ICC arrest warrants signal decline of the United Nations

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer led Australia in becoming a signatory to the statute of the International Criminal Court under the Howard government. He now says he thought at the time that the permanent court was a “good idea”, and that the ICC would be a serious court.

But the whole ICC enterprise assumed a group of completely independent jurists. Now we’ve seen the corrupt South African government bringing Israel to the ICC with financial support from Iran to mount the ICC case. Naturally Hamas celebrated the arrest warrant for Israel’s leader. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered the inanity that he’d stand by the ICC arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister because “this is just who we are as Canadians”. Most people will correctly see the ICC decision as a miscarriage of justice by demanding the arrest of a democratic leader and equating Israel to a terror organisation.

Australia should now aim to undermine the court’s legitimacy by withdrawing from the treaty that established the court. It’s likely that Donald Trump will impose severe sanctions on the prosecutor and the judges. But there’s a bigger point here and that’s the steady corrosion of the UN. The institution and several of its agencies are losing ground because it reflects the lack of liberal democratic members.

Anthony Bergin, Reid, ACT

In another less than subtle play for votes in western Sydney, the Labor government has refused to denounce the decision of the ICC to issue an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu (“ALP loses perspective and principle on terrorists war”, 23-24/11). It follows Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s support at the UN for a Palestinian state. It’s evident the Albanese government is increasingly out of step with the US in these matters; it needs to do a better job of standing with our great ally in defending freedom.

Kim Keogh, Claremont, WA

Albanese or Whitlam?

The comparisons between the Albanese and Whitlam governments seem somewhat oblique at first glance (“ALP ignores lessons of history at its peril”, 23-24/11). As John Howard says, Gough Whitlam had “style, intellect and class” but, even more importantly, he had “a grand plan”. The Albanese government has no evident grand plan ever since the failed voice referendum. Whitlam had a clear narrative and plan for Australia that included constitutional reform. He implemented his plan with a sense of vision of Australia’s place in the world. The Achilles heel for Whitlam was his lack of interest in the economy. The impact of economic hardship on the voters is the lesson of history for the Albanese government. Living standards are declining in Australia as productivity continues to decline. As has been said more than once: “it is all about the economy”. Surely, that is the lesson of history.

David Muir, Indooroopilly, Qld

Inflation bites

Who needs a recession when we have the Albanese government doing its hardest to plunge the purchasing power of our dollar to levels where it can legitimately be called the “South Pacific Peso” (“Plunging living standards hit households harder than recession”, 23-24/11). Everywhere you look prices are increasing and the inflationary cycle of wage increases and higher prices is evident in every sector. The weekly shop is now eye watering and to a degree where many Australians are now living from pay cheque to pay cheque. This situation is a direct result of ill-conceived government policies, union dominance, ministerial incompetence and reckless spending.

Tom Moylan, Dudley Park, WA

Dan’s big debt legacy

Damon Johnson is right, Victoria is in a bad way (“Dan’s legacy: an ugly set of numbers”, 23-24/11). Former Labor premier Daniel Andrews was indeed a “ruthless and reckless spender”, the chief architect of an “unsustainable” $228bn looming public debt disaster. So, who and what enabled Andrews to spend to such excess? Ironically, I would argue the answer is former Liberal premier Jeff Kennett and the failure of his second government to retain office in 1999. While the first Kennett government, which inherited a $31bn debt and 11.6 per cent unemployment, is often credited with saving the state, the second Kennett government failed to show due regard for basic public relations and lost 13 seats, its entire majority.

The resulting minority Labor government positioned Kennett’s successor to exhibit a mild-mannered leadership style through to the 2002 state election. As a minority premier, Steve Bracks achieved a further 7.7 per cent swing to Labor in 2002: winning for him sufficient majorities in both Houses to immediately pass vast constitutional changes. These changes left the Legislative Council no longer able to either scrutinise or curb the excesses of government, a development that paved the way for Dan Andrews’ spending.

Chris Evans, Maribyrnong, Vic