Chasm clefts left, right on the legitimacy of free speech

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George Brandis (“Kirk’s death exposes dual hypocrisies”, September 22) has made it clear that the fallout from Charlie Kirk’s killing has really exposed the double standards on free speech.The left kicked things off with cancel culture and no-platforming, and now Donald Trump’s crowd are firing back with their own bans and pressure on critics. The analogy to Animal Farm is apt – both sides looking different, but acting the same. Most Aussies wouldn’t have known much about Kirk before his assassination, but it’s forced us to take another look at the mess in US politics. Not so long ago here, you could have friends, no matter if they voted Labor or Liberal. But now, like in the US, people with opposing political views struggle to get on. The divide is getting worse everywhere. Brandis is correct about Australia needing to hold on to classical liberal values. Remarkably, New York, the bastion of capitalism, may soon elect a socialist mayor promising rent control, free public transport and higher taxes on the wealthy. At a practical level, with polarisation deepening, the US is probably not a great place to visit right now. John Kempler, Rose Bay

George “people have a right to be bigots” Brandis seems to draw a moral equivalency between the “radical right” who want their bigotry to be enshrined in law and the “radical left” who want bigotry to be socially rejected and equality, diversity and inclusion to be promoted. In the US, bigotry was protected by white privilege, and now that privilege is being withdrawn, the right is turning Charlie Kirk into a white counterpoint to Martin Luther King Jr to restore its privilege. Bigotry is not just an “opinion” or “free speech” but is morally repulsive and should be recognised as such. Neil Ormerod, Kingsgrove

George Brandis. Left, right, left, right. Who is the most correct of all?

It is fitting that George Brandis cites George Orwell claiming that American liberals have made freedom of speech a dirty word. Tellingly, Brandis neglects to mention that humorists, political opinion makers and everyday Americans are being put out of work, abused and censored as Trump’s administration actively stifles their First Amendment right to express themselves. All while Fox News hosts call for homeless people to be killed, and elected Republican officials call for transgender people to be institutionalised. Orwellian indeed, Mr Brandis. Nick Andrews, Bellevue Hill

We are watching the world’s largest democracy being brought to its knees by the orange buffoon, but George Brandis knows where the real fault lies. While Trump suggests it’s illegal to criticise him, and his attorney-general says she’ll go after anyone who speaks ill of Charlie Kirk (a man who spoke ill of everyone, especially if you were black or female), Brandis fantasises that it’s the conservatives who are the champions of free speech. Memo to Mr Brandis: Since the days of book burnings, cancel culture has been a creation of the conservative right. The collapse of civilisation we are witnessing in America is the work of the conservative right. Those Nazis on the streets of Australia – the conservative right. Never mind references to Animal Farm, it’s the other George’s other book, 1984, that Brandis seems to take a page from. Phil Bradshaw, Naremburn

Like so many of his fellow Liberal Party elders, George Brandis credits Robert Menzies with the creation of what he calls the “classical liberalism” of our political discourse. This was the same Menzies who, as attorney-general in 1934, sought to deny entry to Australia by Czech journalist Egon Kisch, who had travelled here to warn against the rise of Hitler and fascism in Europe. Sixteen years later, the same Menzies, as prime minister, legislated to outlaw the Communist Party, an assault on free speech and “classical liberalism” that was soon ruled invalid by the High Court. Undeterred, Menzies then sought to amend the Constitution to legalise his ban, a proposal voters rejected at a referendum in 1951. What Brandis now deplores as “cancel culture” has its primary sources in conservatism, not on the left. David Salter, Hunters Hill

George Brandis is right that neither left nor right has allowed free speech when applied to their political or ideological opponents, highlighting the horseshoe theory that they might resemble each other. However, the cancel culture imposed by the “left” is a grassroots activity that free citizens impose based on their ideological and value-based perspectives of events. This should not be equated with what is happening in the US, where this cancellation is not an action by a few citizens but instead it is being imposed by the state (through the president), using its massive machinery and resources to threaten people’s livelihoods by doxxing whoever is critical of deifying Kirk or Trump, taking comedians off-air and threatening journalists of allied countries and Australia with “punitive measures in response” for recognising Palestine. This is a false equivalence and must be identified. Manbir Singh Kohli, Pemulwuy

Last laugh on Trump

One of the tests of a balanced person is the ability to be able to laugh at yourself (“Trump’s war on free speech won’t end with comedians”, September 22). Self deprecation is a way of letting people know you don’t take yourself too seriously.
As Simon Taylor says, Trump is not a fan of people laughing at his expense. Comedians make people laugh, more effectively than Trump can, but through humour people see Trump for what he is. Geoff Nilon, Mascot

Demo-slide

Tell us something we don’t know, Wayne Swan (“Albanese’s election win ‘wide but shallow’: ALP president”, September 22). Your message to Labor supporters is clearly a result of much navel-gazing, but your recipe for success merely replicates what community independents worked out long ago. As anyone in a community independent-represented electorate such as mine will tell you, their engagement with constituents is anything but shallow, and it has not only restored faith in contemporary democracy but it has also meant no shortage of campaign boots on the ground and an unstoppable teal wave at the past two federal elections. This level of engagement is something the main parties can only dream of. Joy Nason, Mona Vale

Uptown world

Good to see an article profiling the benefits of apartment living (“Sydneysiders living the high life in high-density neighbourhoods”, September 22). Sydney is in its next housing development phase, adding a new layer to the detached suburban house phase. Premier Chris Minns says Sydney’s houses are the second most affordable in the world, but that we are the 800th city on the density scale. The swing to apartment living will continue over coming decades, but we need positive profiling of this lifestyle. Having moved from a house to an apartment, I can appreciate the more communal lifestyle, with a coffee shop and restaurants a short walk away, as well as a park nearby and an indoor swimming pool that my grandkids love. Chris Johnson, Millers Point

Policy on e-bikes hard to police

It’s hard to see how a partial ban on modified e-bikes on trains can possibly be enforced (“Train ban for modified e-bikes over fire risks”, September 22). How will staff recognise them? What if the passenger denies the bike is modified? Surely, these dangerously fast and non-pedal-assisted machines are illegal and should be banned in all circumstances. Tom McGinness, Randwick

A photo of the aftermath of the e-bike fire at Blacktown station.

The proposed ban on modified e-bikes on trains in NSW seems sensible. However, NSW Transport staff will have to up their game to police it. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen station staff stand and watch people who don’t pay fares jumping over turnstiles and going on their merry way. Kerrie Wehbe, Blacktown

Freedom of thought

I think new University of Canberra vice chancellor Bill Shorten has achieved his aim of “stirring the pot” and prompting discussion. And the three excellent letters (Letters, September 22) show his success. I am a mature-aged arts graduate with postgraduate qualifications and a TAFE certificate. I am broadly educated. In February, Johannes Steizinger, associate professor of philosophy at McMaster University in Ontario, said the case for humanities studies was that “students learn critical thinking, enabling them to question authorities and discern their own convictions from received values. They experience thinking as a process which takes time and demands the exploration of different points of view – similar to democratic decision-making.” As AI and authoritarian dogmas and governments prosper, we clearly need tertiary courses not absolutely tailored to meet the defined needs of industry, commerce, governments and narrow skill sets. Jennifer Fergus, Croydon

Warming to the idea

The call for a war cabinet to deal with our climate issues makes a lot of sense (Letters, September 22). A precedent has been set. We did it for COVID-19, with the establishment of a National Cabinet. Why can’t we do it for global heating?
They are both threats to human life and our planet. I sometimes feel we are like that frog blithely lolling around in that ever-warming water. Bill Young, Killcare Heights

While the ruling powers continue to debate climate control strategies and the economic ramifications, the world continues to heat up at an increasing rate.
Antarctic ice melts, coral reefs die, bushfires rage, typhoons and cyclones build, land is flooding in increasingly disturbing ways. The build-up of these natural disaster events won’t agree to go on hold while nations continue to debate strategy and goals. If urgent climate action isn’t agreed worldwide in the immediate future, there may be no future to continue the debate. Katriona Herborn, Blackheath

Republican excess

Your correspondent (Letters, September 22) rightly condemns the flawed US system where there is no “leader of the opposition” to counter the vast powers of the president, now seen in the excesses of Donald Trump’s presidency. However, there is no suggestion (or possibility) of a future Australian republic having anything in common with the US. Those advocating an end to this country having a foreign hereditary monarch as our head of state merely seek to replace the roles of both the British king or queen, and the governor-general, with a democratically appointed or elected Australian president. Unlike in the US, the role would have no legislative or political power but the person would continue to operate as a constitutional umpire and “head of state” figurehead. Martyn Yeomans, Sapphire Beach

Reading in a crisis

How wonderful to be taken back to “the curious world of Pamela Allen” (“Children’s author, 91, still sparks imaginations”, September 22) and out of the mess, anxiety and negativity of the world as we know it. Julie Power’s article about Pamela and her wonderful children’s books took me straight to story times with my then-young grandchildren, who would revel in her visual and linguistic artistry. One also needed, as she says, to have the voice conveying meaning to bring it all to life. Many years later, they and I still exclaim in delight over books such as Alexander’s Outing and all the Mr McGees, and thank her wholeheartedly for bringing so much meaning, human closeness and just plain old joy into our lives. Judy Finch, Taree

These are a few ...

Julia Baird is among my little things I love list (Letters, September 22). Living in Australia under a wide blue sky. Carrying newly laid turtle eggs to a higher, safer place to be buried in the sand. Skinny-dipping in outback waterholes. Swimming with whale sharks, dolphins, turtles, seals and iguanas. Words such as “Magpie!” shouted by our small girl behind the “strong” boy in sixth class. He ducked three times before he caught on. Inspiring “I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man”. Loud laughter, “this parrot is not dead, he’s pining for the fjords”, “It’s just a flesh wound”, “He’s not the messiah. He’s a very naughty boy”. The trill of a harp, the dramatic clash of cymbals. The tea tree in our garden that is dripping with white blossoms. All dogs, especially Rimski, waiting to go for a walk on the beach. Bea Hodgson, Gerringong

What a warm list of loves. They made me think of soul foods that have migrated here. Savoury rice and pasta, passata and cassata. Stir-fry with oil, turmeric, kimchi and cumin. Blue cheese, camembert and Vietnamese pork rolls. Coffee and wine came by boat as well. Anne Eagar, Epping

All this lovey-dovey in the Letters pages. Love? I adore having a letter published, treasured because it’s such a rare event. Kent Mayo, Uralla

Cheers to good sports

In a world full of bad news, let’s congratulate our athletes in Tokyo – and a special mention to Ricky and his Raiders for a great season despite a tough finals run. Other sports give us lots to cheer about, too, so let’s concentrate on the good as often as we can. Denis Suttling, Newport Beach

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