Jim Molan – the best defence minister Australia never had

How tragic the loss of senator and retired major general Jim Molan. A brilliant mind in both military and political circles, Jim was an extraordinary achiever; a fine example to us all. He was a man who still had so much to offer; a man of pure decency; a man who willingly accepted responsibility and was always prepared to be accountable for his own decisions and actions. He shall be missed across the nation at many levels.

Rest in peace, general.

John George, Terrigal, NSW

Senator and retired major general Jim Molan, the best minister for defence Australia never had.

Johann-Caspar Rose, Darling Point, NSW

Young and traditional

Greg Craven has missed out on one of the fascinating trends in the Catholic Church that is the remarkable growth in attendance of the Traditional Latin Mass in Australia as well as in the US (“Modern multicultural church Pell’s revenge”, 17/1). This liturgy, which Cardinal George Pell defended and Pope Francis is trying to shut down, is turning out to be very attractive for young people and young families. These are very young congregations, the complete opposite to the ageing profile of attendance (such as it is) at the “new” 1962 Catholic liturgy that modernists promote. This trend is a clear message to the church; that people seek tradition and reverence in their church.

Peter Balan, St Peters, SA

Unhealthy waste

Ticky Fullerton tells of the decline of Britain’s National Health Service from unassailable sacred cow to expensive bureaucratic behemoth crumbling under excessive demand (“NHS creaks under strain”, 17/1). Yet, even for one whose childhood was spent during its strong early years, that decline is not unexpected. Indeed, in one sense the NHS is a victim of its own success. At its post-war inception, the average Briton could expect to live for 65 years, barely surviving to claim the national old-age pension let alone the costs of aged care. Now, in 2023, that person can contemplate an extra 17 years of expensive health and mortality risk. And, as with similar nations, this desirable outcome results from medical advances and healthier lifestyles, in Britain’s case owing much to its NHS. But now the bill must be paid. Whether by increased co-payments, incentivisation of private insurance or similar remains to be seen. But another problem deserves attention: a top-heavy bureaucracy burdened by wokeish “inclusive and diversity officers” at the expense of nurses and doctors.

John Kidd, Auchenflower, Qld

Outsmarted by AI

One can foresee educators deciding that regulating the use of AI will be too hard, and students will instead be encouraged to “embrace the technology”. If you use AI to do your assignments at high school and university, then to prepare your CV and job application, don’t be surprised when your computer gets the job over you. Younger generations could be destined to be limited to service jobs in their own country, while those who actually value education and have real skill sets run the place.

John McLeod, Sunshine Coast, Qld

Psychologists too dear

I am fully in support of psychological health assistance being subsidised and believe that the halving of subsidised sessions back to the pre-pandemic level of 10 in any 12-month period to be both unhelpful and not necessarily cost-effective in the longer term. However, psychologists, and especially those with specialist titles, charge truly enormous hourly – or more often 50-minute – rates. Bulk-billing GPs have half of all their gross income given to the GP practice to cover practice costs; psychologists have much lower operating costs, with many working independently without receptionists or even premises costs if they work from a dedicated space at home, and yet many charge a higher hourly rate than does the bulk-billing GP.

If specialist psychologists lowered their rates by $89 an hour for a further 10 sessions then clients would be no more out of pocket and the psychologist would still be receiving close to $200 for each 40-60 minute service.

Maggie Woodhead, Swan View, WA

Stand by Premier

The NSW government has wisely decided to hold its nerve and not call for a leadership spill, two months out from the state election (“Premier’s Nazi gaffe sparks legal complaint”, 15/1). The incumbent Coalition has to present unity and stability. A change of leaders now would signal panic. Ironically, it may have drawn some subliminal inspiration from Jean-Paul Sartre in The Condemned of Altona (1961). “There are two ways of destroying a people. Either condemn them en bloc or force them to repudiate the leaders they adopted. The second is the worse.”

Mike Fogarty, Weston, ACT