Credit: Illustration: Andrew Dyson
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ALLAN GOVERNMENT
The recent Resolve poll (″Labor hit over debt as support falls″, 22/5) found that more than 50 per cent of voters believe Labor broke its election promises in the last budget by deciding to delay many projects.
In a somewhat contradictory finding, 67 per cent of voters want the government to do more to reduce debt, and to do that via spending cuts.
You would think that delaying projects is one of the things the government should be doing to rein in debt, particularly when many existing projects are currently running over budget.
Garry Meller, Bentleigh
Dissatisfaction in potholed country
Down in Drouin and Warragul, one of the fastest growing parts of the state, we are bemused that in a housing crisis the state government has delayed a 51-unit social housing development.
The 85-year-old hospital replacement is postponed again. The sixty-year-old Drouin Secondary School $11 million upgrade not happening. The planning for cross-town traffic:
not happening. The “bus replacement” train is occasionally running, and if you drive towards Melbourne on the freeway you hit a 20-kilometre section of 1960s dual highway with an
80km/h limit.
Of course, down here we are used to potholed country roads and weedy roadsides. Apart from those minor details, we are just delighted with the government.
David Baylis, Drouin East
Squirrelled away billions could be used now
The poll in your article “Labor slumps in poll”, (The Age, 22/5), clearly shows voters of all persuasions see reducing or paying off debt by cutting government spending is a priority. Very few wanted to keep increasing debt to allow for government spending.
We find ourselves in the situation where debt, and therefore interest repayments are at record highs, there are cuts or delays to infrastructure projects with merit, cuts to critical services, cuts to funding including funding of cancer research, all while increasing land tax and possibly slugging businesses to fund the shortfall in funding for the Suburban Rail Loop.
I’m still struggling to come to terms with the fact the state government has squirrelled away $76 billion dollars, which could instead be used right now to improve the lives of Victorians, many of whom are struggling with the cost of living.
Yvonne Bowyer, Surrey Hills
Duck response reveals poor performance
Re “Why Labor is faltering”, 22/5. While duck shooting is not an election winner (or loser), it’s a salient example of Victorian Labor’s political problems.
An expensive, time-consuming inquiry into the activity resulted in the recommendation to ban it, but Premier Allan allowed duck shooting to continue. No party can expect to reverse its own expert findings and keep public confidence.
Debbie Lustig, Elsternwick
Women brought in to do the clean-up
Women are always to blame in our society, and Victorian Labor’s decline in popularity under Jacinta Allan is just another instance of a female politician being brought in to weather the fallout that inevitably follows the departure of a ‘hard’ male leader. Boys, more than girls, seem to learn this principle very early in life – that mothers will selflessly accommodate their excesses. We have gone some way to re-evaluating the idea that men need to be ‘strong″ and women ’accommodating″ – perhaps in a more evolved society the model is could be the other way round?
Olivia Dennis, Armadale
It’s a race to the bottom
It beggars belief that the dysfunctional Victorian Liberal party could be considered as an alternative government. But now Jacinta Allan’s government has been left to carry the can made by Dan Andrew and Tim Pallas, it seems the ALP is winning the race to the bottom.
Adrian Tabor, Point Lonsdale
THE FORUM
Dutton’s Trumpism
The Coalition’s introduction of the nuclear option into the “transition to renewables” debate has been most beneficial.
It has focused the minds of those who are best qualified to assess its merits against the alternatives, which is vital when making decisions about an essential commodity such as electricity.
Unfortunately, when a comprehensively researched report by an eminent organisation like the CSIRO demonstrates that the nuclear option falls short, Mr Dutton adopts the Trumpian approach by both misrepresenting the facts and discrediting the study (“First nuclear plant would cost $16b: CSIRO”, 22/5).
Rather than doing this, once the nuclear power station sites have been identified, it would behove the Coalition to have its proposals assessed and reported on by appropriately qualified organisations so that the public can assess the facts for themselves.
Kevin Bailey, Croydon
CSIRO doesn’t get it
The CSIRO continues to fall short as a research organisation, (″$16 billion and 16 years to kickstart Australia’s next nuclear plant: CSIRO″, 22/5).
Estimating what it says are the costs of nuclear power is not enough. The CSIRO has to take the next step and discover what has to be done to reduce the cost of Australian nuclear power.
What can the Australian government do, by policy and program, to lower the cost of producing nuclear power? Answering those questions would be a real contribution to the debate currently taking place.
Until then, the CSIRO’s energy research predisposition will remain limited, not strategic and damaging to its reputation.
Michael Angwin, Hawthorn
Migrant intake and output
A member of our family required urgent surgery last week and was admitted to one of our Melbourne hospitals where the surgery was successfully completed.
I noticed that the staff at the hospital from the surgeon, the specialists, the nurses, the radiologist and through to the staff delivering food to the patients were, in my estimate, 90 per cent of immigrant background. Mostly of south and south-east Asian origin.
So, I’d like to ask Mr Dutton how we are going to run these institutions like hospitals and the like by cutting immigration.
Jaya Naidu, Merrijig
Train our workers first
I am infuriated about employers angry about Dutton’s plans to cut back immigration (“Panic on Dutton’s migration numbers,” 22/5).
Why can’t employers train their own staff? Why should they be allowed to bring in workers from overseas who have been trained in their own country?
It would help young people, who are not academically minded, to learn a profession.
Sandra Shineton, Cheltenham
Telstra spin cycle
The announcement from Telstra that its latest round of job cuts will not affect retail customers sounds like the usual spin, high on promise and low on detail.
It is standard operating procedure for any downsizing
and with very little specifics provided there is little or no opportunity to query the assumptions made.
Corporations and governments should be required to explain – in detail – precisely how these changes will improve whatever it is they say they’re improving. Enough of these empty, information poor, cliches.
Give us facts, I’m sure there’s a presentation deck somewhere which addresses the reasons for the sackings. I’m guessing that improving shareholder return on investment will even have a page of its own. ‘Service uplift’ will almost certainly not.
If increased profitability is the key driver, then just say so. Just
be prepared for the consumer backlash when services suffer as expected.
Stephen Farrelly, Donvale
Telstra’s wise move
Despite the inevitable backlash, I actually think Telstra’s decision to cull part of its workforce is a wise decision. If you read the fine print and see where the lay-offs actually come from, I feel it is a prudent choice.
Hands on, day to day technicians and service people are keeping their jobs at the expense of the “enterprise unit, which services other companies with connectivity and security issues”. Surely, these external companies can handle that themselves?
Telstra, and I say this with much first-hand experience, needs to do its core job, of maintaining and providing telecommunications access for the millions of Australians that need it. The individual is more important than the corporate.
Frank Flynn, Cape Paterson
Let court do its job
We in “the west” endlessly lecture the world about the sanctity of international “rules of law”. The ICC represents those laws, and most Western countries are (as is Australia) formal supporters of their importance.
Yet, the moment the International Criminal Court brings forward a considered position that accuses both Hamas and Israel of potential war crimes, and seeks a legal process, the apologists pile on with claims of “outrageous”. The US and the UK appear to be the front-runners in this hypocrisy, and it is to be hoped that Australia, (Peter Dutton’s knee-jerk sycophancy aside), will respond in a considered and respectful way.
Hypocrisy is as much the enemy of the west as is terrorism. Let the law take its course.
Tony Roberts, Wandin North
Equivalence equation
The opposition is concerned that the International Criminal Court request to have Netanyahu declared a war criminal implies there is an ‘equivalence’ between the Israeli Government decisions and the attack of Hamas on October 7 last year.
Yes, the attack on the Israeli citizens was a horrendous terrorist attack, but if we are looking at equivalence, surely we must also consider the terror and cruelty that has been imposed on the innocent women, children and men of Gaza in the hunt for those terrorists.
Marg D’Arcy, Rye
Peris and Foster
Nova Peris is deserving of praise for the principled stand that she has taken by resigning as co-chair of the Australian Republican Movement over comments made by her fellow co-chair, Craig Foster (“Republican body rocked by split”, 22/5).
Peris called out the “plausible genocide” myth used by Foster to justify his advocating for Israel’s suspension from international football. As for Foster’s accusation that Israel has engaged in “mass slaughter of innocent Palestinians”, it is claimed that Israel’s war against Hamas has resulted in a lower civilian-to-combatant death ratio than has occurred in other major conflicts.
Geoff Feren, St. Kilda East
Drivers’ tunnel vision
It’s a bit rich of Transurban to be speeding up traffic in the Burnley tunnel. It is arguably the most dangerous stretch of road in Victoria, with the notable pile up in 2007 which took three lives and required 400 people to abandon their vehicles – only one in a regular series of traffic accidents in the tunnel.
I take extreme caution driving through there after receiving three speeding tickets in three days, each on the steep downhill incline and only a few kilometres over the limit. Is Transurban now earning a commission on speeding fines?
I find the new lights extremely distracting and increase the risk that drivers will not make objective decisions based on driving to the conditions because their thought processes are being externally manipulated.
How can drivers be responsible for their behaviour on the road when there is a carte blanche process to override their autonomy?
Rebecca Cannon, Merribek
Houses to buy and hold
Re “Duty bound” (Letters, 22/5). Stamp duty aside, selling our large family home to a young family, so we can downsize is a preferred option, but in my neighbourhood highly unlikely.
Most houses sold in my area are demolished, no matter what their condition, and the garden decimated.
If the house is left standing, the purchaser often heads back overseas after engaging a gardener to deal with the garden upkeep, and the dwelling is left empty for months, sometimes years.
Narelle Murray, Glen Waverley
Reasons to not downsize
The two most important reasons for holding on to a large family home (″Duty bound″, Letters, 22/5) are both care related.
With no reforms yet made to the standard of care in the aged care system, daily evidence consistently shows that residential aged care is to be avoided. Larger families have more choice about creating a less distressing alternative for beloved elders if a large family home is still owned.
With no reforms even yet considered to address housing unaffordability for the young, bigger families also have more housing solutions for young adults when a larger property is conserved as a family asset.
In Australia, when an old family home is sold, it increasingly rarely goes to a young family. It nearly always goes to a developer to be bulldozed, replaced by multiple dwellings, none of which, when put on the market, are in reach of a young family, either to buy, or to rent.
Ruth Farr, Blackburn South
AND ANOTHER THING
Credit: Illustration: Matt Golding
Telstra sackings
What’s new? Telstra are always sacking staff. Now, for huge pay rises and bonuses for CEOs and executives. These are the people that matter – and not just at Telstra.
Anne Flanagan, Box Hill North
It would be quite an achievement for Telstra to become a worse corporate citizen than Qantas, but clearly they’re working on it.
Lindsay Zoch, Mildura
Privatisation efficiency! Telstra raises internet costs and sacks 2800 on the same day.
George Reed, Wheelers Hill
Telstra asking workers to leave is bad news. We live on the outskirts of Woodend, have a lousy mobile service, and now we face longer delays.
Bruce Dudon, Woodend
Maybe if Telstra weren’t paying its CEO Vicki Brady $5.25 million, they could save some jobs.
Susan Nash, Preston
State Labor slump
Re ″Labor slumps in polls″ (22/5). Let’s see you ‘Major Event’ your way out of this one.
David Cayzer, Clifton Hill
Are the majority of Victorians really going to vote for a bloke who is having great difficulty running his own party, let alone the state?
Phil Alexander, Eltham
Furthermore
Peter Dutton’s nuclear site criteria: 1. Near houses 2. Not near houses 3. In Labor seats we can’t win. 4. Not in Liberal, Labor or Teal seats we want to win.
Greg Curtin, Nunawading
Why do we continue to talk about nuclear power? We are surrounded by waves, wind and sunshine that would make Europeans jealous. When are we going to use these forces for all our power supply?
Ann Shephard, North Fitzroy
Finally
God works in mysterious ways – but never more weirdly than Scott Morrison’s explanation of why American evangelicals want a lying, fornicating braggart to be their president.
Peter McCarthy, Mentone
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