Short-term tactics over considered policy

As a member of the Labor Party for over 40 years, let me assure you that Greg Sheridan (“ALP foreign policy racked by cowardice on Mid-East”, 8/10) has highlighted the fundamental structural flaw in the contemporary ALP. That is, the gap between the ever declining and unrepresentative and, to be quite frank, ageing party membership versus the wants, needs and beliefs of the majority of the electorate.

The ill-advised mechanism, giving a greater say to the rank-and-file, was a product of short-term fixes that both Simon Crean and Kevin Rudd devised and implemented to shore up their faltering leaderships. And it continues to drive short-term tactics, rather than strategic thinking and policymaking by senior members of the federal cabinet. Whether it be Jim Chalmers’ 6000 words of impenetrable drivel published in The Monthly (not to mention his love of Mariana Mazzucato’s voodoo economics), Tony Burke’s “back to the future” approach to IR or Chris Bowen’s attachment to increasingly madcap green energy initiatives, they all have their eyes on only one prize. Maximising the party membership vote the day Albo falls under the bus.

However, it is difficult to understand why these three members of the Right faction even bother. In any leadership spill, the vast majority of the rank-and-file will crawl over cut glass to vote for Tanya Plibersek because, sadly, she is the personification of the limited number of activists who still attend branch meetings and staff polling booths.

Mitch McDonald, Abbotsford, NSW

Selective moralism

Although they seem bizarre, Greg Rose’s examples of the overlapping values and goals of political extremes have abounded in modern times (“Strange bedfellows united in hatred of the Jews”, October 8). Realpolitik was turned upside down in 1939 with the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between the USSR and Nazi Germany. John Spooner’s cartoon on Tuesday points out the irony of the Greens’ implicit support for the nuclear threat posed by Iran, and we are all confused at Queers for Palestine’s sympathy for homophobic Gaza under Hamas rule.

Although Rose’s reference to Christian fundamentalism as a source of anti-Semitism is now outdated, his reminder of how selective the woke world’s moral concerns are today should stop us in our tracks. Millions dying of starvation, largely in Africa, together with tens of thousands of Sudanese being murdered by fanatics, get scant attention alongside the civilian casualties of Israel’s defensive war to cripple Hamas and Hezbollah and avert a repeat of October 7 from its border with Lebanon. As Rose notes so cynically, without a Jewish scapegoat, other tragic circumstances go unrecognised.

John Morrissey, Hawthorn, Vic

Lithium push requires a helping hand

The global oversupply of lithium presents a lesson for those who question the viability of decarbonisation. (“Lithium gamble a test of mettle”, 8/10) Not so many years ago we were told there wasn’t enough lithium on the planet to electrify our vehicle fleet. Now there is plenty, thanks to Adam Smith’s “invisible hand”. But, while market mechanisms can provide us with the tools we need to cut emissions, they cannot ensure we do so within the necessary time frame. This is why we still need government intervention – to change human behaviour so it works in our long-term interest and as well as for our short-term gratification.

Legislation was necessary to cut smoking rates, to get lead out of petrol, to remove automatic weapons from the community. The list goes on. Let’s not begrudge a bit of it in the fight against climate change.

Ken Enderby, Concord, NSW

Pride, love and unity

I am a proud Australian and a proud Jew. On Monday, October 7, 2024, I attended the morning commemoration, marking exactly one year after the horrific massacre and brutalities committed in southern Israel by the heartless terrorists of Hamas.

Many emotions went through my mind that morning. Grief and deep sense of loss, anger that such things should happen in my lifetime. And yet pride in the resilience of those most affected and in the prayers and support from leaders of our local community. Prayers were offered for the safe return of the hostages enduring terrible treatment in Gaza, as each and every one was named, one by one. Despite all the atrocities and loss suffered, there was no hint of hate expressed, just sorrow and hope. At the conclusion of the commemoration, we all sang the Australian national anthem. We were all united as proud Australians. So here is the question I would ask. Why do we not hear our national anthem sung by the other side at their rallies? If pro-Palestinian protesters cannot show any decency or love for the land that gives them refuge, they should leave. I feel these matters are important to restore our country to the accepting country that we love.

Paul Lowinger, Bellevue Hill, NSW