Don’t rule out cutting the apron strings to royals, prime minister

I am four years younger than Anthony Albanese and, in the main, I have been supportive of his leadership since the 2022 election, although I would be happier if he would stand for more positive change (“Albanese cools on republic vote”, September 29). My disappointment turned to anger overnight once I heard he had ruled out any more discussion of Australia becoming a republic under his leadership.
I wish to see Australia being led by an Australian head of state in my lifetime but what chance do we have if no discussion is to be held for at least another two, likely five, years? Your job, PM, is to lead us to a better place, to convince your colleagues, the opposition and all of us that only by cutting the apron strings can we truly grow up as a mature country. We can see you enjoying the trappings of being PM, and you have had a good trip to the US and Britain over the past week – but don’t get cocky in assuming that you know what we all want. Bruce McKinnon, Mosman

Australia will never become a republic until its peoples can achieve a nationhood lived out in shared values and respect for one another regardless of colour, race or creed. Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook

Like Albanese, I am an admirer of King Charles, especially his openness to all religions and his concern for the environment. To seek an Australian republic is no reflection on King Charles nor his revered mother, but being eligible to royal entitlements by hereditary succession is not congruent with Australian values in a modern world.
While ever an Australian citizen can never become head of state, Australia will continue to be regarded as subservient and immature, and the prime minister, still glowing from his cordial royal audience, knows it as well. Bernard Moylan, Bronte

Albanese has sought to make Australian politics more respectful. Just because he’s an Australian for a republic I wouldn’t expect him to treat the King any other way than respectfully. I also get the fact that, at the moment, no referendum on an Australian republic would succeed for donkey’s years, but can we just let the monarchy wither on the vine? No more royal visits, no public bows and curtsies. Let’s just ignore them. John Bailey, Canterbury

Party lines

It is hypocritical of the PM to promote worldwide democracy when Aboriginal people are denied political representation in Australia (“PM rallies UK Labour over ‘fight for democracy’,” September 29). Sure, we can get our people elected to parliament through political parties, but those reps are dependent on the party that put them there, not Aboriginal people. Representative democracy in Australia is diminished while Aborigines cannot elect our own. All that is needed is an amendment to the Commonwealth Electoral Act – no referendum, just leadership from Albanese and a majority vote in the parliament. Six Indigenous seats in the Senate out of 76 – one of the 12 for each state – is all we ask for. That gives us a direct voice to parliament, rather than the silly advisory body proposed in the referendum. Michael Mansell, Launceston (Tas)

After his visit to see King Charles, a correct mark of respect, Albanese made a more contentious visit, to the British Labour Party conference. It will take more than Albo’s support to save the British government; if the polls are correct, however, the contrast with Robert Menzies’ visit to the wartime government of Winston Churchill in the early years of World War II is interesting. He spent months in Britain, instead of leading his own government in Canberra, courting the Conservative Party to no avail, and returned home to lose government to John Curtin. Albanese’s courting of British Labour has invited criticism from Sussan Ley, as I would expect, and while he is in a different electoral position to Keir Starmer, it will not endear him to those Australians who resent taxpayers having to fund a political jaunt like this. Vivienne Parsons, Thornleigh

Albanese’s trip to Liverpool to address the British Labour Party conference is, in my opinion, a misuse of Australian taxpayer funds. Party political speeches should be paid for by political parties, not the Australian public. It would be interesting to see what the National Anti-Corruption Commission thinks of the prime minister’s questionable use of public monies. Riley Brown, Bondi Beach

Would it be OK with Sussan Ley if the PM was house-hunting while “swanning around on the taxpayer dollar”? Roger Cooper, Boambee East

Brandis management

George Brandis (“More MPs? It adds up, for Albanese”, September 29) sees everything through his Liberal Party eyes and cannot conceive that there is a higher level of honesty and integrity possible in a politician. I believe Albo operates on a different and higher plane than Brandis can imagine even exists, and which has not been evident in the Coalition for decades. Peter Kamenyitzky, Copacabana

Brandis’ fear that Albanese may take the opportunity to increase the size of the House of Representatives, which will increase the number of city electorates and therefore advantage Labor, may be well-founded. However, just reading recent letters in the Herald listing the numerous failings of the Liberals – e.g. robo-debt, the Tampa affair, the Iraq invasion – would indicate they have far greater problems to worry about if they wish to be seriously considered as a party ready to form government. Peter Nash, Fairlight

Brandis cannot resist driving a stake through the left side of politics. To claim that an increased number of senators will consolidate power to Labor/Greens fails to note that, according to research by the Australia Institute, 70 per cent of Australians see the Senate as a house of review. One thing, though, is clear: his beloved Coalition is right out of contention to be of any use in the current parliament. Michael Blissenden, Dural

Coalition’s low stoop

The people v robo-debt (Letters, September 29) reminds me just how low a Coalition government is capable of stooping. Robo-debt was a flawed program passionately embraced by flawed human beings, who are yet to be held accountable for inflicting harm on innocent, vulnerable human beings. They had no excuse after many media outlets and numerous independent journalists pleaded successively with Scott Morrison, Christian Porter, Alan Tudge and Stuart Robert to put an end to it.
Ley was in all the Coalition ministries throughout these dark years. What did she know about the harm robo-debt was causing? But what angers me more than the Coalition right now is Labor’s refusal to open the sealed section of the royal commission report. The NACC has let us down. Howard Charles, Annandale

Back to the past

Governments continue to do nothing about poker machines, the beasts that break lives and enable mass money laundering (Letters, September 29). It seems too difficult to cut the number of machines or introduce cashless cards. So, how about we rewind and require all machines to accept one $1 coin at a time and to play only one coin/credit at a time. And don’t issue any more licences or approvals for more machines. Steven Lee, Faulconbridge

Call to reason a strong statement

The Herald is to be congratulated for its restatement of core principles, as displayed in the wrap-around in today’s paper (“Here’s to reason”, September 29). Apart from serving as the community’s journal of record, newspapers and their digital offspring serve as crucial filters against the blizzard of news and information choices that consumers face at every turn. It is comforting to observe the Herald taking a moment to reaffirm its position in such a storm. That is, we trust the paper and the organisation it represents to be reasonable – in its news selection, its tone, its balance, its formidable investigative journalism, its commentary and analysis, and even, on occasion, its sense of humour. We have in recent years experienced once-worthy media organisations, both in Australia and elsewhere, abandon traditional journalism in favour of political proselytism and pithy attempts at social engineering. There are loud and belligerent voices advocating such false notions of truth. Taking a lead from such commentators and news makers, there stands a burgeoning industry where some ill-informed podcasters, avaricious influencers and others eagerly amplify those voices and methods to a point where, sadly, fiction finds its way into the zeitgeist and, in time, the historical record. Amid all this useless and unhelpful chatter, the call to reason is most welcome. Bradley Wynne, Croydon

It was edifying to get my hard copy of the Herald this morning and see the headline “Here’s to reason”. Congratulations on a very sobering take on the world we live in. Congratulations, too, to the journalists featured for their resolve and bravery in bringing us the stories that count. I buy the Herald every day, Monday to Saturday, and I also subscribe to the online edition in the hope that in some small way these two actions can contribute to the longevity of one of Sydney’s most enduring and respected media. Hats off. Donna Wiemann, Balmain

I love the Herald. I agree that reason is essential, and that truth is equally so in this era of lies. However, there is a subject that the Herald could pursue with diligence to counter the abuse of both reason and truth, and that is the matter of West Papua. Australian governments are in thrall to Indonesia, ensuring that the lie of that territory’s incorporation and the unreasonableness of the human death and money-grabbing destruction of the environment prevails. Please, Herald, educate Australians. I know foreign journalists aren’t allowed into West Papua but please do something. Susan Connelly, Croydon

The wrap-around of the Herald spruiking your reasonableness did give me reason to think. What I thought was belief will always overwhelm reason because it exploits emotion as it switches off our brains. I also thought that the notion of left and right in politics was a “sounding brass”. Conservative and progressive politics were both once coherent and systemic. That does not appear to hold true any more. Garry Feeney, Kingsgrove

Commendable, except, to borrow a quote, “Reason has always existed, but not always in a reasonable form.” Let’s face it, alas, not everyone’s reasonable. Simply think of some world leaders – no names, of course. Edward Loong, Milsons Point

Medical rewards

Australian medical discoveries more than justify increased disbursement from the Medical Research Futures Fund for the health and wealth benefits they give (“The answer to Trump’s science cuts”, September 29). To the list of cervical cancer vaccine, bionic ear and spray-on skin, I would add the treatment for tens of millions of people worldwide with obstructive sleep apnoea, invented by Sydney University’s Professor Colin Sullivan and which led to the creation of the biotech company ResMed. Graeme Stewart, Avalon Beach

Mountains train

So, Blue Mountains residents will finally get “Our Glad’s” intercity train experiment (“Mountains line gets intercity train”, September 29), albeit five years late. But please spare a thought for those of us on the South Coast. As far as I can determine, we are at least another year away from experiencing the pleasures of backward-facing “fixed seats”, and apparently little or no luggage storage spaces. I had a letter, nearly 10 years old, given under the signature of two now defunct politicians (Gladys Berejiklian and Gareth Ward) that there would be significant luggage room for travellers’ suitcases, surfboards, bicycles and prams. We can only dream of the 1915 days, when there was a dedicated freight wagon and the train from Wollongong arrived at Central two minutes quicker than in 2015. Michael Hayden, Kiama Downs

Ryder and the storm

The behaviour of the crowd and the MC, Heather McMahan, at the Ryder Cup in New York, are symptomatic of Trump’s America (“Police escorts, a profane MC ... and a beer hurled at McIlroy’s wife. This Ryder Cup had it all”, smh.com.au, September 29). The abuse, profanities, poor sportsmanship and even violence perpetrated against the visiting European team by the crowd should be a national embarrassment, but I won’t expect any apology, especially from President Donald Trump. That the MC should proclaim, “F--- you, Rory” to roars of approval (she has since stepped down), and that a member of the audience should throw a beer can at Rory McIlroy’s wife, is scandalous but not, unfortunately, surprising, when every bastion of civility, fairness and integrity is trampled by their president and his administration. God save America, indeed. Rowan Godwin, Rozelle

It is well seen the way the Americans are following Trump’s tantrums, watching the disgusting, football-hooligan fan-type display at the Ryder Cap at Bethpage Black. McIlroy’s wife being hit by a full beer can sums it up. Peter Hay, Islington

Age of respect

Thank you to your correspondent (Letters, September 29) whose letter expressed the need to value and respect our wonderful older generations. As a grandfather myself, I look forward to getting older one day, too. Paul Reid, Campsie

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