Sussan Ley’s Albanese critique is just a storm in a T-shirt

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Sussan Ley compounds her churlishness in criticising Albanese for wearing a Joy Division T-shirt (“No joy for Ley as PM’s T-shirt brings division to parliament”, October 29). This comes after her misstep demanding Rudd’s sacking from his US ambassadorship. Earlier, she sent a letter to the American Congress vowing to revoke Australia’s recognition of Palestinian statehood, undermining the sovereignty and unity of the nation. It is not her role to set foreign policy – that belongs to the elected government. Her opposition should have remained in-house. Ley would be served to take a more bipartisan and constructive approach. Are ad hominem attacks all she has to offer? Salvatore Sorbello, Campsie

Sussan Ley was a little off the mark with Albanese’s T-shirt reference. Far from celebrating Nazis, it was a more subtle dig at the shenanigans going on among Australia’s far-right political factions. Albo, armed with encyclopedia-like knowledge of the Triple J Hottest 100 winners, knew Joy Division won the 1990 rankings with their song Love Will Tear Us Apart. So as he alighted the flight from the far right of America to land back in Australia, the prime minister was making a poignant reference to the love being torn apart by Barnaby Joyce’s flirtations with One Nation. Unfortunately, I think subtlety is lost on the Liberals. Chris Andrew, Turramurra

Utter nonsense from the leader of the opposition. It’s a storm in a T-shirt. Tim Parker, Balmain

I note Sussan Ley has used her time in parliament to condemn Anthony Albanese’s choice of T-shirt on tenuous grounds of links to antisemitism. What a gobsmacking waste of public time and resources. What an astounding irrelevancy. The Herald reported this week that the Centre for Public Integrity claims the Albanese government has failed in six of seven fields it evaluated (“Teals, report give PM a fail on transparency”, October 28). Surely, we need a viable opposition debating matters of policy and keeping the government honest? What we don’t need is Ley using her position to give credence to Murdoch-press-fuelled culture wars. It is clear that the Coalition is setting itself up for many years in the wilderness. Meanwhile, the lack of a viable opposition will provide a fertile ground for hard and soft corruption in the federal government. Come on, Ley, get your eye on the ball and do your job. John Storer, Bulli

The title of the album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols must be familiar to the pearl-clutching Sussan Ley. I suppose that a politician whose party is in disarray, an ineffective opposition with no sensible policies and zero vision for Australia, has to say something to try to remain relevant by any means at all. Never mind the bollocks, Sussan, try to concentrate on doing something positive for the future of the nation and forget about the trivia. Barrington Salter, Elanora, Qld

Anthony Albanese, when acting as PM – a leader and a representative of Australia – should be dressed more fittingly than in a T-shirt, let alone one with promotion, marketing or advertising of any sort. While I don’t always expect a suit and tie when a polo shirt would suffice, this attire is for his backyard barbecues.Jenny Greenwood, Hunters Hill

Sussan Ley is stretching credibility to accuse Prime Minister Albanese of being antisemitic by wearing a Joy Division T-shirt. Is that the best the opposition leader can do, criticism of Albanese after his meeting with Trump? Joy Division, like most punk bands of the 1970s, adopted an edgy name to reflect their work. Their songs were about alienation and disaffection and nothing to do with antisemitism. There is a certain irony in the band’s name, as in their signature song, Love Will Tear Us Apart. Ley’s criticism implies that everyone who is a fan of Joy Division is antisemitic. Really? Leo Sorbello, Leichhardt

Stop being so twitchy, Sussan Ley. We Grayndler-ites are proud of Albo for wearing a band T-shirt. Don’t forget that he represents his electorate as well as the country and his electorate is honoured that he is still in touch with us. James Butchart, Lilyfield

I have been puzzling over what rock band T-shirt to give as a gift to Sussan Ley to wear in parliament. While Bad Company, The Cult, Disturbed, Garbage, Imagine Dragons, The Pretenders, Queens of the Stone Age, Social Distortion and Twisted Sister all have some appeal, I have decided that Evanescence would be most emblematic of her leadership of the Liberal Party. Paul Norton, Highgate Hill (Qld)

For gawd’s sake, Sussan Ley, of all the atrocities committed by Albo in his Joy Division T-shirt, you missed the most glaring one – he wasn’t wearing a suit and tie. John Campbell, South Golden Beach

Please, Albo, no more T-shirts of 1980s bands – we want you firmly in the 21st century. But at least you are not stuck in the 1950s, like the Coalition. Further message for Sussan Ley – find an issue more important than the PM’s wardrobe to raise in parliament. You could try climate change, housing, hospitals, childcare ... Take your pick. Stephanie Edwards, Leichhardt

Power plans

There are vast swaths of rehabilitated coal mine sites just up the Hunter Valley from the Tomago aluminium smelter that could adequately provide it with affordable solar power (“Aluminium smelter closure tests ALP clean energy goals”, October 29). But herein lies the dilemma. The renewables grid benefits from diverse inputs, such as wind turbines, on- and offshore, not linked to the daily solar radiation cycle. However, the key is in the provision of power storage. The largest battery currently operational would only power the Tomago plant for two hours, and it would require almost half of the huge Snowy 2.0 scheme’s eventual output for periods when direct renewable energy is unavailable. Rather than subsidising Tomago’s electricity in the longer term, it would be preferable if government funds (plus support from Rio Tinto) were directed to fast-tracking power storage systems. Roger Epps, Armidale

The Tomago aluminium smelter, should it stay or should it go?

All smelting needs to cease until there is sufficient renewable energy to engage in that activity. There is a climate crisis, and the planet needs to take priority. When there is enough clean energy, it can resume. We will all have to make do without these smelted products for a while. The workers negatively impacted by these temporary closures could be supported with JobKeeper-like support. Taxation may need to be raised; thoughtful, wealthy folk would be honoured to help, no doubt. John Coyne, Padstow Heights

Site impaired

I agree completely with David Swan’s criticism of the new website (“How did the BOM get its new $4.1m website so wrong?” , October 29). I was a very frequent user of the former website and found it very informative. Bring it back. Graham Russell, Clovelly

I spent a decade working on IT implementations and remember well the howls of anguish from those forced to use a new tool to do their well-paid jobs. Sometimes I (and they) thought my job was to act as a social worker and soothe their turmoil. These same people had no problems finding the best mortgages, travel packages or credit card points programs. Nine months later, all that suffering was forgotten and it was business as usual. David Farrell, Erskineville

Nuanced matter of life and VAD

I understand that many people agree with assisted dying (“Libs split over law changes on assisted dying”, October 29), but as a Christian, I would have found it very difficult to assist my mother to access such a procedure if it had been available 10 years ago. She was 94, not in any great pain, but tired of living. She was in a non-faith-based nursing home. The fact that VAD was illegal at the time was a comfort to me; it was not a decision I would have to make, nor would the nursing home have wanted to assist it.
As it was, she died peacefully, with two very caring palliative nurses by her side, while I was stuck on a train unable to get there in time. I do not see why nursing homes, whether faith-based or not, should have to provide assisted dying at the same time as they provide palliative care; many staff members would find this deeply painful. Life is a gift and should be treasured, even though it is difficult at times. Vivienne Parsons, Thornleigh

When in her 90s, my mother was sent to hospital with a suspected heart attack. The nurse on weekend duty gently explained that she would be more comfortable back in her familiar nursing home surroundings than having the necessary medical interventions had she been admitted. To leave her there would have caused discomfort, unnecessary confusion and anxiety. We were forever thankful for that advice. Vicky Marquis, Glebe

I wish to propose a law to save us from unsolicited political and religious interference in personal lives. A peaceful death at a time of our own choosing should be a basic human right but, once again, we see this fundamental concept under threat of being hijacked by politicians with religious overtones. The proposed VAD law amendment is at odds with a person’s reasonable and rational wish to die in peace and the associated trauma with relocating a terminally ill resident becomes punishment. Joy Nason, Mona Vale

The daft premise that a proposed change to the VAD laws to align aged care facilities with hospitals “would give everyone voting for this bill comfort” beggars belief. In this scenario, a person during their last days, being transported from their home to a busy hospital is complete anathema to a “good death”. Sometimes we fail to see the forest for the trees. Judy Finch, Taree

What is Mark Speakman thinking, supporting this bill? Could he really prioritise the rights of religious institutions above those of vulnerable aged care residents? Forcing dying people out of their homes to access legal medical treatment is heartless and morally wrong, but also breaches the new federal aged care laws, which take effect on November 1. The Liberal Party relies on the votes of the same older people Speakman is clearly happy to sacrifice to appease church leaders who are more concerned with religious ideology than the rights and welfare of vulnerable people in their care. Penny Hackett, Willoughby

Supermarket swindle

Jenna Price’s experience is just one reason why I steadfastly refuse to use those self-checkouts at supermarkets (“I paid $7.90 for a tub of yoghurt. Then they called me a thief”, October 29). Fewer staff means lower prices? Pull the other one. Next, they’ll be wanting me to restock the shelves after I finish. And they have the effrontery to tell us with such mock piety that they’re just responding to what customers want. Bunkum. It’s the drive to maintain and increase profits that’s fuelling the shift to do-it-yourself. Customers’ wants have nothing to do with it, and painting it like that is disingenuous at best and dishonest at worst. It might take me longer to shop, but I like to think I help keep someone in a job. And no one can accuse me of theft. Adrian Connelly, Springwood

Jenna Price raises the issue of us becoming free labour for supermarkets by using self-checkouts. I try to avoid them for another reason. Both our children had their first job at a local supermarket. It was where they learnt to show up for work, do their jobs and get rewarded with some cash of their own. As supermarkets squeeze us to use self-checkouts by cutting the number of checkout operators, there are fewer jobs for school-age employees. When they see queues at the manned (or womanned) checkout, maybe they will put on more school kids. Neville Turbit, Russell Lea

Beyond the city

How about Mark Speakman and his loyal Liberal band follow through with the suggestion of a slowdown in transport infrastructure and devote five years’ worth of expenditure to the regional parts of NSW (“NSW Libs to target five extensions to metro in campaign”, October 29)? We in regional areas would like an increase in medical services and fast public transport. Ripping up existing train lines and replacing them with light rail suggests cost overruns and extended timelines – a key feature of the previous Liberal era. Regional NSW residents would really benefit from more financial input, especially as so many people have relocated to the regions over recent years. Robert Mulas, Corlette

Keep us in the dark

The proposal to light up Sydney’s beaches and become the city that never sleeps is horrific (“New Yorker says Sydney can be city that never sleeps”, October 29). Light pollution is already impacting the wildlife in our cities – I’ve had kookaburras singing at midnight in my street. Imagine how confused fish and penguins will be. It’s also another barrier to children and others having their souls enlarged by seeing our wonderful southern skies. Haven’t we learnt from climate change and microplastics that pollution of all kinds should be avoided? Ken McNamara, Wollongong

Net deficit

NSW government shark nets caught a baby whale at my local beach this week. It’s dead and the sharks will now be attracted to the poor creature’s carcass for days. How is this a win for surfers and other ocean users? How can these nets, which do not stop sharks from swimming along the shoreline anyway, continue to be used? They provide a totally false sense of security for swimmers and surfers at the expense of whales, dolphins, seals, harmless shark species and a host of other hapless creatures. Get rid of them. Mark Southcott, Thirroul

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