US consulate out of touch and lacking basic good manners

The Australian government has turned its back on its citizens overseas. I am an Australian working in the US. The current flight restrictions into Australia prevent me from returning, and doing business in Australia is just as difficult. I recently sold property in NSW and needed my ID verified. This required me to drive 11 hours each way to the Australian consulate for a 15 minute meeting.

At the consulate I hoped for a cheery g’day. Instead I was greeted with cold officiousness. No sympathy for the long drive. “It’s your choice to be Australian,” shrugged the guard. Business concluded, I started pleasantries while checking the documents, only to look up to the turned back of the consular official as he left the room.

Why couldn’t my ID and signature be witnessed by an official in my town? Why couldn’t an Australian commissioner who lives closer to me notarise my papers? Why couldn’t the whole procedure happen via Zoom?

The Australian government has turned as cold as its consulates and currently makes our lives more difficult.

Dr Robyn-Ann Potanin, Roswell, New Mexico

Border war of words

Isn’t Anthony Albanese comparing apples with oranges when he compares visitors arriving from New Zealand with the problems associated with repatriating the thousands of Australians who wish to return home from abroad? New Zealand is at present COVID-free. Kiwis visiting Australia will be required to undergo 14 days quarantine on returning home.

Australians returning from abroad will inevitably make at least one stop during their flight and that will likely be in a nation where COVID- 19 is rife. This presents an enormous quarantine problem for Australia. So it seems that smaller numbers returning over a longer period would assist in alleviating the problem rather than have fleets of aircraft arriving en masse in what seems to be an ALP requirement to get everyone home by Christmas?

Nick Bailey, Ngunnawal, ACT

Common decency

The reason a loud-mouthed, uncouth narcissist who doesn’t give a damn, and a dementing, soon-to-be octogenarian who is oblivious to the goings on around him are presidential candidates, is that in Western democracies decent, honourable individuals like Gladys Berejiklian are pilloried and embarrassed by statutory inquiries with limitless powers, and partisan traditional and social media.

George Fishman, Vaucluse, NSW

Easy as ABC

How can we expect unbiased political journalism from the ABC (“The Diary”, 19/10) when Laura Tingle tweets, “we grieve the loss of so many of our colleagues to ideological bastardry. Hope you are feeling smug Scott Morrison”. Perhaps she could also put in some similar commentary on the hundreds of hard working people who have lost their businesses in Victoria, due to Daniel Andrews’ ideological bastardry.

Barrie Turner, Linden Park, SA

Ball’s in their court

Well may Bruce McAvaney say that the 2020 AFL grand final will be the greatest of all. Sorry, Bruce, but I have already witnessed the greatest grand final in this coronavirus season.

The Vixens versus West Coast Fever has to be the best grand final in the history of domestic netball. A thrilling game that went down to the wire saw one of Australia’s greatest coaches Simone McKinnis steer her Vixens to a win in a welcome victory for all Victorians to savour. The women of netball, Australia’s biggest participation team sport, have set a gold standard on the court that will be hard to match when the men run out on the field on Saturday.

John Bell, Heidelberg Heights Vic