Abbott is a dinosaur with no mirror to see himself

7 hours ago 4

It seems Tony Abbott still has an audience for his antiquated ideas (“Conservatives caused far-right: Abbott”, December 6). It appears his priority is power, not the welfare of the people. That would explain why he believes Donald Trump is a success. If conning your way to the top, then throwing voters to the wolves is a measure of success, then Trump is your man. Trump’s presidency has been disastrous, causing immeasurable harm and suffering. He is a conman and arguably the worst president ever. As for Abbott’s recommendations, I doubt if attacking net zero, immigration and welfare would go down well with most Australians. Apparently, he has already forgotten that the Liberals lost seats to the teals because of their stance on climate change, and will lose more if they follow his latest advice. And Labor will be hoping that they do. Graham Lum, North Rocks

Tony Abbott has blamed conservatives for their political woes. Is this the first time he hasn’t blamed the Labor Party for something? Jeremy Spinks, Baulkham Hills

Tony Abbott seems to be sailing further away from blame

Tony Abbott says “conservative parties should ... abandon the pursuit of net zero emissions” when countries such as China and India “have made no commitment to reduce their emissions to net zero by 2050″. He ignores the fact that Australia is decades ahead of both countries in development, having built its economy on cheap coal-fired power for more than a century. Australia’s GDP per capita is around $100,000, compared to a fifth of that for China and less than $5000 in India. It is also wrong to suggest that those two countries have no climate change targets. China has committed to reduce emissions to net zero by 2070 and now brings on-line a third of the entire world’s new renewable energy. And India is targeting over 40 per cent of its power to come from renewables by 2030. As for “green-left parties that have exported jobs to China”, Australia once had a large technical advantage in solar power. But a decade of investment uncertainty under Coalition governments, including his, drove that industry offshore – almost entirely to China. Clay O’Brien, Mosman

Tony Abbott is the T Rex, wild-eyed and raging as it slowly sinks into the antediluvian swamp of every right-wing prejudice – welfare cheats, the “wrong” migrants, climate change denialism and just not being conservative enough – while younger demographics leave him out of date and out of time. And for dessert, a serve of hypocrisy attacking careerist politicians and revolving leaderships. The dinosaur, it seems, has no mirror to see itself. Michael Berg, Randwick

So former prime minister Tony Abbott has opined that voters in the Anglosphere are sick of “conservatives who don’t really know where they stand and what they’d do differently”, and that conservative parties should adopt the Trump position that “there is no climate crisis” and abandon the pursuit of net zero emissions. He went on a rant about immigration, arguing that Anglosphere nations should be more selective. As a migrant from the then apartheid state in South Africa in 1982, I can honestly say that as a proud multiculturalist, I was over the moon when Tony Abbott’s prime ministership was curtailed in 2015. Eric Palm, Gympie (Qld)

Just as I was beginning to erase Tony Abbott and his anti-science, pro-Anglo sphere (ie pro-white), robodebt-approving policies, he strides back into our consciousness. Will no one rid us of this turbulent priest? John Bailey, Canterbury

Would that Trump and Abbott were right, and that simply saying “there is no climate crisis” would make it go away. We are, however, living in the real world. And so, for the generations to come, we need to do our best to leave them a habitable planet rather prioritising the short-term gain of winning an election with policies based on reassuring falsehoods. Anne Ring, Coogee

Tony Abbott lectures to centre-right political leaders in Washington about why the conservatives have become irrelevant while promoting president Trump’s position that “there is no climate crisis” and questioning the need to decarbonise. Among the causes he cites, he fails to mention the effect of his own chaotic and disastrous government. Alfredo Bustos-Ramirez, Mosman

Shame on FIFA

By awarding the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to Donald Trump, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has just laced the World Cup with cyanide and drenched “the beautiful game” in rat poison (“What I saw when I (accidentally on purpose) crashed the World Cup draw”, smh.com.au, December 6). While Trump, indicted on many counts, instructs his navy to murder shipwrecked survivors, attacks unarmed Venezuelan sailors in the Caribbean and calls on his National Guard to deport innocent, hard-working migrants, the sycophantic Infantino awards this man a “peace prize”. Sadly, I’ll join thousands who will now refuse to watch the World Cup, an event once loved, now politicised and tarnished forever. Janet Upcher, Opossum Bay (Tas)

The rationale behind the Donald’s recent peace prize is baffling. Did those creating this Trumped-up award consider the threatening, bullying, cajoling and name-calling that is a hallmark of the American president? Were the Venezuelans consulted? The Palestinians’ plight at the expense of American-backed Israel? The desperate life-and-death struggles of those around the world denied American aid? Shame on you, FIFA. Whoever said politics and sport don’t mix is right on the money. After all, money makes the awards go around. Steve Fortey, Avoca Beach

I don’t really follow world football (aka soccer); however, I do know that the world governing body, has in the past, never been far from controversy when it comes to good governance and ethical behaviour. So against that murky background I am hardly surprised by the president of FIFA presenting the self-proclaimed “peacemaker” with the body’s inaugural peace prize. Were there other nominees, what is the nomination and selection process, was it just a captain’s pick by the FIFA president to pander to erratic whim of a so-called world leader presiding over an administration devoid of moral and ethical fibre? If the US wasn’t co-hosting the international event, would the prize have ever been instigated? So many questions. Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook

The presentation of a prize for creating “peace” by an organisation renowned for the corruption of its past leader to another “leader” who, in lockstep with his sycophantic minion followers, is sowing extra-judicial death off the coast of Venezuela, betraying democracy by siding with the arch-dictator Putin in Ukraine, and waging war against his own citizens domestically, is the height of farce. What are we to anticipate now? Will large producers of soft drinks create a prize for health, and present it to the certifiable Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr? Ian Usman Lewis, Armidale

It’s lucky that Tony Abbott lasted only a wet weekend as PM; otherwise Trump would also have been awarded an Order of Australia for his role in international trade. Derek Elmes, Faulconbridge

Metro blowout a script for Utopia

With all due respect to our state government and the opposition (“Metro projects’ $6b blowout”, December 6), I consider this issue rests with the mega-bureaucracy of Transport for NSW. The decisions leading to the current situation would have involved consultations at great expense. Are the chickens coming home to roost? This all looks like another classic script for the ABC’s Utopia TV series. Money has been wasted replacing the Bankstown Line and on construction of the non-compatible Metro Line from Badgerys Creek Airport to St Marys and with no direct rail connection even to Sydney Airport. What a cock-up. Peter Kahn, Coogee

We can get angry about cost blowouts, but I am more interested in why the initial estimate was too low. Having spent a considerable chunk of my life in project management, I would suspect two things. Firstly, the minister demanded estimates before the investigative work could identify real costs. Secondly, the contractors bid low, with options to increase the price if they found issues that could have been identified if more time had been taken before putting a number forward to the minister. Neville Turbit, Russell Lea

Single-sex benefits

I’m afraid your correspondent misses the point of the value of single-sex education for girls (Letters, December 6). I am the product of 10 years of girls-only education followed by decades in the workforce, and the school I went to (yes, a so-called “elite” private school) was a haven for adolescent girls. The large school was run solely by women, who subtly gave their charges a belief that women and men were equal and that students could achieve anything they set their minds to. Sure, I had challenges when I spent years in the then male-dominated financial industry, but it was the confidence my teachers gave me that I drew on to address the inevitable sexism. As often quoted in defence of co-ed schools, adult life is indeed co-ed, but by segregating girls at that time when their brains are still maturing and hormones are raging, we allow them to develop as rounded, opinionated women who are more than prepared to take on the challenges of adult life. As a bonus, by the time these girls have to interact with young men, those young men have hopefully grown up, too. Randi Svensen, Wyong

I would argue that your correspondent is misguided if she believes that single-sex schooling for girls is “cosseted” and doesn’t give them the tools they need to navigate the world. For most, there are plenty of opportunities for socialisation with boys, but at school girls can get down to work, compete with their peers, learn about their own interests, strengths and weaknesses, and don’t once have to think about the male gaze. They also learn to navigate the politics of the school environment. All this helps to establish an authentic sense of self, which is the source of the strength that has no tolerance for misogyny, inequality or injustice and is willing to call it out. Maybe the writer would like to attend my next school reunion and learn from a diverse and impressive group of women who take crap from no one. Elisabeth Goodsall, Wahroonga

Museum lost

couldabeen, wouldabeen, shouldabeen world class

In 2015, the then premier, Mike Baird, announced that the Powerhouse Museum was to be transferred to Parramatta and the Ultimo site handed over to developers (“Power ahead”, December 6).No t long afterwards this idea turned into a Smithsonian-style museum project backed up by a billion-dollar budget allocation. We now have the makings of a colossal educational/commercial/entertainment centre. It will never become a world-class museum. The promise is that Powerhouse Ultimo will fill this role. Nothing is further from the truth. The Ultimo venue will simply be replication of Powerhouse Parramatta. Subsequent governments “guaranteed” that the so-called three icons – LOCO 1 (without its historic carriages), the priceless B&W steam engine and the Catalina flying boat – must remain at Ultimo. With respect, these three precious objects spread around a gutted empty shell are not a road map for a world-class applied arts and sciences museum that could have been saved even as late as 2024. Garry Horvai, Pennant Hills

Trapped in Bondi

not easy to get in or out of the cul-de-sac

I think your correspondent (Letters, December 6) and I must be living in different Bondis. The proposal for an underground railway to Bondi Beach (regardless of being fanciful) overlooks the reality facing those of us who live here. Bondi is groaning under increased density, with major construction projects transforming Hall Street, Curlewis Street and surrounding areas. The suggestion that we need more housing development is baffling to anyone witnessing the current strain on our suburb. More fundamentally, the elephant in the room is ignored: Bondi has three single-lane exits, and no work has been done to relieve these traffic bottlenecks. The new buildings are replacing low-density with medium-density, and from what I can see, all have parking. I am all for it, but we’re in for a crazy few years if the infrastructure to support this density isn’t addressed. An underground railway could theoretically reduce pressure on buses and parking, but it’s absurd to discuss billion-dollar transit solutions while ignoring that Bondi is essentially a cul-de-sac. Cathy Hoyle, North Bondi

Surf help ‘no-brainer’

I almost drowned at Whale Beach (“Change to visa tests ’could help lower drowning toll‴⁣⁣ , December 5). It was New Year’s Day four decades ago and I had just immigrated to Australia. I had never heard of rips, but got caught in one and, after unsuccessfully fighting the churning waves, lost consciousness. A woman on the beach got up to buy an ice-cream, noticed me, realised I was in difficulties and alerted a lifeguard, who knowingly put himself in harm’s way to rescue me. Given that a significant percentage of drowning victims are new immigrants, the call to embed water-safety education into immigration visa tests is a no-brainer. It’s easily done, and if it saves even one life, it will have been well worth it. Vic Alhadeff, Darlinghurst

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