Credit: Cathy Wilcox
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FOREIGN RELATIONS
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that “Mr Trump appreciates Australia’s financial support for American naval shipbuilding” on Sunday as we handed over $800 million of the $4.7 billion investment in the American shipyards that we hope will build our $380 billion submarine fleet (The Age, 9/2).
Trump has clearly stated America’s policy is America first. He means what he says here. So, while they “appreciate our $4.7 billion investment” there is no guarantee that we will ever receive these submarines if the US decides that it needs them for itself. The power imbalance between the US and Australia means we would have no recourse. The current chaos in America must encourage our government to reconsider all other options, e.g. greater reliance on unmanned submarines and missiles. And/or whether existing designs of nuclear subs built in France, Japan etc may be a quicker and more dependable option. We can no longer blindly depend on America.
Colin Simmons, Woodend
What would Donald do?
Last year, the US approved more than $22 million for medical research in Australian universities and other institutions through its National Institutes of Health. Soon after taking power, the new Trump administration effectively froze grant funding for a wide range of organisations, including for medical research. Although this freeze has been rescinded, future funding is looking uncertain. Yet on the weekend, our government paid $800 million for submarines, none of which will arrive until the “early 2030s” at the soonest, as part of a deal stretching well into the 2040s. The government is trying to act as if our relationship with the US is normal, but with Trump in the White House, it is not. What would Trump do? Does anyone seriously imagine he would pay $800 million for something to be delivered so far in the future?
Pauline Brown, Woodend
Defend Gazans against deplorable plan
In front of the pyramid of piled rubble of their destroyed bakery in the Gaza Strip two men are pictured (“Clear truth behind all the real estate bluster”, 7/2) baking bread with makeshift materials while concrete blocks dangle precariously over their heads. Like many Palestinians who have returned to resume their lives among bombed homes and businesses this image reflects the grim determination and the resilience of a people who have endured and lost so much. Trump’s proposed land grab, supported by Netanyahu, to displace 2million Palestinians and take over Gaza, is deplorable and rightly condemned by many world leaders.
Apart from reiterating Australia’s support for a two-state solution there have been no stern words of condemnation, nor, at the very least, a resounding expression of support for the Palestinian civilians to rebuild, from either our prime minister or the opposition. In fact Dutton has demonstrated support for Trump’s plan by endorsing him as a “big thinker” and claiming his plan “should not be dismissed”. While it is unwise to leap into the minefield of Trump’s constant stream of thought bubbles, outrageous pronouncements and back flips, in the case of this latest Trump outrage we expect our political leaders to show more backbone and to resolutely stand firm on the right of the Palestinian people to return and rebuild in their ruined homeland.
Anne Moorhouse, Inverloch
Confront this wild TV character
I concur with Jacqueline Maley’s depiction of Donald Trump’s hyperbolic bluster, and ill-conceived ideas (Comment, 9/10). I also agree that many people are fatigued and disillusioned with politics. Hence the “entertainment” appeal of an attention-seeking character like Trump. He certainly does not conduct himself with the measured, thoughtful, dignity expected of a US president, the so-called leader of the free world. His authoritarian behaviour suggests he believes he has the right to control the world, including the Panama Canal, Greenland and Gaza. Trump is a bully and, as with all bullies, has to be confronted by the world’s more sane statesmen who have some degree of humanity.
Leslie Chester, Brighton
THE FORUM
Cruel disruption
During 1984, while working in Kenya, I was seconded to work for USAID in Liberia, a country in a perpetual state of civil war. The project was to make contraception available to poor and homeless women in the capital, Monrovia. The recent executive order that seeks to disrupt USAID’s supply lines for humanitarian disaster aid, vaccination, contraception and infant welfare services, among many others, is disturbing (“While you were distracted, Trump came in like a wrecking ball”, 7/2). Some USAID programs would have wastage, but this could be solved. Similarly, criticisms of USAID’s Cold War origins under the Kennedy administration and its projection of soft power are worth analysing, but hardly justify the overnight disruption of community-level partnerships built up since the agency’s inception in 1961.
The Washington order demonstrates either ignorance of how many young lives are being placed at risk, cruelty of the most diabolical kind, or both.
William Twycross, Mansfield
Where are the ideas?
The results in the Prahran and Werribee byelections showed large swings against Labor and the Greens (“Werribee voters face long wait for byelection result in cliffhanger count”, 9/2). It shows that the progressive parties are seen as not solving the cost-of-living rises and preventing crime in the streets. The Liberal Party campaigned on both these issues, as well as the debts incurred by borrowing to build the infrastructure that they asserted was lacking in Werribee and environs. The campaign was “grievance politics” – all complaints without solutions.
Politics is supposed to be a contest of ideas where all parties and independents contribute to achieve outcomes. What we have seen at both federal and state level doesn’t live up to that ideal. How have we, the voters, allowed our polity to descend to this level?
Ken Rivett, Ferntree Gully
Business as usual
Chip Le Grand has provided an insightful analysis of Labor’s leadership woes. That the premier’s and the government’s leadership must change has been obvious to many for a long time (“Regardless of the result in Werribee, Allan has already heard the message”, 9/2). Many would argue this epiphany is far too late. The time for change was when Allan assumed the leadership. A declaration of intent to break with the Andrews years should have been made immediately, along with an apology for the harm inflicted over the COVID lockdown and the Commonwealth Games debacle.
Yet it was business as usual. More debt arising from Big Build blowouts with increasing taxes making Victoria the highest-taxed state. An almost irrational commitment to the SRL project. Its anti-gas stance continued.
No voices arose from rank and file MPs against these trends; it appears the whole parliamentary party was comfortable with a continuation of the Andrews legacy. In a climate of such inertia, it is difficult to envisage any radical reorientation of policy or purposes. Voters will continue to see much of the same.
Martin Newington, Aspendale
Greens not humiliated
Chip Le Grand is wrong. The Greens were not humiliated in the Prahran byelection (“Learning nothing from their humiliation in Prahran, Greens will march on”, 9/2). The Greens primary vote remained strong at 36.2 per cent, a swing against them of 0.6 per cent. At the 2022 election the Greens won the seat with a 12.3 per cent margin on the back of an 83 per cent preference flow from the third-placed Labor candidate. At this election there was a 13.6 per swing to the Liberals two-party preferred. That swing is largely explained by the extraordinary decision by independent candidate Tony Lupton an ex-Labor cabinet minister – who attracted 12.8 per cent of the primary vote – to allocate his preferences to the Liberal candidate. Apparently the Greens are now the enemy of Labor and not the Liberal Party.
Craig Horne, Fitzroy North
Limits to Liberal gains
The main reason the Liberals won Prahran was due to Labor not running a candidate and depriving the Greens of Labor preferences that probably would have seen them retain the seat. The 16.7 per cent swing against Labor in Werribee saw the Liberals only increasing their primary vote by a miserly 3.7 per cent. Thus Labor might be on the nose but these results suggest the aroma of the Liberal Party is not much better.
Phil Alexander, Eltham
Take it somewhere else
The removal of the $250,000 playground in the Footscray Nicholson Mall is a step forward in supporting local traders (The Age, 9/2). The mall faces similar problems to other precincts with traders closing and going elsewhere, abandoning shop fronts that become victim to damage, graffiti, garbage, and urine. The drug trade in the mall has become more visible with deals conducted openly, like a stage performance with them as the actors. The audience has grown, with clapping and laughing at the bravado and outrageous behaviour. I am familiar with some of the regular actors and know they have housing. The manager of the Maple Cafe in the mall, site of my daily coffee fix, is welcoming and busy. When the actors enter the shop intent on disruption she respectfully and quietly requests they go elsewhere. Invariably, they do. The council has a good plan to turn empty buildings and shop fronts into creative spaces. We need better actors and audiences. We need to give a message to the disruptors to go elsewhere.
Jenny Harrison, Footscray
Against the protests
Wendy Syfret says her weekly protests in the centre of Melbourne are not intended to spread hate (Comment, 10/2). But they do. The reason is clear from her explanation for protesting – she fails to mention the terrorist regime Hamas and its willingness to sacrifice the very people it should be protecting. She fails to mention the decades of constant missile attacks on Israel from Gaza. And she fails to mention the unimaginable atrocities of October 7 and the treatment of innocent hostages.
Henry Kalus, Southbank
Protest threats
I regularly attend the peaceful protests at the State Library on Sundays, and of course there is a police presence, as there would be for any such organised event. From everything I have seen at these rallies since October 2023, the police have only been needed to ensure people and cars do not cross paths on the march route.
On Sunday, February 9, I attended an anti-Zionist event organised by the Jewish community at State Parliament, before the regular rally at the State Library. At this event, and last Sunday, I noticed a much larger than usual police presence. The reason was a group of mostly males waving Israeli flags and shouting. Extra police surrounded these people last Sunday to keep them from ″crashing″ our peaceful march, and this week erected barriers to keep them away from the organised rally at state parliament. To me there seemed to be four or five times the number of police than usual.
Very disturbing was the yelling and jeering by these flag wavers while a wonderful Wiradjuri woman spoke of togetherness and support for all people, including Jews. Thankfully the police were aware of the counter-protesters. To those who complain about the diversion of police to the Sunday rallies, I suggest it is those protesting the protests who cause the bigger headache for our police.
Anastasios Moralis, Ormond
Shut down the abuse
Kate Halfpenny’s take on Sam Kerr’s case (“Fear is legit but doesn’t give you a free pass, Sam”, 8/2), was balanced. She empathises and understands the impact of Kerr’s past experience with ill-intentioned drivers having dealt with one herself, yet calls out her questionable behaviour. I disagree though that the officer involved was an easily offended snowflake, by not dismissing Kerr’s “white” outburst, as drunk talk. I suspect it was the disrespectful “stupid” put-down towards someone performing their job that upset him the most, because it reflects the current climate, where contempt for others is commonplace. Emergency departments are regularly subjected to such abuse as are other service providers. If we can ride roughshod over those performing vital, community services where will we be? A free-for-all? Or are we already there?
Sandy Martin, Southbank
Cars ate the parks
As I strolled through Flagstaff Gardens, after reading about the shortage of parklands in cental Melbourne (“70 hectares lost: City sporting grounds dwindling away”, 9/2), I was struck by the amount of would-be green space gobbled up by cars. I was then inspired by the idea that the former Melbourne Cemetery, which is now used as a car park at Victoria Market, could be turned into a huge, central, green space to honour our passed pioneers and our living residents as opposed to the wasteland it is today.
Michael Carroll, Kensington
Page three smiles
Historically I remember page three of many Australian daily newspapers would feature a picture of a young female in a swimming suit. Tabloids in Sydney like The Mirror, The Sun and The Truth kept the tradition alive, and the reasoning was adopted by Rupert Murdoch and helped make him rich. Perhaps the page three of old was intended to give us a laugh or relief from the bad news that makes up most news. But it was lazy journalism. Page three of The Age is a brilliant way to bring to we readers some sign that joy is still running around and popping up in all kinds of interesting places, sometimes featuring enthusiasts kicking goals in pursuits like jigsawing (“Fifty minutes to make a 1000-piece jigsaw fit? For these stars, that puzzle is no problem”, 9/2). Bravo Cassandra Morgan.
Ian Muldoon, St Kilda
AND ANOTHER THING
Trump
Here’s an idea for Trump. When he’s taken Greenland and Canada and Panama and Gaza, and the rare earths from Ukraine, why not annex Taiwan? That’d take it to China.
Penelope Buckley, Kew East
Your correspondent suggests the Trump cult can’t last forever (Letters, 10/2). No, but the damage wrought will be lasting and devastating.
Jane Ross, San Remo
Can’t we put a tariff on all this Trump bull dust that we’re getting swamped with every day?
John Fife, Box Hill South
Handing over money to Trump is like paying protection money to the mob. Once you come across as a soft target the demands will increase, including sending our youth off on America’s next misadventure.
Barry Lizmore, Ocean Grove
Trump’s signature illustrates so much. It is written boldly, smugly held up for public display and it is indecipherable.
Barrie Bales, Woorinen North
State politics
The Werribee result is a symptom of a far deeper malaise. With decades of policy failure by elected representatives and the political mantra of lower taxes there has been insufficient funding for public transport, the road network, public schools, public housing, hospitals, aged care etc. Immigration is not the cause of the crisis.
Geoff Gowers, Merricks North
I wonder how the local supporters of Labor in Prahran, disenfranchised by their party and forced to vote elsewhere, feel about the gift to the Liberal Party.
Brian Marshall, Ashburton
If the premier insists on pressing ahead with the SRL why not re-prioritise and start with the sections that emanate from Melbourne Airport to Broadmeadows and Sunshine?
Chris Wallis, Albert Park
Has anyone else noticed how the use of the phrase “taken the world by storm” in reporting on current events, selling goods and services, promoting cultural trends and celebrities, has taken the world by storm?
Harry Zable, Campbells Creek
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To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.