China’s actions mean Australia must nurture regional relationships

In recent months it has become clear Australia faces challenges to its institutions from within and from without. As one homegrown demonstration rolls into another linked by a common thread of real or fabricated social injustice and fuelled by Marxist and anarchist thinking, we are also being tested by China so well expressed by Peter Jennings (“Canberra braces, refuses to blink as Beijing bullies region closer to the brink”, 20/6), and reinforced by Scott Morrison.

As a nation, we have to stand firm in concert with other nation states in Asia, the manufacturing tigers of South Korea, Taiwan as well as trading powers Japan and India.

The actions of China remind me of history and 1930s Germany when another leader obsessed about more “lebensraum” (living room) and the domination of Europe. The PM’s recent comments were significant for what he said but also for what he did not say. It is to be hoped China, which has much to offer this region and the world, manages its relations with others so that positive outcomes are delivered for its people and for all.

Michael Potter, Prahran, Vic

Society devalued

Chris Kenny has lifted the lid on who is working against us (“Enemies of the people reveal their true colours”, 20/6). One of our largest and most influential organisations appears to be devaluing our society by enthusiastically running down our achievements as a nation.

The ABC and universities appear to actively criticise our country and its achievements in a bizarre self-hating ritual. As Kenny says, we are not perfect and mistakes from our past are to be recognised and learned from.

Lynda Morrison, Bicton, WA

Most reasonable people will concur that Western civilisation is not perfect but it has brought us to this wonderful, though flawed, nation we live in today. Sometimes I wonder why I continue to watch ABC current affairs programs due to the bias Chris Kenny has so eloquently pointed out. I am constantly turning the ABC current affairs programs off lest I throw a brick at the TV.

Susan Martel, Dubbo, NSW

Powerhouse betrayal

The closure of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney brings into strong relief the importance of integrity in any historical collection as explained by Henry Ergas (“Unusual suspect behind act of cultural vandalism”, 20/6)

History has context, and context can be destroyed when a collection is split up. Access to history, particularly for education of our young, is also critical to our future and is likely to be compromised by the closure and relocation of the Powerhouse.

Integrity is also lost when the wishes of philanthropists and past donors are dishonoured. Philanthropists have played an important role in preserving our history and breaking up historical collections could be a disincentive to further philanthropy.

As Ergas says, linkage of history ought to lie at the heart of liberal values. It is hard to believe that a Liberal government would do anything to diminish our heritage. Such a breach of values is the betrayal of integrity.

David Muir, Indooroopilly, Qld

Bravo, Henry Ergas, for maintaining the rage with his plea for Gladys Berejiklian to see reason and drop the planned relocation of the historically rich Powerhouse to the boondocks.

The museum is a vital cultural component of the city’s metropolis, no less than the Art Gallery of NSW, the Mitchell Library, the SCG and the Opera House, and to move it elsewhere diminishes the whole. Given the depredations of COVID-19 and the pain it has inflicted on businesses and institutions, it is incumbent on the state government to shore up the city’s attractions, not disperse them — especially to facilitate another revenue-raising real estate development.

Peter Austin, Mount Victoria, NSW