Shorten reminds us of the Wizard of Oz and his merry Munchkins

Jennifer Oriel is too kind in describing Labor’s policies as idealistic (15/4). They are actually a cynical grab for votes and rely on the fact that the electorate can easily be manipulated. Bill Shorten reminds me of the Wizard of Oz who used smoke and mirrors to maintain his image and fool the Munchkins in the merry old land of Oz. The problem for the Coalition is that Australian Munchkins believe Shorten, even though they know that he would make a poor PM.

There will be no yellow brick road if Labor wins — except for Shorten and his mates.

Jim Wilson, Beaumont, SA

Economic climate alert

Every time the Bill Shorten, Kerryn Phelps and Zali Steggall chant “we must do more about climate change” and then pronounce policies that are supposed to achieve this, they are in effect declaring they can change the climate. Given that the Chief Scientist says it’s impossible for Australia to influence the climate, these three either believe they have magical powers or they’re indulging in virtue signalling.

Their policies won’t change the climate but the economy and our living standards will go down. Subsidies and grid investment behind the shift to more renewables will materialise in the form of higher priced electricity. Costs will increase throughout the economy, industry will downsize or close, unemployment will rise and households will continue to suffer.

Ron Hobba, Camberwell, Vic

Anti-Semitism in Labor

Ex-Labor candidate for Curtin Melissa Price’s disingenuous defence of her anti-Israeli slur is that “she likes Jews but does not like Israel”. Sorry, but she’s going to have to do better than that. That’s like saying you like Australians but don’t like Australia.

Now Josh Wilson, the Labor member for Fremantle, has also been caught out making anti-Israel comments. This has led to unheard-of intervention by the Israeli ambassador.

A core group of Labor supporters has always been disgracefully anti-Semitic, but they’ve been able to keep the lid on it. Not any more. Voters in the seats of Curtin, Fremantle and Wentworth may now wake up and make the appropriate response at the ballot box.

Gary Carter, Leeming, WA

Death of Labor’s Right

Nick Cater has hit the nail on the head (“Greens are in Labor’s policies like a computer virus”, 15/4). This phenomenon is due to the strange death of the Labor Right faction as an ideological force. The Right may still have a bare majority at national conference and in the federal caucus, but has been unwilling to challenge the policy nonsense — particularly on energy — regularly trotted out by the green-left.

It will be interesting to see if the Right eventually takes on the Left when the economic consequences of poor energy policy become evident. However, at that point in time the party will have, in all probability, lost the support of the mining and manufacturing workers and their families who for more than a century have been the true believers.

Mitch McDonald, Abbotsford, NSW

I salute Nick Cater for his insightful piece on the infective virus of Greens’ extremism that has permeated Labor planning and resulted in a slew of unrealistic and inept policies.

Cater’s turn of phrase — “pasty vegan vigilantes” “high on dudgeon and low on vitamin B12” and “today’s half-witted campaign can become tomorrow’s official Labor policy” should alert us to the sinister intent behind the Greens’ platform and the use of acolytes in spreading it. If young people envisage a future Australia built on unreliable renewables and political hot air, they need only turn to Johannes Leak’s cartoon (15/4) and its insight into the Greens malign rhetoric.

Helen Derrick, Sherwood, Qld