Credit: Matt Golding
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Stuck in the ’50s
As a 78-year-old Australian male, I find it confounding and depressing that in 2025 time stands still in the rarefied circles of this nation’s right-wing conservatives with regard to women involving themselves in the public domain.
Two news items last week attested to this fact. Reported attempts to rehabilitate the reputation of Justice Dyson Heydon, found in a High Court-commissioned investigation to have harassed six former court female staff members during his tenure at the nation’s highest legal institution between 2003 and 2013, appear cloth eared. As Josh Bornstein, principal lawyer with Maurice Blackburn Lawyers put it in 2019, here was “an extreme power imbalance between Mr Heydon and the young women he preyed on”.
Taken together with Angus Taylor’s obdurate stand last week, in concert with Tony Abbott, against Liberal quotas for women, bizarrely characterising the proposal as “a subversion of democracy”, it is as if the 1950s era of “men’s clubs”, effortless patriarchal entitlement and inherent sexism are being channelled.
“Men’s business” rules, OK.
Jon McMillan, Mount Eliza
Quotas do work
Angus Taylor needs to look at the outcomes of the party’s so-called merit-based process. They clearly show that it’s a skewed merit process which subverts the democratic process. The ALP shows quotes work.
Rosita Vila, Aireys Inlet
Tehan, provide proof
Dan Tehan says the Albanese government’s vision for a vast expansion of renewable energy will trash the economy and hurt homes and businesses, but he provides zero evidence to support his claims. On the other hand, there is a large body of evidence indicating climate change is trashing the economy, hurting homes and businesses.
Phil Alexander, Eltham
Be super thankful
Surely, the answer to someone asking how they can avoid the new super tax is twofold. First, be grateful for having so much. Second, pay it and be proud of your contribution to a better country.
Paula O’Brien, St Kilda West
No case for SRL
There is no credible case that we need the SRL. It’s envisaged for a Melbourne that doesn’t exist, and may never exist. The catchcry that “Melbourne will be the size of London by 20XX” is a red herring.
If you superimpose a map of London public transport over Melbourne, you see nothing resembling the SRL (the Croydon Tramlink is a tram – it lacks the speed and capacity of heavy rail). What you do see is many extra links in the inner suburbs that the government has no plans to implement.
To create the demand to justify it (which would be a complete transformation from what is there now) would entail also creating demand for local transport options, eg, local trams or buses with tramlike frequency servicing the surrounds of each of the new stations (and preferably joining up the networks in between), none of which is part of the SRL plan (and if it were it would multiply the cost many times over).
It’s such an immense distraction from the lack of adequate services in so many areas where the demand exists now but is not being catered to.
Samuel McMahon, Parkville
Remember Gaza?
Israel attacks Iran, America attacks Iran, Iran attacks Israel. Donald Trump calls a ceasefire. The World relaxes. Meanwhile, in forgotten Gaza, thousands starve and hundreds die.
Daniel Cole, California Gully
Nature equals wellbeing
I strongly agree with Ken Henry: our natural environment is very important to our wellbeing, from trees in suburban streets to what’s left of the original bush (″Nature is critical to productivity″, 25/6). It is good to see a clear, logical explanation of why environmental law reforms are a critical component of the productivity agenda.
We should extend the definition of GDP to include not just the monetary value of goods and services created, but the non-monetary value of our natural capital of forests, national parks, oceans and other less developed assets. We could allow for the enjoyment of nature in an overall measure of quality of life.
This revised definition of GDP would use many assumptions about the relative value of material goods v the use and experience of nature. Any fall in GDP per head would immediately identify problems with our ″natural capital″.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is convening a productivity summit in August, followed by a tax forum. Now would be the time for Henry to prepare submissions for these conferences. He prepared a detailed report on tax reform back in 2009, with 138 recommendations. Few were implemented.
I wish him well this time around, especially for his ″high-integrity environmental laws″.
John Hughes, Mentone
Overblown view
Your correspondent’s take (Letters, 27/6) that Julian Assange helped to make Donald Trump “who has not the slightest interest in accountability” vis-a-vis his selective leaks during the 2016 election campaign, is overblown.
On the contrary, the American people made the ″monster″ by re-electing him twice over thereby cementing his unfettered powers that has effectively facilitated his unchecked dismantling of democracy pillars.
Not to mention that the Wikileaks material has been sourced by journalists the world over for its veracity.
Jelena Rosic, Mornington
St Kilda memories
I love St Kilda (″Facing up to boho blues: How St Kilda living lost its lustre″, 28/6) the Palais, the waterfront, the Acland Street cake shops, Luna Park, Catani Gardens and more. As a child my family were regulars at Leo’s Spaghetti Bar on Fitzroy Street and the Fairy Stork Chinese restaurant on Ackland Street. Then as a teenager I graduated to the Prince of Wales, the Venue and the Palace, seeing bands such as Hunters and Collectors and Hoodoo Gurus and on occasion even visiting Bojangles. I’m sad to see empty shop fronts and the turn some parts of the area have taken. We need to be regular visitors to the area as we don’t have any other place like this in Melbourne and we will only realise what we have lost when it is gone.
Samantha Keir, East Brighton
Farewell to Kyiv
Foreign correspondent Rob Harris reminds Ukrainians how Kyiv has survived through the ages and continues to defy Putin (″The city that continues to defy Putin″, 27/6) . How life goes on as normal. Bars are packed, streets hum with life.
The war is not lost as Russia says it is ready for peace talks. Harris in his final visit alongside World Vision Australia says he will not forget Kyiv. I am sure Kyiv will not forget him.
George Jaworsky, Wollert
Not wedded to this
Why do we need to see days of the wedding excesses of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez? Are there really people out there who watch it and don’t realise these people are just revelling in their advantage over the rest of us? I don’t understand why so much coverage was given to this in Australia.
Maureen Gunn, Strathmore
Ostentatious not funny
Jeff Bezos’ $70-million wedding is ostentatiousness at its very worst.
Reg Murray, Glen Iris
Why is the question
Your headline, (27/6) reads ″Are we ready for another female PM?″ Why on earth would we ever ask such a question?
Ron Davis, Korumburra
Balancing the scales
I think ″quotas for women″ nicely balances out ″jobs for the boys″.
Prabha Kutty, Colac