Pesutto saga highlights rotten state of Victorian politics

The Australian’s editorial sums up the Pesutto saga perfectly (“Time for a fresh start in Victoria”, 24/12). But do the Victorian electors want it? There is a sense that it doesn’t matter who replaces John Pesutto as the leader of the Liberal Party, or even the ­person beyond that. Victoria displays the hallmarks of a one-party state. There is a truism in politics; opposition parties don’t win elections, governments lose them – except in Victoria.

Labor has governed for all but three of the past 25 years and, as evidenced by the state’s current malaise, it has certainly done enough to lose. And the trend extends federally; Labor holds 24 of 36 seats. There’s enough to suggest the electorate has changed. It appears comfortable with governments that are grounded in some form of socialism. That’s bad news for the other states that will be expected pick up the ­pieces.

Kim Keogh, Claremont, WA

‘Israelophobia’?

Timothy Lynch’s excellent column clearly explained how Ireland and its government has slowly moved to the left and is now in direct legal conflict with Israel (“Why Ireland’s ‘new morality’ thrives on Israelophobia”, 23/12).

It seems to me that the Australian government is also slowly following that path, which is extraordinary. Israel is the only democratic country in the Middle East fighting for survival.

Despite severe criticism from Australia, Israel has achieved great success against Hamas and Hezbollah. Australia must not abandon Israel.

Peter Burke, Mosman, NSW

As an Australian of proud Irish heritage, I perceive the situation described by Timothy Lynch in his Monday opinion piece differently. The article forms assumptions about Irish motivations for being one of the only Western ­nations to stand up for Palestinian humanity in its darkest days. Lynch connects Israel’s closing of its Dublin embassy to a political class corrupted by “luxury beliefs”.

Lynch bemoans what I see as rare courage in Western political leadership, on behalf of the human rights of people suffering injustice. Ireland’s affinity with historically persecuted people, as Lynch rightly mentions, is shared with the Jewish diaspora; this is consistent with an Irish cultural history which has forged links with the Palestinian people as a direct result of common experiences of oppression. A plea for accountability, via institutions that represent humanity’s highest standards, should not be controversial. Much less should it be ­disparaged.

Tom Leydon, Launceston, Tas

Mind your business

Perhaps the International Monetary Fund should mind its own business (“IMF backs RBA, warns against govt spending spree”, 24/12). If it is advocating that the Australian government should phase out the 50 per cent capital gains tax “discount” as part of a plan to reform our tax system and eliminate the government’s structural deficit, it plainly has no understanding of Australia’s CGT. Bob Hawke vowed not to introduce a CGT and then betrayed the people by doing so.

But to ensure that CGT was only paid on real capital gains and not paid simply on the diminution in the buying power of the dollar over time, the calculation process required adjustments to be made each year to the relevant cost prices, by reference to increases in the Consumer Price Index. The complicated calculation process became a nightmare.

Peter Graham, Sydney, NSW

Nefarious dealings

I would like to commend Judith Sloan on her column on the corruption obvious within the CFMEU and Cbus, with Labor deeply implicated.

The Labor government should be ashamed of itself and its nefarious dealings with the unions. Follow the money, Judith Sloan says. How right is she, and my question is, where has it all gone? An independent inquiry is required to investigate the whole sorry mess. What’s clear is the union members are not receiving any benefit.

John McBratney, Lancefield, Vic

Energy stress

Amid the debate over energy policy, one fact remains inescapable. Australia’s energy needs are only going to continue increasing. We have ongoing population increase, greater demands on the grid, with AI and electric vehicles, and, in the case of Victoria, consumers being forced to use electricity for cooking and heating rather than gas.

Yet the proposed shift to renewable energy as the primary source of energy will see less electricity generated. Renewables cannot be cranked up at times of high demand – rather, that is the time when their output is usually at its lowest – on cold, still winter nights. Has this occurred to Energy Minister Chris Bowen? It would seem not.

Mary Hackshaw, Norwood, Vic