Dumping Boris will come to be seen as monumental political stupidity

Heedless of the political consequences, British Conservative Party members dumped Boris Johnson, a leader who delivered Brexit and a thumping majority at the last general election and who still remains in favour with electors in the crucial swing seats.

Conservative MPs have traded a political original for an off-the-shelf politician in Liz Truss, a Remainer in the Brexit debate, a former Liberal Democrat and sometime republican. This is nearly as silly as dumping an Abbott for a Turnbull – or a Frydenberg for a Ryan.

The opportunistic coup that has toppled Johnson will surely come to be seen as an act of monumental political stupidity. There’ll be tears before bedtime over this, guaranteed.

Terry Birchley, Bundaberg, Qld

Constitutional rights

The scholarly, accessible and yet confronting examination by Louise Clegg of the government’s combined proposal (“You would never find PM’s voice in the land of Shaq”, 6/9) for constitutional recognition of Indigenous history (which is praised as overdue) and also the very significant fundamental change of a constitutionally protected voice to parliament deserves close study by all voters.

Clegg points out that unlike in the US we don’t have constitutional rights to silence at trial, presumption of innocence or free speech, among others. In short, we have no constitutional bill of rights. Why those missing important rights are not also up for vote as part of the proposed referendum remains unclear.

We are unique in the Anglosphere as being the only citizens with decision power over constitutional change. We inherited this voter power over constitutional change not from the US or Britain but from the Swiss, whose citizens can also propose referendum questions by petition.

The matter of constitutional rights is of fundamental importance to all Australians and Clegg raises issues that cannot be resolved without open and honest dialogue.

Craig Mills, Kew, Vic

Rates not only tool

Sky-rocketing interest rates and huge increases in energy and general household costs fuelling inflation are a real challenge for governments, as well as some mortgage holders and low-income families (“No red flags on mortgages with RBA set to raise rates”, 6/9). Canberra’s reliance on interest rate rises determined by the independent Reserve Bank to stem inflation is based on past practice, but it ignores the other levers that could be available. Updating our antiquated tax structures and placing more weight on to consumption taxes would be a great improvement, also reducing some of the need for rate rises. Unfortunately, no government since John Howard had the political courage to take that path.

Michael Schilling, Millswood, SA

Would the mining companies that are reaping record profits from oil, gas and coal exports please direct some of this profit to lowering prices for domestic consumers? With all the headlines about cost-of-living pressures on ordinary Australians, perhaps they could forgo a small percentage of their profits to help pensioners and low-income earners by providing gas at a discounted rate.

Graeme Lechte, Brunswick West, Vic

Tackle injury

Regarding your series Head Noise, when our son was a teenager he was knocked out from a sling tackle during a junior Queensland AFL finals match. The AFL on-site doctor said our son was fine and that he saw this all the time. He said it wasn’t serious enough to call an ambulance, they took forever to arrive anyway and he’d be fine by then. We rushed our son to the hospital where they immediately put him in a neck brace and sent him for an MRI. Our son had a bleed on the brain. He spent five days in hospital, two weeks off school, then could return only for half days for months because of the headaches, dizziness, fatigue and trouble concentrating. It took six months for him to fully recover. There were no repercussions for the other player. We made numerous complaints about the treatment of our son to the governing body. They didn’t want to know about it.

Kellie Burns, Gold Coast, Qld

Thank you, Ajla

Well said, Tim Abrams (Letters, 6/9). I find it deliciously ironic that the egocentric, shrieking bad sport Serena Williams was defeated by another Australian. She kept playing past her use-by date solely in the hope of overtaking Margaret Court’s grand slam record and spectacularly failed to do so. Thank you, Ajla Tomljanovic, for giving me the best moment of the 2022 US Open, and for doing so in a gracious, well-mannered and humble style.

Together with our other superbly modest heroine Ash Barty you are the ultimate role model.

Megan Sacks, South Geelong, Vic