On the ABC

Vincent Burke writes: Re: “Rundle: how (and why) to save the ABC” (Tuesday). Your story about the potential demise of the ABC was overly focused on the institution as a whole and on Radio National. I’m surprised you did not address the changes that have already been announced in relation to the so-called “local” channel, and principally the late-night changes. By introducing wholesale changes (cancelling the Saturday night country music program and the Sunday night socio-religious program presented by John Cleary), without fully explaining how these will be replaced, was a major PR error on the part of the ABC management. Adding to that, the loss of Tony Delroy from the five-night Nightlife program which he fronted for nearly 30 years was seen as a major whammy on its own.

You only have to listen occasionally to these late-night slots to realise there is utter dismay about these changes among the regular listeners. The ABC should reconsider some of these decisions, but I doubt they will.

James Burke writes: I loved Guy Rundle’s 30 Rock references, but Michelle Guthrie is more Devon Banks than Jack Donaghy, dammit! And NBC was owned from the pilot by the sentimental, geriatric neo-liberals at Sheinhardt Wigs. They sold it to the bland corporate droogs of Kabletown, whose profits rested almost entirely on porn syndication and who were either oblivious or blase towards Donaghy’s tanking strategy. (Which spawned the greatest 30 Rock TV parody, Iranian “Homonym”. Khak to saret!)

On a slightly more serious note, the entire Liberal-National agenda could be destroyed in a heartbeat if the Labor Party started telling the truth. That the Coalition hates Australia and is literally trying to destroy it — one national institution, legal tradition, wartime alliance, beach, reef, estuary, forest, river basin, neighbourhood, indigenous culture and endangered species at a time. But that won’t happen, because the Labor Party is irredeemably corrupt. Happy Leap Day everyone!

Cheers

James Burke

On renewables

Bob Perry writes: Re: “How the free market might just save Earth” (yesterday). Well said, Doug Hendrie! The uncertainty for large scale power investors created by the policy vacuum generously called the Government has been replaced by people willing to invest in what they can afford – and it is a very democratic measure. Perhaps Essential should ask why LNP voters are installing solar panels rather than digging for coal in their backyards! The other point we could add is that wind and solar provide jobs for people all over Australia on – not just people living alongside what used to be excellent farm land

Bob Perry