If a female "knockabout Aussie" ("Abbott's binge", August 27) politician had not been able to get to work because she was too drunk to move, would she still be seen as an acceptable member of Parliament? Or would she have been thrown out before she caused the old boys' party further shame and embarrassment, and perhaps even the need for reform? The next "vote" needed is one to ensure there is workplace equality.
Of course the Mineral Council wants to remove legal roadblocks to the establishment of nuclear power plants in Australia.
Surprise, surprise. The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission finds the NSW government's mandated sales of ethanol-enriched petrol costs motorists a fortune ("The $143m ethanol hit to drivers", August 31). Don't worry, Manildra, who make the ethanol, made an extra $4.4 million in one year and generously gave the Coalition $160,000 before the new laws. The NSW government may have been trying to support a carbon-reducing measure. But only because the Commonwealth government lacked a comprehensive carbon policy. Rather than arbitrary public subsidies scattered across jurisdictions, the Commonwealth should introduce a clear and stable long-term policy to reduce carbon emissions to meet our Paris promises. An ETS ensures all polluters pay equally for their emissions.
The sole purpose of all of the private energy providers is to make as much profit as they can.
Do we really want to continue wasting money and resources on war and the military machine?
The secrecy surrounding the relocation of the Powerhouse makes following the money impossible.
Is this the start of what we can look forward to when Minister Dutton fully establishes his super ministry?
What is "un-Australian", Minister Dutton, is to attack the constitution and the rule of law. They are what gives us our very Australian freedom. ("Lawyers representing asylum seekers are 'un-Australian': Peter Dutton", smh.com.au, August 28). Dominic Toomey, SC Annandale
NAPLAN is stressing out millennials, Gen Y wants their parents' money, and Baby Boomers are living longer than ever and spending the kids' inheritance.
Lord mayor Clover Moore called the proposed $11.3 million Cloud Arch sculpture "heroic" ("Wider, heavier – and three times the price", August 25). Sir Humphrey Appleby would have been proud of her!
I have a suggestion that may help David Jones boss John Dixon entice shoppers into its stores ("DJs faults austerity for drop in sales", August 25). Instead of "exclusive brands" and $100 million grocery shops, why not try stocking a few brands that shoppers might actually want to buy?
Instead of erasing our history by removing the statues of Cook, Phillip and Macquarie, let's even the balance with statues of Bennelong, Pemulwy, Barangaroo and Colbee ("Second Sydney statue in doubt", August 24).
The war in Afghanistan is now under the control of an untrustworthy man of limited intelligence, volatile personality and minimal integrity. Does Australia really want to go down this road?
An investigation must be carried out to show how online NAPLAN testing affects students and their results.
The federal government is unleashing thousands of chemicals onto the market without health or environmental testing. Are our politicians trying to kill us?
Surely, now is as good a time as any for the PM to stand up and be counted, and re-embrace, albeit belatedly, his once-expressed values.
Has anyone heard anything about our expensive de-salination plant at Kurnell? Is it working? Is it being regularly turned on to keep it active for the troubles ahead?
I have never heard Pauline Hanson championing women's causes. She seems far more interested in stirring up racial hatred.
An impressive list from NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance (Letters, August 18) of rail services and trains he proposes for the Sydney network. Sure hope he keeps the train drivers onside so they can be delivered.
It is beyond galling to see the Transport Minister brag about his plan to use automation to eliminate transport workers.
Gay politics has always been about a cultural pride and driving to be accepted for exactly what we are. Not what everyone else wishes we are. But suddenly, or not so suddenly, we seem to have become no longer proud of what we are and have taken to redefining ourselves as failed heterosexuals instead. We seem to have become ashamed of being homosexual.
How disingenuous of your Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to blame the NZ Labour Party for her own government's failings.
Why can't politicians ascertain the law and then obey it like the rest of us?
The debacle that is giving western Sydney a $16.8 billion motorway with exorbitant tolls before any commitment to public transport must not be repeated on the north side.
I'm looking forward to Annabel Crabbe's TV documentary series The House ("Annabel's our woman about the House", August 6). Who could possibly be better qualified to make a behind-the-scenes documentary about Parliament House than someone who spent her childhood school holidays behind the scenes at Adelaide Zoo?
What, no plebiscite to see if the majority of Australians agree on going to war with North Korea?
The Foreign Minister treads on very thin glass when she accuses North Korea of breaching international law.
If my gay brothers and sisters are thinking the same way I am today, they will be planning to boycott any plebiscite or postal vote this useless government intends dumping on an increasingly frustrated electorate.
When NAPLAN results go down, the fault apparently lies with the schools, while the government is quick to claim credit for improvements.
At 57 I still remember the way that gay men and women and their supporters were treated ("Libs reject free vote on same-sex marriage", August 8, 2017).