Big tech must not be allowed to make free with intellectual property

So the world’s richest men want to avoid paying for the use of creators’ works so that they can make even more money (“Media lobby PM on risks AI poses”, August 7). The median income of a musician in Australia is about $15,000. The advent of online music access has been a disaster for the music business. And now AI that has been trained on the works of composers and performers, it can replace all human input into music creation and production. Yes, it’s much easier to create and release music now than it used to be, but unless you believe that equal poverty for all is a justifiable reason for weakening copyright protection, then we must say no to the lobbying efforts of libertarian tech moguls. Brenton White, Mosman

Courts have frequently found that something only remotely related to the original work is a breach of copyright. The case of Down Under by Men at Work springs to mind. So, would a court similarly find that something produced by AI is a breach of copyright? If Meta and Google etc. were just going to use what was produced by AI for private purposes, they might possibly get away with not paying for the data used to train their AI. But there’s little chance of that. After all, why would those companies invest in AI in the first place? Accordingly, unless the material that AI is trained on is already in the public domain, companies should be required to pay it. The copyright of creative artists should be protected, even from AI. David Rush, Lawson

Cathy Wilcox’s cartoon about artificial intelligence and intellectual property theft is spot-on, except for her choice of animal. It should have been a bull (Letters, August 7). Anthony Lopes, Sans Souci

Acceptable inconvenience

Chris Minns got it wrong (“Bridge protest misread creates new caucus problem for premier”, August 7). We should fiercely protect our right to protest and acknowledge all protests cause some inconvenience and cost. The temporary closure of the bridge on Sunday was commensurate with the urgency of genocide unfolding with starvation at a critical point. Justice Belinda Rigg agreed it was merited. Politicians shouldn’t decide what demonstrations are allowed – that’s the job of the courts and the police. What if the demonstration was over domestic policy? Do we want something like Orwell’s 1984, where leaders can silence us if they don’t like what we’re saying. Lucy France, Cronulla

I think Alexandra Smith is being a tad harsh on Premier Chris Minns. I don’t believe he has rebuked his MPs for marching, and criticism for a lack of conviction is a tough call. He did support the right to protest, but quite rightly believed, as did our police commissioner, that there were equally good protest locations – including the forecourt of the Opera House. Bruce Hall, Avalon

I don’t believe Premier Minns needs to worry too much about the Harbour Bridge being shut down repeatedly for protests against different issues. The community’s attitude about the situation in Gaza is white hot, and I do not think many other causes, no matter how noble, could galvanise the same amount of support. But it appears the premier needs to reassert his leadership of the government, as too many issues are simply drifting. Limiting the number of pokies in the state and the introduction of cashless gaming could be the start of a memorable legacy and would, like Gaza, have widespread community support. Dale Bailey, St Leonards

Instead of blocking the Harbour Bridge, if the 90,000 protesters each donated a minimum of $20 to an appropriate charity like UNICEF or the Red Cross, this would have been a more practical way to relieve the starving in Gaza. Furthermore, if the protest leaders had the foresight to persuade the Minns government to match the protesters’ donations, a minimum of $3.6 million would have been available to put food in the mouths of malnourished children. Transpose this lateral thinking to other protests around the country and who knows how much more Australia could contribute to the cause? This is an example of alternative positive, practical action better benefiting a cause, rather than deliberate disruption promulgated by a self-righteous mass gathering of protesters. Mervyn Cross, Mosman

No golden path

Correspondent Rowan Godwin (Letters, August 7) is wrong to criticise Judith Pearson for feeling entitled to live in an expensive suburb (“Mosman resident fights housing reform in court”, August 6). When I finished university in the early 80s I went to work, earning an average salary. At that time it was relatively easy to buy a property and begin climbing the property ladder on a bank loan. No privileged upbringing for me – my parents were immigrants. In those days, the ratio between a good job and the cost of property was relatively small, and a loan was easy to service. I bought in Rose Bay, somewhere affordable then, but could I do it now? No, I couldn’t. So, Rowan, no golden path was laid out for me through “family wealth” or “old-school networking”. Ms Pearson is brave in standing up for housing reforms while you probably sit comfortably in your privileged attainments. Dorothy Gliksman, Cedar Brush Creek

As a former mayor of Waverly, I believe the real issue with the planning changes is the removal of local planning powers, both DA and strategic planning. The logic that the planning changes will provide affordable housing is also a problem. As we are seeing, the new development is going into areas where capacity to pay is high, like Mosman. The changes are not producing more affordable houses and units, they are producing more expensive ones. John Wakefield, Waverley

Small price to pay

Correspondent Richard Freemantle (Letters, August 7) writes that proponents of green energy should ponder on how many large-scale batteries will be needed in the future, and to recognise that green energy is not the cheapest form of 24/7 power (“Huge battery switches on”, August 6). I have a 13.3kW solar array on my house and a 20kW battery. I have embraced using household electricity at peak solar production times of the day. My partial transition to green energy wasn’t cheap, but cost was not my main consideration. I thought of trying to lower my carbon footprint. I thought of my children’s future. I thought of low-lying countries around the Pacific and the world. I thought about what I could do to slow climate change and to give future generations the best chance I could at a reasonably comfortable life. For me, it wasn’t and never will be about the immediate cheapness of 24/7 power. Peter Butler, Wyongah

Richard Freemantle tries to cast doubt on green energy supporters by targeting the cost of the Waratah super battery against the current decaying fossil fuel industry. What he fails to recognise is that the widespread take-up of household solar panels and the government’s subsidy of storage batteries will provide huge relief to the power supplies needed for industry. With further development of even better storage, costs will continue to fall and fossil fuels will cease to be an option. Ken Pares, Forster

Stamp it out

Leaving the Health Department as the primary authority to tackle the illegal tobacco market seems ridiculous. Times have changed, and they are not equipped for the role. When I first heard Premier Chris Minns say that he “doesn’t want police taken away from the fight against domestic violence and organised crime”, I almost fell off the couch. Can’t he see that this is now an organised crime issue (“Woman found with $2m cash in her boot”, August 7)? He’d be killing two birds with one stone, getting the tobacco off the streets and disrupting their business model. Let’s get moving and close down any shop found to be selling illegal tobacco products. Maureen Partridge, Baulkham Hills

Mid-term doom

Opponents of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement hold out hope that at next year’s mid-term elections growing discontent will see the Congress return a Democrat majority that will slow down Trump’s excesses. But what if, as has happened in the past, the results are contested, ignored or manipulated? Texas already has plans to gerrymander electoral boundaries that will deliver five extra Republican seats (“Texas governor orders arrest of Democrats”, August 6). Progressive states like California are threatening tit for tat. The president has already shown that he is willing to send in not only the National Guard but the military as well and to use his appointments to the judiciary to manipulate the constitution and rule of law in his favour. It seems inevitable that things in America will get much worse before they get better, if ever. John Bailey, Canterbury

So president Trump wants to instil fear of being sacked into those who are supposed to act independently. As General Patton once proclaimed “When everyone is thinking the same, then no one is thinking.” How true. Pasquale Vartuli, Wahroonga

Clever cockies

It should be no surprise that sulphur-crested cockatoos can invent dance steps that reflect various musical styles (“Squawker on the dance floor”, August 7). They are a very smart species. We leave out a bowl of seeds on our balcony every morning for the local birds. If the food doesn’t last as long as their appetites, one of the sulphur-crested clan knocks three times on the bedroom window with his beak, then waits patiently for a refill. Cockatoos are not just intelligent. Some have lovely manners as well. Elva Salter, Hunter’s Hill

Donald Trump could certainly learn a few things from these squawkers on the dance floor. Merilyn McClung, Forestville

Where is Sirius money?

Having read Erin Longbottom’s article (“I’ve never seen more rough sleepers on Sydney streets” August 7), I would very much like to know where all the money raised from selling off public housing in Millers Point and The Rocks (yes, including Sirius) went. That money was supposedly earmarked for public housing elsewhere in the city, and while it wouldn’t have solved the current homelessness crisis, it is concerning that we as taxpayers have never been told what exactly it was used for and where this housing was built. I suspect the answer is that it was never built at all or at best was used to plug the worst maintenance gaps in our existing public housing, which has suffered from years for government neglect. We need more public housing, not “affordable” housing (which isn’t) or investor-driven housing available only to the highest bidder. A government push on public housing and supports needed for homeless people should be the priority. Gina Hay, Bayview

Axe tax buffers

I am bemused by the latest proposal to increase the GST to 15 per cent and apply it to all purchases, including food (“A super-sized GST – with a $3300 cheque in the mail for all”, August 7). This means grocery bills will rise while we already struggle with today’s prices. It is claimed this would improve productivity and improve the economy. We always hear this is a good thing, but if you have little or no income, the state of the economy makes little difference. The claim that the GST is an efficient tax is laughable. We do need tax reform, but it needs to be fair. Businesses do not pay their fair share; some pay no tax at all. Hence, the proposal for a 5 per cent tax on cashflow is a step in the right direction. It is also time for the tax perks for the very wealthy to be removed. We are all aware of them – negative gearing, capital gain discounts, trust funds, cash payments for franking credits, payment by way of shares instead of salary etc. Barry O’Connell, Old Toongabbie

So now they want to raise the regressive GST tax. Anything other than tax the rich properly. No, thank you. Keith Binns, Goulburn

Snail mail

It is interesting how modern communications have failed rural and regional communities, specifically Australia Post (Letters, August 7). Long ago, mail could be put in a box at the rear carriage of a mail train and be sorted before the next stop. It was called a travelling post office. Not any longer. Bathurst once had a mail sorting centre with next-day delivery – once again, no longer. Have we progressed with respect to rural and region mail services – nope. The increasing concentration of so many services in capital cities has reduced the frequency and quality of service to rural and regional areas. Perhaps the upcoming federal government talk-fest on productivity could include this problem for discussion. Concentration of services in the big cities has not yielded improved productivity. Bruce Clydsdale, Bathurst

Like Scott McKinnon, I usually despair at the slow delivery of cards and letters by Australia Post. However, this week I posted a card from Lake Macquarie and it arrived at Sans Souci in less than 24 hours. It must have missed the van that goes via Brisbane. Toni Lorentzen, Fennell Bay

Bold as Brasso

The story from Denmark (“‘Pornographic’ mermaid statue to be torn down”, August 7) is a reminder that Canberra has its own “pornographic” statue (the bare-breasted Bellona) in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial. Before being displayed there she had been moved several times, including being placed outside Canberra’s Albert Hall where she was the subject of many practical jokes, including having been dressed in a bra and having had her female attributes highly polished with Brasso. Ted Richards, Batemans Bay

Thank goodness the statue of David isn’t on display in Denmark. Riley Brown, Bondi Beach

Grave matter

In the “oldest church contest” (Letters, August 7), the Denham Court church in south-west Sydney, built as a private chapel in 1838, has the undoubted match-winning feature of having graves dating to 1817. Beat that! Malcolm Miller, Leura

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