourhoods than Labor-voting areas (''Not all to plan in sale of two cities'', 29/6), but the solution is not to force higher densities on the former. It is for the residents of Labor-voting areas to elect councils that stand up for the community and reject the nonsense that Melbourne's population has to grow forever.

The objection by us NIMBYs is not to transport-rich areas providing people with modest, well-landscaped medium density that respects the streetscape. The objection is to the open slather of six-pack boxes that impose unsustainable demands on local infrastructure, tower over neighbours, denude the gardens of our city and destroy the character of our communities.

Chris Curtis, Hurstbridge


A road to unity

Major infrastructure projects are often described as ''dividing the community'' into those for or against. But the one positive thing (and there is only one) that may be said about the East West Link is that it has united residents, businesses, community and political organisations together in opposition to the toll road. The commitment, professionalism and heroism of the community coalition against the tollroad has been inspiring.

Petra Stock, North Carlton

The science is sound

It's a shame Australians for Animals chief Sue Arnold ignores the evidence when claiming the regulation of oil and gas activities is placing our marine environment at risk (''Marine guardians slam standards'', 29/6).

Fifty years' experience of offshore activities and countless research projects in Australia and worldwide have produced no evidence suggesting that sound from oil and gas exploration has resulted in any injury to any marine species or behavioural effects that would harm the viability of any marine animal population. Science shows the sound produced during oil and gas activities is comparable in magnitude to naturally occurring and other man-made sound sources, including noise made by the animals themselves.

Comprehensive regulatory controls and risk-based planning and mitigation measures applied by industry and regulators in this country provide high levels of protection to all marine life.

Miranda Taylor, director, safety and environment, Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association

Stamp ''them'' out

Barry Dickins should not be surprised by his treatment at Centrelink (''There are no benefits for the soul waiting here'', Opinion, 29/6). He must know that the government's attitude to unemployed people is reflected by much of the community.

Talkback radio recently had people ringing in to suggest what could be done with ''them'', when it comes to work for the dole. Any unemployed person who takes illicit drugs is in the gun as well. I suggest a yellow gold coin be stamped on the forehead of any dole recipient, and maybe a green marijuana leaf as well, if they use drugs.

Dickins wonders how Christians could be so negative towards their fellow man. None of the talkback callers would be Christians, mate. You must know that.

John Rawson, Briar Hill


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