Labor’s chance to improve care for both young and old

Most would be happy to pay for good care for our elders, and to ensure that proper systems are in place by the time we need them ourselves, but paying hefty taxes to support dividends and CEO wages? The system is broken.
Charmain Brinks, Newcastle

The future additional funding for aged care should first ensure that those elderly people in care should make a fair contribution to the costs of their care. Many old people in homes have a family homes that could be sold to fund their care after death. No doubt many of their children shudder at the thought of this but why should taxpayers, many of whom will never afford a home of their own, pay a levy or new tax so that an inheritance can be passed on? Ewan McLean, Ermington

Ninety billion dollars for submarines and $450 million for aged care: makes sense (Letters, March 3). Ken Pares, Forster

Abbott’s in it for himself as much as the others

I almost choked on my corn flakes when I read that Tony Abbott laments the culture of today’s politicians, who are in it for themselves, not the country (“Howard-era politicians were better”, says Abbott, March 3). This polarising career politician who survived less than two years as PM and was dumped by his constituents in the blue ribbon conservative seat of Warringah seems to be trying to recast himself as a nationalistic statesman. Not only is he now working for the British government as an adviser, but in 2019 he was also gifted the plush positions on the Australian War Memorial Board and Council . That’s on top of his parliamentary pension for a former PM, which provides a generous remuneration and benefits. It must be all the other politicians who are in it for themselves, not him. Tony Bell, Gosford

What poor timing from Abbott to tout the superiority of the Howard government when the royal commission into aged care has traced the cause of the industry’s horrendous problems back to the Howard government’s 1997 legislation. Steve Bright, North Avoca

Abbott forgot to mention the mining boom and China’s insatiable appetite for our resources that guaranteed Howard’s surplus budgets. Gun ownership reforms were the result of the Port Arthur massacre and achieved no thanks to opposition from his own side of politics, the Nationals. Other than that, the Howard years set the scene for today’s opposition to fair taxation, and ignorance and obstruction to real and meaningful action on climate change. John Kingsmill, Fairlight

Abbott forgot to mention the Howard government introduced a new tax, failed to say sorry to Indigenous Australians and successfully involved Australia in two wars that achieved nothing, wasted lives on both sides and billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money. Blane Stonley, Cowan

Does Abbott include himself among the “substantial characters” of the Howard era? Was he one of those who were “in it for the country” more than for himself? Abbott will always be the man who spent years relentlessly struggling and demanding his way into the top job, then, having achieved it, couldn’t remember why he wanted it. Len Keating, Balmain East

Abbott would make a terrific stand-up comedian, if he wasn’t being serious. This same man promised there would be “no wrecking, no undermining and no sniping” when deposed as Liberal leader, then spent his remaining time in Parliament pursuing his personal vendetta against his deposer. His political career will be remembered primarily for delaying our response to climate change and for being the subject of Gillard’s misogyny speech. Alan Marel, North Curl Curl

Porter tried by media inquisition

Talk about trial by media (“Attorney-General Christian Porter denies alleged historical rape”, smh.com.au, March 3). I have just sat through the agonising news conference and questioning which Christian Porter subjected himself to. Whatever the memories of the young woman who made the allegations against him before her tragic suicide, his memories are not the same. His mental anguish seemed sincere and genuine. We can only hope that somehow the truth may be found in a fair and decent way instead of through the feeding frenzy which is so beloved by our prosecutors in the court of public opinion. Helen Bersten, Roseville

Conduct and ethics

It is one thing that it has just dawned on NSW Liberals that a Code of Conduct and Ethics is a good idea (“New code of conduct adopted by NSW Libs”, March 3). It is another entirely that it needs to go into explicit detail to explain behaviours that would constitute breaches. Tony Doyle, Fairy Meadow

Council conundrum

Shelley Hancock may call for an improvement of behaviour and levels of leadership in councils, but her government has reduced the amount of oversight to which councillors were once subjected by ratepayers with the decision to enlarge these bodies by the disgraceful forced amalgamation process (″⁣Hancock issues warning ahead of council elections″⁣, March 3). That initiative has largely taken the local out of local government. Many ratepayers have little knowledge about who represents them, and their capacity to elect representatives who will speak for them has been significantly reduced. A large majority of ratepayers do not have an opportunity to engage with councillors, and since the undemocratic takeover many don’t care. This is the antithesis of democracy and if problems are now increasing the blame must be sheeted home to our state government.
Derrick Mason, Boorowa

Corporate payback

Will the Prime Minister and the Treasurer now introduce a corporate robo-debt and pursue the companies and directors as mercilessly, punitively and ruthlessly as they pursued the Centrelink robo-debt recipients (“Companies told to return JobKeeper”, March 3)? Or is it simply yet another case of private enterprise socialising losses while capitalising profits? Severino Milazzo, Maroubra

Ethic cleansing

We cannot change history, it is irrefutable. We should not try to rewrite it or sweep it under the carpet either (“Six Dr Seuss books will no longer be published due to racist images”, smh.com.au, March 3). This “cleansing” or “cancelling” does not help future generations understand that some attitudes and actions from the past were wrong. These books, films, plays, paintings or music should be left as they are, in plain sight, and talked about. In this way people will see and judge for themselves their moral and ethical inconsistencies. Nick Sharp, Warrawong

Zero leadership

Being conspicuous by its absence in the promotion of positive climate change policies, the Australian government now has been criticised by the head of Nissan Australia for its reluctance to adopt an electric car policy (″⁣Auto chief blasts lack of electric car policy″⁣, March 3). We have been reading about other countries and their positive desire to do something to promote electric cars. But not here. Our current federal government is probably the greatest do-nothing government that one can ever remember. Properly run countries can attain consensus between ruling parties to advance the country, but when the conservatives in a country have a born-to-rule mentality the progressives have no chance. The mantra for the federal government is “mark time”.
Stewart Copper, Maroubra

TAFE fail

Industry “working closely with TAFE” to come up with a plan to energise the place will never work because the NSW government has ensured those who lead TAFE are there to do the government’s will: eliminate that formerly great institution (Letters, March 3). Bob Hall , Wyoming

For the record

As I put another Australian album on the turntable, I think back to the early 1970s when, as a teen, like many others, I only owned LPs by English and American bands until Michael Gudinski came along with his record label, Mushroom (“Stars mourn Gudinski”, March 3). He started to record bands we could see live playing original songs we were proud to have on record, from The Dingoes to Skyhooks to The Sports. He helped Aussies see that their own musicians were just as good in concert as many of those from overseas and consequently stopped the ludicrous situation where audiences would boo the local support acts, until it then became acceptable to have Australians headline major venues. We should acknowledge what Gudinski did for our rock’n’roll scene. Con Vaitsas, Ashbury

Queen calling

Now that the Queen can Zoom at any time, for any reason she and we see fit, why not save some cash and abolish all those redundant governors and the governor-general (“Chipper Queen of comedy works the Zoom”, March 3). The Queen can turn up at Katherine, Bourke, the Pilbara or indeed Canberra – anywhere – at the click of a link. These are desperate fiscal times and hard decisions must be made. Tom Mangan, Woy Woy Bay

Blown away

Peter Jones – I agree (Letters, March 3). Leaf blowers, apart from being excessively noisy, simply re-distribute the leaves onto roadways, into drains or onto adjoining land. Are there leaf-suckers available, or is that the term for neighbours? Rod Bartlett, Woonona

How can we decry leaf blowers? In my years at Killara I saw how useful they were. How else could you quickly get your leaves out to the street, into the gutter, and eventually down the stormwater drains? More entertainingly, you can blow your leaves into a generous pile of compostable material in front of your neighbour’s house. All this can be done while providing a free, deafening alarm for your neighbours. Leaf blowers provide an invaluable insight into human priorities, progress and a possible trajectory of our evolution. Peter Thompson, Grenfell

I would suggest the chainsaw is far more ecologically damaging than the benign leaf blower. John Grinter, Katoomba

The jet ski is far worse. Cath Hunting, MacMasters Beach

Buoys will be buoys

I’m with you on “boo-ees”, William Ackland (Letters, March 3). When did you ever hear a floating object or a person’s mood described as “booeeant?“ Mickey Pragnell, Kiama

The digital view

Online comment from one of the stories that attracted the most reader feedback yesterday on smh.com.au
‘Heartache’ for stranded Australians as border ban extended until June
From dxv2002: ″⁣I don’t understand why and how so many people couldn’t care less about having their movements restricted. There are a great number of comments along the line that it is ‘their fault’ for being overseas. I am one of those overseas and I watch out for any news allowing me to return to visit my ailing 90-year-old mother. Is it my fault that I am overseas? Is it my mother’s fault for being 90 or for being frail? Is it my fault that I don’t relish the idea of being locked up in a hotel if I return? Now that vaccines are being rolled out around the world, what justification is there to ‘keep people out’?″⁣