If only our leaders could get together at a time of goodwill

Religious freedom has been left hanging in the air.

Paul Kelly’s insightful article (“Deadlock on religious freedom is a shambles”, 8/12) highlights the state of politics in Australia. The final parliamentary sitting for 2018 was untidy as the agendas were not concluded, including debate on religious freedom.

Kelly mentioned various laws but does not mention the Constitution. I refer to clause 116 that states: “The commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the commonwealth.”

If this translates into subordinate legislation such as anti-discrimination laws, then no provision can be made that upsets the purpose of clause 116. The Constitution would have to be amended for any change to occur.

In this period of peace and goodwill to all men and women, perhaps one of our leaders should pick up the telephone and speak to their counterpart and suggest they get together over the break to work it all out.

Ian P. Rintoul, Gooseberry Hill, WA

Queensland off the tracks

The Queensland rail debacle, has raised questions nobody has asked nor seems in a hurry to ask (“Railway blunder set to cost $400m”, 10/12). It doesn’t matter who started the process or who signed the contract, what seems important is which bureaucrats had control of the design and what advice was given to government.

Convention has it that when a government department is found to be incompetent, the minister falls on his or her sword and accepts responsibility for the expensive mess. However, all we are getting from the state Transport Minister is defending the spending of $400m of taxpayers’ money in a marginal Labor seat to fix a problem that should never have been allowed to occur. We need to know if there was any periodic inspection during construction, why were they accepted if they did not meet specifications, and what changes were made to design, when were those changes made, and who authorised the changes?

One of the drawbacks of Queensland’s single-house parliament is that the government controls what inquiries are opened; this fiasco will be buried as soon as possible.

Don Spence, Ashmore, Qld

Medieval scholasticism

In the eyes of those who control the intellectual and political milieu of Australian universities today, there is no need for freedom of speech because they have found the truth and everyone must acknowledge it or be silent (“Campus debate not optional”, 10/12). In their departments of the inanities they are taking us back to the medieval scholasticism where, in the field of identity politics, really clever people debate how many victims can be impaled on the point of a pin and how many will be saved by virtue-signalling cultural-left academics. It’s as though the Enlightenment never happened. These people are still in the Dark Ages and want to take us back there with them.

Jim Wilson, Beaumont, SA

Idiotic border scheme

Despite all the doom and gloom broadcast by the ABC and some other media outlets, Jennifer Oriel has succinctly summed up the situation pertaining to the possibility of a Labor-Greens government (“Liberals regain mojo as Labor flounders on many fronts”, 10/12).

Most disturbing is that border protection will be policed by a panel of doctors and directed by an independent MP. If ever a situation was being fostered that guaranteed a reduction in the protection of our borders this is it. If Australians want this to be the way our nation is governed, Lord help us and preserve us from those who can dream up such an idiotic scheme.

N. Bailey, Nicholls, ACT