Coal money can not replace the loss of drinking water

The Herald reports that South32 has offered $100 million to cover water loss. Unfortunately, money cannot replace any water lost as it has gone forever. The NSW government should act for the public, not just miners and builders. Barry O’Connell, Old Toongabbie

A deal between a mining company and state government that centres on playing the odds on the risk to Greater Sydney’s water catchment sounds like a dangerous precedent. Keep the catchment off the betting table. Chris Bilsland, Lane Cove

South32 has offered $100 million in offset for water losses expected as a result of the expansion of its Dendrobium coal mine beneath the drinking water catchment, but that $100 million won’t buy water if there’s none to be had. We need water more than we need coal. Matthew Stevens, Thornleigh

Sorry, compensation does not cut it. You can’t drink money. Greg McCarry, Epping

I’m intrigued by the offer of $100 million compensation for water catchment losses. How much moisture is held in this much cash, and how will it be extracted and treated for use? Margaret Grove, Abbotsford

It is suggested by South32 that the payments ‘‘would ensure that its project would be a positive contributor to the metropolitan water supply’’. This suggests the water to be used by the proposed coal mining operation can be replaced by cash. What a relief that the next drought can be remedied by pouring cash into Warragamba Dam. Greg Maidment, Bronte

Deputy PM’s defence of Trump avoids the truth

Deputy PM Michael McCormack was a newspaper editor before he became a politician (‘‘MPs pile pressure on tech giants’’, January 12). Nevertheless, he has now compared the illegal actions of seditious rioters who stormed the Capitol to the legitimate BLM protests against institutional racism around the world. Will someone please help bring him back to planet Earth? Paul Parramore, Sawtell

Could someone explain to Michael McCormack that the views and actions of the increasingly unpredictable man who holds the nuclear codes are different to the views and actions of powerless Joe Blow, which is more than likely why media companies have suspended Donald Trump’s accounts and allowed Joe to continue to exercise his freedom of speech. Max Fischer, Wollongong

It will be interesting to see how supportive our Deputy Prime Minister is when Abu Bakar Bashir starts tweeting like a mad thing – or does Michael McCormack think unfettered free speech is only for those he approves of? Brad Powe, Gladesville

The conservative side of politics – the Deputy PM, the Treasurer and fringe dwellers like Craig Kelly – are apparently committed to free speech, but less so to truth and principles. Alarmed by de-Twittering Trump yet barely condemning incitement to riot; drawing false equivalence between BLM protests and the US Capitol invasion; defending the right to spread falsehoods on COVID treatment. These politicians seem all too comfortable with lies and incitement to hate and violence.
Michael Berg, Randwick

Michael McCormack and Josh Frydenberg stand forever condemned for rank political opportunism and breathtaking cynicism in objecting to this ruling and pretending Trump is being deprived of his freedom of speech. George Baumann, Balmain

The problem is not the unbridled social media, nor the ‘‘dimwits’’ that are suckled by it, but what such a large sector of the electorate is to believe in now. Trump will fade into insignificance but where does the sizeable proportion of the electorate (the silent majority, the ‘‘forgotten people’’) turn to now? Reformists have a role in society, but reforms need to be embraced by the conservative majority to be truly effective. Pasquale Vartuli, Wahroonga

There didn’t seem to be the same support among the Coalition for freedom of expression when Yassmin Abdel-Magied posted about Anzac Day in 2017. Brenton McGeachie,
Queanbeyan West

Rewrite constitution from scratch

The Republic debate seems, once again, to be sparking back into life (Letters, January 12). I would like to see two referendums. The first on the question of whether we want a republic; the second, if the first were successful, on the way in which the leader would be chosen. Before a second referendum, some thought also needs to be given to the powers such a position would hold.
One of the problems in the US is that, when the presidency was created, the regal powers of George III were simply transferred. The flaw in this is most evident in the pardoning prerogative abused by President Trump but there are others. Transferring the royal powers, exercised by the governor-general in the name of the sovereign, to a president, might create dilemmas for the future. Wayne Duncombe, Glebe

Your correspondent fails to understand that the turmoil of 1975 was caused by the British monarch when her representative, the governor-general, dismissed a democratically elected Australian government. It is, moreover, setting up a ‘‘straw man’’ to suggest that an Australian president would also have the constitutional power to dismiss a government. Roll on the republic. Trevor Taylor, Port Macquarie

While changing the head of state is hugely symbolic, there are a lot more changes required to the constitution to make it fit for purpose. The constitution needs to recognise that for most Australians, the Federation is dead. Currently, we have a model of government that allows the duplication and diversion of resources. The Commonwealth has a department of education, but runs no schools or universities; it has a department of health that runs no hospitals; through the use of the foreign affairs powers it regulates such things as the natural environment and power generation without a direct constitutional power to do so. Letter writers to the Herald are right, the constitution does need to be rewritten, but from a clean sheet of paper rather than tinkering around the edges. Stuart Miller, Ashfield

Why pussyfoot around with what to call an Australian head of state? Let’s call the said person the king or queen of Australia, as voted by a joint session of our houses of Parliament. It would help to get rid of the tired old notion that royalty depends on the womb from which you emerge. Jim Stanger, Berry

I imagine if there were a major pandemic leaving Prince Andrew as our next monarch, there would be a rush to find a new model. Laurence Pearson, Castlecrag

The biggest threat to an Australian republic happens when the government works out how to get one of its superannuated politicians elected as president. Greg Thompson, Bega

Questions about the selection and role of a president in a country with a parliamentary form of government are too important to leave to people offering simple answers. A serious study of the Irish and German constitutions may offer a more useful studying point for a debate. Norm Neill, Darlinghurst

Following elections governments are won or lost on the ability of parties to guarantee a majority in the House of Representatives. Why do we need a head of state at all? John Bailey, Canterbury

High-vis transport

My thanks to the Herald, it’s been a dreary few weeks without at least one photo of our Glad resplendent in high-vis and hard hat work gear (‘‘Empty roads help the trains run on time’’, January 12). I liked seeing Andrew Constance brandishing some sort of something or other, too. Hmm, no final cost as yet for this project, which will leave commuters beyond Bankstown high and dry. Oh well. Barbara McKellar, Dulwich Hill

Net-zero action

‘‘Terra Carta’’ is a green initiative launched by Prince Charles (‘‘Prince unveils green charter’’, January 12). It aims to give natural systems a voice in the way they are managed, in the way that the Magna Carta gave British citizens a voice in the way they were governed 800 years ago. The aim is to have businesses sign the charter, committing to environmental sustainability in the way they run their businesses. But what if signatories fail to live up to their undertakings? The Magna Carta has been enforced by the British Parliament, backed up by the various arms of state ever since, but who is going to enforce the ‘‘Terra Carta’’? Only when national governments require and enforce commitments by businesses will this work. It is hard to imagine any Australian government ever doing this. The Australian government cannot even commit to CO2 emissions targets. Geoff Black, Caves Beach

Freedom of truth

Jenna Price writes a refreshing viewpoint on freedom of speech (‘‘Has Kelly gone too far? Too right’’, January 12), which is righteously demanded too often by those who have no interest in the truth. It’s past time that more weight was given to the right to be free from the propagation of lies, especially through the largely unfiltered echo chambers of social media. Charmain Brinks, Newcastle

Where can the rest of Australia send donations to support the ‘‘We Are Hughes’’ grassroots movement? Sue Dyer, Downer (ACT)

No power but …

On the other hand, are your correspondents’ biblical quotes (Letters, January 11 and 12) ‘‘trumped’’ by ‘‘The powers that be are ordained by God’’ (Romans 13:1). Ronald Ogier, Ashfield

Not sexy

Viewers will not be far behind (‘‘Carrie on without me: Cattrall shuns Sex and the City reboot’’). Mustafa Erem, Terrigal

Soporific stories

My nomination for most boring book is Wolf Hall. I am familiar with this period of history but it was the most boring book ever. Over drinks one night friends confessed they felt the same, so it passes the pub test. Sue Durman, Pyrmont

Has anyone ever finished Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan? James Hocking, Cronulla

In the Leaving Certificate, I was forced to study The History of Mr Polly and I am still suffering 70 years later. Frank Gategood, Killarney Heights

The books I was forced to study in my first year at high school were musty, yellowed copies of Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, King Richard’s Land by L.A.G. Strong and Gaspar Ruiz by Joseph Conrad. Not a particularly riveting introduction to English literature for a 12-year-old girl.
Ruth Magoffin, Cheltenham

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, written in archaic English. I might have enjoyed it if I’d been given had a translation. Sandy Mackenzie, Bundanoon