Liberal Party ill-advised to follow Queensland premier’s example

George Brandis loves Queensland Premier David Crisafulli and thinks the federal Liberals should follow his lead (“Liberals, the future is Crisafulli”, October 26). Brandis must therefore also be a fan of ignoring science and committing our grandchildren to a dysfunctional planet devastated by climate change, with millions of refugees, economic collapse and the wars that will follow. Scrapping a cheap and sensible wind farm near Gympie is probably Crisafulli’s major policy “achievement” other than minor “culture war” issues. Denialists from the school of Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan and Andrew Hastie are mounting a rearguard action to follow Trump and his disciples. The Queensland government is no different. The sooner we all wake up to this and vote them into oblivion the better. Wake up, George, and support someone else. Kim Morley, Safety Beach

While one hates to pop the bubble that Brandis lives in, not all Queenslanders like what we see with Crisafulli. Anyone who is not a white Protestant male is gaining nothing from his regime, and in some cases if you are Indigenous or trying to transition sex, we are back in the 1970s. Not my leader – and I am not alone. Victoria Watts, Tarragindi (Qld)

Ley of the land

Sussan Ley is copping a lot of advice of late, naturally, and she probably wishes it would all just go away (“Ley to pressure government to split climate bill”, October 27). Unfortunately for her, it goes with the job. I wonder why she put her name forward to head the Coalition. Nothing any new opposition leader has said or done has quickly solved a party’s problems or stopped internal rivalries. Why not leave it to Angus Taylor for a while? Why not wait and see if the party’s right wing realises there is no good in that direction and see if the party moves back to her (originally) more moderate and centrist ideas? It might just have worked and she could have stepped in before the election. Tony Sullivan, Islington

Ley’s proposal to split the government’s environmental protection laws appears to be intended to expedite approval of projects and at some later stage look at the environmental impacts. It’s difficult to see how that results in any protection, except for developers’ profits. Steve Bright, North Avoca

Trump hardly regal

Maureen Dowd’s articles on Trump are as entertaining as they are true (“White House demolition Trump’s ode to self”, October 27), but she and many other journalists should remember that the majority of US voters want Trump as president: they witnessed his unethical and near-criminal business practices, his dreadful, nasty television career, the inglorious first presidency, his incitement to riot at his loss of power and subsequent endless vitriol and lies to be re-elected, and yet, with all this staring them in the face, they chose him again. Perhaps it would be more useful, certainly more illuminating, to write about why an American society chooses the disease over the cure, falling for his Mephistophelean rants. Andrew Scott, Pymble

The need for a ballroom at the White House, to entertain visiting dignitaries, is largely accepted. But the demolition of the east wing to make way for it is the act of a philistine. So is the potential gaudy gilt decoration and the naming of the room after Trump. But what’s worse is the way it is being funded. The cost should be met by the US taxpayers, as it will be used on their behalf. Instead, the US government will be beholden to a range of wealthy donors who might expect something in return for their largesse. Can nobody see the potential for corruption here? David Rush, Lawson

Oh, dear. Dowd’s piece is pearl-clutching of Olympic class. Trump’s crash-through approach to the stultifying mountain of development red tape is a breath of fresh air. It’s why MAGA loves him. This is the guy who gets stuff done. And it’s not as if the east wing was anything special; in fact it was a bit of an architectural dog’s breakfast and not even built until World War II. It’s a pity The Orange One isn’t here fixing our housing crisis. Brian Haisman, Winmalee

It’s no coincidence that Trump demolished the east wing of the White House in the week after the No Kings protests. Trump amplified his autocratic rule through the destruction of the east wing of the “people’s house”. No approval, no public input, just the unrestrained vanity, power and wealth that Trunp imagines is the prerogative a self-proclaimed “king”. The defilement of US laws, history, institutions and citizens continues under the man occupying what’s left of the White House. Marie Del Monte, Ashfield

Anti-Rudd agenda

It does the Herald little credit in mischievously continuing to prod Donald Trump about Kevin Rudd’s comments made five years ago (“PM again backs Rudd after Trump a little less forgiving”, October 27). It’s well known that the Murdoch newspapers dislike Rudd, and it was, in fact, one of their journalists who raised the issue with Trump, who barely recalled it until prodded. There are far more important world issues of concern and the PM is on the money when he points out that “it says more about the journo who asks the question”. Alison Stewart, Riverview

AUKUS fluid

The AUKUS agreement is likely to spend its life under continuous review (Triumph or lucky escape? Why Trump backed AUKUS, October 27). A fully fledged Indian Ocean base and maintenance facility for Virginia class subs in Perth is a great deal for the US, especially when Australia will own and operate three of the seven or more subs. The Indian Ocean component of AUKUS accounts for about $30 billion of the budget, but there are few jobs in it for Australia. The Pacific Ocean component, the base and the five subs we will build jointly with the UK (with some built in Adelaide), is likely to cost proportionally more, but bring jobs and defence industry capability. With the west coast largely bedded down, we must get moving on the east coast subs and base. The best locations for the latter are south of Sydney and surely not in an existing port. Peter Egan, Fairview Park (SA)

Minnow’s moment

Bravo, Timor-Leste, on joining ASEAN (“Before Trump hoopla, Timor-Leste joins the fold”, October 27). I smirked a bit when I read of its “eye-watering amounts of untapped undersea resources”, knowing that despite President Jose Ramos-Horta’s diplomatic comments the revenue available would have been far less had Australia’s despicable spying on the maritime border negotiations succeeded. Then I thought of the green light we gave to the Indonesian invasion of the tiny half island 50 years ago this December and the murderous occupation that followed. Not forgetting the island’s World War II support for Australian soldiers, which cost the Timorese tens of thousands of lives. These facts are not well known. But now, well done to the defiant, courageous and astute Timorese. Susan Connelly, Croydon

Unhappy campers

In the past few decades, we have seen once-humble caravan park cabins morph into expensive, up-market units that are unaffordable for many people. Now we are faced with the prospect that our national parks camping grounds will become difficult to book and too expensive for ordinary people (“In-tents opposition to plan for glamping in national parks”, October 27). This move will further marginalise sections of our community and should not be supported by our government. Greg Baker, Fitzroy Falls

Don’t blame Boomers

Siena Fagan’s analysis of why she is unhappy in today’s world is a reflection of unrealistic expectations (“At 20, I study, work, flat hunt– and you ask why I’m unhappy”, October 25). I therefore must comment on her claim all her problems are caused by Boomers. For a start, we did not get free education – the change in the payment of fees began in the Whitlam era of 1974. To secure my tertiary education, I had to work during term time as well as during holidays, which took four years to complete rather than three. What Siena should appreciate is that doing without brings patience, patience brings perseverance and perseverance brings resilience in overcoming disappointment. Increasingly, as correspondent Jennifer Nichols outlines, younger generations today receive multiple financial government handouts that we Baby Boomers never received (Letters, October 27). Perhaps the stress of living in Sydney is giving rise to Siena’s unhappiness. Bruce Clydsdale, Bathurst

This Boomer has considerable sympathy for Siena Fagan. When I was her age, finding affordable accommodation wasn’t very difficult and buying a house didn’t cost as many multiples of a normal annual income. Finding secure employment (emphasis on secure) also wasn’t particularly difficult. Yes, much of this is due to government policy, but remember that these governments were voted in by Australians, many of them wealthy Boomers. Every generation has to meet the challenges of its day – usually a different set of challenges – but we of established generations should be working to make it easier for the young to achieve their dreams. Bill Irvine, Goulburn

Regardless of whether Baby Boomers deserve the blame for Siena Fagan’s circumstances, they certainly are a sensitive lot, aren’t they? Mark Beacom, West Pennant Hills

West Bank evidence

As a history teacher, every year I see students examine the tragedy of the Holocaust, researching various camps where unspeakable cruelty was a daily occurrence, while in real time another genocide is occurring (“Israel’s annexation of the West Bank has been occurring for decades”, October 27). Professor Anas Iqtait’s assertion that Israel has been dispossessing Palestinians living in the West Bank by stealth is the subject matter of the 2025 Academy Award-winning documentary No Other Land, in which the brutality of settlers is evidenced while Israeli troops look on. In a disturbingly ironic twist, one of the filmmakers, Amdahl Hathaleen, was shot and killed by a settler while protesting against the bulldozing of Palestinian homes in the Hebron Hills in the West Bank. I can only imagine a chapter in a future textbook which will outline the injustices perpetrated on Palestinians while the present generation cannot rely on the oft-used excuse of “we didn’t know” when it’s painfully obvious we do. Diane Dennis, Epping

Professor Iqtait asks how the world intends to respond to decades of annexation of Palestinian territory and abuse of Palestinians by Israelis. He could have begun by asking how the world has responded so far. We all, unfortunately, know the answer to that. Overwhelmingly, the Western world has demonised stateless Palestinians and venerated Israelis and their nation-state. But it is time for the world to respond by insisting that evidence be presented of what is happening in the Israel/Palestine conflict, provided by independent witnesses and investigators based upon the rule of law. It is time to stop accepting unsupported Israeli excuses for the ongoing slaughter of people in Gaza and thousands more in the West Bank. Nell Knight, Avoca Beach

AI misgivings

Chris Harrison’s column (“When AI called my friend a murderer it solved my daughter’s career choice”, October 27) appearing on the same page as Maureen O’Dowd’s column on the latest outrages by Donald Trump has prompted this (non-AI) output from me: AI is often wrong, but always confidently wrong. So, on present trends, how long before it is appointed president of the United States? Paul McShane, Burradoo

The biggest con job that tech companies have perpetrated in regard to AI is calling it “artificial intelligence” rather than the “machine learning” it is. It is often anything but intelligent – Google’s AI in a search is often just a copy and paste of something below – and as with all learning, it depends on the quality of the teacher, and sadly in this case, also the program writer. Brenton McGeachie, Hackett (ACT)

Mystery injuries

Stalking and inappropriate touching of women needs to be called out and dealt with by the full force of the law regardless of where, when or under what circumstances it occurs (“Man charged after two Australian cricketers stalked, ‘touched inappropriately’ in India”, October 27). The alleged perpetrator of the offence is a case in point, but could somebody please explain how Akil Khan went from being fit enough to ride a motorcycle to hopping along full of bandages with a reportedly broken leg and arm after his arrest? Did he fall or was he pushed? Peter Cooper-Southam, Frenchs Forest

Umpire’s decision

I once applied to CA for a job on the selection panel on the grounds that, despite my brief and entirely underwhelming cricket career, I couldn’t be any worse than the panel at the time and would let the other selectors know if they were failing the “pub test” (“Inside the ‘multimillion-dollar decisions’ that shape the Australian cricket team”, October 26). Sadly, my application was rejected, but to their credit, somebody reasonably high up in Cricket Australia sent me a nice rejection email. In hindsight, I was treated better than Bill Lawry. Stephen Manns, Woollahra

MP’s bare truths

How things have changed. It used to be page-three girls in the afternoon “rags”; it is now page-one boys – in their underwear (“Alex Greenwich on the biggest battle of his career”, October 27). Steve Shields, Port MacQuarie

When I visited the online SMH today I thought I had stumbled into GQ or some other men’s fashion magazine when I saw the pictures of buffed MP Alex Greenwich. The one in the budgie smugglers was a step too far, in my opinion. Phillip Kerrigan, Speers Point

Despite the seductive photos of a toned, tanned and scantily clad Alex Greenwich, my wife assures me that she reads the Herald only for its articles. Nevertheless, I haven’t seen her so interested in a publication since the demise of the Cleo centrefold. Col Burns, Lugarno

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