In the rush to build, other factors are left behind

Seeing public transportation in a dream
Members of the Victorian government need to get out more. They would find that the streets near public transport were clogged with parked cars, and that public transport was already packed for students and workers at rush hour. They will also find that this is a huge city in a vast country and that public transport is not a realistic option for most of the journeys people need to make. I’m all for public transit, but until it serves us well—which is unlikely to happen over the lifetime of any development built in the foreseeable future—people will buy cars and need where they live to park them safely.
Home and business parking should be preserved and EV purchase and infrastructure rollout encouraged and supported until some distant, magical time when public transport works for us much more often than it does now.
Margaret Callinan, Hawthorn

sustainable growth
High-density living can lead to some efficiencies, and that sounds good in economic theory. However, the environmental impacts of more and more people living in smaller spaces must be taken into account. Even in Australia, where urban population density is relatively low, people experience problems with access to health and education, transportation, loss of green spaces and waste management. Our increasing overall population does not solve these problems, on the contrary, it worsens them and contributes to a global scenario of higher temperatures, more fires, floods, droughts and pollution.
On a global scale, “Sustainable Cities and Communities”, the United Nations report on sustainable development goals, shows the social and environmental problems caused by increasing urbanization. In Australia these problems have not reached the same proportions as in most densely populated Asian countries.
Given the increasing emergence of environmental and social catastrophes caused by climate change, we must abandon the “growth at all costs” paradigm that underpins the current economy and take a more holistic approach to planning that includes how people can exist sustainably in their environments.
Leigh Ackland, Deepdene

chariot, horse, carriage
Your reporter (Letters, 3/12) is quick to say that Donald Trump would pardon Pete Hegseth if Hegseth was found guilty of killing civilians. The only way Trump can pardon Hegseth is if he is convicted in US Federal Court; That would require a Justice Department investigation, which the Trump administration would never facilitate in the first place.
Dennis Dodd, Shepparton

Sydney – Melbourne
The new Melbourne tunnel will be a welcome addition to the rail network and increase travel options. But it is a little too early for The Age (2/12) to compare Melbourne’s system to the best in the world. It would be more meaningful to compare the system with another much closer system serving a similar population.
Sydney’s train system carries around one million passengers each weekday; Melbourne has less than half that number. Sydney’s services are more frequent and there are many more express services to the outer suburbs. Sydney’s stations are better promoted and maintained. Phase three of Sydney’s first driverless and rapid metro line is in testing; Already, the number of passengers in the first two stages is around 1.3 million per week. Construction continues on two other metro lines. It looks like trains will be in service at Sydney’s new second airport before work begins on the Sunshine to Tullamarine line.
Southern Cross station is a noisy and smelly place, largely because it hosts diesel VLocity trains to metropolitan areas on lines that should have been electrified long ago.
Anthony McIlwain, Trinity Beach, Qld

There is no logic in gas
If there is so much concern about climate change, why is Australia selling its gas overseas, which in turn sells it to countries that use it to create climate problems at a profit?
Australian gas should be used if it is to be used in Australia. There seems to be no reason why work cannot be done to make gas use more climate-friendly and to stop this massive rip-off by electricity companies that are under-resourced and have no competition for under-utilized renewable energy sources.
There needs to be an investigation into the needs and use of Australia’s limited resources, and a ban on selling those that could be used for the benefit of Australians to overseas companies that make a handsome profit from those resources.
Doris LeRoy, Altona

Level voting area please
It was said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.” Our democratic traditions require us to monitor encroachments on it. One such example is outlined in the Age editorial (3/12). It explains the gap in the 2018 donation limits legislation. The “caution” apparently failed, but the law was later enacted to the advantage of the two major parties, as the “nominated organizations” that financed them were exempt from the caps.
The voting public is already skeptical of politics and politicians. Democracy can only develop with greater public participation. They need to see that justice is done and that new parties or independent candidates have unrestricted access to a fair chance of election. It is hoped that the Supreme Court challenge by two independent candidates in February will be successful.
Jan Marshall, Brighton

We need to show humanity
I was outside the other day even though it was raining. So was he: my friend Gerry, the local Big Trouble dealer. Two weeks after we last spoke, standing in front of the public Christmas decorations, I asked him how he was doing. He told me that a shopkeeper had ordered him to move away, that he was not allowed to stay there and that he did not want to see him. Big Issue dealers are allowed to work on public land, but for the third time in recent years, Gerry has been dismissed, ridiculed, and reduced to less than what he is: a human being. People feel “misseen” when they are viewed as members of a category rather than as individuals. Gerry told me he used the term “rabble” to ease the conscience of shopkeepers – but is that really how Melburnians view Big Problem dealers and non-themselves? One in seven Australians lives in poverty; At least we can recognize their humanity.
Anders Ross, Heidelberg

Housing solutions
In the 1950s, I joined an international company and was stationed in the Netherlands for a long time. At the time, Europe, and especially the Netherlands, was in a phase of reconstruction with severe housing shortages due to damage from wartime activities.
At least one major city (The Hague) has proactively addressed the accommodation shortage by implementing strict regulations.
All accommodation units, including occupied houses and flats, were identified and assessed for their capacity to accommodate additional occupants, both families and single individuals. Of course, there was an emphasis on vacant accommodation.
Under the city council’s instructions, residents were directed to rent unused accommodation to homeless individuals or families, with penalties imposed for non-compliance. Problem solved.
Vacant housing units could be allocated in a similar way, as reported here in Victoria.
This may seem like a draconian measure, but no one or any organization has yet come up with a solution to our housing crisis that proposes a time frame within which our current challenges can be overcome.
Consider this, or a variant more suited to a 2020s-appropriate approach, and do something.
Eric Garner, Capel Sound

parking problem
If you have difficulty finding parking at the train station, now imagine what it will be like in the future (“Deregulating parking lots”⁣, 3/12). There will also be difficulties for families looking for affordable flats if they do not have room in a car to take their children to kindergarten, visit their family doctor or even go shopping.
Residents of these apartments will not have access to street parking, as many inner city councils have denied parking permits for multi-unit developments built since 2004. So where will they park?
The government’s assumptions are unfounded and will have long-lasting consequences.
Sally Davis, Malvern East

AND SOMETHING ELSE

Foreign affairs
Message to Vladimir Putin: These are called “Peace” Talks
Jos Vandersman, Lilydale

Why isn’t the U.S. legal system used to bring alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers to justice rather than immediately executing them?
Peter Baddeley, Portland

The United States has an interesting way of strengthening relations, particularly through its use of war games with Venezuela.
Bryan Fraser, St Kilda West

American Secretary of War Pete Hegseth explains that the decision to launch two attacks on a civilian boat off the coast of Venezuela was taken in the “fog of war.” So why attack again?
David Baylis, Drouin East

Besides
It’s great to see women’s sport taking off so much, but why do most women’s teams have male coaches?
David Ginsbourg, Bentleigh East

Liberal inquiry blames Trump influence for Dutton’s failure” (3/2) But did they take into consideration who picked Dutton in the first place?
Jenny Bone, Surrey Hills

Just as the fear of the death penalty in some countries does not deter people from committing murder, Jacinta Allan’s sentences under “adult crimes, adult statute of limitations” laws will not deter 14-year-olds from committing crimes.
Reg Murray, Glen Iris

When it comes to scientific advice on issues such as the global climate crisis and worldwide virus pandemics, it is always helpful to have climate and viral biology scientists Barnaby Joyce and Pauline Hanson as members of parliament.
Mark Bennett, Manifold Heights

A warning to all Melburnians to never put your doonas aside, no matter the season. Is it summer in Melbourne? Four seasons together.
Susan Munday, Bentleigh East

Finally
Thank you Cathy Wilcox for your cartoon about the ceasefire in Gaza (2/12). Your understanding and clarity are spot on as always.
Jody Ellis, Thornbury