Voice failure was caused by the natural reaction of the voters

Noel Pearson seems to be obviously and understandably very unhappy about the unsuccessful referendum for the voice to parliament (“ ‘Dog’ act: Pearson unleashes on all”, 10-11/5).

I decided against it as soon as it was proposed. I was not scared into rejection by the Coalition or, indeed, anyone else.

Why? We already have a voice to parliament and that is the minister for Aboriginal affairs. All of the items raised by the proponents for the voice should be within the remit of the minister, and if not, why not?

The minister is their voice, or should be. Otherwise, why are we paying them? The minister should prioritise the needs of Indigenous people at all times and this includes making sure that funding is used appropriately. It seems pretty obvious that this is not currently the case.

I sincerely believe most Australians, myself included, do not wish to see Indigenous people living in squalor, deprived of the opportunities and provision of the basic needs that the rest of us enjoy.

Jill Matters, Taigum, Qld

With Labor back in office, it’s obvious there will now be a renewed push to legislate for the voice.

Instead of seeing the No vote at the 2023 referendum as some sort of betrayal, Noel Pearson and his supporters instead should regard it as Australians insisting that we are all equal, regardless of whether we were the inhabitants many thousands of years ago, our forebears arrived on boats in the 18th century or we became citizens last month. That is too valuable a fact to be tampered with in some sort of misguided push for superiority of ownership.

One can only reflect on what Australia would be today without the contributions of the many who, despite the trials and difficulties they faced, have, across the past 200 or so years, built what is now a proud and modern nation.

Noelle Oke, Albury, NSW

Noel Pearson needs to understand that the voice was not lost because of Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton.

It was lost because the overwhelming opinion of Australians at a referendum rejected it as bad policy, despite enormous pressure to vote for it. Any attempt to restore it in any form will be met with fierce resistance.

Tony Hennessy, Casino, NSW

Labor’s true colours

Oops, a few feathers seem to have been ruffled, when the smiling Prime Minister and his deputy displayed their true colours by ruthlessly unfrocking Mark Dreyfus and Ed Husic.

It’s like chalk and cheese to the recent unity shown for the Labor Party’s premeditated, cold and calculated character assassination of Peter Dutton. Maybe it’s just because they have had too much of a good thing?

Deirdre Graham, Moss Vale, NSW

Mediocrity of leaders

A letter writer suggests that voters who fail to vote need to receive higher penalties (Letters, 10-11/5). Voting is a privilege. However, Australia’s compulsory voting makes it an outlier in Western democratic countries and arguably means politicians don’t have to work as hard for their votes.

Perhaps, the greater reluctance to vote was because of the mediocrity of the leaders and, indeed, the policies of our major parties?

The reluctance to vote in this election appears understandable considering that neither political party offered any clear way to improve our defences, combat our rising debt, introduce tax reform or improve our rapidly deteriorating standard of living and the productivity of the workforce.

Lisa Sanderson, Auchenflower, Qld

Halo missing in picture

Does the Catholic conclave of 133 cardinals not realise what it has done by voting for Pope Leo XIV, an American?

As if the US President did not have an egotistical view of himself by claiming back in January that he was “blessed by God” and by recently posting the distasteful AI image of himself adorned in papal robes.

Donald Trump must be thinking he is favoured by God and it was divine intervention to have an American put in place to the highest position in the Catholic Church. I suspect Trump, thinking he is already “blessed by God”, now will be destined to be selected for sainthood, with a holy halo around his head.

Susan McLochlan, Caboolture South, Qld

Greens picking fruit

As Dennis Shanahan notes (“Decline & fall of Greens, 10-11/5), “the Greens were like kiwifruit: green on the outside and on the inside”. Their radicalism led to the label “watermelons: green on the outside but red on the inside”. Now “they have become raspberries – red all through”.

Raspberries seems an apt name for various reasons, not just relating to colour.

Deborah Morrison, Malvern East, Vic