Whoever exposed the bullying and tolerance of it within the state government (The Age, 30/8) is a courageous whistleblower who deserves our admiration. Victoria needs higher standards of political behaviour. Rather than contemplating retribution, the Labor caucus should be welcoming the whistleblower's actions and addressing the problems they expose.
Michael Angwin, Surrey Hills
Ineffective Opposition can sit back and relax
Victorian Opposition Leader Mathew Guy and his survivors from the under-achieving Baillieu-Napthine era cannot believe their luck. All they have to do is sit out the next two years and watch the Labor government implode. Disunity in politics is death. Daniel Andrews and his team need to heed the lessons from the recent election in the Northern Territory.
Gary Ross, Heidelberg
Same old Labor, imploding from within
Why hasn't Labour learnt lessons from the past? A chance to do good things for the wider community. Fantastic projects are happening but the party is imploding and the media is dining out on it. Any successes are pushed off the front page.
Judith Dunn, Bentleigh East
Skyrail, the option that residents don't want
Having lived in the Carnegie area for more than 40years, I am yet to meet anyone who does not support the removal of level crossings in our suburbs. Equally I am yet to meet anyone who supports the skyrail project as compared to "rail under road" that this government promised before the election. Currently our suburb, and others on the affected rail line, are being desecrated with clear felling of almost all trees along the rail corridor. Huge trees that were up to 200years old have been cut down to make way for the cheapest – and worst – crossing removal option. A planning amendment was tabled to allow this destruction to occur and it passed only because of the support of the Greens in Parliament. Labor and the Greens need to hang their heads in shame over this, let alone the ugly concrete rail bridge towering 12-metres above our suburb. Daniel Andrews, if you are so confident that the public is behind you, put it to the test and call an early election.
Kevin McKay, Carnegie
Tiny and cramped. Who'd want to live there?
Bravo, Clay Lucas ("Room to swing a cat? If you're lucky", Comment, 31/8). The Victorian government's decision not to mandate minimum floor sizes in apartments is myopic. What will become of these tiny apartments, which are owned primarily by investors who will never live in them? If the New South Wales government can introduce stricter rules on size and layout, why can't Victoria? Are the "vested interests" more influential here than in NSW? Also, where is the state (and federal) government's policy on using imported asbestos building products in these high-rise towers? The building industry has called for bans on these products, as has the Asbestos Industry Association. But there is silence. Is anyone listening?
Sally Davis, Malvern East
Retain the Queen Vic's distinctive character
Could someone please direct Lord Mayor Robert Doyle's attention to the Age's article, "High-rise apartments 'bad for society', environment", 30/8). We do not need more high-rise apartments, particularly two buildings adjacent to and probably overshadowing the Queen Vic Market. The market must not become yet another "shopping mall".
Pat Lightfoot, North Melbourne
Shafting the workers
So workers in retail and fast-food outlets – including Woolworths, Hungry Jack's and KFC – are being underpaid more than $300million a year (The Age, 31/8). This adds to earlier revelations of inferior wage deals with Coles and McDonald's.
The appalling scope of the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees Association's actions in undermining wages makes it clear there has been a deliberate strategy to slash workers' rights and to service the demands of employers. Union members should seek damages for misrepresentation and a refund of all their dues. The union should wind itself up and distribute its assets to the workers it has shafted. I am sure that some SDA staff would be warmly welcomed at the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Janine Truter, The Basin
Protecting employees
Nobody emerges without blame from the sorry story of the SDA's deals with employers: not the union, employers or Fair Work Commission for its inadequate scrutiny of those agreements. The "cosy partnership" between the SDA and big retail and fast-food employers, which undercut wages and delivered huge membership numbers to the union, looks like a scandal that might rival that of the discredited Health Services Union. Corruption is a broad church where those seeking power or financial advantage tend to look for ways to circumvent regulations meant to protect the public. More than ever, we need strong, courageous political leadership that will put in place effective regulatory regimes with heavy penalties for such wrongdoing.
Phyllis Vespucci, Reservoir
A nightly refuge
Is it naive of me to suggest that many buildings which are vacant or not used at night could be occupied by our many homeless people? Shopping centres, community halls, schools, sporting club rooms, etc have heating, lighting and bathroom facilities. A policy of "open at 6pm and vacate by 7am" would, at the very least, provide refuge from the cold. I challenge custodians of these buildings to open their doors and their moral hearts.
Lyndall Wishart, East Geelong
Call for a clean-up
Perhaps the saying "beware Greeks bearing gifts" could be rewritten for Australia as "beware foreigners making political donations and paying MPs' costs". Foreign Minister Julie Bishop must be cheering that Labor senator Sam Dastyari ("Chinese interests paid Dastyari travel expense, 31/8) has taken attention away from the Chinese businessmen, with links to her, who donated half a million dollars to the Liberal Party's Western Australian division (The Age, 23/8). Don't these people realise that decent Australians have good reason to no longer respect or trust them? Good governance cannot return until laws are changed so that all donations from foreign sources to politicians, parties and business people must be reported and published immediately, and that they must not exceed reasonable designated amounts.
Don Lancaster, Prahran
Pull the other leg
So, Senator Sam Dastyari only breached his travel entitlements by "a minor amount" – but obviously, not so minor if it came out of his own pocket. Still, as it was "subsequently declared", this made it (a la Bronwyn Bishop) "all within the rules". Yeah.
John O'Hara, Mount Waverley
A plea for help, Sam
Could I have the contact details of Sam Dastyari's travel expense-paying friends? I have several bills to pay which my meagre pension does not cover.
Chris Rhodes, Gisborne
Disgraceful antics
Along with many Australians, I am baffled and appalled at the bad behaviour of our young tennis players ("Bernard Tomic unleashes foul-mouthed spray on fan", 31/8). They are representing our country on an international scale, and continually leave the Australian people feeling embarrassed and ashamed of their foul language, racquet-bashing and negative attitudes.
As a person of similar age to Nick Kyrgios and Tomic, I urge them to reflect on their actions and start acting with respect.
Monica Bonomo, Kew
No, for health reasons
The Victorian government has introduced a ban on fracking and all exploration and development of unconventional onshore gas (The Age, 31/8). What has been noticeably absent from the debate is the health impact that fracking can have.
A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association last month showed there was up to a fourfold increase in the number of asthma attacks in people living near these areas. Given that Australia has some of the highest rates of asthma globally, I would have thought fracking was never an option for purely health reasons.
Matthew Van Wees, Somerville
A fine first step
Congratulations to Victorian premier Daniel Andrews on showing concern for our valuable farmland by introducing a permanent ban on fracking for gas. Now it would be a good thing to help our dairy farmers, too.
Jan Balson, Glen Waverley
Fracking ban? Big deal
I have a doctorate in geology and immense experience in the petroleum sector. Geologically, there is no evidence of significant gas bound up in shales in Victoria. Coal containing gas does not need to be fracked to produce gas. The only known occurrences of gas in shales in Australia are in the Northern Territory and Central Australia. No gas is currently being produced and the gas price makes it too expensive anyway. Daniel Andrews' ban is a non-event.
Peter Woodford, Brighton East
Tell us why, Chris
Chris Judd always struck me as a footballer with a brain on his shoulders and someone who might use his leadership as well off the field as he did on it. But I see he has lent his face to promoting the TAB. Why somebody as endlessly endorsable as he is, and as rich as he must be, would agree to promote sports gambling is beyond me. It is an increasingly out of control issue that wreaks havoc on already underprivileged lives.
Eamonn McColl, Richmond
Show leadership, PM
It is hardly surprising that a group of white males on the backbench want to water down Section 18C of the Race Discrimination Act. They have never been in a minority who have suffered offensive racial slurs, and they appear to have no understanding of the hurt it causes and the discord and divisiveness it can to lead to in our society.
Malcolm Turnbull has a great opportunity to show the moral courage we would like to see in a prime minister. It is to be hoped that he will take a strong stand against this move.
Ruja Varon, Malvern
Dangerous locked gate
I recently had the misfortune to break my leg in a fall outside the Kinglake National Park at Steels Creek. I lay on the roadside, unable to move, until a cyclist emerged from the park and rang the ambulance. The ambulance crew rang back to say the park gate was locked and they would have to make a long detour around it instead of using the internal park road. When they arrived, the crew loaded me onto a stretcher with the utmost care while the cyclist stayed with me until the ambulance doors shut.
What would have happened if it had been the cyclist who broke his leg, or worse, while riding through the park? He could have been kilometres inside locked gates with no hope of an ambulance reaching him until a key could be found. Parks Victoria has an obligation to ensure that, in the event of an accident, walkers, cyclists and horse riders can be evacuated quickly.
John Blake, Kensington
Fixing the UN's ills
As laudable as Kevin Rudd's comments about reforming the United Nations might be, nothing will fix that body until the Security Council's permanent members, and their rights to veto, are abolished.
Garth Mitchell, Strathbogie
Weekend full of footy
Over the past few days I have heard the thoughts of many a media commentator stating there will be no AFL games in Victoria this weekend. However, the VFL final series begins this week. Why isn't this advertised?
Collingwood, Melbourne, StKilda, Geelong, Essendon and Western Bulldogs VFL teams are all playing this weekend in Melbourne. Entry is only $15 for adults and children aged under 12 are admitted free.
Nancy Meyer, Cheltenham
A matter of wording
Parliament could change the words "the union of a man and a woman" to "two adults" in the Marriage Act and save at least $160million. Simple.
Pip Denton, Kingsville
AND ANOTHER THING
Politics
Maybe some of the speeches were boring – but being paid to sleep, what a great gig.
Kaye Jones, Nagambie
ASIO doesn't believe Hinch is part of a sleeper cell living in Noddy land.
John Rawson, South Morang
Hinch delivers his first speech regarding the state of the nation.
Pieter van Wessem, Balwyn
Labor MPs who attacked Andrews are cowards and jealous of his success.
Ros Levy, Elsternwick
Andrews, using his father again, and there isn't even an election.
Paul Kehoe, Chirnside Park
From the state primary reader: "Run, Jane, run".
Olivia Manor, Coburg
The EC has the moral fibre to fine Apple $A19.15billion for tax evasion. What about our moral duty?
David Mandara, Hepburn Springs
Does Labor support a plebiscite banning Chinese donors from paying its MPs' travel expenses?
Les Anderson, Woodend
Malcolm Turnbull, Australia's treatment of asylum seekers is the "massive moral challenge".
Elizabeth Long, Collingwood
Furthermore
Everyone knows melted cheese goes on top of mashed potato in shepherd's pie (Superquiz, 31/8).
Graham Fetherstonhaugh, Carlton North
Yes, Leunig (31/8). More little parks and statues of animals, and lots more trees and benches for Melbourne.
Katriona Fahey, Alphington
Youi: "We get you – and your banking details".
Russell Costello, Mont Albert North
We like the idea of joined names instead of marriage (30/8), but Fragun or Gunser just won't cut it.
Bryan Fraser and Bernadette Gunn, St Kilda