On George Pell

Meredith Williams writes: Re. “Victorian police raise Pell, cardinal pontificates impending See change”  (Friday)

The more this is reported the less chance there is of George Pell being given a fair trial. Now that he has been charged, let us respect the legal assumption of innocence until and unless guilt is proven, pull our opinionated heads in, and allow the judicial process to take its course.

On Infrastructure

Geoff Edwards writes: Re “Fool’s gold: government chases infrastructure alchemy” (Thursday).

The Commonwealth’s intention of using the new Infrastructure and Project Financing Agency (IPFA) to equity fund projects rather than give grants to the states has the hallmarks of further distancing infrastructure from the checks and balances that come with States’ responsibility. It is not only the fiscal constraints of states’ budgets.

The States conduct (or used to conduct) strategic land-use and city planning to decide what form their growing cities should take, what kinds of transport and other services should be constructed and where. Strategic planning aims to reconcile the conflicting priorities that residents hold: green environments, peaceful communities, efficient transport, low-emissions transport, low-cost government. Project funding by the Commonwealth sweeps all potentially conflicting objectives aside in favour of drumming up projects from which private investors can profit.

The very existence of the quango Infrastructure Australia dominated by private business interests outside the public service has allowed the infrastructure industry to bypass the multi-portfolio, multi-jurisdiction coordination that the federal department used to provide. But its road-dominated agenda has to date been hamstrung by the States’ primary responsibility for delivery. IPFA will now build a suction hose directly into Federal Treasury. Is there any end to the debasement of our public governance by business-friendly governments.

On the Finkel review

Roy Ramage writes: Re. “ Tips and rumours” (Friday)

It must be noted that the “Finkel review” into Australia’s electricity market is sort of a review of a review, unsolicited and uninformed opinions, as well as party political and industry motivated self-interest.

It was not an Inquiry — primarily a report card on the current state of the electricity sector, i.e. buggered. The so called recommendations, highlight a list of market failures that the goodly prof advises must be addressed if Australia wishes to have — A, a secure, reliable and affordable energy system for the 21st century and B, a properly functioning and responsive “Energy only Market.”

The “review” documented a variety of the long standing issues of governance, regulatory and market mechanism failures. Both state and federal governments must cop the blame for these failures. From COAG and the state energy ministers through an ever increasing number of political energy quangos — SCOE, AEMO, AEMC, NEM — infighting, incompetence and stunning planning failure are evident throughout the review.

So what can we, who pay all the salaries of these approximately two thousand plus well paid energy expert folks expect? Wait for it…an Energy Security Board…and..and guess what — it will be staffed by former politicos and ministers!