What happened to conviction politics?

After reading Gina Rinehart’s comments in The Weekend Australian, I do wonder if our government has the intelligence to consider her thoughts.

LM Silbert, West Leederville, WA

Didn’t Anthony Albanese say he was a conviction politician (“Tied in knots on census questions”, 31/8-1/9)?

Riley Brown, Bondi, NSW

Tanya Plibersek and Anthony Albanese apparently know little about the mine planning and approvals processes for the Blayney goldmine. Alternative tailings dam sites would have been examined before the best one was chosen. That may be the only practical option. I did some review work on a goldmine proposal for a far larger company than Regis and the main reason the mine was never developed was that the best available tailings dam site was not good enough.

Bob Reid, Fig Tree Pocket, Qld

I’m confident fair-minded Australians would have supported the Albanese government’s backdown on including the LGBTIQ+ question in the census. Another example of Anthony Albanese’s super-cautious approach blowing up in his face.

Kevin Burke, Sandringham, Vic

As always, Henry Ergas is right on the money (“Activist fury a recipe for pervasive conflict”, 30/8). The bottom line is if you allow hate speech to go unpunished, at mosques or the Opera House, illegal rallies and encampments, in breach of rules of conduct, you enable and encourage the perpetrators to repeat offend.

Robert Krochmalik, Pearl Beach, NSW

How strange that the ALP, unions and left-leaning media have suddenly discovered a “right to disconnect”. These organisations were outraged when, during the previous Coalition government, the Fair Work Commission determined penalty rates were no longer relevant. They expressed horror when Coalition MPs and business chief executives didn’t answer their office phones at 9am on a Sunday morning. I guess the right to disconnect depends on who is disconnecting.

David Reimers, Aldgate, SA

Donald Trump went to Arlington National Cemetery at the invitation of families whose loved ones died in the shameful retreat from Afghanistan. No doubt he saw some political advantage in it. But Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who orchestrated the debacle, did not seem to commemorate the anniversary in any way. Yet Harris accused Trump of “lacking respect for America’s war dead”.

Trevor Farrant, Hackney, SA