Last Post: Temperatures rising over faulty predictions

With the higher summer temperatures now upon us, am I alone in seeing the phrase “hot temperatures” as a tautology? As one in his dotage but the victim of a classical education at another time, I should have thought that “temperature” connoted a measure and that rises or falls were high or low.

Maxwell Dodd, Woollahra, NSW

I’m Indigenous and I’d welcome an Indigenous governor-general. Let it be someone who has made a useful contribution to Australia, in business, science, or the arts, not someone who has traded on their Aboriginal heritage to fill their bank balance.

Ken McNamara, Wollongong, NSW

Our country is sinking into mediocrity because the criteria for selection of all positions are almost anything but merit. Does anyone really respect the beneficiaries of quotas? There should be no quotas, written or unwritten, there should be a striving by all who are interested in being the cream. Merit alone should be the eligibility from the highest to the lowest.

Paul Everingham, Hamilton, Qld

Oikophobia, the fear of one’s own nation, is a condition that can be overcome. But many sufferers don’t want to be rid of this debilitating illness, in fact, they quite enjoy the attention the phobia affords them. Sound familiar?

Steve Moore, Erskineville, NSW

Will our Australian cricketers be banned from displaying an Australian flag on their boots on Friday?

Steve Wiblin, Hermit Park, Qld

Axe the tax cuts. They were bad policy then and even worse now.

Margaret Ludowyk, Brunswick, Vic

Is it any wonder that one has lost belief in “the experts” and their predictions? I can see steady, light rain falling from my window but my much vaunted and no doubt expert-powered weather app on my iPhone informs me only that “Partly cloudy conditions expected around 6pm”.

Glenda Ellis, Drummoyne, NSW

Victoria’s Premier is vacillating on bird hunting (Letters, 23/1). This suggests contempt for the taxpayer-funded inquiry that took six months to interview dozens of witnesses and digest 9000 submissions. It recommended a ban on duck and quail hunting, in line with other major states. But the CFMEU has threatened strongarm tactics if a ban is enacted: MPs will not be allowed on site for Victoria’s “Big Build” projects. So who’s really running Victoria?

Dave Anderson, Geelong, Vic