Credit: Cathy Wilcox
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POLITICS AND LIBERALISM
Thanks to George Brandis for his thoughtful article on the flight from liberal thinking by the US left (“How American liberalism lost its way and handed Trump a path to victory”, 9/3). It is flawed in one important respect. The present administration is hoeing the same row in its own destructive way. Not only is it seeking to rewrite the history of January 6 in Washington, it has issued a list of 300 words and phrases that are suspected of being tokens of “woke” thinking and which, in many usages, must be expunged from government documents. Even words like “barriers”, but, seemingly, not “road barriers”. Words are the expression of thoughts: this administration is seeking to expunge thoughts.
And now allegations have surfaced that the administration is eliminating scientific data from records that would undermine its claims about the climate and other matters of science. May I suggest the present US administration is committing the sins of the liberals that Brandis alleges, on steroids?
Vincent O’Donnell, Ascot Vale
Finding common ground
I find myself agreeing with much of what George Brandis says. It is a thoughtful contribution to civil thought and discussion about respecting others’ opinions even when we disagree with them. While Brandis’ piece is about US politics, it seems to me to be equally applicable to liberalism – and to the Liberal Party – in Australia, but also to all political parties here. I wonder whether independents like David Pocock and the teals are the exceptions in that they respectfully listen to others’ opinions, believing they might find some common ground? That – in addition to their policies – may be an important part of their recent success.
Phil Johnson, Box Hill
Embracing a lack of humility
I agree with George Brandis that “last year, Americans reacted against being told what they were allowed to think”. But it is not the spirit of humility that Trump’s followers are choosing. Rather, they are in thrall to Trump’s lack of humility, his lies, his vicious scapegoating directed at certain minorities, his embrace of the world’s worst dictators, and, at its core, his belief that he can behave like a dictator and do exactly what he pleases. In choosing Trump, Americans have chosen illiberalism as opposed to freedom.
Hannah Piterman, Toorak
The rewards of difference
Tolerance of others is often espoused as a goal for us all. However, it is a miserly goal when practised as putting up with someone through gritted teeth. Instead, celebrating and finding pleasure, enlightenment, and joy through people who have different ways of being in the world is what we should be aiming at. A simple mind game can help us get started. Just imagine living in a world where everyone looked, thought, and acted like me.
Through simple genetic differences, people can look different. By being born on another part of the planet, people can eat, dress, enjoy music and dance differently. And then, as a result of the family, social, economic and political environment in which they are raised, have different ideas on how to think and behave. From my limited experiences, people from other races and ethnic groups have enriched my life equally with others I have a relationship with in my “group”. In fact, there are some in my racial, ethnic and economic group with far-right beliefs that are impossible to celebrate. Just trying to understand where their ideas come from, so you can maybe tolerate them, is the best one can do.
Howard Tankey, Box Hill North
Wrong focus
Yes, George Brandis, liberals may have pushed too hard on diversity and protection for marginalised groups at the expense of liberty. But God help Trump’s core constituency (non-college educated workers) who struggle from one pay day to the next and depend on government services when they feel the sharp edge of his cuts. Will they begin to understand that they’ve been duped into focusing on peripheral issues?
Patrice McCarthy, Bendigo
Multicultural misuse
George Brandis hit the nail on the head in drawing attention to a crucial difference between pluralism and the contemporary preoccupation with identity. I don’t know if it gave us Trump 2.0, but it certainly didn’t help the cause of any kind of liberalism. He might have gone a step further and pointed out that other related confusion, between pluralism and multiculturalism. The latter, for example, is used almost nightly by both the ABC and SBS, who should know better, as if it were synonymous with “ethnic minorities” – as in use of the term “multicultural communities” when referring to specific, largely monocultural ethnic groups. The principle behind the multiculturalism of the Whitlam-era, its pioneering departure from “assimilation”, and the “melting pot” metaphor, was that Australia itself would be the “multicultural community”, not its component ethnic minorities.
Trevor Hay, Montmorency
Prejudice at play
While George Brandis looks down from the armchair of the intelligentsia to give us a high-minded and palatable reason for the rise of Donald Trump, he misses the real reason. There is a large cohort of US voters, men and women, white, Latino and other people of colour, faithful and agnostic, who will not vote for a woman president. And it is not just about 2024. If we could go back in time to 2016 and replace Hillary Clinton with Joe Biden in his prime, he would have defeated Trump and consigned him to the dustbin of history.
Sam Bando, Malvern
Inequality exposed
I think George Brandis takes a shortsighted view. I first visited to the US in the 1970s. In my view, the rise of Trump has been brought about by the disaffection of the working and middle classes and has its roots in inequality. The social issues Brandis references would have nowhere near the impact if not used by politicians to whip up resentments. This tactic masks the fundamental problem of unfair wealth distribution in their society. After my first visit I knew that if I was poor I wouldn’t want to live in the US.
Russell MacDonald, Elwood
Exploiting insecurities
George Brandis’ opinion piece on Trump’s second coming was, indeed, thought-provoking. However, he misses the role of tribal-based human insecurities and fears that put him back in power. When, prior to the 2016 election, Trump predicted that he could fire a gun down 5th Avenue in New York city, and not lose voters, he was right. And his role in the storming of America’s seat of democracy, the Capitol, on January 6, 2021, his sexual abuse of women, courting racists and being convicted of 43 felony charges, to name but a few, only helped secure his win. His appeal came from telling Americans that they were disenfranchised and their country was in terrible trouble, and only he, with God on his side, could save them. And, with his skills at selling lies and conspiracy theories, the rest is history. So, why would Trump bother with liberal or libertarian ideologies when he can use tribal fears and insecurities as he damn well pleases?
Henry Herzog, St Kilda East
THE FORUM
Wider trade threat
If President Trump were to apply tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium, those industries would experience harm (“Hopes fading for ways to avert Trump tariff agony”, 10/3). But much more damaging to Australia is the possibility that Trump applies tariffs to a range of products from multiple countries, as he has been threatening. If other countries retaliated with tariffs of their own, as China has already done, and the EU has indicated that it may do, then world trade would slow down. As well, the tariffs would add to inflationary pressures and the risk of renewed interest rate rises around the world. All nations should resist a “tariff war” with the US, or risk plunging the world into an economic recession.
Andrew Trembath, Blackburn
Selected on merit
In reporting Lindsay Fox’s support for Amelia Hamer, the Liberal candidate for Kooyong, Chip Le Grand (“Old family links put a Fox among the Liberals in Kooyong”, 10/3) points out that Fox doesn’t know her or her politics but was a friend of her great-uncle Sir Rupert Hamer. Le Grand also mentions that hoped-for recognition of her surname was a factor in her preselection.
For Hamer the surname is a double-edged sword, helping her in some ways, possibly hindering her in others and perhaps leaving some wondering if she was selected on merit, which is something the Liberals tend to emphasise regularly when explaining why they won’t have quotas for female candidates.
Hamer is trying to win a seat for a party that now appears to be at odds with the values of her great-uncle – “a social reformer and environmentalist, he abolished capital punishment, decriminalised homosexuality, and established the Environment Protection Agency”. It would be interesting to get more of an idea of just how much she supports the current party line, which is rather light on policy detail, or whether the family values originally mentioned in social media posts, but not seen recently, might put her in conflict with Liberal Party powerbrokers. Life could be so much simpler with a different surname, but perhaps not as interesting.
Ruth Hudnott, Canterbury
Progressive Liberals
It seems Lindsay Fox has tossed aside his commitment to even-handedness for this election. Although he “doesn’t know Amelia Hamer or her politics” he is happy to endorse her campaign, because he was a great mate of her great-uncle Dick. Ironically, as he was an environmentalist and social progressive, I suspect Dick Hamer’s views may have aligned more closely with the current member for Kooyong than today’s Liberal Party. Perhaps this is why the Liberals now struggle to gain traction in seats like these.
Vivienne Kane, Hawthorn
Global problems
A cyclone in north-east Australia occurs further south than ever before. It is followed by devastating floods in northern NSW and southern Queensland. The same weekend, parts of northern England and Scotland, still in winter, register maximum temperatures of 18 degrees. At the same time, in Argentina 13 people die in floods on as great a scale as those here in Australia. Proper concern about the effects of climate change in Australia should not hide the fact that the problem is global, not just Australia.
Brian Kidd, Mount Waverley
Labor priorities
Gary Newman in his opinion piece (“Labor can’t manage the economy, right?...” 9/3), didn’t mention that in his first three weeks as prime minister, Gough Whitlam started squandering funds on things like free hospital care. Prior to that the Coalition had always considered that you should pay, even if it did cripple you financially. I so clearly remember taking years to pay off my daughter’s first serious hospital visit.
Whitlam’s next shock was to make university’s free, which meant that women could go there at last. Prior to that because of the great expense involved, only the sons of wealthy fathers went to university. No matter how wealthy they were, fathers weren’t going to pay for their daughters to go, as everyone knew they would only end up in some menial job and they would get married anyway. What a waste of half the brain power of our country. Now thanks to Whitlam, women are managing some of Australia’s most successful companies. I’ve never heard the Coalition put a value on that in any budget.
Jeffrey Newman, East Ivanhoe
Whitlam values
In the early 1970s I was a first-year primary school teacher in inner-city Northcote. It was not then a wealthy suburb.
The school was cold and drab with torn books and leaky toilets. Way out of my depth with a class of 35 preps (non-English speaking background of 85 per cent) I was working in a school that had been ignored by successive Liberal governments. I spent my holidays and my money painting posters and buying equipment, including two guinea pigs. The Whitlam government elected in 1972 was quick to act on the Karmel report of 1973. Our school was renovated, given a yearly budget for teaching aids, supplies, books and excursions, but most importantly extra staff including a specialist ESL teacher and a teacher’s aide.
Peter Dutton’s use of the term “Whitlam-esque” only reminds me of a time when an elected government valued education for every Australian regardless of where they lived.
Regina Fox, Cowes
Upholding standards
To the correspondents who want the Bread Box in Mount Martha to remain open (Letters, 10/3), undoubtedly the bakery service offers many warm and fuzzy feelings. Did it apply to the council for a permit to run a retail shop from a private property as is required? The council is merely enforcing the restrictions of a residential area and ensuring commercial entities are restricted to areas designated commercial zones.
If one commercial entity is allowed to continue then they must allow any and all other private residences to operate commercial enterprises. I imagine residents supporting the Bread Box would oppose the entire neighbourhood becoming zoned commercial or having street food available at every house.
Jenny Callaghan, Hawthorn
Grow community
The Bread Box fiasco on the Mornington Peninsula is a reminder of the opportunities for local government to actually help grow community, rather than impede that process. Every LGA has this sort of stuff in their mission statement, which is the easy part, but they often refuse to walk the walk.
Greg Malcher, Hepburn Springs
AND ANOTHER THING
Credit: Matt Golding
Trump’s America
What’s going to happen when the Capitol-storming types realise their groceries are more expensive and the poor are the ones paying for Trump’s agenda while Trump and his acolytes accrue the wealth?
Julie Conquest, Brighton
Now that Trump is well on his way to implementing his MAGA policy, will he next proceed with MARA (Make Alaska Russian Again)?
Tony O’Brien, South Melbourne
Trump may be a very bad loser – but he is an even worse winner.
Paul Perry, Fitzroy North
The Liberal Party
Instead of being distracted by the past and the Bike Boy case, the Libs should focus on promoting their almost invisible leader, Brad Battin, and developing credible policy alternatives.
Sandra Torpey, Hawthorn
Yes, your correspondent is correct when saying that “Victorian Liberals are in despair” (Letters, 10/3). But we’re all in despair confronted with the prospect of another 20 months of a state Labor government wasting enormous amounts of money on a project of dubious value while racking up huge amounts of debt.
Ivan Glynn, Vermont
More time, money and effort shown for Bike Boy from the Liberal Party than it has ever shown for the other millions of cyclists in terms of building safe infrastructure for us to ride on.
David Blom, Nunawading
Furthermore
Longer parking spaces? I already have trouble finding my little Saab when it is parked between two SUVs. Please don’t encourage them.
Suzanne Palmer-Holton, Seaford
If Millennials couldn’t afford houses due to the price of smashed avo, are Gen Z going to have to forgo eggs with their brunch?
Niko Melaluka, Brunswick
New Hawk Tom Barrass can be excused for not knowing the Hawthorn club song. I used to struggle singing my own team’s song, but that was because we rarely won.
Ian Macdonald, Traralgon
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