Are we heading back towards a rollercoaster economy?

As someone who was an adult through the 1970s and ’80s, it looks to me that we may well be headed back to the economic nightmares visited upon us in those times. Record and unsustainable growing national debt, industry-wide bargaining, regular and widespread strikes, ever-increasing inflation leading to higher interest rates, which then lead to more strikes for higher wages, which then leads to greater unemployment and higher inflation, lower national productivity and so the cycle spirals. This all sounds very familiar to older Australians. When mortgage-holders realise the likely interest rates they will face, they will despair.

It is stunning to me that our political leaders seem to have learned nothing from the not-so-distant past and are condemning us all to another economic nightmare. To top it off, Energy Minister Chris Bowen argues it is a “moral imperative” that we send taxpayer money overseas to ameliorate climate change effects on developing nations when we have people in our own country who will not be able to pay their power bills under the renewable energy policies he is implementing. We have many of our people homeless, living in cars and caravans, and these people will struggle with every cost-of-living item. In my book, the moral imperative lies in looking after our own ­people first.

Brian Barker, Bulimba, Qld

Industrial strife

Judith Sloan writes an outstanding article outlining the depth and breadth of the Albanese government’s industrial relations reform and the somewhat “hidden” outcomes it is intended to achieve (“Rushed IR reforms play squarely into the unions’ hands”, 15/11). There can be no doubt the overall intent of the proposed legislation is to put unions totally in control of the labour market. The potential to bring this country to a grinding halt at the whim of unions is obvious; the potential damage to our economy is even more concerning.

Labor has been gearing up for this industrial relations shake-up for a decade. It knows it has to meet the demands of its union paymaster and it will do whatever it takes to get there. Employment Minister Tony Burke is totally committed to the task, starting with the jobs summit, which was nothing more than a charade to try and convince us the Labor government was working in the interest of all; garbage.

If people are not concerned at where the government’s plan will take us, just look at the industrial strife we have now on the wharves, on public transport, in schools and in hospitals; and we want to give them more power. We must have rocks in our head.

Let’s hope the independents Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock continue to be strong enough to stand up against this nonsense.

John George, Terrigal, NSW

Wisdom of Reith

A few weeks prior to the 1996 federal election I had the privilege of attending a luncheon at Forestville RSL Club in Sydney at which Peter Reith was the speaker.

Reith spoke fluently and in very positive terms about the plans of the Coalition if it was to win the upcoming election. This was encouraging to the attendees as the majority of us were small business operators from whom our hard-earned livelihoods had been eroded by the 17 per cent interest rates of recent years and what most of us perceived to be mismanagement of our country’s finances.

After speaking for about 30 minutes, Reith (God bless him) fielded questions from the audience – all encouraging responses. On completion, he asked politely of the MC, “Could I finish with a final comment?” Permission was granted. He said: “We are not aware of when Mr Keating will call the election but if we win, it will take at least two terms to repair the economic and financial mess our country is in.”

Peter Reith, you were absolutely correct. His words are echoing in my mind every day now as it is becomes more and more obvious that a repeat of that statement will be entirely appropriate prior to the next federal election.

Ray Knight, Newcastle, NSW

The obituary on Peter Reith last Friday (“Peter Reith: hard man of the Howard government”, 11/11) surprisingly made no mention of his successful fight against the Australia Card almost 40 years ago.

How times have changed as all Australian company directors meekly submit to an identification process as thorough as any Hitler or Stalin could have hoped for. The thousands of good directors must tell all because of a relatively few bad eggs.

Paul Everingham, Hamilton, Qld

Gas at all costs

Further to the articles “Queensland kept toxic chemical water contamination scandal secret” (12-13/11) and “Farmers fume over Queensland contamination cover-up” (14/11), it’s clear the policy of the state government is “extraction of gas at all costs”, regardless of the fact it’s on prime agricultural land and risks the ­future of water and food security.

Celia Karp, Dalby, Qld