Your say: week beginning October 19

From the Editors

Notes from The Conversation newsroom

Every day, we publish a selection of your emails in our newsletter. We’d love to hear from you, you can email us at yoursay@theconversation.edu.au.

Monday October 19

“Regarding your article on the abandoned plan to remove health insurance top-up for older people, this debate highlights the tension between evidence-based policy and political populism, as Jim Chalmers struggles to balance the books while Anthony Albanese focuses on winning the next election. Excluding pensioners from the subsidy risks encouraging people to make unwise financial decisions to qualify for the age pension and its associated benefits. The controversy also highlights Albanese’s reluctance to relinquish power or support a successor, echoing past leadership struggles involving prime ministers and their treasurers.”

Stuart Kennedy

“In the article on extreme El Niños and the need to reach net zero sooner, it seems net zero is being treated as the desired outcome of reducing emissions. However, net zero only means we’ve stopped adding to atmospheric CO₂ levels; the excess CO₂ will remain, continuing to affect the climate for centuries. It’s like adding blankets to stay warm in winter – stopping those additional blankets in spring won’t stop you overheating; the existing ones must still be removed. Net zero is the start, then we need to go into reverse.”