Last Post, March 7

Les Carlyon will be sorely missed.

Thank you, Garry Linnell (“A nation loses its voice”, 6/3). That’s an obituary.

John Deshon, Noosaville, Qld

If there is a better book written than The Great War by Les Carlyon then I haven’t read it. But I maintain his best line was about the racehorse who was so afraid of wet tracks he broke into a sweat if the water pipe at the back of the stall had condensation on it. God speed, Les.

Mick Evans, Park Ridge, Qld

With The Great War Les Carlyon moved me more than any other book. I told him so and he replied graciously and generously. In fact, he also moved me physically — to Villers Bretonneux. His writing made me feel as if I had been there when the guns were firing. Every Australian should read that book.

David Williams, Frewville, SA

It isn’t the black-throated finch that bothers me, it is the yellow-bellied politician. They are elected to represent their constituents’ interests but what do they do when a handful of environmentalists put the pressure on? They cave in without a fight and subject everyone to the demands of a handful of nobodies who could not give a damn abut anything except their religious environmental dogma.

Roger Marks, Drouin, Vic

We can’t even construct a 12km light rail in Sydney on time and on budget. So what chance then do we have with a 2000km high-speed rail from Brisbane to Melbourne?

Riley Brown, Bondi Beach, NSW

Your reports of unions and Labor MPs wanting to prevent companies outsourcing jobs overseas is interesting. Haven’t they considered the much larger issue of the loss of jobs that will occur if Labor implements its renewable energy plan? With the resulting cost increases that will lead to the closure of energy-intensive industries. I would have thought the unions would be more concerned about this export of their members’ jobs overseas.

John Hull, Ashgrove, Qld

The pile-on over alleged Liberal Party gender bias ignores the point that the proportion of female MPs ought to reflect that within individual political parties. To have it otherwise would be to disadvantage male members. It should be left to political parties to determine how they encourage more women to participate.

Robin Davies, Drysdale, Vic

To connect Elon Musk’s battery (Last Post, 6/3) to an aluminium smelter would be like asking an airline pilot to take off with 10 per cent throttle. You would not get off the ground and nor would the aluminium smelter.

Arthur Hall, Eight Mile Plains, Qld