With a radical increase in taxes (tariffs) fuelling inflation, a pro-Russian apologist as director of national security, a Fox executive as secretary of defence, an anti-vaxxer non-medic running health and an alleged sexual abuser as attorney-general, what could go wrong? Well might the Democrats be asking in the future: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” What is clear, however, is that Donald Trump’s aim is the disruption, if not destruction, of America’s deep state and administration, and to tailor it to his needs. Rowan Godwin, Rozelle
With the appointments of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Kristi Noem, Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard and Marco Rubio to key cabinet positions, Donald Trump might finally achieve his lifelong dream of actually being the smartest man in the room (“Trump cabinet is many things, but firstly loyal”, November 15). Jeff Keen, Thornleigh
Billionaire businessman Elon Musk has been tasked by Donald Trump with improving government efficiency. Credit: AP
The so-called department of government efficiency headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy should surely be renamed as the department of grovelling entities. Almost all the departmental heads chosen by Trump have belittled him in the past, and their ongoing tenures obviously rely on their ongoing sycophancy, rather than policies that benefit the American people. Al Clark, Belrose
Trump’s pick of Kennedy as his health secretary is like appointing Richard Dawkins as chair of the World Religious Council. Mangling the words of his famous uncle, the new appointee, if confirmed by the Senate, might rabble-rouse his fellow Americans as follows: “Ask not what vaccines can do for you, but ask what I am doing to them.” Bleach makers are preparing to step into the breach. Ramani Venkatramani, Rhodes
Farrah Tomazin’s well-researched article into the potential difficulties of enforcing Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants makes one omission (“Deportation promise easier made than kept”, November 16). How will Trump and his cronies ensure that destination countries will accept deportees? If they are removed by air, the intended country could close their airspace and refuse permission to land. If removed by sea, those same countries could close their shipping lanes and deny entry to their ports. And finally, if Trump tries to force passage across land borders, Mexico could simply close its own border. So what is the solution for America, other than some sort of armed conflict? Costa Bockos, Homebush West
Trump’s proposed gun leniency laws should send a chill through would-be tourists to the US (“Trump victory puts US at risk of becoming a tourism outcast”, November 15). A few years ago, my wife and I caught a ferry from Washington state in the US to Vancouver Island in Canada. As we approached the harbour, a public announcement was made advising all US citizens on board that it was an offence to carry firearms in Canada, and that such travellers would need to hand in their weapons to the crew to be locked in a box onboard. We were amazed at the number and range of weapons surrendered by the US passengers. Creepy stuff. Lance Dover, Pretty Beach
The proposed appointment by Donald Trump of his loyal cronies into inappropriate positions of authority reminds me of Russia during World War I. The Empress Alexandra, believing that the scoundrel Rasputin had saved her son’s life by being in touch with God, felt compelled to take his advice on matters of state. As many competent ministers in positions of authority were openly critical of Rasputin, the latter convinced the Empress to replace them with incompetent men who were not critical of him. Czar Nicholas, who was often at the front, seemed unable to influence the empress’s decisions. The war subsequently went badly for Russia. Public opinion turned against the royal couple and this in part facilitated the success of the revolution. As Mark Twain once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.” Bruce Johnson, Lakewood
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, pictured with a replica of a drone used in the war in Ukraine, has angered allies by speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin.Credit: AP
Your writers seem unaware that isolation is a very effective way of making a nation stronger (“German leader’s call to Putin ends Western isolation over Ukraine, infuriates allies”, November 16). Don’t forget, it was during the Cold War that Russia first sent a man to space and became a military superpower. As a Russian, I have lived through the Gorbachev-era detente fad, but it seems the world has back-tracked. What we all romantically imagined as the comity of nations has always been a chimera, and our children and grandchildren are destined to live just like our parents and grandparents did. Mergen Mongush, Moscow
Given Trump’s latest appointments, I would not be surprised to learn that NASA is to be headed by a flat earther. Jim Mackenzie, Cherrybrook
Housing by hindsight
A proposed rezoning panel raises questions when the basic town planning principle is to involve the affected community (Minns hails body set up to bypass councils on housing, November 16). The concern is that department heads forming the panel are likely to be on short-term contracts and answerable to their ministers, who have been lobbied by developers. The government needs to look back to the last period of housing shortage (after the war) for solutions that were successful, namely government-built multi-storey housing (such as the Sirius), and also allow owners to live on site in approved garages/caravans with sanitary facilities, while building their modest homes. Brian McDonald, Willoughby
Heritage overshadowed
Judith Roston, you describe Parramatta’s CBD “a jumble of towers jostling for precedence with the occasional heritage building crouching in their shade” (Letters, November 15). The Town Hall. The memorial fountain. The square. St John’s Pro-Cathedral – all dwarfed by glass, steel and impermanent vulgarity. The planners didn’t even insist on the new buildings being stepped back in height to maintain a sense of scale. Shame. Barbara Grant, Castle Hill
The new development next to the historic Parcels Post building was meant to be the first step in the Central Precinct renewal program that would have been a development that benefited the entire city by building over railway lines creating housing, office space, 72,000 square metres of open space and create connections across the railway lines. Now that the Minns government has ditched these plans, why is this development taking place? Doesn’t the state government owe us our 72,000 square metres of space? If they cannot provide that, they should not be destroying our heritage. Todd Hillsley, Homebush
Meta morals
The ASIC investigation into the advertising practices of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta (“Ad data reveals scams misery”, November 16) shows that those who either carry out or aid and abet scams are interested in the same bottom line and don’t care about their amorality or the suffering they cause. They can be desperate people working in a shack in a developing country or rich white-collar professionals working in an architectural masterpiece in Silicon Valley. A crime is a crime. Kerrie Wehbe, Blacktown
Pension punishment
I wish to respond to Professor Alan Rosen about providing housing for the severely mentally ill (Letters, November 15). At 80 years of age, I relinquished my caring role to NDIS and downsized to buy myself a smaller home and one for my daughter. Centrelink rewarded me by ceasing my aged pension. I have since been declined at four Centrelink tribunals and four claiming financial hardship tribunals. My two older sisters have been left to support me financially. I am hoping the minister will reclassify my daughter’s house as not being my asset. Judy Nicholas, Kambah
Inaugural National Anti-Corruption Commission chief Paul Brereton has been rebuked.Credit: AAP
Brereton should step aside
It is a bit rich for the NACC chief to take a “cautious” approach in pursuing the robo-debt investigation, given that the royal commission handed him a sealed report naming six individuals while boasting that the NACC is currently conducting 29 corruption investigations. Six of these relate to former or current parliamentarians, three to former or current parliamentary staffers etc. (“NACC chief rebuffs calls to step down”, November 15). To me, the families of those who committed suicide due to robo-debt’s nastiness deserve answers more than all other investigations put together. I don’t know why Justice Paul Brereton doesn’t resign. Such a monumental stuff-up is beyond the pale. Mukul Desai, Hunters Hill
Brereton is concerned about the “implication” of using significant resources to examine robo-debt, yet he appears unconcerned that his inaction has wasted scarce public resources and it continues to do so. He also appears unconcerned that his inaction was found to be “officer misconduct” but he is very concerned about public criticism of his inaction. I am concerned that public trust in the NACC has been severely eroded. Brereton must act honourably by resigning. Ailie Bruins, New Town (Tas)
Brereton has lost public confidence and he has also jeopardised the future of transparent and accountable governing. He is now seen as a tool of those in power in Canberra and his decision-making as lily-livered and intellectually lacking. A great disappointment for those who fought for the establishment of the NACC. Susan Tregeagle, Yarralumla
Thinking backwards
After spending “$2 million a year employing doctors on his anti-ageing procedures” and a diet of more than 1000 daily supplements and 30 kilograms of pureed vegetables a month, a US millionaire “on a crusade to age backwards” has “claimed to have the heart of a 37-year-old, the skin of a 28-year-old, the lung capacity of an 18-year-old, and the gums of a 17-year-old” (Millionaire injects himself in attempt to ‘age backwards’. His face then blows up, November 16). After suffering an adverse reaction to injecting another person’s fat into his face (what are the odds, right?), Bryan Johnson also appears to have the brain of a three-year-old. Chris Roylance, Paddington
Low blows
Malcolm Knox writes about us having a weakness for the past and believing that things are not as good as they were (“Future of sport is aged boxers and old men shouting at clouds,” November 16). I have to admit to having a weakness for a time when sport primarily meant exercising skill, pushing oneself to the limit and deriving internal satisfaction from having either personally given or watched one’s team giving it all; the time before it became exploited by big business and the gossip columns, before commentators talked about themselves rather than what was happening in the game, before pointless, irritating explosions of coloured smoke, before cheer-squad girls waving pom-poms, before corporate boxes for the entitled, and before so-called entertainment at half-time. Sport is in part a metaphor for life. Both are very much about doing the hard grind and finding this rewarding rather than being distracted by trivia. Paul Casey, Callala Bay
Jake Paul and Mike Tyson embrace after the final round of a fight that many have scorned as a mockery of boxing.Credit: AP
If anything could convince you that professional boxing should be outlawed, you should watch the Netflix horror show “Paul vs Tyson”. Before the over-hyped main event, you can see not just superbly fit, highly muscled men, but also strong women belting each other’s heads until blood gushes from cut eyes and other wounds. For what? Short-lived fame, a pile of money and the potential of a scrambled brain and a crippled body. And what of the main event? A once-skilful world champion, now 58 and overweight, who hasn’t fought for 20 years, matched against a 27-year-old heavy puncher in his prime. Tyson was stumbling from the first round and hardly landed a punch before the inevitable loss. I believe it was a match that never should have been allowed. Brian O’Donnell, Burradoo
Logging made clear
I refer to your recent article (“The government promised a koala national park. Then the loggers moved in”, November 11). I wish to point out that there has been no increase in harvesting in the area for assessment for the Great Koala National Park. Data shows that the current average monthly volume of timber harvested from the area for assessment is 15 per cent lower than the average monthly volume harvested over the 10 years prior to 2023. Additionally, the article’s accompanying images show timber plantations, which the government has repeatedly clarified as not being considered for inclusion in the Great Koala National Park. One image shows our softwood plantations, which is not relevant in this matter. The distinction is important, as native forests are harvested selectively and are not clear-felled, with robust habitat protection and all harvested areas regrown in accordance with state policy. Forestry Corporation is committed to managing state forests for diverse uses, including sustainable timber production under NSW government regulations. We have been sustainably harvesting and regrowing these same forests for over a century and will continue to do so in line with government regulations, as they conduct their assessments. Anshul Chaudhary, CEO Forestry Corporation of NSW
G-lover
Broadcaster and journalist Richard Glover leaves large shoes to fill if, for no other reason, than he presents a balanced alternative to some of the other so-called talkback kings (“‘End of the dinosaur era’: What next for talkback as titans bow out?” , November 15). The proof lies in the many times he has been accused of bias by listeners on both sides of the political spectrum, over the same column or interview. Far from a being dinosaur, his is a high-wire act of rare skill. He will be missed. Philip Cooney, Wentworth Falls
Spray it again
I once tried to kill some mosquitoes using WD40. It didn’t work, but it did stop that annoying noise (“The suburbs praying for relief from mosquitoes”, November 15). Michael Deeth, Como West
- To submit a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, email letters@smh.com.au. Click here for tips on how to submit letters.
- The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform. Sign up here.