Peter Fagg, Blackburn
Better spent elsewhere
If COP would cost $1 billion, please spend it somewhere more beneficial to reduce cost of living
Lindsay Donahoo, Wattle Glen
Good luck with that, Ley
Columnist Nick Bryant’s analysis of the dilemma facing Sussan Ley and the Liberals (″Liberals caught in net zero trap″, 8/11) highlights a problem not faced by the conservative side of politics since Robert Menzies refashioned the unsuccessful United Australia Party into the modern Liberal Party back in the 1940s.
Menzies had the advantage of having a clear philosophy of free enterprise, personal freedom and anti communism without such a divisive question of ″do we or don’t we″ on net zero.
The Nationals and conservative Liberals are deluded if they think their climate denial philosophy will attract voters from the suburbs around capital cities, and, without winning back suburban seats, they have no chance of regaining power.
Massive majorities in rural seats are one thing but winning seats from Labor, the teals and Greens in suburbia is another matter.
Good luck to Sussan Ley as she tries to negotiate this electorally damaging mess that the Coalition finds itself in.
Graeme Lechte, Pascoe Vale
Party of poor choices
On any analysis, the federal Liberal Party is in disarray. In recent times they have made poor choices. Peter Dutton was a poor choice to lead the party. The policy offerings taken to the last election were a catalogue of poor choices that failed to reflect, and connect with, the priorities and concerns of voters.
Post-election, the poor choices continue. Sussan Ley was a poor choice to lead the party. A leader is a person who guides, inspires, and influences others to achieve a common goal by setting a clear vision. To that end, Sussan Ley is not a good fit.
In the previous parliament, Ley’s contribution amounted to rolling out foolish anti Labor government slogans which had little impact but to diminish her credibility. This has continued into the new parliament, often drawing criticism from her own colleagues. Her leadership credentials are absent. The thinkers, the sensible voices of the moderates who understand modern Australia and the challenges it faces, are being drowned out by the voices of those whose cannot, or refuse to, grasp those challenges and whose thoughts cannot get them beyond self interest.
Ross Brooker, Hobart, Tas
Services, not profit
We have allowed governments to hand over too many essential services to the private sector (″Triple trouble not a private problem″, 7/11), so I’m not sure why I was so shocked to realise that Triple Zero had not only been privatised but that there was no ″Triple Zero custodian″ to monitor and oversee the system. We have opened early childhood services to for-profit organisations and corporations that have little interest in child care or early childhood learning, with little effective oversight and regulation, and have been shocked and sickened by recent revelations of child abuse and inadequate care.
The new aged care system now engages private organisations to assess those applying for home care, with no seeming oversight as to possible conflict of interest for those also supplying care packages, and with waiting times blowing out to at least eight weeks for emergency cases, while actual care sometimes arrives too late.
Privatisation means that profit is too often a main focus. There are essential services that should remain in government hands: aged care, early child education and, above all, Triple Zero are high among them.
Anne Sgro, Coburg North
Growth unsustainable
The combined effects of compliance, population peaking and use of non renewables may herald the start of an era of world sustainability which must replace one of growth and development. In a closed system such as our planet Earth, growth cannot go on indefinitely, and one day sustainability rather than growth will be forced upon us all, it’s just a matter of when.
John Marks, Werribee
Not bookish type
Your correspondent (8/11) asks if someone has told Donald Trump how The Great Gatsby ends. There is no evidence that Trump has ever read a book, or would believe someone who has done so.
Kevin Prince, Trieste, Italy
No cross words here
Memo David Astle.
Yep, I use my (falling apart) dictionary every day. I can’t ever remember what ″specious″ means. Have to check on the spelling of shaden … shaud, shadenfr … And mainly when doing a DA crossword! So please sir, keep the faith that all is not lost for us poor spellers and word addicts.
Myra Fisher, Brighton East
