The next task? Accepting Palestine’s right to exist

Increase fuel tax
The article titled “Government’s electric vehicle road map” outlines the decrease in revenue from fuel consumption tax as the number of electric vehicles increases. However, taxing EVs to replace this revenue would be counterproductive. A better solution is to increase fuel consumption tax. This can be adjusted each year to ensure the amount collected remains constant. This will provide an additional incentive to purchase electric vehicles.
Bob Hale, Malvern

EV obstacles
The paper, which analyzed the results of the car purchase intention survey (15/10), is disturbing in that it highlights the ongoing reluctance of Australian drivers to embrace electric vehicle use.
Apart from the cost mentioned in the article, range anxiety and the “terrible” spirit of Australians are major factors hindering the adoption of electric vehicle ownership.
The distances traveled by drivers in Australia set us apart from Europe and some Asian countries where electric vehicle ownership numbers are booming.
Electric vehicles are not yet capable of dragging large caravans thousands of kilometers across the countryside, and there is uneasiness about long journeys in electric vehicles where charging stations may be sparse.
Most families are two-car families, so let’s hope that at least one vehicle can be an EV for short to medium distance trips, while petrol/diesel or perhaps a hybrid can be used for caravaning and outback exploring.
Graeme Lechte, Pascoe Vale

Cut to the past
Last weekend, the third Electrify Your Life! I attended the event. fair. The message couldn’t be clearer; As energy commentator Javier Blas warns, gas is a gamble (“Gas cannot be a bridge to nowhere on the energy transition roadmap”, 13/10).
The financial benefits of solar power and batteries when combined with electric homes and vehicles are undeniable (“Energy bills will fall as emissions cuts accelerate”⁣, 13/10). Conversely, gas heaters, gas stoves and gas hot water systems are burdening households with rising energy costs and serious health risks. The same goes for gasoline and diesel cars; These 20th-century technologies are associated with rising health and fuel cost concerns.
With more extreme weather forecasts caused by climate change (″⁣The Blob, Rain and La Nina: What the summer forecasts hold for Australia″⁣, 13/10), the question is simple: How much longer can we justify the pollution and climate damage caused by residual fuels of the past?
Amy Hiller, Kew

Make the payment, America
So the Lucky Country has another trump card – this time our rare earth deposits (“Australia could win rare earths”, 14/10). Let’s hope that our political leaders will monitor the development of these resources better than they did the North West Shelf gas fields. The main beneficiaries of this golden egg were customers (incredibly cheap long-term contracts), shareholders and (relatively few) employees with only minimal royalty and tax collections. A repeated result would be scandalous.
The United States wants and needs our rare earth elements and should expect to pay for them and perhaps pay a little more to help support a new domestic value-added products industry. Just as we have contributed billions of dollars to support the American subsea industry, a similar contribution from the United States to assist our nascent rare earth industry should be part of any agreement.
Peter Thomson, Brunswick

More JP please
As Magistrates, I and 11 others staff a document signing center that has witnessed 13,000 documents for approximately 4000 people to date since the beginning of this calendar year. There are many other JPs around the state that offer a similar service.
I know of other signature centers in provincial centers that have witnessed more than 40,000 documents.
A local police inspector told me a few years ago that our services to the public allowed them to keep an extra police vehicle on the road.
As the chief police commissioner looks for ways to rehire sworn officers, he may suggest to the premier and attorney general that appointing additional JPs across the state would be a relatively cheap and effective way to help him achieve his goal.
Ian Symons, Drouin

Back to ‘Willy’
Should We Save Our Beach? More like Save Our View (“Tensions flare in seaside suburb over pool plan”, 13/10). It is appalling to read how far a few people will go to oppose the urgently needed upgrade of the 105-year-old Williamstown Swimming and Lifesaving Club.
I’m a local resident and member, and all I see is a non-profit, volunteer-fueled community organization that does what it can to give back to Williamstown. A club that protects the tens of thousands of beachgoers who descend on Willy beach every year. A community space that brings together both Nippers and “Silver Salters” with swimming and social empowerment programs. And a provider of essential water safety skills for local schoolchildren from all cultural backgrounds, who, thanks to the club, have the knowledge to stay safe on our beaches.
This is truly something worth saving.
Sarah Isaacs, Williamstown

More valuable projects
At a meeting of Hobsons Bay Council in September, a council official advised in response to a public question about the redevelopment of the Williamstown Life Saving Club: “The current estimate for the redevelopment is around $16.6 million, but this is subject to ongoing review as the design is further developed and cost plans are further refined.” He also recommended that “the council allocated $3 million for development.”
The Victorian government has given an $11.4 million grant for redevelopment, plus $3 million from the council, leaving a $2.2 million shortfall.
It would be ridiculous to allocate more taxpayer funds for redevelopment when there are so many worthwhile community projects awaiting funding from the council.
One obvious project is the renovation of the historic Mechanics Institute building, which formerly housed much of Williamstown’s heritage but is currently in off-site storage.
The project was started but ended due to lack of municipal funds.
Robert Ferris, Williamstown

strong constitution
So the Liberals would cancel Victoria’s First Nations Treaty. This is exactly why the Voice of the Parliament had to be included in the Constitution. Liberals would be confident that a legislated Voice presented to parliament would not be worth the paper it is written on.
Margaret Callinan, Hawthorn

This is their voice
Why is the LNP planning to roll back the Treaty? As those most affected say, the Treaty will prevent paternalistic whites from deciding what Aboriginal people need and give them a say in their future. Does the LNP still think they know better and that paternalistic outcomes would be better for everyone?
I would prefer First Nations people to have a say in how the money spent on their behalf affects them. I see this Victorian Treaty as a first step in the right direction to help right the wrongs of the past.
Why can’t we respect the people who lived here before colonization?
Eileen Ray, Ascot Vale

Toast this idea
Have we completely lost the ability to perform even simple tasks without IT assistance? The AI ​​offers to fix my emails, do research for me (looks very bad and unimaginative), drive my car, (incorrectly) predict my texts, and many more tasks.
Now I read that I need a BT toaster to figure out how to toast my bread, raisin bread, pancakes and more. What happened to our brains that we can no longer perform a simple task?
Calculating how long it will take to fry various items?
What I really want is a toaster that knows when I’m hungry, opens the fridge, takes out a piece of food, toasts it, butters it and serves it on a nice plate, then takes the plate to the dishwasher and wipes down the counter and table. I will pay for this. Until then, I still have a functioning brain.
Save IT advances for truly important and valuable activities, such as remote robotic surgery, to deliver better healthcare to remote rural areas.
Louise Kloot, Doncaster

AND SOMETHING ELSE

Gaza
Israeli hostages will be admitted to Israel by well-stocked and highly functional hospitals with significant Allied health support. The same cannot be said for Palestinian hostages returning to Gaza.
Allan Elliott, Northcote

Didn’t the Roman historian Tacitus write, “They create a desert and call it peace?”
Aidan Sudbury, Malvern East

A great idea (Letter 14/19) is the Orange Guide supplement that brings together all the Donald Trump photos and appearances. I would use this as a weed cover.
Jane Ross, San Remo

opossums
The war and debate over possums (15/10) has been going on for a very long time. It’s time for a ceasefire.
Rivkah Halik, Nunawading

Farewell, opossums.
John Rawson, Mernda

Besides
When will we see license plates with the “Crime State Victoria” logo?
Barry Kearney, Ringwood North

Tony Wright offers an informative perspective on the Treaty (15/10), including the Opposition’s bureaucratic plans to get us back to square one.
Greg Curtin, Nunawading

Having just flown to Perth from Virgin Australia, I wholeheartedly support the reduction in carry-on luggage. Enforce these limits as well. If the total weight of most of the “two bags” we see is under 7kg, I’ll eat my own bag.
Wendy Hinson Wantirna

Why do people comment on people getting thinner and it is considered rude to comment on someone getting fat (Comment, 15/10)?
Susan Munday, Bentleigh East

I was on a bus heading to the Queen Vic market and apparently I was the only passenger on the bus. Others just walked. I recommend making announcements reminding people to swipe and open. Doing the right thing can embarrass others.
Jan Silverwood, Port of Melbourne