Front-page article titled “Red alert: War risk exposed”

The front-page article titled “Red alert: War risk exposed” was alarming and not surprising. Five defence experts suggest that Australia will be involved in a war with China within three years. The writers suggest that the only way to address the issue is through communication, establishment, and promotion of equal benefits for the parties involved.

The article highlights the issues of building up a defence force, committing resources to the submarine deal, and the need for a parliamentary opposition that is intellectually and politically capable of being part of national leadership.

There are several letters in response to the article. One writer suggests that by 2055, we will be fully feeling the economic impact of climate change, and climate change will have a far higher and longer-term impact on our economy than our three years of COVID.

Another writer suggests that the previous governments have given wealthy investors tax breaks on housing in the theory that it would increase the supply of houses, which has distorted the market and made it harder for young families to buy their first home. Negative gearing is just one of many legal ways of reducing tax available to the wealthy at the expense of the less well-off.

The writers suggest that if Australia wants to move from its global self-absence to a proud presence, it has to start believing it is worth standing on its own two feet, showing more nous and real cultural citizenship towards creative-commerce autonomy.

There are letters addressing the issue of denial of basic human rights to prisoners and the failure to fully implement the findings of the 1991 royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody.

The writers suggest that we are strangled by our obedience to cultural systems: cringe, tall poppy, and silence, and that it is always best to stay quiet and leave ourselves out of standing up for ourselves. The writers suggest that Australia needs to wake up and choose pride over shameful self-exile.