Missed the hoop: Albanese badly drops the ball with voice stunt

Voters are poorly served by a Prime Minister who understandably prefers the lightweight celeb­rity milieu to being interviewed on cost of living. His stunt of enlisting Shaquille O’Neal to sell the voice was demeaning to us all (“Odd choice to support the voice”, 29/8).

This ploy of feel-good speeches and appearances is ensuring Anthony Albanese won’t be subjected to demanding interviews on the economy that require more than repetitive one-liners. Sadly this PM is no Paul Keating or Scott Morrison, who both had the ability to spontaneously bring facts and figures into a cogent argument on complex issues from monetary policy to balance of payments.

The ABC, along with the left-leaning media, gives lightweight endorsement of this government’s social agenda and appears more as a complicit praetorian guard than a fourth estate.

Sarah Childs, Gooloogong, NSW

Anthony Albanese’s stunt where he tried to use former US basketball player Shaquille O’Neal to back the proposed Indigenous voice to parliament shows an appalling lack of judgment.

For someone like Albanese, who would normally rail against foreign interference in Australian elections, this reeks of hypocrisy. We don’t need to be told how to vote by some foreign basketball player. O’Neal has nothing to do with Australia, and his opinion is just simply that of a foreigner who won’t get to vote in the referendum. Please, PM, stop treating the Australian people like we’re stupid and need to be guided along at every turn.

We are more than capable of making our own decisions without help from the hashtag social media culture that you play to. It really is an affront to the voting public.

Matt Eggleston, West Perth, WA

If American input on the voice were really necessary, the Prime Minister should have looked no further than US Chief Justice John Roberts, who in 2007 said “the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race” (“Poll shows waning support for voice to parliament”, 29/8).

That’s the sort of slam-dunk succinctness many Aussies go along with. Indeed, which part of the Chief Justice’s wisdom does Anthony Albanese not get?

Mandy Macmillan, Singleton, NSW

Last line of defence

I don’t know what ingredients are in the cupcakes at the rainbow morning teas the Australian Defence Force is now free to enjoy, but it’s not logic, common sense or the wellbeing of the nation.

The political and military leadership of the ADF has reinforced that it has lost its way and seems to be focused only on social engineering and woke minority endorsements (“Marles opens ADF ranks to ‘rainbow army’ ”, 29/8).

All “likes” aside, the ADF should be structured, staffed and equipped to kill the enemy and destroy their associated infrastructure. Nothing else matters. It must be an organisation that is performance and capability based, using the best people on offer.

The skin colour, gender, sexual orientation or religious beliefs of those who may aspire to wear the uniform should not warrant consideration.

The ADF hierarchy must use remuneration, career progression, the best equipment, exemplary leadership and job satisfaction to attract the right personnel to its ranks. Anything else is an abrogation of its responsibility to the nation.

The ADF leaders have been around defence circles for many years and should know better than to fall for these woke stunts that contribute nothing to our war-fighting capability.

Tom Moylan, Melbourne, Vic

Krystyna Lynch believes woke ideas are mainly about “openness and fairness” (Letters, 29/8).

That may be the theory, but the reason woke has become a term of denigration is that a large number of those who regard themselves as woke say and write much that is absurd and even grossly insulting. When a member of Hobart Council recently informed us that removing a statue was “truth-telling” we had a marvellous example of woke cancel culture-speak at work. It’s time for the woke to wake.

David Morrison, Springwood, NSW

Bloom of youth

Young people’s altruism, Jane Bieger (Letters, 29/8), is alive and well in northeast Melbourne.

The students of one nearby high school regularly offer a hot breakfast in a nearby park to the local needy, while those from another school prepare and serve a sit-down meal once a fortnight, Those from a third school assist with a bread run, delivering otherwise-to-be-wasted bread to the poorer folk of the district.

Cheer up, Jane, there are many joy-filled, generous young people kindly looking out for others beyond themselves. At least over here.

Barry Lamb, Heidelberg West, Vic