State of the world a reality check for heartbroken Taylor Swift fans

Most of the children in those places have no families left, no homes and the aid people are struggling to supply them with food and clean water. Their trauma is just trying to survive daily. So I would imagine that those who do survive this would be a time in their young lives they will never forget.

I suppose that's the way with young people today. They want everything and they expect to get it, and believe me I know from experience with my grand and great grandchildren; they are all the same and just don't want to realise how lucky they are to be living here.

RICHARD Devon (Letters 26/2): not only are merchants now charging credit card fees, but some are also charging EFTPOS fees. Have the banks just started charging businesses for EFTPOS transactions as well as credit card transactions? I have found a newsagent, a pharmacy, a restaurant and a fruit and vegetable store doing it.

I believe that by law the business is required to have a sign stating this, because the extra cost is not shown on the item, nor the bill in a restaurant. Instead we find an extra fee charged with no explanation.

This may be a small fee, but what will businesses charge us for next? Their power bills, their rent? The list goes on and on. One even has a sign stating they accept cash. Big deal - isn't cash still legal tender? I can't see the point of deterring cash when it would cost time and money for someone to count the cash, then take it to the bank. It seems that only over-50s query this - those younger seem to accept anything without question.

I AGREE with the recent editorial exposing the term 'backflip' as a political weapon over the last decade or so, often thwarting a change of direction to better public policy. I want politicians of all persuasions who can change direction for the good of the people when times and conditions change. In Albanese's case, pig-headedly sticking to a promise made five years ago which now, according to many economists and social welfare groups, would adversely affect the population is sheer stupidity.

If, in 2019 I promised the kids a holiday to Ukraine in 2024, should I still take them because I promised? The partisanship of our two-party system and their fear of media attack over a backflip is preventing good public policy. We have seen in the senate that electing people who provide a more diverse mix of opinion and serve the needs of the Australian people, not a party, are driving better legislation. Small parties, Teals and independents have provided more rigorous debate and we need to elect more of them. We need people unrestrained from party politics and free to think for themselves.

WE have seen many letters about articles on taxation and cost of living, including articles on wasteful spending by government. It seems like it's ok, it's only $40 million on an ad campaign to explain the tax break.

There is little or no emphasis on deregulation or scrutiny of government spending while Australians have had their cost of living seriously swell in recent years.

Paul Keating, with his usual "panache", outlined where personal tax rates should be; in effect 20 per cent lower. The tax take increase, over 15 per cent over the last two financial years to $683 billion well ahead of inflation at about 4 per cent and well above wage increases at about 2 per cent. It is fairly clear we are spending our tax dollars in a way many would criticise whether it be defence, education, health or government consultancies to name a few.

Our GDP a good measure of our national tax take, have seen since federation, rise from 5 per cent to 30 per cent, yet we have seen a marked decline in infrastructure in water storage and in effective lower cost power production, on top of that we are seeing seeing major shortages in police, nurses tradesman and aged aged care workers.

As Kerry Packer once said, they aren't spending our tax very well. I can imagine his reaction to current legislation about phoning staff out of hours.

I'M so over reading in other media how the NRL will make so much money from gambling in America. I love a punt, but have also seen what gambling can do. Personally I believe all sponsorship from gambling should be banned from sport like tobacco.

WELL said, Bill Snow. Weed eradication seems non-existent in Newcastle. In Tighe Street at Waratah, come have a look at sandstone gutters sunken one foot or more with weeds three feet tall.

Thank God there's no weed eradication in Waratah otherwise I'd trip and break an ankle in the great bloody holes.

THERE have been a few letters to the editor of late questioning the economic credentials of the Albanese ALP government.

I would like to question those learned souls, do they have a memory?

Does the $1 trillion figure come to mind, and the in-the-black budget that was promised every year for a decade but never quite materialised?

IF you want emails answered, phone calls answered or email calls answered think first. Unknown caller to me means scam.

I WONDER, do climate denialists all arrive at the same fallacy at once or just uncritically copying the latest industry propaganda?

This came to mind reading John Cooper repeating the common trope that Germany's temporary retreat into fossil and nuclear energy shows renewables don't work (Letters, 29/02).

It's a fallacy because that was caused by Putin cutting off gas pipelines.

A quick search reveals that Germany has switched off its nuclear, and renewables supply over 50 per cent of its total energy consumption, with an 80 per cent target by 2030.