Gender intervention a betrayal of the nation’s vulnerable youth

Patrick Parkinson’s commentary delivers top-quality journalism (“We must check the impact of puberty blockers on kids”, 3/2).

It exposes the government’s trail of non-action action on nearly all major issues: from practising misinformation while legislating to control it; spendathons and proud subsidies masking failures; defence apathy; empathetic platitudes about anti-Semitism; our unique energy fantasies; multi-level immigration bungling; and on and on we go to this worst fault of all, the unwarranted medical gender interventions on psychologically vulnerable children and Australian youth.

Federal politicians from the PM down don’t get it, but we should. Major policy statements from democratic institutions, led by the UK’s Cass Review and the US fightback for common sense, are dropping totally disproved medical procedures.

These are today’s abhorrent breaches of the Hippocratic oath, to “above all do no harm”, which will shame us in the near future.

Health Minister Mark Butler proposes that the National Health and Medical Research Council will make interim comments in an unjustifiable 18 months’ time, but there is no accountable end in sight.

Betty Cockman, Dongara, WA

Defence of the elderly

Ross Fitzgerald’s article is a powerfully insightful reminder of an inconvenient truth our generation is all too quick to ignore: that older people are indeed people (“The very real danger of the cashed-up boomer stereotype”, 1-2/2).

It is convenient for the struggling daughter or son to ignore that older Australians have the same hopes, dreams and economic fears as they do.

There is nothing wrong with the older generation giving to the youth. But it is shameful that coercion, guided by expectation and entitlement, becomes the oft-used tool of value extraction.

Those who cry all the way through the funeral, then all the way to the bank on the way home, are quick to forget the aforementioned inconvenient truth.

No one should be made to feel guilty, for the simple wish to remain alive, especially by those who would purport to love them.

Eamonn O’Hanlon & Veronica O’Shaughnessy, Paddington, NSW

How can we ever thank Ross Fitzgerald enough for his enlightened defence of elderly people, their hard-earned retirement funds, and the parasites who want them?

It has been sickening to be so criticised for what we have achieved, having nurtured the next generations through family or career.

Rosemary McGrath, Kensington, SA

Silence fails our safety

The Albanese government has failed in its primary duty of keeping all Australians safe.

As Justin Bassi has written, rising anti-Semitism (exemplified by continuing and unpunished violence and expressions of hate against Australia’s Jewish community), and the consequential environment of national fear, show domestic division within Australia is even more insidious than hitherto perceived (“ ‘Evil’ silence from Canberra on threat to national security”, 3/2).

This is the more so because of the government’s silence and continuing failure to mount effective measures to contain anti-Semitism. As Bassi reminds us, silence in the face of evil is evil itself. Silence breeds uncertainty, which in turn gives rise to fear.

Any government must lead from the front and be utterly frank with those it leads.

Ian Dunlop, Hawks Nest, NSW

Credibility spent

Paul Kelly’s analysis reminds us that over the past month, Anthony Albanese has launched an astonishing spending agenda as a prelude to the election (“Trump agenda won’t work in Australia”, 1-2/2).

Surely all this spending is inflationary, so how can Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock responsibly cut interest rates in the coming months given this level of spending in the Labor pipeline?

Susan O’Keefe, Rose Bay, NSW

Before every election, the amount of taxpayers’ money that is wasted on politicians’ campaign travel is shocking.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and all the ministers and shadow ministers and their political cohorts are travelling all over the countryside just to attack each other and to promote their parties and themselves.

All this could be easily done from their home bases with the help of the internet.

It is sickening to hear the promises they make before every election that run into the billions of dollars for infrastructure projects, social services and the like, with money they don’t have or own, since all of it is taxpayers’ money.

Anyone who honestly believes their promises is living in a politically ignorant dreamworld.

Wolfgang Rusch, Mooroobool, Qld