I find it alarming that the astute Niki Savva sees Peter Dutton as electable despite his failure to produce a single, costed economic policy (“PM should step aside even if he wins”, December 5). Surely the lack of policy suggests he cares for nothing other than gaining power. Albanese, for all his faults, does stand for something other than himself. Mark Porter, New Lambton
PM should step aside even if he winsCredit: Joe Benke
Peter Dutton accuses the treasurer of sugarcoating the economy. The media certainly seems to be sugarcoating Peter Dutton. Without clear exposure by the media of what the potential leaders of the country are offering, the public and our democracy, are seriously let down. Brenda Kilgore, Red Hill (ACT)
“Rampant” is not a word I would use to describe Peter Dutton; “apathetic” would be closer to the mark. Otherwise I agree with Niki Savva that Anthony Albanese has become a liability to the government. Dutton has risen to the top of the opinion polls without a single fully costed economic policy. What we have instead are the mindless slogans of “are you better off than three years ago” and “let’s get the country back on track”. Niki is correct in arguing that without a more assertive media, Dutton and his team could well get away with it. Alan Russell, Unley (SA)
The Labor Party won government at the last election when Albanese, struggling to capitalise on a presentation handed to him by Morrison, took ill with COVID-19. Jason Clare stepped up to state Labor’s case and did a first-class job. Albanese is an end product of an ALP machine that could do with a grease and oil change. His reliance on the wrong people to sell his hastily presented Voice referendum proved his poor judgment, as have his meek rubber-stamping of the previous government’s AUKUS agreement and his reluctance to act on negative gearing, foreign investment and gambling advertising legislation. Ray Alexander, Moss Vale
I agree with Niki Savva: Anthony Albanese might be a “good bloke” but he has been a great disappointment as PM. He is overly cautious and seems afraid to make decisions and take action on almost any issue. The PM falls so short in oratory skills that at times he is an embarrassment. Albo should do the right thing and let the party choose one of the several frontbenchers who would be an improvement. Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin (ACT)
There is no mention in Niki Savva’s piece about the stability of the Albanese team – the steady, intelligent work by ministers to get good things done. And crucially, Albanese and his foreign minister have shone on the world stage mending bridges, particularly the China relationship, which was trashed by the opposition. Dutton has benefited in a cost-of-living crisis with a few sharp lines, but can you imagine going back to the same old climate denialism, the migration backflip when employers are screaming for workers and the complete vacuum of costed policies? Sue Young, Bensville
And the con of CBA fee
CBA hasn’t withdrawn this $3 fee proposal (Letters, December 5). It has merely put it aside until the opposition dies down and then will quietly introduce it. Surely the bank already makes enough profit. The elderly and vulnerable will suffer. They are the most likely to need staff assistance to make withdrawals as they can’t manage the ever-increasing IT requirements. Katriona Herborn, Blackheath
Cash withdrawals could be expensive Credit: iStock
We’re loyal Commonwealth Bank customers and are glad that the bank is thinking twice about charging customers $3 for cash withdrawals at a branch. The majority of those affected could well be vulnerable customers such as the elderly or disabled, who are not comfortable using the ATM or taking cash out at a supermarket. Susan Chan, St Ives
It appears that CBA management has learnt nothing from Qantas’ customer gouging. Is imposing fees on customers taking out their own money in the Christmas spirit? The executives will collect their bonuses for pushing up the share price then depart and a new team will be apologising and trying to restore the reputation of this bank. Aldis Birzulis, Leichhardt
Tendered a $50 note to buy my Herald this morning. Suggested to the newsagent he start charging a $3 fee for giving people their change, to enhance the service. He said he would consider it. Michael Fulton, Kelvin Grove (Qld)
Leave the CBA as a response to their charges? When I as a boy growing up in working-class Liverpool, the mantra was “go to mass, drive a Holden, vote Labor and bank Commonwealth”. Times have changed. Ross MacPherson, Seaforth
Small change
Abolishing the tax threshold may be of some assistance to those seeking to help the poor and disadvantaged (“Bid to ditch $2 barrier for charity deductions”, December 5). There is certainly a problem. Only 56 per cent of Australians claim to donate time or money to charity, according to the 2023 World Giving Index, which ranks us 19th behind countries such as Indonesia and Myanmar. The figure for making tax-deductible donations is even less at 28 per cent, the lowest rate since the 1970s. However, allowing “Australians making donations of as little as one cent” to be added to that figure is hardly going to address the enormous needs in Australia and overseas without other significant changes. Clay O’Brien, Mosman
Do the maths
The analysis between the performances in maths between Australian boys and girls makes interesting reading (“Adding up the cost of gender maths gap”, December 5). I don’t understand why the students should learn at the same rate; they have had different teachers and rates of brain growth and attended different schools. Yet ultimately, students are supposed to perform in the same manner. It may be unwise to compare our students continually with students in other countries. We can study what happens in classrooms overseas and apply better practices to our own, but until our teaching practices line up, the results will always differ. Mia David, Wollongong
Experts have sounded the alarm over the growing maths gender gap.Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
The article provides interesting reading. However, the picture that accompanied the story told us all we really needed to know. The sample question was enough to complete the memory of maths trauma for so many readers. Time to target parents and preschools with media, TikTok, clever apps, cartoons, Eddie Woo or whoever to take on the challenge of flipping a perception that maths is anxiety provoking and simply too hard for the majority. Maybe even a gold star then for the first primary school to erect a banner saying this is a fun maths school. Fun, enthusiasm and effort combine to give better results as we all know. I say F + En + Ef = %. Cecily Chittick, Wyong
So now we have the ranking of NAPLAN (Letters, December 5). NAPLAN was designed as a snapshot of where a student sat against a set of criteria so that highly skilled teachers could address any individual issues. To have it presented as a “league table” defeats its purpose and makes a mockery of its original purpose as a diagnostic test. Michael Cronk, Dubbo
Bashing never the answer
Forty-six years ago, following the violent police reaction to the first Mardi Gras march, the Herald published a letter I wrote criticising the police bashings (“Mardi Gras moves to ban NSW Police from parade”, December 5). Now, after all that time and the progress that has been made in relations between the police force and the gay community, some members of Mardi Gras want to “bash” the police. At the very least, allowing officers to march is brilliant public relations for both organisations. The idea of linking a tragic murder of a gay couple by a gay policeman with parade participation is too preposterous for comment. Phil Rodwell, Redfern
Dutton out of step on Palestine
Many of us welcome the government’s shift to now voting with the UN on the need to acknowledge that Palestinians also have rights (“Australia to switch stance on Gaza at UN”, December 5). This does not mean that we no longer support the rights of Israelis or condone the appalling act of terrorism by Hamas on October 7. The prolonged vicious incursion into Gaza has turned the tide of public opinion. If there is ever to be peace in this turbulent part of the world both groups must respect the rights of the other. This can only be achieved with a two-state solution with Israel conceding Palestinian territory in Gaza and on the West Bank. Bridget Sant, Hyams Beach
Peter Dutton regularly departs from bipartisanship on international relations, contrary to convention. Dutton criticises Labor for Australia voting in favour of a UN resolution for a Palestinian state because it’s not “bipartisanship in relation to votes at the UN”. That’s nonsense. He is an outlier; out of kilter with Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and our other Commonwealth nations colleagues. Also, with our like-minded countries in the European Union, which were part of 157 countries voting in favour. Carlo Ursida, Kensington (Vic)
Peter Dutton thinks we should have voted with “like-minded” countries at the UN regarding the vote calling for a two-state solution and for Israel to withdraw from Gaza. Since when were Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Papua New Guinea “like-minded” countries? A total of 157 countries voted in favour, including the UK, Germany, France, Canada, New Zealand and every country in Europe except Hungary. It’s the US, Israel and Dutton that are out of step with the rest of the world. Lynette Chamas, Burradoo
Decline and fall
I can remember when studying history at university in the mid-’60s, we had a seminar on the causes of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, noting that it could happen to “empires” of our times (Letters, December 5). The discussion centred on the US. Surprisingly, the consensus was that being the 20th century (and with Kennedy as president), the US would foresee any of these causes in good time to deal with them. Boy did we get it wrong! We’ve had ringside seats for the past 60 years. Brian Collins, Cronulla
John F Kennedy and wife Jacqueline in 1961.Credit: Elio Romano/London Express
Labor not to blame on economy
The government is causing a perfect economic storm that is creating two Australias (“Numbers are looking ugly for Chalmers and Bullock”, December 5). In one, armed with the triple-dipping largesse of negative gearing plus capital gains tax concessions plus superannuation tax advantages there resides a group with growing, government-assisted wealth. In the other are the people paying for it. They are paying housing costs after tax, not thinking about superannuation because their daily costs are so high; profligate spending by the other group is still driving inflation uncertainty. Into this mix lurks the RBA with a one-dimensional fix on two magic numbers of no relevance to the divide they’re causing: 2-3 per cent inflation and 4.5 per cent unemployment. Meanwhile, the government is papering over the divide with tiny tax breaks and a temporary buffer against rising energy costs, each of which is also driving inflation. The illusion might be enough to get them through the next election. What then? That’s the question every voter needs to be asking now or else slums and mansions are to be the hallmarks of the new Australia. Peter Comensoli, Mangrove Mountain
The blowtorch is being put on Labor for the latest growth numbers but that ignores the greater impact of the RBA and forgets the inflation that drove interest rate rises, beginning before the election. If there is miscalculation, it’s with the RBA. They risk cutting too late now inflation is down and household spending is low.
There is nothing wrong with a government supporting a weak economy and Chalmers has been responsible and been measured in that. Too little and there’s a recession, which is what the Liberals are in effect pushing for with their claims of overspending, too much and it’s inflationary. The ball is in the RBA’s court, but that won’t stop attacks on Labor. Nick Wilson, Palm Beach
Don’t blame Labor and Jim Chalmers for the economy we inherited. And don’t think that Angus Taylor and the Coalition could do any better. The only options they’ve put on the table so far apart from nuclear power is to cut spending by $400 billion if they were the government. So you can immediately say good night to any government support services. And the only notable thing that Angus Taylor did when the Coalition was last in power was to arrange for the nation’s emergency fuel supplies to be stored 12,000kms away in the US. Good luck with that in a crisis. Heaven forbid they convince Australians to vote for them in 2025. Ian Ferrier, Long Jetty
The reason for slow GDP growth can be traced back to bad decisions made by Scott Morrison and RBA governor Philip Lowe during the COVID-19 lockdown. Morrison oversaw huge handouts to business (much of it undeserved) while Lowe lowered interest rates to 0.1 per cent and claimed (wrongly) that this would last for years. Morrison and the RBA both overstimulated the Australian economy and we had people borrowing large amounts and a real estate boom in the middle of a pandemic. Then to add insult to injury the RBA aggressively raised rates which has now hurt borrowers severely. This is why consumers are now limiting their spending. Bad monetary policy and Morrison’s handouts are to blame rather than good fiscal policy (basically government spending) which Jim Chalmers now controls. Stephen Morris, Magenta
What nonsense is spouted by economists and politicians. The per capita “economy” went backwards by 0.3 per cent, marking almost two years of quarterly contraction at an average individual level. This was only propped up by immigration (unsustainable), government spending (which has to be financed somehow) and some of the already rich getting richer whilst others get poor and poorer. Clearly economists and politicians think that we work for the economy rather than the economy working for us. John Burman, Port Macquarie
If the federal government wishes to slow employment to save the economy, we could introduce a tax to discourage employment. Call it, say, “payroll tax”. Oh! – we already have such a tax. All should be fine then. Ian Costley, Belrose
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