Greens in uncharted waters of delusion on Jewish support

The fallout of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre was an important factor that influenced how Jewish Australians cast their votes, especially after the soaring anti-Semitism of the past 19 months. A report last December by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry recorded a 316 per cent increase in anti-Semitic attacks during this period.

New Greens leader Larissa Waters is kidding herself in denying Jewish voters abandoned her party (“ ‘Jews back Greens’: Waters”, 16/5). The public didn’t buy the Greens’ accusations against Israel of genocide or its call for sanctions.

It rejected its divisive language and was turned off by the Greens’ support for the thousands of anti-Israel activists who marched every week through city streets.

Let’s hope the major electoral setback suffered by the anti-Israel Greens will encourage a second-term Albanese government to not be timid in its efforts to put the anti-Semitism genie back in the bottle and return to our earlier bipartisan policies and friendly attitudes towards Israel.

Anthony Bergin, Reid, ACT

So new leader Larissa Walters proclaims the Greens will always call out genocide. We are still waiting to hear that label applied by her party to the genocidal attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

Michael Neustein, Bondi Junction, NSW

It’s interesting how political parties’ names, once a fair indicator of who and what they stood for, can become farcical misnomers. Labor, for example hardly represents “the workers” or labouring classes. What a quaint, old-fashioned notion that now seems.

As for the Greens, what a sad Trojan horse of a once environmentally focused party, now possibly the focus of infiltration by the likes of the Blak Greens.

Deborah Morrison, Malvern East, Vic

Attack on assets

Well said, Adam Creighton (“We’re crying out for tax reform, not a raid on wealth”, 16/5).

Describing the planned tax on unrealised gains as “a raid on wealth before it’s even created” is spot-on. As for the Treasurer’s claim that it is a “minor change”, amputating a leg on 0.5 per cent of the population would be a “minor change” in total body mass but pretty major to those affected. It is naive to assume that people will not react to avoid this, and the resulting flight of capital predicted by experts means that everyone will be worse off.

Andrew Weeks, Hawthorndene, SA

What is it about Labor governments that they seek to create social divides through explicit tax regimes? Treasurer Jim Chalmers is doing just that with his proposal for an unrealised capital gains tax (“Jim’s tax: ‘Stupidity’ realised”, 16/5).

No surprises that the first cab off the rank is larger superannuation. For some reason, Labor governments want to attack people who’ve provided for their retirement and reward those who have not. It’s paradoxical.

People with higher superannuation balances still have to live and, to do that, spend. By and large, the money goes back into the local economy, supporting business and services, and often the Treasury through a range of new and increased taxes.

A taxing frenzy, such as that being proposed by Labor, does nothing to create confidence, build the economy, address the cost of living or reduce the spiralling amount of national debt. Restraint in government spending and support for the generators of wealth do that. What next, death taxes?

Tim Sauer, Brighton East, Vic

Review nuclear policy

The Liberals are reviewing their policies after their election loss. This should include their views on establishing nuclear power stations.

I hope that review includes how to store nuclear waste for thousands of years, free from terrorists and natural disasters. There is also the NIMBY (not in my backyard) factor. They should also consider the many nuclear accidents that have occurred. Apart from some medical nuclear uses, we should stick with sun (including rooftop), wind, hydro and untapped geothermal and wave energy, coupled with batteries and some fossil fuel.

The huge cost and development time for nuclear energy, and the danger of missile strike in war, are forced on those countries that lack our abundant, natural resources.

Ken Moore, Chapel Hill, Qld

Joint base is sensible

Mike Pezzullo’s proposal for a joint Australian-US nuclear submarine maintenance facility at Henderson, Western Australia, makes a great deal of sense (“Sub base ‘should be a joint facility’ ”, 16/5). An additional benefit of such an arrangement would be that it might convince the current US administration of Australia’s commitment as an ally and lead to better trade relationship between the two countries.

Bill Pannell, Dalkeith, WA