Only a rethink will keep much-loved community radio station on air

Like many of us, Robbie Buck cares deeply about 2SER (“It’s the station where I got my first Sydney broadcasting shift. Now it could all be over”, April 21) but the station can only survive with an innovative rethink about how community radio is funded and produced. At UTS we are committed to working with 2SER to finding this new model and hope other new partners will join us in ensuring the future of this much-loved institution. UTS has not threatened to withdraw its financial support from 2SER. We have committed to continuing our current support so long as a viable new model for the station can be found. Macquarie’s withdrawal from the station highlights the challenging financial environment across the community radio sector. 2SER is not alone in needing to continually adapt and respond to this mediascape. A working group has been established with 2SER, UTS, key organisations within the community radio sector and 2SER supporters to advise the 2SER board, of which I am a member, and explore a range of new models to support the continued operation of the station. I look forward to working with Robbie and other passionate advocates to find a sustainable, effective solution for a much-loved community asset. Professor James Bennett, UTS

Unequal wealth transfer

Victoria Devine rails against the fringe benefit tax concessions for electric vehicles, claiming it is an example of workers subsidising executives (“Why are low-income workers paying for rich people’s EVs?” April 19). That completely ignores the wider social benefits of EV adoption – cleaner air and reduced public health costs from reduced pollution, less reliance on fossil fuels (more left over for everyone else) and creation of a larger pool of second-hand EVs which are then affordable for “workers”. But the biggest examples of the transfer of wealth from the “poor” to the “rich” are commonwealth government subsidies for so-called “private schools” (around $20 billion per year) and tax concessions for investment properties (around $15 billion per year). How are those “fair” for people doing it tough? I look forward to Devine’s follow-up articles on those concessions, which collectively cost “workers” 30 times more every year than the EV FBT concessions. Brendan Jones, Annandale

As someone who bought an EV without any government subsidy, I read and re-read the article and I am still struggling to reach the author’s conclusion that EV sales are subsidised by low-income workers. Yes, EVs aren’t cheap, but they are getting cheaper, and many petrol and diesel vehicles are similar in cost. What is overlooked is that many EV owners are putting the savings on fuel towards paying off home solar systems. Also, there is the spurious logic that a blow-out in one part of the budget is subsidised by something that affects low-income earners. There’s no doubt that society favours the well-off, but there are quite a few more issues to deal with to make it more equal before hammering EVs. Andrew Vivian, Sawtell

Trump performance anxiety

The Sun-Herald is to be congratulated on its Explainer piece (“If Trump really were crazy, this is how his powers could be stripped”, April 19). The 25th Amendment to the US Constitution is a complex mechanism designed to deal with a fraught but quite specific scenario. The focus on the difference between “unable” and “unfit” highlights why it would be difficult and dangerous to invoke against Donald Trump. Trump is many things: boorish, racist, ignorant, belligerent and possibly corrupt. These point to his unfitness to hold office. However, his behaviour is neither new nor inconsistent. This suggests that he is aware of his actions and sees a sense of purpose in them. This points to the notion that he is indeed able to perform his duties. American leaders need sharp focus to determine when, and if, Trump crosses the line from unfitness to inability. Wayne Duncombe, Lilyfield

Dignity in death

Annemarie Fleming’s attempt at humour was insensitive (“Sorry, Nicole – I would choose another star as my death doula”, April 19). In announcing her decision to train as a death doula, Nicole Kidman courageously shared her grief at her own mother’s passing and the difficulty she and her sister experienced in being present for their mother while juggling the demands of career, children and distance. So many can relate to this, famous or not, and Kidman is to be commended rather than mocked for offering her services. Louise Sorbello, Leichhardt

Drowning in a sea of red

According to projections by economist Professor Ross Garnaut, if Australia’s carbon pricing mechanism (Clean Energy Act 2011) had not been repealed in 2014 and instead evolved to align with international carbon markets, the government would currently be collecting roughly $70 billion a year in revenue. Even half of this amount would go a long way to offsetting the “sea of red” referred to by Shane Wright as Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares the upcoming federal budget (“Australia’s debt hits $1 trillion this year – what did we spend it on?” April 19). It would fund the government’s $22.7 billion 10-year Future Made in Australia initiative (2024-2034) to boost local manufacturing, create jobs, foster a clean energy economy and help reach Australia’s legislated target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Reon Bavinton, Seaforth

Comedy gold from pathos

Julianne O’Brien’s 2024 prize-winning essay is one the rawest, funniest yarns I have read for some time (“Homeless at 58, my new neighbours included an ex-con and a recluse. Then there was Darren”, April 19). It should be a play. Darren is a star. It’s modern pathos turned into comic gold. The times need a mirror and this nails it. Sue Dellit, Austinmer

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