Missing in action Prime Minister shows poor leadership

Australians of the year: our firefighters, professional and voluntary. Selfless and determined, they persevere at high personal cost. Heroes, one and all. Let’s give them official recognition. - Gara Baldwin, Maroubra

The NSW Rural Fire Service has 70,000 volunteers. They do a fantastic job in protecting us in the case of fire and other emergencies. But it is clear that they need help. There is a new fire paradigm – catastrophic fires are the new normal and volunteers working to exhaustion cannot handle them all. We need to develop a permanent rural fire force to work in conjunction with the volunteers. This will require a lot more equipment, including aeroplanes. Yes it will cost money but people do not feel safe with the current situation. - Patrick O’Connor, Longueville

Why should a handful of volunteers sacrifice their wages and time to protect us all? It is well-documented that globally for the past decade we have witnessed an era of mega fires. Surely given the changing nature of fires it is time for our society to have a mature discussion on how those who protect our community are treated and compensated for their time. - Greg Adamson, Griffith

In the face of terrible tragedy and alarm, Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons continues to show remarkable strength and compassion. A true leader. - Vicky Marquis, Glebe

PM first denied the problem, then he denied his support

PM MIA. 2IC MIA 2? Bah humbug. - Mary Brook, Tweed Heads

Can you imagine Jacinda Ardern trotting off on holiday to another country, Hawaii say, if New Zealand was burning? - Gay O'Connor, Manly

The PM has just realised how serious these fires are. Another miracle! - Di Henderson, Yass

Why bother coming back PM? It's not like we missed your complete inaction on the bushfires. - Phil Bradshaw, Naremburn

We face a future with no fresh air, no food or water security. We face a future of unknown health issues. What is this smoke doing to our health and that of our children?

The government's inaction on climate change is immoral, dangerous and irresponsible. It is time for us all to stand up and fight for our and our children's future. - Julie Dawson, Manly

Falling gently from the sky into my backyard, like snow for Christmas: ash. - John Bailey, Canterbury

The mercury is rising and so is our impatience. Feel the ground swell pollies. We don't need submarines, football stadiums and a new Powerhouse museum. We do need good water management, honest environmental policies and more help for our rural firefighters. - Jan Evans, Queenscliff

Heroism at the firefront

News has broken that two volunteer firefighters have died and three were injured after their RFS truck rolled. At what point does the nation get a leader that actually understands the situation and acts to help these volunteers? – Henry Spirek, Orange

Come Australia Day and people from all walks of life are winning awards. Let's hope that many of those awards go to the brave and tireless members of the RFS. – Peter Miniutti, Ashbury

Why hasn't the government mobilised defence force personnel to be trained and deployed to fight bushfires? Surely there are enough of them to relieve the RFS whose members must be exhausted – Mike Powter, Port Macquarie

Where the hell is the army? Haven’t we got an emergency in NSW? What are we doing sending volunteers into battle against these overwhelming bushfires?
Answer me, Scott Morrison. – Pen Layton-Caisley, Marrickville

Morrison’s recent comments about " firefighters wanting to be there" is true. However, what he doesn’t understand is why they want to be there – it’s a sense of duty and obligation to the community, it’s a sense of not letting their fellow volunteers down, it’s the willingness to risk their lives to save others.

These men and women are volunteers, some of whom have been on the front-line of these devastating fires for weeks. The fires will continue to burn for weeks and months ahead as there is no significant rainfall predicted by the weather bureau.

Our firefighters are lauded and praised by the media and the community and now it is time they are paid. The federal government must immediately instigate payment, perhaps at an hourly rate commensurate with the rate paid to members of the full-time fire brigade. Many of the volunteers have exhausted their paid leave entitlements, and those who are self-employed are even worse off. Volunteers who are unemployed, on Newstart, or retirees should also be paid as they are putting their lives on the line.

Sorry, Mr Morrison, no amount of platitudes, thoughts and prayers from you will go anywhere near repaying the debt we owe the firefighters. Money won’t fix the devastating fires but it will recognise the vital work these "volunteers" are doing. – Barbara Godfrey, Lyneham ACT

The large fires that are now running have been burning for weeks, and most originated from lightning strikes in remote areas. Both NPWS and the RFS have remote area fire teams (RAFT) who tackle this type of fire and they have been very successful in putting many out. However, the number of RAFT personnel is small because of the training involved and the degree of fitness required. As a consequence some of these fires escape and we see the result many weeks later.

Over the past 20 years, the NSW Forestry organisation has been dismembered and much of its land handed over to the NPWS. In many instances this was done without allocating the resources needed for them to properly manage the additional land area.

Hazard reduction from controlled burning will lower the intensity of a fire but may do little to change its rate of spread. These big fires have burnt through large areas that were burnt last year. Aerial water bombing will slow a fire down but will not stop it unless done as part of a strategy with ground crews working below. Back burning (especially in severe conditions) is extremely hazardous and has a high likelihood of failure.

If we do not want a repeat of this year, we have to tackle these fires at their source and put every one out. This will require the building up of additional full time RAFT teams so that there are sufficient resources for this work. It may also be an area where the military can help. The ability to be inserted by helicopter to a remote area and navigate and work using hand tools ought to be part of any basic training. – Michael Elfick, Woodville

PM missing in action

In a crisis, real leaders step up to the mark; thank you Premier, Anthony Albanese and all the firefighters. In contrast, the PM went AWOL, told us to shut up about climate change, used shonky accounting to meet emission targets. – Ingrid Radford, Waverton

The flack the PM is copping for being on holidays during a national emergency reminds me that Gough Whitlam got into similar hot water because he was holidaying in Greece after cyclone Tracy had flattened Darwin. My recollection is that Gough dashed back to put in a brief appearance and then went back to Greece. – Jack McCann, Wollstonecraft

Were this the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister, and probably a very senior member of the royal family, would be visible, encouraging the firefighters and victims of the fires to be strong. Were it nearly any other country, the head of state and/or the political chief would be similarly visible.

In NSW, our Premier, at last, is visible and has declared a "state of emergency". But our Prime Minister, despite raging fires in a number of states, has been in Hawaii on holidays.

I respectfully suggest that at the next federal election, many, many voters will remember that at certain times, leaders must lead. – John Abernethy, West Pennant Hills

Absolute hell, the last few weeks. Smoke everywhere. Lives and properties lost, koalas screaming in pain while being incinerated, many other creatures similarly obliterated. But let’s not talk about the causes. Let us cheat on our supposed contribution to a system that is at least trying to retain a fast vanishing future. Let us instead castigate the children who are angrily articulating what the problem is. An election win that was a miracle? But when a major catastrophe occurs there are no miracles. If there is a solution, we must try to find it. Nero fiddled while Rome burned. ScoMo holidays while Australia burns. I despair. – Brian Milton, Avalon

Let Scott Morrison have his holiday. He is completely dispensable, with those staring over his shoulder happy to step up. Those not dispensable are the firefighters, the emergency services, the police, doctors, nurses, the aged care staff and the list goes on. A special mention also to the ABC, whose staff haven't gone on holidays but continue to give us the most comprehensive reporting possible on these catastrophic conditions. They alert us and inform us in the hope of keeping people and property safe.

Morrison can't help. His words lack credibility and sincerity. For example, if he truly believed his catch cry "How good is Australia" he would have spent his holiday dollars here. – Penny Hammond, Orange

The PM's "apology" for his holiday during this bushfire crisis makes clear that he doesn't get it.

It's not that we are offended by his going on holiday at this time, it's the fact that he went, following on from his thoughtless comment that the volunteers want to be there. And it's not about being sensitive to a negative that will affect his election chances.

The fact that he went just showed a carelessness about the lives of others, an ignorance about a basic element of leadership, and a hubris towards those who know what they're talking about. To me his holidaying (overseas!) at this time is entirely in character. It is in line with his treatment of refugees, welfare recipients, the unemployed, the disabled, and all Australians whom he just wants to be quiet. – David Ashton, Katoomba

I cannot understand the furore over the Prime Minister taking a holiday at this time. Surely he can deliver his thoughts and prayers as effectively from Timbuktu as he did from the Canberra bubble. – David Tarran, Thornleigh

Climate change cannot be denied

Australia, more than most countries, is extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change ("How much closer to their doors must the fire burn? It's immoral not to connect the dots", December 20). Record temperature rises, record drought, record bushfires and record smoke pollution may well be focusing our minds now. Yet at the last election Australia voted against meaningful action to address this crisis. We must all take on the cost of ensuring a sustainable future or pay the price of an increasingly uninhabitable world. – Bruce Spence, Balmain

Now I can water the lawn and hose the driveway to my heart’s content, thanks to our esteemed PM showing the way forward. Scott Morrison has helpfully pointed out that we can ignore climate change because our emissions are a tiny fraction of the problem. Well, my hosing will be a much tinier fraction of Sydney’s water use than Australia’s emissions are of the planet’s carbon pollution. So problem solved – thanks Scott! Better wash the car as well. – John Dengate, Avalon

Ignorance and greed drive the refusal to accept human activity as a factor in catastrophic climate change. Deniers attribute climate change to factors beyond our control. Ironically, no responsibility implies no remedy, the worst possible reality. – Lawrence Fahy, Randwick

It gives me no pleasure to see all the scientific predictions that have been made ad nauseum playing out on our TVs day after day, night after night. Is it simple male stubbornness that refuses to accept reality, or have the Coalition been bought, heart and soul, by big business and the coal lobby? Voters need to ditch the "climate change is crap" mentality right now and join the demonstrations for action. – Jan Carrol, Potts Point

I have lived my comfortable city life through many a bushfire emergency, the standouts being Tasmania in 1967 and Black Saturday in Victoria. There’ve been significant bushfires in the Blue Mountains as well. But never has the city been virtually ringed by fire. We have already broken the record for hottest day in this country. But the climate naysayers will point to tinder box conditions; and as for hottest day – well, they come and go, a one off. With the achievement of lower emissions projected largely years in to the long-term future, I will not be here to see them. But I challenge the climate change skeptics: surely we should do our best to clean up the only planet that we can call home. – Genevieve Milton, Newtown

Climate scientists have been warning for decades that southern Australia will get hotter and drier, with more severe droughts and catastrophic bushfires. And now it’s happening: our bush is burning, our wildlife perishing. What has been the political response? Yawn.

It’s time to prick the Canberra bubble and let the smoke in – that might get them moving. – Bruce Gall, Canberra

It's time to act large, speak loud

I would prefer the NYE fireworks budget be converted into purple flame retardant. You Sydneysiders would not see the fireworks anyway, but we in the country would like the acknowledgment. – Jo Rainbow, Orange

Professor Tim Flannery is chief councillor of the Australian Climate Council. He is a former Australian of the Year. He is passionate about the welfare of Australians and Australia. He sees the ravages of climate change on the Australian environment, native species and people as catastrophic. The forces controlled by the Murdoch news empire would love to silence his voice. This same empire engineered the demise of the Turnbull government in 2018 because it was planning to introduce an energy policy that recognised the devastation caused by uncontrolled emissions. We re-elected a government committed to economic growth at the expense of the environment. Everything Flannery has predicted has come to pass. He has predicted more to come and says the Australian environment is the most endangered. – Michael Kennedy, West Pymble

As a nation, we need to have an open and constructive discussion about bushfires. We must not go through this agony again. There will, of course, still be bushfires. The question is: how do we reduce the risks?

To my mind, there are two main options. We can indulge in very expensive, futile gestures, like using windmills to generate electricity, or we can do something constructive, like reducing fuel loads, especially around houses and roads. – Mike Jonas, Exeter

The global climate crisis is essentially a geopolitical issue. What successive conservative governments in this country have done is to deprive Australia of any credible platform to induce larger emitters such as China to comply. A positive future will involve powerful blocs of compliant nations pressuring countries like China. Obvious "leaners" like Australia need not apply. The Chinese must look at us, straddling the equator as we do, with wide-eyed wonder at our strategic stupidity. – Peter Spencer, Glebe

Waleed Aly’s excellent article explains why the childrens’ climate change strike was and continues to be so important (''Daily drumbeat is deafening'', December 20). It was not a crazy way of escaping a day at school. The kids learn science and have had the time to learn and critically review the information – and not in news bites. The strike was a measure of the success of their education. The children understand, even if the recalcitrant grown-ups don’t. Unless one spends time reading the data, or is directed to peer-reviewed papers, it is impossible for a busy person with little science knowledge to know where to go for more in-depth material, or which shock jock, let alone politician, is right. – Ann Long, Sydney

Informed, insightful, passionate, concerned, responsive, consistent – no, I'm not describing any of our political leaders, but the force of this week's letters on the need to act against climate change. My fellow correspondents give me hope in this hazy, threatening time. – Meredith Williams, Dee Why

Trump impeachment offers means to a different end

The impeachment of President Donald Trump by the Democratic Party majority in the US House of Representatives is unadulterated politics (''President set for trial in Senate'', December 20). The subsequent trial in the Republican Party-controlled Senate will be conducted with a minimum of fuss because it too is pure politics. The American people see the political circus for what it is. It is they who will ultimately determine whether Trump is re-elected president, not the Democratic Party politicians. - Riley Brown, Bondi Beach

Your correspondent argues that the Trump impeachment will change nothing, so why bother (Letters, December 20)? It comes back to a fundamental principle of leadership: the standard you walk past is the standard you set. - Nick Jans, Marysville

I wish Trump could be impeached for reckless abuse of hair dye and fake tan products. - Patrick McGrath, Potts Point

Dame Nellie Melba is living proof that impeachment is not always a bad thing. - Peter Fyfe, Enmore

Liberal's short memory

Michaelia Cash's claim that "under Labor's disastrous VET FEE-HELP scheme, dodgy providers flourished and student exploitation was high" rearranges the facts ("Vocational education starved of funding", December 20). The Commonwealth's determination to open up TAFEs to competition from the private sector began under the Howard government. This was a means to sell permanent residency through questionable student visas. While Labor is guilty of then continuing this, it has persisted under the Coalition with its "Skills Package", now ineffective against the litany of outrageous rorts and lowered standards. Cash represents the epitome of Liberal ideology, so, despite the evidence of declining quality in the system, the faith of market idealists persists unchallengeable, meaning any spin will do, no matter how untrue. - Robyn Dalziell, Kellyville

The road best travelled

Though a gap year is not for every student, there are many unexpected outcomes, often life changing ("Please don't make your kids go to uni ... yet'', December 20). The most important is that young adults develop a wider view of the world and a confidence to gleefully enter into it, engaging people and further opportunities. For my own children, career decisions, working and travelling abroad and relationships fostered on a global scale have developed. My daughter-in-laws from Florida, Chicago and Hong Kong continue to add cultural diversity and harmony to our family. Their families, too, adopt us as their own, and for all our travelling has widened as a result. An unexpected, yet positive, road for us all. - Janice Creenaune, Austinmer

HSC scores raise questions

Surprisingly, in this day and age where productivity metrics and KPIs are all the go, reports about value-added components provided by schools, especially so-called "top schools", in their students’ HSC results are as scarce as hens’ teeth (Letters, December 20). The HSC has never been, nor will it ever be, a level playing field "track event" where all students start from the scratch line, so let’s have an added dimension of reality when reporting and analysing data associated with it. - Col Shephard, Yamba

Without taking anything away from the awe-inspiring results of James Ruse Agricultural High School, a state school, wasn’t this school set up to foster knowledge of agricultural science? I wonder how many graduates will take up agriculture as their life’s work? Or will they continue to fill vacancies at medical schools? - Lance Dover, Pretty Beach

Childcare pay is far from easy as child's play

Thank you, Jessica Irvine, for highlighting the critically important and invaluable role our early learning educators and teachers play in our community ("A love letter to all childcare workers", December 19).

More than providing care to our children, enabling parents to access meaningful work, they deliver important learning support and experiences that prepare children for their best start at school. Numerous studies clearly demonstrate the positive impact that high quality early learning can have to improve educational and life outcomes, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. - Lisa Chung, Double Bay

I would warn childcare workers against expressing love for their work and the overwhelming satisfaction they gain from doing it (Letters, December 20). It could be construed that you "want to be there" and hence should be treated, as far as pay and support is concerned, the same as our volunteer firefighters.

Why do we, as a society - and the government supposedly representing us - treat those who seek a vocation to help others, or those who volunteer to help others, so poorly? - Rob Siebert, Skennars Head

I confess ...

Your correspondent excoriates the Catholic Church for refusing to surrender the sanctity of the confessional in cases of confessed child sexual abuse (Letters, December 20). I am inclined to agree, but make two points. First, is not the relationship of a priest to a confessor similar to that between a lawyer and a client, with the former privileged and committed to confidence in defence of the latter?

Second, the confessional presents the opportunity for a priest to offer moral advice to the confessor upon apprehension of any crime. One would hope and expect that any priest worthy of the robes of office and the confidence of the church and general community would advise the person immediately to attend a police station and confess there.

Better yet, a priest could advise the confessor to step out of the protection of confession and profess guilt again, whereupon the priest could report the matter or even escort the person to police. The weight of confessions of this ilk must press heavily on the conscience of every priest, but there are things they can do to bring justice to such truly abhorrent acts. - David Sargent, Castle Hill

Lost in translation

To your correspondent's list of Amerlish phrases, I add "bathroom", "first responders" and "wildfires" (Letters, December 20). I believe these are American phrases that mean toilet, emergency services and bushfires. - Ross Langford-Brown, Randwick

Thinking about US slang leads me to ask why one now has to have a ''skill-set'', rather than skills or ability. - Neil Buchanan, Waitara

Could I just reach out to your correspondent so he knows that I'm no big fan of "Amerlish", either? - Peter Mahoney, Oatley

A meaty topic

I don't intend to start a war with vegans (Letters, December 20). I don't consider myself superior as a carnivore, but meat has protein that is not found in vegetables and is important for growth and health. It is all about balancing a diet, and while we still have ready access to good meat, we should enjoy it. Those front teeth, with the sharp edge, are designed specifically for slicing through meat. We should be thankful we live in Australia where we have the fortune of having such a balanced cuisine. - Alex Elliott, Bilgola Plateau

Charging ahead

Please, Santa, just a simple mobile phone with no camera but a long-lasting battery. - Greg Thorp, Turramurra

Important matters first. Ian Usman Lewis, of Kentucky, requires a clarification: ''On the Letters' page you printed a letter supposedly written by me, relating to the Brexit fiasco. While I agree in broad terms with the sentiments expressed by the writer, he/she is not me. I did not write the letter, have never lived in the UK.'' The letter was, in fact, written by Lesley Walker, of Chewton (Vic), and the mix-up was due to the overambitious use of the control-C and control-V keys. Apologies all round.

In this week before Christmas, many writers' thoughts turned to an intensifying bushfire emergency, and again today we are running a special edition of letters online.

Bea Hodgson, of Gerringong, was ''reminded of the wonderful Australian Christmas carols'', but sadly, she reflects, The Carol of the Birds that ends with ''Orana! Orana! Orana'', an Aboriginal word for dawn, welcome, or hail, will probably be welcoming another bushfire day. ''There are so many of our fellow Australians who have lost so much in the fires. We do care. Thanks to the firefighters who give so much,'' she writes.

Chris Hughes, of Clovelly, reminds us that ''there is a bigger bubble than the Canberra bubble - that is the Herald letters page bubble''. ''Don't you guys get it? We just had an election! Australians do not want action on climate change. Democracy - it's your responsibility."

But Glenna Coxhill, of Orange, has a different message for those in the bubble: ''I would like to thank all those who have contributed to the letters pages in 2019. Every day I read avidly and find so many people of like mind. My only sorrow is that our politicians appear not to read these wonderful letters. A Merry Christmas to you all and please keep up the good work in 2020.''

Season's greetings from the Letters team, too.

Pat Stringa, Letters co-editor

To submit a letter to The Sydney Morning Herald, email letters@smh.com.au. Click here for tips on how to submit letters.