Now is time to expedite cleaner, more secure transport

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ENERGY

With oil tankers stranded in the Persian Gulf and only 28 days of petrol on hand, Australia’s energy vulnerability is impossible to ignore (Letters, “Oil shock, solar response”, 4/3).
Strengthening our energy security means accelerating electrification, and that requires stronger policy support. Tax incentives have already tripled EV sales in just three years, though the benefits have mostly flowed to higher income buyers (“EV tax break under the microscope”, 4/3).
Even so, the rapid uptake has shown us that EVs are reliable, clean and far cheaper to run than petrol cars. EV prices are falling sharply, but widespread adoption still depends on targeted incentives—especially for households least able to afford a new vehicle.
Norway shows what’s possible: with comprehensive incentives, 97 per cent of new cars sold there are electric, making them the obvious choice for consumers.
Australia can achieve similar momentum with the right policy levers.
It’s time for the Albanese government to urgently expand EV incentives and supercharge Australia’s shift to cleaner, more secure transport.
Jeremy Cailes, Curlewis

Phase out fossil fuel miner tax credits
As your correspondent suggests (4/3), fuel price spikes and the security risks of our dependence on petrol and diesel make the case for electric vehicles (EVs) unmistakable.
EV support is central to easing household costs, improving public health and reducing our exposure to global energy shocks.
Rather than scrapping EV tax breaks, the Albanese government might look instead at the $10.8 billion in annual fuel tax credits paid to miners — a subsidy that entrenches the fossil fuel dependence we urgently need to phase out. Ending fossil fuel subsidies is the kind of budget saving that would actually drive us forward.
Sarah Brennan, Hawthorn

Dependence on unreliable oil must end
With Trump’s new war in the petrostates threatening oil supplies and Putin’s ″⁣blood oil″⁣ theoretically proscribed, now is the time for our government to do everything it can to encourage the purchase of electric vehicles – cars, vans, buses and trucks.
It would be short-sighted and counterproductive in the extreme for tax breaks or other incentives encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles to be scaled back or eliminated .
Our lamentable dependence upon tenuous supplies of imported oil must end.
Given Australia’s almost unlimited renewable energy potential, energy independence is ours for the taking, if only our politicians would stop looking in the rear-view mirror.
Helen Moss, Croydon

Imagine cost of living, climate, health benefits
If the Albanese government is looking to tidy up the May budget, rather than ceasing support for electric vehicles, it could gain plenty of revenue by properly taxing the gas industry.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has proposed a 25 per cent tax on all LNG exports, which would raise around $17 billion a year.
At present, the government collects more from the beer excise than from the petroleum resource rent tax — an absurd imbalance. Imagine the cost of living, climate and health benefits we could enjoy by investing all those gas billions in clean technology.
Larni Dibben, Glen Iris

Increase incentives for EV buyers
Threats to our oil imports make the transition to EVs even more urgent. Incentives should be increased, not reduced.
Greg Curtin, Nunawading

THE FORUM

Stop fence sitting
There is no bigger Big Top than the White House. There is no bigger ring master than POTUS. There are no bigger clowns than all the sycophants who worship at his feet. There is no circus or distraction bigger than a war.
And yet, we are not suckers. We know who he is: a venal, narcissistic bully.
Prime Minister Albanese, please take note. We are not suckers. Whatever you do, please do not sit on the fence on this one.
Tony Newport, Hillwood, Tas

Behind Trump’s curtains
″⁣Look at my beautiful gold curtains″⁣ and ″⁣Oh, what a beautiful ballroom it’s going to be″⁣, said Donald Trump to a White House press pack. No mention of the innocent civilians dying due to his illegal war, with barely a mention of the six American soldiers killed.
Words just fail me, that the man who ran on an America First agenda, to not involve the United States in forever foreign wars, has just taken the nation to another Middle Eastern war, one of which, the Iraqi war, lasted eight years.
Jessie Mackenzie, Brunswick

An imminent attack
Geoffrey Robertson (“Iran’s regime is vile, but what Trump and Netanyahu have done is a war crime”, 4/3) makes a very interesting point: those who invade a country “bear responsibility for all the death and dismemberment that war inevitably entails, for civilians as well as soldiers”. This means Hamas was responsible for all the death and dismemberment resulting from the war it started with its October 7, 2023, invasion and slaughter in Israel.
In relation to the current conflict, Iran, mainly through its proxies, has been killing Israelis and Americans since the early 1980s. So Iran really started this conflict, too.
As for there being no imminent threat justifying the US and Israeli action, Israel has explained that, as part of this ongoing conflict, Iran was in the process of building impregnable bunkers for its ballistic missiles and nuclear program, so it had to act immediately for self-preservation, while the US cites intelligence of an immediate attack.
Alan Shroot, Forrest, ACT

Geopolitical euphemism
Let me get this right. If I think someone might hurt or kill me, even though they are weaker and some distance away, am I justified in attacking and killing them, and many innocent people around them, while aided by another stronger person? Geopolitics, it is called, but there are many other less euphemistic terms.
Rosalind McIntosh, Camberwell

Nature of the beast
While regime change will hopefully improve the lives of the Iranian people, history reminds us that before long, those who have had their power clipped will reassert themselves – usually by way of a coup d’etat.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard enjoyed their power and brutal intimidation of the population, so they will be looking for any opportunity to re-establish themselves over a perceived weaker liberal regime. Usually via a military ″⁣strongman″⁣ sensing an opportunity to muster his supporters to undermine and take control of the government.
So once again, the population will come under authoritarian subjugation.
Robert Scheffer, Bayswater North

No free flights
I hope all those Australians who went to work in a tax-free zone are not looking for us taxpayers to fly them back home to safety.
If they pay for the cost, fair enough, but no free rides for freeloaders, please.
Anders McDonald, Warburton

Send in the drones
Fifth day into the US/Israel attacks on Iran and its retaliations against many neighbouring countries, and still not a word about how effective multibillion-dollar submarines have been. Plenty of drones, aircraft and missiles. What on earth is Australia wasting its money on?
David Parker, Geelong West

Racketeering laws needed
In the 1980s, two royal commissions (Costigan and Stewart) recommended US-style racketeering laws for Australia to bust organised crime syndicates. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act was pivotal in smashing mafia syndicates.
The laws made prosecutions easier by creating offences for patterns of behaviour by organisations rather than relying on criminal law to pin specific offences on individual offenders.
Patterns of behaviour are defined as two violations of a host of laws including extortion, embezzlement of union funds, fraud, interference with witnesses and receiving proceeds of crime.
In last year’s election campaign, Peter Dutton promised to introduce such laws to combat the CFMEU. At least, he got something right.
Michael Smith, Ivanhoe

Billing gymnastics
Under the mandatory Better Bills Guideline, electricity retailers are required to advise their customers when a better plan is available.
There are two ways this is abused by the retailer: Firstly, for those with rooftop solar, after the December billing period customers are advised they should switch to a plan with a higher feed-in tariff and higher usage tariff.
During that billing period, this may have been cheaper but for the rest of the year, that plan would cost the customer significantly more, as solar power progressively decreases through the winter months.
Secondly, my retailer advised me that when the usage tariff for my plan was increasing, they automatically applied the increased rate to my bills. However, they did not advise when a decreased tariff rate later became available.
They justified this by saying it was “a different version” of my current plan, but because they didn’t change the name of that plan, they did not have to advise me that this cheaper rate was available.
Until this shameless loophole is banned, you’d better ring your retailer regularly to check if a cheaper rate is available for| your plan.
Merryn Boan, Brighton

Your call is unimportant to us
I think it is about time that companies came clean and admit that when they say on every call that “wait times are longer than expected due to a larger than normal number of calls”, they really mean “we have cut phone staff to increase management bonuses”, or worse still, “we really don’t want to deal with you, so go use our chatbot which works about one time out of 20 if you are lucky”.
I needed to call my superannuation company this week, and checked its website on Sunday evening to see when it was open. It said its hours were 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, but also noted “our current wait time is longer than expected due to the high volume of calls we are experiencing”.
Strange, given they were actually closed.
Neale Meagher, Malvern

Garden show effect
By last week, visible damage from 2025’s Flower and Garden Show in Carlton Gardens had just about disappeared. This week, work began for the 2026 show. Soon, fences will be erected to keep the public out of a public park. The damage from the show will then be repeated, and later “repaired” by labour from a firm who made the lowest bid.
This year, the show features extra damage, with a “stunning” light show of examples for ″⁣a lifetime of enjoyment”, presumably unaware of the immense amount of damage from nocturnal light pollution. The new show also includes uplighting of trees, regarded by experts as the most damaging thing we can do for wildlife.
Many cities prevent nocturnal light pollution that causes injuries and death for millions of birds, bats and insects annually, animals essential for healthy environments. They have parks tended by horticulturists, with a multitude of flower gardens to feed pollinators, un-mowed grass areas for insects, sheltered places for nesting birds, minuscule hotels for bees, pathways for hedgehogs. Melbourne could learn from the numerous inventive ways other municipalities keep a healthy environment for the sake of wildlife. Presently, we are doing the opposite.
David Hancocks, Carlton

Mood board for men
The article on influencers at the GP (″⁣Influencers get reprieve for GP glamour on grid″⁣, 4/3 ) introduces a new idea on obtaining funding ″⁣a mood board of dresses she wanted″⁣.
I am now looking at establishing a mood board for beers I want to drink. I and a select group of retired gentlemen will make ourselves available to test your product for research purposes or you could deliver them and we
will attend to the matter in a timely manner.
Cheers, probably lots of cheers.
Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill

Radio killed radio stars
Using the Wildean analytical tool, we can understand Jackie O and Kyle’s radio approach was that there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
Both were in the gutter, but it turned out only Jackie was looking at the stars.
Nina Wellington Iser, Hawthorn

Keep it nice
The dismal ratings of the Kyle and Jackie O show in Melbourne clearly illustrates the very different cultures between our states in media consumption.
Despite huge advertisements on buses and a very expensive marketing campaign, we like our media and entertainment to be nice and funny but sophisticated.
May this be a wake-up call for other commercial networks that the boorish bully boy celebrity is well and truly over. Stay classy, Melbourne.
Panagiota Frangopoulos, Malvern

AND ANOTHER THING

Trump world
How many lives of innocent children, women and men is a barrel of dirty oil worth? Trump and Netanyahu will give you a bargain. The headlines should have read, “Trump prepares for one month of killing innocent Iranians”. That is what ″⁣war″⁣ is. I’ve been to war and know.
Roy Olliff, Mont Albert North

Vladimir Putin must be very jealous of Netanyahu’s ownership of Donald Trump.
Dale Crisp, Brighton

Is Putin’s optimism in taking Ukraine in a week or so in 2022 matched by Donald Trump’s timeline for his and Benjamin Netanyahu’s foray into Iran?
Helena Kilingerova, Vermont

With a population of more than 90 million, many of whom remain faithful to the ideals of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, surely a civil war will now be inevitable.
Meg McPherson, Brighton

Religions stem largely from our fear of dying, yet they have led to
so much killing.
Christine Weatherhead, Glen Waverley

When Trump said, after the Iran attack, that this was a generational chance for the beset nation to overthrow its repressive government, he’s right. The mid-term elections are close. Heed his call, America.
Stuart McArthur, Carlton North

Trump and his Bible belt MAGA supporters obviously failed to reflect on the admonition from the Sermon on the Mount: ″⁣First take the plank out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to take the speck from your brother’s″⁣.
Patsy Sanaghan, North Geelong

Furthermore
Liberal MP Jonno Duniam (4/3) may be right when he says that an ALP minister has better things to do than read a Liberal Party election review. Better things, maybe, but not nearly as enjoyable.
Geoff Schmidt, Richmond

As much as he tries to pretend he’s a decent bloke, Kyle Sandilands’ true nature keeps bubbling up to the surface.
Peter Venn, East Bentleigh

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