Ley, Whitlamesque? That might be overstating it

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George Brandis is drawing a rather long bow to even include Sussan Ley and Gough Whitlam in the same column (“What Ley can learn from Whitlam”, June 30) but I’m assuming his intention is to bestow some kind of importance on Ley that has so far been elusive. Despite her impassioned narrative about her past, and her determination to “modernise” the Liberal Party, good luck with that – Ley is, in reality, a compromise leader who will be lucky to be leading by the next election, given the predatory nature of her predominantly male colleagues. That said, behind the beaming smile, her responses to questions on policy remain the same as any other politician, and certainly not Whitlamesque. Max Redmayne, Drummoyne

For just a moment I thought Brandis had seen that “it’s time” and embraced Labor great Whitlam. But, alas, they are still as far apart as their surnames are in the alphabet. His overly verbose text really comes down to merely arguing that all Sussan Ley has to do, like Whitlam, is quell internal division and Labor will fall on their own sword. Nothing of visionary policies, ranging from health, education and social reform that Whitlam provided. Engaging title but no substance. Michael Blissenden, Dural

As a young member of the Victorian Labor Party, I attended National Conference to witness the behaviour of the Socialist Left and, with my husband, joined a group of Labor members called the Participants who were working to get rid of this leftist control and to support Gough Whitlam. One of the leaders was John Cain, a future Victorian premier. George Brandis’ article today reminded me of those days. I am no longer a member of the Labor Party; it has become too left wing for me, and I see much sense in what Brandis has to say. I hope Sussan Ley can take some hope from Whitlam’s example – the country needs a good two-party system, not the dictatorship of progressive patriotism. Vivienne Parsons, Thornleigh

While Herald letter writers unanimously condemned Dan Tehan for complaining about the cost of upgrading the electricity grid and ignoring the cost of climate change to our communities (Letters, June 30), George Brandis has characterised Tehan as one of the Coalition’s most capable ministers, selected by Sussan Ley to lead her working group on energy and emissions reduction. By choosing Tehan for this role, it would seem that Ley has abided by the adage of never asking a question to which you do not know the answer because, with Tehan in this role, the result is preordained. The Liberal Party is dependent on the Nationals, who call the tune on climate change, so we can expect more denialism over the next three years, rather than any serious policy to address the electorate’s concerns. Peter Nash, Fairlight

While George Brandis outlines a way that Sussan Ley can lead the Liberal Party back from the wilderness, he ignores the elephant in the room: the Nationals. Bill Gillis, Hallidays Point

I enjoy reading George Brandis if for no other reason than to expand my vocabulary. “Political onanist” is a cracker, to be sure. Bruce Hall, Avalon

George Brandis misses key differences when comparing Ley with Whitlam. Whitlam had the momentum of the electorate and their distaste for the ongoing, entrenched conservatism of the time. Ley, on the other hand has no attraction to the electorate, which has an obvious distaste for the policies of the small cabal that is the Liberal Party and its National Party wagging tail. The large amounts of donations available at election time and the paucity of members (especially female) in branches reveals the truth about the Liberal Party and its constituency. It’s a rich boy’s club that Sussan Ley hopes to change, and no amount of window dressing will make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. Peter Hull, Katoomba

Hole in Abbott’s defence

Tony Abbott wants it both ways (“Lift defence spend to show China we can stand up: Abbott”, June 30). He would have us maintain our trade advantages with China while at the same time rattling the sabre at Beijing. Instead, he might pause to consider the facts. China actually spends less of its GDP (1.7 per cent) on defence than Australia (2.02 per cent). But those percentages are meaningless in a strategic context. The reality of scale is that while China has more than 2 million active personnel in its armed forces, Australia can summon just 57,000. Lifting our defence spend as a percentage of GDP just to please Donald Trump and his Pentagon flatterers would have minimal impact on that imbalance. David Salter, Hunter’s Hill

What a fitting juxtaposition on page two: a mention of the play Julia in CBD, about the battle of prime minister Julia Gillard against the misogynistic negativity of then opposition leader Tony Abbott, and another lecture from Abbott himself telling the elected government what it should do. Considering Abbott was deposed by his own party and then voted out of parliament by his own electorate, it would appear obvious that his hard-line right-wing views and culture-war divisiveness, have been rejected by both the voters and his party. Why are his ramblings still reported? To paraphrase Gillard herself, we should not be lectured to by this man. Alan Marel, North Curl Curl

Mining history

The irrefutable, expert scientific evidence that climate change is real and linked to carbon emissions has been available to all who care about humanity’s future for longer than Angus Taylor and Dan Tehan have been in parliament (Letters, June 30). The evidence that women are as intelligent as men, and often more competent in many spheres of endeavour, has existed for far longer. But don’t think Sussan Ley is the future. When she says they must take responsibility for reacting to climate change, she’s not talking about liability, about which she successfully argued as environment minister in 2021 that the government owed no duty of care to future generations when it was approving a mine licence. Howard Charles, Annandale

Merry-tocracies

The concept of merit is often used to justify the choice of an employee or a political candidate (Letters, June 30). Unfortunately, whether consciously or unconsciously, a big part of the calculation of someone’s “merit” is their similarity to the person evaluating the “merit”. The composition of the selection panel is critical to whether the selection is really merit-based. Liberal Party, take note. Bill Irvine, Goulburn

On the bright side

Well, look at the bright side of this reduction in sales of LNG: prices will fall and supplies will increase for Australians (“Gas, iron ore exports to fall by $27b on US tariffs”, June 30). We might finally get some real benefit from our own resource, rather than the multinationals who gorge on it now. And short-sighted politicians who approve these one-sided deals might learn a lesson. Ian Ferrier, Long Jetty

Australia is set to lose $27 billion in gas and iron ore exports due to new US tariffs. Interest rates may need to rise again. So much for being a loyal ally. Our government might chalk it up to unfortunate timing – but it’s not; it’s the price of strategic dependency. Henry Kissinger once said, “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.” Will our leaders ever learn? Fernanda Trecenti, Fitzroy (Vic)

Hobby ideas: on time, on budget!

Shona Hendley (“Trying to find a hobby has become a full-time hobby”, June 30) has overlooked one of the cheapest hobbies: bridge. Our club offers student membership of $20 and charges $5 table fees for a game that lasts about three hours, on average. There are also free lessons and games online. I waited until I had retired before trying it out. I wish I’d started earlier. Tom Meakin, Port Macquarie

Shona Hendley’s search for a hobby to manage stress and find a sense of purpose is proving unaffordable. I recommend a chess.com Diamond membership at $160 a year. While it doesn’t help with stress or frustration, or make you more interesting to non-chess players, it is a splendid time sink. Problem solved. Paul Davies, Crows Nest

I realise the purpose of Shona Hendley’s article was to show a lack of financial capacity for young people to locate affordable hobbies, and I empathise. However, cooking doesn’t require a $499 mixer or expensive lessons. YouTube offers free lessons on nearly every possible interest, and equipment can be sourced from church fetes, family and friends. Old-fashioned clubs are teeming with people happy to provide free advice and access to equipment. Or trawl your local library’s craft books. Perhaps what’s needed is some screen-free time, to facilitate creative thinking and interaction with new, and old, people. Anne Matheson, Gordon

Shona Hendley writes of her difficulty in finding a hobby that is cost neutral. A hobby that may be a possibility for her is landcare/conservation. There are landcare groups doing great work all over the country. If she tries this she would get her hands dirty, but alsobenefit from good exercise and meet lots of friendly and environmentally friendly people. Gillian Baldwin, Windradyne

I’ll bet Shona Hendley has a mobile phone. Download a free bird identification app and a free plant identification app and go for a regular walk, Shona. Now you have two hobbies: twitching and gardening. I’ll even send you some free seeds to plant in a pot. Julianne Blain, Kia Ora

Of course, long walks are always a worthwhile option, and free, to boot. I regularly walk as a hobby, albeit often solo since, alas, most of my friends share the sentiment “Whenever I feel like exercise I lie down until the feeling passes”. Edward Loong, Milsons Point

Thorny problem of us

The best way to reduce sea urchin numbers

I tried reading between the lines today: “climate change causes some species to become overabundant, shifting their range and devastating habitats where they voraciously feed”, “it’s estimated there are billions”, “findings could be applied more broadly across Australian waters”. Then, finally, “you can get the best biodiversity and habitat protection because you’re stopping new barrens being formed in areas of high biodiversity”. But I kept reading Homo sapiens instead of sea urchin as the problem species (“Thorny problem of sea urchins that offer climate hope”, June 30). It appears we know what to do in the case of sea urchins, but we neither admit fault nor willingness to solve our own involvement in this planet’s destructive changes. Helen Lewin, Tumbi Umbi

NDIS black hole

I recently returned a call to the NDIS (“The plan to save NDIS billions”, June 30) – they needed to correct a small typo in my postal address. While I was on the phone, the operator decided to send me some documents by email. One email and one small change of address took 53 minutes and 27 seconds. If I took that long to do those two things in my workplace, my job would be at risk. Minister, if you want to make the NDIS sustainable, start by getting a five-minute job done in five minutes. Jane Scott, Marrickville

More than a tennis ace

Reading the quotes from, and the many activities of, Evonne Goolagong Cawley (“CBD: Tennis legend returns serve with scholarship funding at gala night”, June 30) makes one realise why she is beloved of the Australian community. Just a good person, having wonderful abilities but with no sense of privilege or entitlement. That she has gone on to help others seems to be a natural extension of her gratitude to those who have helped her on her way, along with her husband of 50 years, Roger. Donald Hawes, Peel

CBD has highlighted just how generous Evonne Goolagong Cawley still is to the people of Australia. She gave us so much joy when she played. As a person I met her once one evening in Melbourne, and she and Roger stopped in the street and chatted to my wife and me for a while. She didn’t know us, but she was the highlight of our trip. Thanks, Evonne, from the nation. Daniel Low, Pymble

Wartime atrocities

Congratulations to Lynette Ramsay Silver for her book giving the facts of the fate of Australian nurses on Bangka Island in 1942 (“Puritanical gag hid what Japanese did to nurses”, June 28). The full story of these atrocities was ignored as Japan became a trading partner after World War II. Will all the current war atrocities be sanitised and ignored also? Marjie Williamson, Blaxland

A new book discloses further evidence that Sister Bullwinkel’s full story was suppressed.

Postwar recognition and a revered place as a heroine in Australian culture could never have compensated nurse survivor Vivian Bullwinkel for the horrendous act of rape and murder she witnessed in 1942. It’s heartbreaking to think of her forced for the rest of her 84 years to live a lie, gagged by the very country she served so admirably. Only now, 25 years after her death, do we learn the shameful truth. Gillian Appleton, Paddington

The story of Vivian Bullwinkel’s survival is testament to the bravery of Australian nurses in WWII, but her gagging and the denial of her experience is Australia’s shame. I was born in 1947 and grew up hearing about the massacre of nurses on Bangka Island from my mother. Each Anzac Day I would scan the faces of marchers to see if I could see my father, who had been an army officer, stationed in the Pacific. Perhaps it was he who had told my mother the story of the bravery and horrendous fate of Sister Bullwinkel and her colleagues. But I do know that she was often spoken about in my family with the compassion and respect that was denied to her by Australian military history. Patricia Farrar, Concord

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