Andrew Hastie’s views are all about pushing his own interests

I suspect Andrew Hastie is more interested in promoting himself than local manufacturing (Letters, September 25). He keeps popping up in the news but it’s not to support Ley or address party disunity. In fact, he appears to be auditioning for the Liberal Party leadership. If so, ambition is clouding his judgment. The Coalition is in such disarray that it will take several election cycles to be anywhere near ready to form government. Until then, the leadership of the Liberal Party will be a poisoned chalice. Graham Lum, North Rocks

If Andrew Hastie genuinely believes Australians should revert to using “gas-guzzlers”, thereby doubling or even quadrupling (?) the need for imported transport fuel via geopolitically contested waters, then I suggest he revisits his old Duntroon textbooks. That will also explain why China is going flat-out adopting “soulless” EVs. Carlo Ursida, Kensington (Vic)

Andrew Hastie chose to have minimal Liberal branding on his corflutes and how-to- vote cards at the May election, as the Herald reported at the time. His campaign was all about him as a local member. And it was deliberate. This man is not a team player and has some very unsettling ideas. The undercurrents of superiority are strong in this one. And he will never be prime minister, just like his mate Jacinta. Delusional at best. They’re just too full of themselves. Wendy Atkins, Cooks Hill

Ah, nostalgia politics; such a firm base on which to move forward, but it is what Trump offers, so who knows, Hastie might be onto something? Like Trump, the fine detail escapes Hastie too. Ford Falcons were using engines dating back to 1960, and the punters had just moved on from agricultural suspension and thirsty sixes. Both Ford and GM decided not to invest in old technology, so that left Toyota, which had good Camry sales, but the economies of scale and of suppliers having only one manufacturer to sell to doomed that one. It was all outside our control, as it always was, but Hastie pretends to have better knowledge. There’s no mention of something more modern to make here, of course, and it says all we need to know about the Coalition as it rushes headlong into the past. Make Australia Great Again by building Ford Falcons and digging up coal, that will do it. Tony Sullivan, Adamstown Heights

It will be interesting to see what the de-facto leader of the opposition, Andrew Hastie, might say in relation to the announcement of the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into the distribution of the GST. It is clear that WA, his home state, will lose a significant amount of funding, as it should. Will Andrew stick up for his WA constituents or take a broader view of the nation? This issue might make or break him in his quest for leadership of the federal Liberal Party. John Rome, Mount Lawley (WA)

Andrew Hastie should be ashamed of himself, talking about migrants that way. I grew up in an American Republican town where only Northern European Protestants were considered white. Everyone else was either black and/or an evil idol worshipper (religious statues, icon, and pictures were verboten). I didn’t move to Australia for more of that garbage. Penny Zantos, Artarmon

As a sixth-generation Australian, born almost 40 years before Andrew Hastie, a former member of the Refugee Review Tribunal and human rights lawyer, I can assure him most of us do not feel like strangers in our own homes. Without pretending Australia is perfect, our country has a proud record of welcoming people from many countries with diverse cultures and integrating them. We firmly reject the ugly racists we had on our streets last month, and we want him to stop empowering them. Paul Fergus, Croydon

Can someone please tell Andrew Hastie that it’s not 1969 any more? Grahame Marks, Manly

Do we want a country (indeed, a world) that looks backwards with wistfulness at what we don’t have (or never had) any more? Facebook (among other platforms) is riddled with groups lauding the “golden age” of our collective youth while ignoring the largely incredible progress people have made to address the ills of those times. That past does not hold the key to living in our world today, and in respect to the climate, it is the reason for many of our world’s problems. I find it disappointing that a young man like Andrew Hastie finds himself in our present times pretending to have a plan for our future, but presents as a perfect case-study for Feeble Nostalgia. Phil Armour, Yass

I’m with Andrew Hastie regarding his ambition to make “complex things” for Australia. My wish list would be for something considerably more complex than a 1969 Ford Falcon, though. Additional politicians more complex than Hastie would be a good start. Ingrid Haydon, Long Jetty

Andrew Hastie has just committed political suicide. I reckon he lost half his supporters with one photo. A Ford man! Neville Turbit, Russell Lea

Warm-up act

Apparently, “Climate Change is made up by people with evil intentions” (“You’re all a bunch of stupid people”, September 25). Perhaps Donald Trump could explain to us all what the “evil intentions” of Sir David Attenborough are? Julia Booth, Westleigh

How do they get observable reality to play along with the global warming hoax? Chris Roylance, Paddington (Qld)

Can someone please tell President Trump that, in March, China installed solar panels at 100 panels per second? And that in April it installed more solar power than Australia ever has. Every day in May, China installed enough solar panels to generate power equivalent to three coal stations. Goodness knows what the dismantler-in-chief would make of this genuine enthusiasm for renewables. But it would be interesting to watch. Lesley Walker, Northcote (Vic)

So the world’s most powerful conman reckons climate science is a con? Ray Morgan, Maroubra

One thing is for sure: Donald Trump is making Richard Nixon look good – very good. More’s the pity. Pasquale Vartuli, Wahroonga

Reportedly the lift in the Eiffel Tower broke down the day Adolf Hitler visited Paris. Did the escalator malfunction at the UN when Trump was visiting have the same cause? Stephanie Edwards, Leichhardt

Kimmel culture

Catherine Lumby’s insightful article (“Would Kimmel be cancelled here? Don’t make me laugh”, September 25) recalls the acerbic commentator Mungo MacCallum describing the then prime minister William McMahon as “a VW with both its doors open”, a quote I remember well. Her recollection prompted a question that one or more (probably older) readers may be able to answer. (Google couldn’t.) Who famously (or infamously?) described the then governor general, Sir John Kerr, as “... a stuffed blood plum topped with cheap yoghurt”? Andrew Royal, Orange

Maybe, after this, Jimmy Kimmel can do a Zelensky? Anne Ring, Coogee

Bring back the Wharf Review and give Trump a free seat between Messrs Keating and Abbott. It would do him good to loosen up and see how Aussie pollies have learnt how to laugh at themselves. Rob Ferguson, St Ives

Uni cheating debate is complex

The article regarding university students’ lack of proficiency in written English (‴⁣⁣Could not compose an email’: This is what academics say about cheating students”, smh.com.au, September 25) is interesting not because I do not believe it is true, but as an academic I have experienced the opposite. A potential PhD student in physics from Saudi Arabia approached me a number of years ago with a King Abdullah University scholarship to undertake studies under my supervision. I am cautious when taking on long-term (three to four years) doctoral candidates and ask anyone who appears to be genuine to write a review paper related to the topic of the proposed research. The candidate did a very good job. We met at an international conference and, again, I was impressed by the candidate’s knowledge and verbal communication skills in English. I had no hesitation in supporting the candidate’s application. However, while repeatedly achieving greater than 50 per cent in all components of the independent IELTS examinations, the candidate has failed to achieve the required score set by the university. The candidate moved to Sydney for six months and took English lessons every day but has still failed to achieve the required result. The candidate has now abandoned any ambitions of carrying out a PhD in Sydney under my supervision. Dale Bailey, St Leonards

I am a University of Sydney undergraduate. The Group of Eight must be very naive to think artificial intelligence is not constantly being used as a clutch by international students with poor English proficiency. In classes with a majority of such students, the unacknowledged, unethical outsourcing of work is ubiquitous. I see it week in, week out. Recently, my tutor prompted us to discuss a topic in groups. When the time came for those in front of me to share their findings, two of them took turns reading off ChatGPT and DeepSeek, passing the output off as the fruit of their non-existent deliberations. We must acknowledge that cheating on English proficiency tests is common. Broaching that is not an insult to the many conscientious international students. They – true and sincere scholars – suffer the effects as much as their domestic peers, but pay more for the privilege. Improve the tests, and give the universities more money so that they need not so heavily rely on the exorbitant fees charged to overseas students. Will Thorpe, Haberfield

There is only one sure way to stamp out cheating at universities; have students sit one or more written exams at the end of each course in front of examiners. I know it is an old-fashioned concept but it would restore the integrity of uni assessments and the value of degrees which is being eroded by off-campus assessments completed without certainty of who is doing the assessments. Shane Nunan, Finley

Voices for brumbies

The CBD item ″⁣Fake News on Brumby Campaign″⁣ (September 19) totally misrepresents my teaching resource and motives for creating the Voices for Brumbies – Kids who care school resource, to teach children to exercise their civic rights in a respectful way. The claims within the article have been used by readers to attack me and my resource. This resource is not a ″⁣propaganda campaign″⁣ to save the brumbies, it is curriculum-aligned, fact-checked, and presents this issue from all perspectives: environmental concerns and humane management of brumby numbers in the wild. Students are encouraged to weigh up the evidence, think critically and reach their own conclusions. To suggest that quotes from government ministers were fabricated is false and discrediting. Quotes were drawn directly from official government correspondence.
To imply the project seeks to ″⁣indoctrinate″⁣ children ignores the rigorous review process by teachers, a lawyer and an ecologist, along with my true motive. My motive is the same one behind 20 years in early education and eight children’s books: inspiring young people to live a life they love. In this, by exercising their voice on real-world issues. I respectfully request a correction. Nicole Rawlings, creator and author, Voices for Brumbies – Kids Who Care

Bidirectional focus

Thinking about your EV as a “home battery on wheels” is a good thing (“Turning your EV into a giant battery is a step closer”, smh.com.au, September 25). But the focus should be broader than just feeding into the grid. Indeed, while feed-in tariffs remain low, the focus should be on not drawing so much from the grid in the first place. Hence, the priority should be on facilitating vehicle-to-home (V2H) bidirectional charging so that the EV can be used as an alternative to a home battery. Indeed, how many people who already have a home battery use it primarily to feed into the grid? Their priority is to use all the power generated by solar panels (say) to run their household appliances. Consequently, the priority of bidirectional charging should also be to power those appliances. If you have surplus, then you can feed back into the grid. David Rush, Lawson

AI train-ing

Drones would provide a safe, low-cost tool for inspecting Sydney Trains’ power lines for incipient defects (Letters, September 25). A couple of cameras can provide detailed pictures of the lines, which could be stored for detailed inspections. Add a bit of simple AI and we would have near-foolproof reports on power line safety. Ian Falconer, Turramurra

Rusted-on advice

Your correspondent (Letters, September 25) is to be admired for looking up when crossing the Harbour Bridge. It is hard enough negotiating the road bumps and lane changes to do anything but look ahead and hope. Vicky Marquis, Glebe

Your correspondent alerts us to the rust issues on the Harbour Bridge. Looking skywards, there is another structure needing attention. Centrepoint Tower has very rusted support cables. Should we be alert and alarmed? John Swanton, Coogee

Ouch!

What’s the difference between a ukulele and a trampoline (Letters, September 25)? You take your shoes off when you jump on a trampoline. Steve Davidson, Turramurra

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