Last Post, March 21

Australians will pay dearly if Bill Shorten gets to the Lodge.

Janet Albrechtsen is right (“We all need Bill Shorten in the Lodge. No, seriously”, 20/3). We will pay dearly of our complacency.

John Lake, Mosman Park, WA

If anything, NSW Labor leader Michael Daley’s gaffe about Asian immigrants “taking the jobs’’ of young Sydneysiders (20/3) is a reminder that politics should not be the career of choice for those prone to say the wrong thing.

Steve Ngeow, Chatswood, NSW

As a conservative voter, I suppose I should be pleased that someone has suddenly discovered an embarrassing speech Michael Daley made six months ago. My better self tells me that the outrage caused by this discovery seems to be largely confected for political purposes. Those who confect disproportionate outrage tend to encourage real outrage and make things worse than they otherwise would be.

David Morrison, Springwood. NSW

I was delighted to hear the New Zealand Prime Minister say we would never hear her say the name of that mass murderer.

Barry Lamb, Heidelberg West, Vic

Paul Kelly puts it succinctly (“Let’s not falter at this threat to who we are”, 20/3). If you think of the swing of a pendulum, the further it swings in one direction, the further it will swing in the other, especially with an extra push. The danger is that people in the moderate zones risk being pulled into the extremes.

Elizabeth Moser, Newtown, Vic

The comments by Turkish President Tayipp Erdogan were disgraceful. It is disgusting to see politicians running their election campaign based on hatred and enmity. If this trend continued, we are going to see increasing unrest and terrorism.

Usman Mahmood, Sth Bowenfels, NSW

It’s strange the Turkish President should complain about the massacre in Christchurch when he continues to deny the Armenian genocide of 100 years ago in which hundreds of thousands of Armenian Christians were massacred by the Turks.

Bob Vinnicombe, Sefton, NSW

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s inflammatory comments were over the top as he played to his domestic constituency. He has needlessly politicised the Christchurch massacre and he has indirectly demonised our proud Turkish-Australians who enjoy our full democratic freedoms, suddenly interrupted in their homeland. They are respected for the contribution they make in Australia.

Mike Fogarty, Weston, ACT

Too many Americans love their guns. Any change would have to start in primary school. Their second amendment is not going to change.

Neville Wright, Kilcunda, Vic