Sadly, a choice between ‘least worst candidate’

Credit:Illustration: Megan Herbert

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POLITICIANS AND MEDIA

Sadly, a choice between ‘least worst candidate’

The negative turn of the election is most unwelcome. The electorate does not need to hear the opinion of the leader of each party as to the alleged shortcomings of the other. Enough was heard of that while the Parliament was sitting.

This election should be a choice between policies on climate change, a federal ICAC with real teeth, the future progression of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a housing policy to address the huge gulf between those who own homes and those who have been priced out of the market and the huge debt being incurred by our tertiary students, to provide a few suggestions.

The electorate should be able to make a choice based on clearly articulated policies which set out the priorities of each party, not only for the next electoral cycle but for years beyond that. It should not be a choice between the “least worst” candidate to run the country for the next three years.
Lisa Sieh, Warragul

Why many voter are turning to the independents

Re “Leaders rule out any minority government with independents” (The Age, 20/4). Both major parties need to remember who they work for – all Australians. If we vote for independent candidates, it is because the major parties are failing to provide, much less deliver on, a vision for the nation.

Australians are young and old, families and single folk, those who work, those who are retired and the unemployed swept under the carpet because they are regarded as “working” if they have a job for one hour a week. Also, the young people who are working multiple jobs but are still not able to “get a go”.

Labor and Coalition, if you do not want to have to work with the independents in Parliament, then start delivering tangible benefits for all Australians.
Wendy Tanner, Footscray

Media is failing to make the contest more relevant

I was very grateful to read Margaret Simons’ article – “Focus on gaffes misses real issues” (Opinion, 18/4). She challenged political journalists to take responsibility for making the election contest more relevant. By not doing so, the relevance of their role is lost. They might as well report on children’s tea parties.

Many people are fed up with the lack of genuine regard for the future of this country and the planet shown by some politicians of all persuasions. When journalists simply grab hold of a gaffe and make it a headline, they miss the opportunity to have a role in determining our country’s future.
Cheryl Wood, Wheelers Hill

Aggressive reporters and evasive, manipulative MPs

Daily media scrums are hopeless. Journalists’ questions are often inaudible and increasingly argumentative. Viewers do not know what is actually being asked or the questioner’s agenda. Loud-mouthed bullies dominate over serious journalists. Irrespective of the question, manipulative MPs distort and avoid the issues and reply with repetitive, unsubstantiated, irrelevant assertions. A respected MC or rotating moderator is needed to manage journalists and candidates, as per the National Press Club forums.
Paul Kavanagh, Parkville

Our right to watch every debate, free to air

The first leaders’ debate, between Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese, was held last night. The advertisements referred to “The people’s forum” but the debate was shown on Sky News Australia, not the free-to-air channels. So how public was the debate? It could have been shown on the ABC, ad-free. Shouldn’t all election debates be available to everyone?
Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill

Seeking real policies, not tedious ‘gotcha’ moments

I wish our party leaders would set a great example and treat each other with respect and courtesy, instead of using bullying tactics and “gotcha” moments. This election campaign should be about their policies and less about bringing the circus to town.
Lisa Bishop, Macleod

THE FORUM

Right to home ownership

It seems that Resolve Strategic’s survey (The Age, 20/4) underscores concerns about intergenerational inequality raised by readers (Letters, 19 and 20/4). According to the survey, 67 per cent of those aged 18 to 34 believe that younger Australians who do not own a home will never be able do do so in the area where they live.

In a wealthy country like ours, that is a disgrace. The government’s Home Guarantee Scheme’s hand-out to a select few does not address the structural causes of astronomical property prices facing young Australians.
That this issue is not being seriously addressed in the policies of the major parties is shameful. Who will start the policy bidding with a sunset date for negative gearing tax breaks on residential properties?
Mark Cummings, Brunswick

Putting humankind first

“Labor vows to back new coal mines” and “Morrison vows no carbon tax, support for miners” – both headlines on the same page (The Age, 19/4). All Australians who are interested in the future of humankind now know where their vote must go – to those who support action on climate change.
Anna Summerfield, Bendigo

Come clean to donors

This week I received a flyer indicating Guide Dogs Victoria’s chief executive had endorsed Josh Frydenberg’s campaign. How long has the organisation been accepting donations without revealing its affiliation with the Liberals, and what benefit does it receive for this?

The Liberal Party has a less than stellar track record in supporting people with disabilities, evidenced by its treatment of people on disability support pensions and the cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. This makes the chief executive’s endorsement of Frydenberg more puzzling.

As a charitable organisation that relies on the community’s goodwill, Guide Dogs Victoria should not be associated with any political party without indicating this to its donors.
Matt McRobbie, Mont Albert

Surely a sackable offence

The board of Guide Dogs Victoria ought to sack its chief executive. By publicly supporting Josh Frydenberg, she has damaged the organisation’s reputation, likely lost a significant number of donors and may be in breach of regulations for charities. More than enough reasons to let her go.
Meredith Doig, East St Kilda

Losing the public’s trust

To use footy parlance, Guide Dogs Victoria’s chief executive has given the independents a free kick, with a 50-metre penalty, in front of goal. Who paid for the printing and delivery of the pamphlets? Was it the Liberal Party, the charity or the individual? The behaviour raises issues of appropriate governance within the charities involved. Public confidence and trust in their operation is essential to their success and reputation.
Catherine Healy, Brighton

A dysfunctional ‘family’

According to Scott Morrison, Australia has a familial relationship with residents of Pacific islands.Yet right under our noses, the Solomon Islands signs a strategic arrangement with China that unsettles many from the prime minister down.

Are we to assume Australia has no intelligence presence in the near Pacific, or that the Five Eyes intelligence network was looking the other way when this arrangement was made? And did we really learn about it via a leak, when the ink was almost dry? What was the point of sending a junior minister to try to get the Solomons’ prime minister to bend to our will so late in the day? Over to you, prime minister.
John Whelen, Box Hill South

The dangerous boats

Stop the boats. Which boats are these? The Coalition government has been so fixated on the small, slow, rickety ones that it failed to see the sleek, sophisticated ones coming our way.
Antonia Hamilton, Sandringham

China’s point of view

A Chinese military presence in the Solomon Islands may not please Australia or the United States. Nor would American bases in Australia, extant and proposed, be viewed with enthusiasm by China.
Manfred Frese, Heathmont

The ‘monarch’ dethroned

“Our Pacific family”, an endearing term used by our leaders, is actually a Pacific “kingdom” with Australia as the “monarch” and the islanders as the “peasants” who are begrudgingly allowed to work here in agriculture, in limited numbers, for minimum pay. Why are we so surprised that the Chinese empire is moving into the Pacific to take over our long-held role as protector/exploiter of the “peasants”?
Luigi Soccio, Daylesford

The LNP’s invisible woman

Marise Payne, the foreign affairs minister, is busy at private dinner in Sydney instead of finally being sent to the Solomon Islands to put our case. She is the more senior person and it is her portfolio after all. I agree with our former foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, that a visit should be a first priority.

Also, as the minister for women, where is Payne’s presence in the debate re trans girls and women in sport? Just another Coalition politician gone missing when she is needed to make our presence felt and to contribute to the debate.
John Paine, Kew East

Need for more reporting

I am disturbed that vaccination, isolation and mask requirements will be wound back in Victoria from this weekend (The Age, 20/4). With the abandonment of PCR tests for most people, I suspect very little data is coming in on how severe infections are, how long the symptoms last, how quickly people are being reinfected, and what strain people have.

While the majority of infections may now be mild, and hospitalisation rates relatively low, many of us know vaccinated people who have been ill enough to need to take two or more weeks off work with symptoms such as lingering fatigue and loss of taste and smell. I also know people who have contracted long COVID-19 or have been reinfected less than a month after the original infection.

When we were vaccinated, we received text messages asking about any adverse reactions and their duration. Why don’t we do the same sort of follow up with the reporting of positive RAT tests?
Sonya Jeffery, Coburg

High price of cruises

There has been much commercial and intending passenger rejoicing over the recommencement of the cruise industry. There is little mention that, pound for pound, this is one of the most polluting industries in our severely threatened world.

An estimated 24 per cent of maritime waste is produced by these ships which operate largely outside national controls. These “floating cities” dump garbage, sewage, fuel and air pollution with impunity and treat their crews with industrial contempt. But of course we must not threaten the bottom line of vested interests or the recreation of the cruising faithful.
Tom Tabart, Drysdale

The public’s contribution

Because of the Fox family’s worthy $100 million donation to help build the new art gallery, it will be called The Fox: NGV Contemporary (The Age, 19/4). However, given that most of the money required to build this new gallery will come from the public, it would make more sense (and cents) to call it The Public: NGV Contemporary, or just The Pub for short.
Andrew Powell, Caulfield

The need for drones

As the war in Ukraine has shown, military drones are the current and future weapons. We invest $3.5billion in tanks and associated vehicles that are easily destroyed by drone attack wherever they maybe deployed. If that is not a wicked waste, what do you call the $90billion plus on submarines?

Undersea drones and hypersonic missiles will be available a lot sooner than our submarines, and are more deadly. Come on, Anthony Albanese. Be bold make this point and many others. Get angry, for god’s sake.
Peter Morrow, Bentleigh East

The new, macho Albo

Anthony Albanese could portray a tougher image by releasing pictures of himself riding a horse topless, as per Vladimir Putin, and driving a Challenger tank as did Margaret Thatcher in 1986.
Kenneth Wright, Eltham

The forgotten family

Election hype builds, promises are made and politicians fight for their future with political rhetoric. The Biloela family remains forgotten in a community detention centre in Perth. What about their future? Where are the policies reflecting Australia’s humanity?
Louise Edwards, Sorrento

Win for residents, visitors

Phillip Island on a long weekend is frustratingly jam-packed with visitors’ cars. Getting there from the north takes twice as long as on a normal day and traffic on the island is nose to tail. The lack of traffic lights makes it very difficult to turn into the main road and risks are taken by motorists.

An idea: charge visitors a sum of, say, $50, to drive onto the island for the day. To avoid the charge, they could leave their cars in a set-aside car park at somewhere like Caldermeade and travel in a free bus to the island.

The buses could run frequently and take passengers all around the island to the popular sites. The last bus could leave well after the completion of the Penguin Parade. Residents would undoubtedly be very happy with this plan.
Liz Middleton, Clematis

The umpire rules, OK?

Why do our footballers bother arguing with the umpire? In the decades I have observed this happening, not once have I seen an umpire reverse a decision because a player objected to it. Let it go and get on with the game.
Geoff Lipton, Caulfield North

Always good for a laugh

When confronted by a full-page image of a grinning Craig Kelly under the banner “Our Next Prime Minister”, I quickly checked the date. No, it was not an April Fool’s Day joke, a bit too late for that, but as good as.
Barbara Abell, Essendon

AND ANOTHER THING

International

The world looks on as China does what China wants to do. The next step? A security pact with PNG?
Barry Revill, Moorabbin

Did the Solomon Islands use the Chinese lease on the Port of Darwin as a template?
Malcolm McDonald, Burwood

The Solomon Islands. Australia’s Cuba.
Graham Cadd, Dromana

Jolly decent of the Liberals to draw attention to the dreadful damage to roads in Ukraine. Bit of a stretch to blame it on Andrews though.
Mike Smith, Croydon

I agree with the Libs. The roads in Ukraine are a disgrace and it’s time Labor did something about it.
Mick Hussey, Beaconsfield

Election

Deves, a mouthpiece for Morrison’s religious and right-wing views, just as Hanson was for Howard’s immigration policy.
Cate Ross, Sandringham

My ICAC: Integrity, Credibility, Accountability, Civility. I’ll vote for the party that establishes an ICAC that meets these ideals.
Marie Jones, Golden Point

Re the need for Labor to be “more mongrel” (19/4). Its vow to “back new coal mines” (19/4) is mongrel policy of the first order.
Jenny Barrett, Apollo Bay

Prime Minister Craig Kelly (20/4)? It’s fantastic to see The Age embrace the comedy festival.
Jeff Johnston, Murrumbeena

In a re-elected Morrison government, will Colbeck still be the aged care minister?
Gwenda West, Research

Neither of the major parties nor the teal independents have effective policies to address housing affordability and to protect planet Earth.
Jenny Smithers, Ashburton

Vis-a-vis the hi-vis. Someone forgot to tell Albo it’s a costume party.
Caroline Stinear, Berwick

Re Morrison’s “$46 per week for JobSeeker” comment: misspoken or a Freudian slip?
Peter Neilson, Heathcote

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