Backflip shows Labor has no answer to health crisis

Most voters don’t wear hard hats and fluoro, PM

Niki Savva talks about Scott Morrison’s lack of depth (“New campaign, same old pitch”, May 5). It is also clear he only tries to appeal to a narrow group of voters. I want a prime minister who is thoughtful, reflective and has vision. Morrison has made it clear he has no respect for many Australians. He is filmed at every possible opportunity encased in a fancy dress of hard hats and fluoro vests, generally elevating his thumb in a skywards direction with a self-satisfied smirk. What of those of us who are doctors, artists, writers, women, office workers, scientists, teachers, supermarket workers, university lecturers who aren’t impressed by big, noisy, machines? Aren’t we the real “quiet Australians”? Do we not vote or matter? Someone should let Morrison’s marketing team know we exist. Judy Hungerford, North Curl Curl

Early Coalition TV ads depicted Anthony Albanese as a weather vane. After reading Savva’s article, that description is a better fit with the PM. Morrison’s changing stance on most things earns him the description as his offerings are short on substance, confusing or contradictory. His team is regrouping away from him. The opposition’s spokespersons conversely are making sense, addressing issues and pointing out the PM’s inconsistencies. Focus groups will realign the PM’s marketing strategy before the next debate and his “confidence and chutzpah” will kick in for the next version of marketing nonsense he purveys as policy. Geoff Nilon, Mascot

Morrison may be short on substance, contradictory and confusing, but Albanese is totally bereft of anything approaching prime ministerial material. George Fishman, Vaucluse

After providing a list of the PM’s failures, Savva then adroitly summarises the falsity of his response to his critics. Morrison behaves as if he believes “their dislike for him is based on personal grievances rather than on dispassionate assessments of his trustworthiness and competence”. Such a solipsistic PM could hardly think otherwise. He is, in truth, attempting to run a presidential campaign, which relies on personality-cult politics. COVID-19 saved Albanese from falling for this trap. While there is no denying that, over the years, our PMs have assumed presidential characteristics, we must remember we choose a government at our elections. John Carmody, Roseville

Savva explains why so many former Liberal voters are supporting the teal armies. This is the future for good government rather than spin and politics. Alison Stewart, Waitara

I recall reading once an interior decorator being quoted as saying: “Beige is so powerful”, but now…(“‘Teal’ win spells end of power: Howard”, May 5). Alicia Dawson, Balmain

“Groupies”? It is difficult to think of a more demeaning term for John Howard to use in relation to the women standing as independent candidates in safe Liberal seats. Whatever his intention in using such charged language, it is appalling, out of touch with reality, and he should withdraw it and apologise. David Perkins, Reid (ACT)

Housing now an egalitarian issue

Your editorial is spot-on (“Housing affordability challenge requires leadership and vision”, May 5). Both main parties know very well that a housing policy that makes ownership more affordable for those who don’t own property, while simultaneously keeping ownership lucrative for those who do is, literally and by definition, impossible.

You can’t make something cheaper and more expensive at the same time, making housing policy now a democratic question for our individual and collective egalitarian consciences. Regardless of our own stake in the have/have-not camps, we each need to ask ourselves what kind of shared Australia we eventually want to live in. Jack Robertson, Birchgrove

Build to rent, and then to buy, is the solution. A national housing commission is required whereby a minimal deposit is paid at a prearranged price, the client then paying a reduced rental and after five years has the right to purchase the property. A national project such as this requires a national leader, hopefully we will have one in just over two weeks. Steve Johnson, Elizabeth Beach

Not so independent

The release of the coral bleach report is to be delayed until after the election (“Release of coral bleach report be delayed until after election”, May 5). As this has been written by a supposedly independent Commonwealth agency, I question why it has not been released as soon as it was completed. This to me smacks of political interference. And it seems that there is only one party which would benefit from its delayed release. Glynn Stiller, Bowral

Voters are integrity commission

I agree with Scott Morrison’s warning that a non-elected statutorily entrenched federal integrity commission would become a “public autocracy”, though that would not be the motive of those who create or are charged with running it (Letters, May 5). In my view, such a body is unnecessary. There is a body that scrutinises every aspect of government performance. It is called the opposition. There is a body that takes a broader but not less critical view of the same thing: the media.

This system has worked well for a long time. There are times when matters raised by the opposition give rise to special commissions of inquiry, likewise with the media. To create a body that has an ongoing scrutiny of the machinations of government creates a quite different situation; you’ve virtually created another chamber of parliament.

Things like the sport rorts and allegations of pork barrelling have been well aired by the opposition and the media. There is an election. The public will pass judgment. The electorate has always passed judgment when a government has become dysfunctional, become involved in a power struggle, become too arrogant and otherwise gone to seed. Sir John Kerr, the most unjustly vilified man in Australian history, ran into an impasse in the dying days of the Whitlam government and simply put it back to the people to decide. Surely, in all these matters of governance, that is all that’s needed. Malcolm Brown, Ermington

Change for the better

Double Bay formed part of my early years, and I remember it as having no real “centre” as the roar of traffic through New South Head Road seemed to cut the soul of the area in half (“Double Bay street brawl over plans to pedestrianise”, May 5). Surely, with a clever architectural approach and landscaping, a traffic-free Knox Street would give the area a much-needed centre, rather than only offering kerbside parking. The retailers say parking is the reason to keep the area accessible. Have any of them experienced the buzz of an Italian piazza like St Mark’s in Venice, or the Piazza Navona in Rome? Not a car in sight, but restaurants and nightlife spilling onto the square. A reinvented Knox street would be a good reason to go to the “heart” of Double Bay. Greg Vale, Kiama

Backwards step

Roe v Wade to be overturned? Then the US Supreme Court is surely Trump’s dead hand (“The right to privacy at stake: Biden”, May 5). Catherine Brookes, Manly

Smoke and mirrors

In the absence of any form of filtration at the three exhaust stacks at the Rozelle interchange, I suggest your correspondent put on a filtration mask capable of removing PM 2.5 emissions and not remove it until well past the International Cruise Terminal, as docked liners also have unfiltered funnel emissions from the burning of toxin laden bunker fuel (Letters, May 5).

Having four unfiltered exhaust stacks within a half a kilometre of each other is some sort of record in the environmental vandalism stakes and makes a mockery of the Bays West master plan by putting residential housing in juxtaposition to the stacks. Cornelius van der Weyden, Balmain East

Keep it simple

If we are coining a new gender-neutral pronoun, as a teacher of English to new migrants who have to grapple daily with the often meaningless, countless varieties and vagaries of our language, could I suggest something simple such as the single word “per”, a short version of “person” and a homophone for the warm and friendly “purr”, to serve as the singular, plural, subject, object, possessive and reflexive pronoun (Letters, May 5). Heather Johnson, West Pennant Hills

Joker John

Farewell at last to the sometimes controversial AOC president John Coates (“What’s in an Olympic bid? Like snags, best not to know”, May 5). When British swimmer Rebecca Adlington won double gold in Beijing in 2008, Coates reportedly said, “Not bad for a nation with few swimming pools and not much soap”.

I wrote a letter, gently chiding him for his rudeness towards my native land, and taped a 20c coin to it as a starter for Australia’s London 2012 funding. His reply thanked me for the donation and claimed that the Britain/Australia sporting relationship was always jocular. I hope he spent the two bob wisely. Steve Cornelius, Brookvale

Unfortunate development

It’s not a “people’s autocracy” that runs NSW (“NSW drills down on adding more construction hours”, May 5). It’s a “developers’ autocracy”. John Lees, Castlecrag

This NSW government has given developers everything they have asked for and now have agreed to a proposal to work on Sundays. All at the expense of the community. The planning minister said that “all I have done is listened to industry”. In my previous town planning studies, such a decision required consultation of the whole community, not just your mates. Brian McDonald, Willoughby

Hard of hearing

Yes, Anne O’Hara, Mike Cannon-Brookes’ AGL action is a fine example of “can-do capitalism” (Letters, May 5). Unfortunately, the Coalition hears it as “don’t-want wokism”. Terry McGee, Malua Bay

Kelly’s fantasy

I don’t know why the UAP is so worried about Labor’s preferencing plan (Advertisement, May 5). After all, to install Craig Kelly as PM, as previous ads have boasted, the UAP obviously plans to romp in with at least 51 per cent of the total vote. Mind you, that’s just a bit more than the 3.43 per cent they garnered at the 2019 election. But splash enough yellow and enough cash around, and who knows? Joan Brown, Orange

The digital view

Online comment from one of the stories that attracted the most reader feedback yesterday on smh.com.auFederal budget spending pushed interest rate move by RBA: EconomistsFrom Science Not Myth: ″⁣Most economists will tell you that the RBA should have acted earlier. Thanks to the delay Australia’s interest rates may well need to rise more quickly than those nations who acted earlier. Those nations should see a steady slowing in their economies. Australia’s economy may well take a harder jolt.″⁣