No one should really be surprised by the attitudes regularly displayed by the Immigration Minister. Dutton spent most of the 1990s as a policeman with the Queensland Police Force, which for decades was widely recognised as one of the most racist, xenophobic and sexist forces in the country. (Fortunately, this no longer seems to be the case.) And it is telling to recall that when then PM Kevin Rudd apologised to the Stolen Generations in 2008, Dutton was the only Coalition front bencher to abstain from the event. Then in 2015 he was caught out with his "joke" about the plight of Pacific Islanders facing rising seas from climate change. Early this year Dutton sent a sexist "mad witch" text about a female journalist simply doing her job. Now we cringe at his appalling comments linking crime to the immigration policies of Malcolm Fraser.
It's not difficult to connect the dots with regards to Dutton's attitude to issues of race (and gender) equality. What is difficult, however, is to justify why an individual with such ingrained toxic beliefs should be Minister for Immigration (or minister for anything) in 2016 Australia.
![Illustration: Andrew Dyson](/web/20161126081123im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/w/0/l/h/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsvugm.png/1479972808471.jpg)
Ross Pulbrook, Wyong, NSW
Colonial governors started the rot
I think people should lay off Peter Dutton. Even the Prime Minister has bravely come to his defence, describing him as a man of compassion. I happen to be a direct descendant of a man from County Wexford, Ireland, who arrived here in the early 1850s, along with many men and women from that troubled and famine-stricken place. I know he was arrested for public drunkenness in Sydney shortly after his arrival. And I suspect others in his wider family, and his many Wexford associates, might have had similar run-ins with the law. Malcolm Fraser wasn't around then so we can't blame him, but I suggest Dutton call out Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, governor of NSW from 1846 to 1855, as having made a serious mistake in opening up the new colony to a minority group that practised a different religion from the mainstream, possessed a different cultural background, and had difficulty assimilating.
Frank Smith, Kew
Minister for disintegration
The Minister for Immigration should be rebadged "the Minister for Disintegration"; he is doing his best to break down the unity of the community and pit one group against another. The PM should show moral courage and sack the man. Our government is becoming a national disgrace.
Graham Reynolds, Ballarat North
What caused minister's lack of feeling?
Mr Dutton thinks the cause of terrorist activity by some Australians of Middle-Eastern background is down to Malcolm Fraser's immigration policies. Well, I think the causes of young people choosing violence and terrorism are as complex and varied as there are individuals who do it, just as are the causes of poverty or crime. Of course this concerns me. But what I really wonder about is what caused Peter Dutton. What causes a man to be deaf to the cries of children in detention? What makes him not feel for their suffering? How can he want to crush their hopes? And how can he use their miserable situation to score a political point? How did he come to see compassion, kindness and basic humanity as displayed by previous government policies as a fault or a weakness? And worst of all, what caused us as a nation to, at worst, accept it or, at best, look away. How did all this happen, that's what I wonder.
Lindy Grange, Newport
A future without 18C
Mr Dutton's racist rant, based on ignorance and spreading division, hatred and fear, exposes the evil mischief that certain right-wingers plan to unleash when they get rid of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.
Janice Florence, Preston
THE FORUM
Breathtaking arrogance
The arrogance of the Coalition with its one-seat majority is breathtaking. Malcolm Turnbull, MP, was the voice of reason and compassion. He respected and, indeed, embraced the ABC. How times have changed. Malcolm Turnbull, PM, is now the voice and the puppet of the hard right with its narrow, biased views and its willingness to metaphorically shoot the ABC and anyone else with a message not aligned with its own. It is disturbing to think how a Coalition government with a 20-seat majority would behave.
Robert Brown, Camberwell
Flaky voting stand
Our flaky PM, Captain Custard, happily allows Coalition members to vote against gun control measures yet denies a free vote on a "no-brainer" like marriage equality.
Mick O'Meara, Montmorency
Rabble are in charge
Common antonyms of "elite" are "inferior", "rabble" and "loser". So politicians and commentators using "elite" pejoratively are actually taking pride in their inferiority and promoting "loser" as a desirable state of being. Forget education, critical thinking, aesthetic literacy, empathy and striving to be the best you can – all the qualities of an elite. The "rabble" in charge much prefer us to be mindless consumers, all the better to disregard, manipulate and steal from.
John Laurie, Newport
Media leaders
It was so nice to be reassured by the PM that the ABC, SBS and The Age are our "elite" media organisations. By implication his acknowledgement relegates to second best (at best) the rest of the commercial media swill.
Derek Showell, Campbells Creek
Corrupted language
George Steiner in his book Language and Silence showed that when the state becomes oppressive, language suffers: words take on sinister meanings. The most recent example of this concerns the attack on the ABC as the preserve of the "elite". So people with an education, a range of interests and a desire to learn are now arrogant class enemies. The degrading of language often involves an inversion of meaning. For example, right-wing columnists refer to initiatives on behalf of ethnic minorities as "race-based". Thus the proposal to change the constitution to recognise our First People is "race-based" or "reverse racism". Oppressed minorities are now the oppressors while the majority – the "silent" and "hard done by" in this new lexicon – are the oppressed.
This insidious corruption of our language is a sign that things are seriously amiss in our polity. We should be afraid.
Michael Read, Ashburton
Member of elite club
I've joined the elites at last. I had smashed avocado on toast (sour-dough, of course) for breakfast, a double-shot latte made with fair-trade organic coffee for morning tea, and a glass of chardonnay with lunch – which I shared with my ABC-listening friends as we lamented the awfulness of Donald Trump.
Graham Williams, Glen Waverley
Trump that, guys
So Hillary Clinton isn't a crook, there is much in Obamacare that should be retained and maybe there is something to climate change, after all. I suppose we will next be told that Trump is learning Spanish and has appointed an imam as an advisor. His supporters must be thrilled.
John Gipps, Frankston
Beware Yank bashers
It seems the Australian tradition of Yank-bashing is under threat from Section 18C, which targets anyone offending "a group of people due to their national origin". The many writers of letters and articles vilifying Americans for electing Trump should take note, as should defenders of this law.
Peter Murray, Bulleen
US influence on wane
America's loss of influence and China's rising power can be attributed to US hubris and exceptionalism (The Age, 22/11). US politicians have long believed that military power alone can win global respect. Today, the opposite is happening. US historian William Blum's 2013 article, "Overthrowing other people's governments: The Master list", provides 57 instances since World War II in which the US has overthrown, or tried to overthrow, a foreign government. Millions have been killed by the US and its allies in unjustifiable wars. With the rise of China and its new Silk Roads, a new world order is emerging. Australian leaders must take note of our changing world and move towards a peaceful nonalignment.
Bill Mathew, Parkville
Bowl, field and bat
The selectors seem to think that to get a game, bowlers must bowl well, field well and prop up the batting. I never hear of batsmen getting dropped because they can't bowl well enough.
Keith Robinson, Glen Waverley
Judge on actions alone
Remember this story when you criticise Australia's immigration policy. My 15-year-old daughter was at a bus stop in Carlton yesterday, when a white middle-aged man started threatening her and making suggestive comments. She stood up and told him to stay where he was – she was terrified. Out of nowhere a guy of African appearance distracted him long enough for an older woman to step in and comfort her. It is a reminder that we all can be too quick to judge people by their appearance, but it is their actions that count.
Joh Kirby, Carlton
Beating a retreat
Des Files is probably correct that we now ride on the back of the coffee cup (Letters, 23/11). It is a measure of how far we have fallen if serving snacks is now a key part of our economy and not just a colourful adjunct to it.
We cannot compete internationally making anything, so have retreated from that battle. We have settled for selling ship-loads of crushed rock and grinding beans as our core economic activities. Do any of us really feel good about this change? I don't. It is hardly an endorsement of our capacities, and is certainly not the key to remaining internationally relevant and successful in an increasingly competitive and ruthless world.
Andrew Syme, Mont Albert
Pay for damage
The debate over whether soft drinks should be taxed based on their sugar content (The Age, 23/11) raises an important point – why shouldn't industries be required to pay for the true costs they impose on our community? It is unacceptable that an industry is allowed to impose health costs of about half a billion dollars a year (in the case of soft drinks) or several billion dollars a year (in the case of coal mining and combustion) without being expected to reimburse the community for that damage.
Andrew Laird, East Malvern
GPs were amazing
Monday night's "thunderstorm asthma" event put enormous pressure on emergency services. There has been much coverage of the overwhelming attendance at hospital emergency departments, but numerous GP practices treated critically ill patients, often for hours, because ambulances were simply unavailable. I know of multiple lives saved in this way, and applaud my GP colleagues for the role they played in responding to this disaster.
Dr Kristin Boyle, emergency physician, Torquay
Harness all resources
It's awful to think that while we were rushing to get home before the rain on Monday evening, people across Melbourne were struggling to breathe and waiting too long for an ambulance.
During a heatwave in January, 2014, the ambulance service was similarly overwhelmed, responding to a cardiac arrest every six minutes. When our emergency services review this week's crisis, they will inevitably see a need for more resources. But our Health Minister should ask the reviewers to examine other resources to draw upon for these infrequent climate-related emergencies.
Many of those who will be struck down by such an event will be within a few minutes of a medical clinic. GPs, who have basic life-support skills and equipment, are in every suburb. We could also use other health professionals and patient-transport ambulances. We expect heatwaves and other climate emergencies to become more common, so we need to get better at mobilising the resources we have.
Tim Read, Brunswick East
Stick to your guns
I sincerely hope Jerusha Mather gets the opportunity to study to be a doctor (The Age, 22/11). I have been paralysed in the right arm since I was young. In high school in the 1970s a teacher told me it was unfair on other students if I had extra time during exams. I decided the only way to get through high school was to do maths and science subjects. I studied art in Year 11 and it was one of my best subjects but I didn't do Year 12 art because essays in the final exam comprised 50 per cent of the mark. I also thought I would fail English as the whole mark was based on essays written in the final exam. It was a stressful year. One month before the final exams I was told I was to be allowed extra time. I got the marks to study science at Monash University. Fellow students then told me that because of my disability I should have done an arts degree.
Lisa Pownall, Northcote
AND ANOTHER THING ...
Peter Dutton
There must be a shadow in Dutton's ancestry that causes him to be so vindictive to more recent arrivals.
Colin Jones, South Melbourne
At this rate he's going to run out of groups to demonise well before the next election.
Dale Crisp, Brighton
Out of his depth, but totally within his element in the Coalition.
Paul Hedger, Surrey Hills
Dutton's role is to distract voters. Look over here, look over there, look anywhere but at our woeful economic record.
Graeme Henchel, Yarra Glen
Politics
Mr Turnbull describes Dutton as a "thoughtful and compassionate" minister. Might be time for a new dictionary.
Annie Wilson, Inverloch
Turnbull's performance to date leaves us all doubly disillusioned.
Robert Forbes, Camberwell
Turnbull makes Rudd look consequential.
Lance Williams, Upotipotpon
George Brandis should switch to state politics in Queensland. He has all the attributes of mediocrity needed.
David Kerr, Geelong
Is it entirely possible that I might hear a sentence delivered by a Coalition MP that doesn't mention the words "Bill Shorten"?
David Porter, Prahran
Politicians are all by definition elite.
Penelope Buckley, Kew East
Has anyone other than his mother ever asked Senator Malcolm Roberts what he wants to do when he grows up?
Chris Jenkins, North Fitzroy
Elsewhere
Approaching 80 and with a bread and butter income, if I have to pay tax I'll have to cut back on my hundreds and thousands.
Graeme Lee, Fitzroy
Monday: 35 degrees; Tuesday: 17 degrees. Now that's climate change.
Myra Fisher, Brighton East
Technology should give workers better lives, not fear of unemployment.
Malcolm McDonald, Burwood