Letters
Letters to
the editor
Choosing irrelevance
Former Liberal speaker Andrew Wallace is “uncomfortable with quotas” and says the best person should get the job. He means men (Karen Barlow, “ ‘Sleepwalk into irrelevance’: The Liberal loss explained”, May 10-16). He seems unconcerned that few women are being preselected under the “best person” principle. This means they can expect some long wilderness years as the world speeds past them. Ageing Liberal men, shaking their collective fists at “modernity”, patronising their exclusively male clubs and blokey boardrooms, are actively choosing irrelevance. If Wallace represents his colleagues in imagining that only seven Coalition women in the House of Representatives is acceptable, they are utterly doomed. Farewell LNP. And good riddance.
– Alison Stewart, Riverview, NSW
A time for optimism
What a breath of fresh air it was to read Frank Bongiorno’s hopeful list of opportunities the new Labor government has (“The longest wish list”, May 10-16). It would be so refreshing to see a government eventually tackle tax reform, work towards decarbonising our homes, industries, transport and exports, and rewrite the whistleblower laws. We are all feeling a sense of optimism, prime minister. Please don’t disappoint us.
– Mary Baldwin, Bairnsdale, Vic
Alert voices
I was disappointed to read Julia Banks’s comment piece (“It’s time for a new party”, May 10-16). The community independent movement is not just a reflection of disenchanted small-l liberals waiting for a new Liberal Party. The philosophy of “voices” groups is to open space for participation without the baggage of party structures. This is what attracts people from across the political spectrum. Whether it’s a policy forum, citizen assembly or volunteering at a booth, it’s the openness that enables dialogue and participation. It would be surprising if these disparate groups favoured a party structure. Banks’s case seems focused more on Climate 200 funding than the grassroots. She also argues that community independent MPs could continue to vote independently. It is hard to see how such a party would retain broad support or its credibility in the febrile atmosphere of Australian national politics.
– Jane Hearn, Wollstonecraft, NSW
The Faustian pact
I am humbled that Stan Grant has shared with me, us, the most balanced exposition of the how and why Australians voted for decency and stability (“The Australian heart”, May 10-16). His brilliant summation of why the Voice referendum failed, how Dutton did not understand or appreciate the common sense and decency of the Australian people, blew me away. That Dutton fell for the Faustian pact, selling his soul for power, was obvious to us all, but no one has put it as succinctly as Grant. What struck me was the exhortation to not fall into the trap of allowing ourselves to hate. Stan Grant, philosopher, journalist, theologian, a great Australian.
– Geoff Nilon, Mascot, NSW
Fox tale
Stan Grant is an extraordinary writer and thinker, but he lays it on exceedingly thick when it comes to the virtues of the late Roger Scruton’s work. Scruton never moved beyond a simplistic, sanctimonious dichotomy between classical and popular art and music, leading him to exclude not just entire styles but entire cultures from any notion of intelligence or beauty in the arts. As for “moral order”, one can’t help be reminded of Scruton’s vigorous defence of fox-hunting as “an ancient synthesis of horse, hound and human”. That dismal union says much about how “tradition” continues to stand in the way of progress when it comes to humans respecting their environment and the other species within it. It’s a pity, too, that Grant pushes the tired line on progressives and so-called identity politics, as if maintaining the status quo of a society run by great white men somehow doesn’t constitute a “politics of identity”.
– Dean Biron, Spring Hill, Qld
Lost hope
Michael Gawenda is right to call out the Hamas atrocities of October 2023 and the subsequent rise in anti-Semitism in Australia and elsewhere (“Confronting anti-Semitism”, March 10-16). But his article is regrettably selective as it fails to mention the increasing death toll in Gaza, the ongoing aid blockade or the rise in Islamophobia. I don’t know if anyone with Jewish or Palestinian heritage could ever forgive the other side of this conflict for their actions. This article by a highly respected person seems to indicate the answer is in the negative. Which makes me wonder if this intractable conflict will ever be resolved.
– Bob Maguire, Coburg, Vic
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This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on May 17, 2025.
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