Split gives Ley a second chance to return Liberals to relevance

Liberal leader Sussan Ley has been gifted a rare opportunity to shape the political future of Australia (“Nationals quit Coalition frontbench en masse”, January 22). As the remaining Nationals quit the shadow ministry and if Ley truly is a leader, she will thank them for their efforts, dissolve the Coalition and go it alone. It will rid her of a dull, reactionary rump; it will show the recalcitrant right in the Liberals that she means business; it will galvanise the moderates in the party to drag it back to the centre where it must reside to be an effective opposition to Labor. It is very likely to win support, read “seats”. Let One Nation and the Nationals fight on the sidelines like feral cats. Ley has a second chance to return the Liberals to relevance. For the sake of a healthy democracy, she must seize it. Wayne Duncombe, Lilyfield

The Coalition has imploded for the second time in 12 months, but this time it seems more serious. Rather than running the risk of wrangling with the Nationals again, perhaps a more strategic approach is needed. I’d suggest that with various moderate independents available, Sussan Ley should reach out to them to form a new coalition bloc. After all, the Liberal Party has an oft-mentioned “woman problem”, with various pundits suggesting she was chosen as leader to mainly help address this issue. This more centrist approach would be in keeping with the history of the Liberal Party and provide the opportunity to regain many of the metropolitan seats they lost in consecutive elections. It would also give them some intellectual and professional “heft”, rather than the relying on the “brawler” type of politician, who often are divisive rather than engaging. Imagine the bruising that would give the Nationals, the Greens and Labor. Bernard Stever, Richmond

David Littleproud’s decision to leave the Coalition unbelievably comes during a day of national mourning. At a time when our elected leaders gather in Canberra to pay their respects for the Bondi tragedy, how can this behaviour be seen as anything but a desperate attempt to grab the headlines? Who else finds this completely untenable behaviour by our elected political representatives? Bon voyage, National Party, enjoy your self-imposed oblivion. Please, independents, get together and fill the vacuum left by the Coalition’s wilful self-destruction – before Pauline Hanson and co do. Our treasured democracy demands a balanced debate and representation in the halls of Canberra, not a show pony exhibition. Cleveland Rose, Dee Why

The marriage of convenience between the National and Liberal parties has been floundering for quite some time, but now, rather than condemn the supposedly rogue National Party politicians who have ignored instructions and voted “as per the courage of their convictions”, maybe we should be celebrating the democratic freedoms that it demonstrates. That is a freedom not afforded to the more dictatorial demands of the Labor Party, where the hierarchy tends to dictate policy and individual representatives are compelled to support that view, regardless of their personal convictions. We treasure our democratic system, we have fought wars to protect it, and here we are willingly castigating political representatives who courageously voted according to their principles. Regardless of whether we agree with their opinions, we should respect, and celebrate, their democratic right to choice. Rod Luffman, Nambucca Heads

And just like that, the National Party prove just how tone-deaf, dumb and blind they are. On the very eve of the National Day of Mourning, the full front bench of the Nationals resign in protest against the Liberal Party’s support for the new hate laws passed by parliament. Says it all, really. Mark Palmer, Inverell

There is now not a scintilla of doubt that the Coalition has used the Bondi tragedy for political purposes, when David Littleproud announces the end of the alliance on the National Day of Mourning, thus ensuring it will be the top news story of the day. Shameful. Toni Lorentzen, Fennell Bay

By blowing up (what was left of) the Coalition, David Little (To Be) Proud (Of) has made the National Party forever irrelevant and incapable of supporting the people they claim to represent. Well done, David. Tony Heathwood, Kiama Downs

Gun ban no solution

“Guns are the problem”, “ban the guns” and “tougher gun restrictions” are popular tropes for prevention of violent crime (Letters, January 22). The problem is that they are not solutions. Experts on violence prevention, such as Dr Samara McPhedran of Griffith University’s Violence Research and Prevention Program, tell us unequivocally that banning guns will not prevent violent crime such as the appalling atrocity that occurred at Bondi. Rather, we need to examine the underlying human and situational factors that drive lethal violence. When formulating public policy and legislation, we can either listen to the experts and do something effective to mitigate against such attacks, or we can ignore them and suffer the consequences. The latest round of “firearm reforms” are, to quote the architect of our laudable bans on automatic weapons, John Howard, an “attempted diversion”. They will do little more than make firearm licensing more expensive and more burdensome for more than a million law-abiding Australians and place even greater workloads on our overstretched police services. As Dr McPhedran says: “We’re actually overlooking the thing so many acts of lethal violence have in common. We never seem able to have those conversations.” Are we going to listen to the experts? Are we going to have those conversations? Gerry Allen, Killcare

Farmers, recreational and professional shooters and sports shooters have nothing to be concerned about regarding current and proposed gun laws if they are doing the right thing. The government’s new gun control laws and buyback scheme is targeting those in the community who have weapons and ammunition illegally, and the criminals who are trading and selling weapons and ammunition on the black market. The gun lobbyists and pro-gun politicians are being the antagonists against the government’s proposals, where in fact they should be encouraging and promoting the gun law proposals. The government has the public interest and safety in mind and does not want another Bondi. The buyback scheme is an expensive process, but it was effective after the Port Arthur tragedy in getting hundreds of thousands of guns out of the community, and would be effective now. Alan Leitch, Austens Ferry (Tas)

What a fantastic opportunity the gun buyback scheme offers. Seeing as how the government is already planning to spend money to buy the guns back, instead of destroying them, they can send them to Ukraine. Two good deeds achieved. Stephen Jacobs, North Sydney

High-rise horror

What a travesty is the proposed Rozelle “village” (“Plan to build 227 homes on the old Balmain Leagues site to be fast-tracked” January 22). Three towers of 14 to 16 storeys looming over their two-storey neighbours, totally out of character, totally out of proportion and totally unwelcome. It has the hide to call itself a “village” development. Strongly rejected by locals from the start and taken out of the hands of the local council, this development is completely unsuitable for the area. The shopping mall underneath will no doubt send local shops and businesses broke, and an already clogged Victoria Road cannot handle the huge increase in traffic. Local schools are already operating at near capacity and our municipality is woefully lacking in green open space. How do these mega-towers qualify as low- to medium-density? The money used by the state government to underwrite the developers would be better spent building public housing, thus relieving pressure on rents and in turn the demand to purchase ever more expensive housing. Sounds like a gift to developers to me, not a solution to housing shortage. Bronwen Campbell, Balmain

Follow Canada’s lead

Bravo Mark Carney for saying what everyone is thinking, and more importantly, acting on it (“Australia cannot ignore Canada PM’s bombshell”, January 22). In persisting with the disastrous AUKUS, in allowing Donald Trump’s America to establish multiple bases here, in handing over billions with no guarantee of a return, in tying ourselves to Trump’s warlike whims, we are making ourselves a supplicant to a leader who has changed a once relatively stable country into a crazy autocracy. And our supplicant position means we cannot criticise for fear of upsetting a clearly unhinged president. Australia effectively voted against MAGA-style US politics in handing Labor a crushing majority. Why are we sucking up to them so cravenly? Alison Stewart, Riverview

Michael Koziol is correct in saying that Anthony Albanese could not present such a speech described as a “cometh the hour ” address by Carney in Davos. While Albo is an honest broker, he is far from the statesman that we yearn for and someone who might discard the kid gloves and challenge Trump. It was high time a politician representing world order and democracy at large took the opportunity on the world stage to awaken world leaders from their slumber. Go Mark Carney and the Land of Maple. Bruce Hall, Avalon

The Canadian prime minister has delivered a eulogy for the end of American dominance thanks to Donald Trump, with the words, “This bargain no longer works.” Will our PM have the backbone to do the same? Henry Spirek, Blayney

With Donald Trump mixing up the names of Greenland and Iceland in a recent speech to world leaders, I really hope the United States never plans to take military action against Austria (“Trump’s Biden moment on world stage as he repeatedly calls Greenland ‘Iceland’”, January 22). Chris Myers, Point Clare

Kiss of death

Donald Trump’s approval is hardly cause for rejoicing (’“Australia in Trump’s good books”, January 21). It’s more like the kiss of death. Enough states and allies have been beaten up and thrown out by the unstable and juvenile POTUS. Take for example Denmark, which has been slavish in its devotion to the US and its interests. Getting into the good books is the result of the Albanese government grovelling to the US and giving its resources over, all for the dubious honour of spending beyond our means on US nuclear submarines. Our critical minerals and the wealth that could have been generated for our country’s wealth fund for the use of all Australians has been fritted away for some mumbles about being Trump being “happy” with us. Denis Doherty, Glebe

Lockout awakening

I grew up under the NSW lockout laws and as a result never experienced the Sydney nightlife my parents knew – a city that was vibrant, creative and alive after dark. Instead, my generation inherited a city defined by curfews and empty streets (“Dance until dawn as the lockouts end”, January 22). The lockout laws were a blunt and damaging policy that punished an entire city for the actions of a few. They stripped Sydney of culture, hurt live music and hospitality, and became an international embarrassment. It was astonishing to hear Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham confirm that global artists like Madonna and Justin Bieber were locked out of their own after-parties while touring Sydney. For more than a decade, Sydney’s nightlife was regulated into silence. That is why it is genuinely refreshing to see the city finally waking up after 12 long years. The abolition of the last remaining lockout laws is a welcome step toward restoring a more confident, culturally rich Sydney. Greg Khatchigian, Ermington

John Graham has proudly removed the last vestiges of the 2014 lockout laws that “kneecapped” Sydney’s “vibrancy”. He’s probably right, the laws were just an unnecessary knee-jerk reaction to the deaths of Wilson Duque Castillo, 33, bashed and killed in Bayswater Rd, Kings Cross in 2010; Calum Grant, 46, bashed and killed in Darlinghurst Rd, Kings Cross, in 2011; Thomas Kelly, 18, bashed and killed in Victoria St, Kings Cross, in 2012; Daniel Christie,18, bashed and killed in Victoria St, Kings Cross, in 2013; and Lucio Rodrigues, 34, bashed and killed outside a bar in George St in 2013. How vibrant. Graham may not realise that lockouts have operated in Sydney for decades: they’re at every beach, are called “flags” and announce “enjoy our beautiful beach but only swim between the flags and you’ll be safe”. Not even the best beach expert can tell you how many lives have been saved because of the flags – so should they be removed? The lockouts were like the flags at the beach – we’ll never know how many lives they saved, but that’s no reason to discard them. Patrick McGrath, Potts Point

Rising consumption

Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant, Eraring on the banks of Lake Macquarie, is now going to operate for another two years to avoid the risk of blackouts. It’s not a good prospect. Eraring has polluted the lake with selenium, the nearby land with coal ash and the air with Pm10s. Greens spokesperson for energy, Abigail Boyd MLC, has condemned the decision, blaming the NSW government, while NSW Minister for Energy Penny Sharpe said the decision would help us meet climate targets by giving us time to build more clean energy. Unfortunately, the unhappy reality is that our electricity consumption has risen in parallel with population growth, with industry analysis often citing population increase as a primary driver of demand growth in the National Electricity Market. This is compounded by the increased use of airconditioning and the alarming growth in data centres, largely fuelled by AI workloads, which consumed approximately 4 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2024 (about 2 per cent of the grid) with this forecast to triple to 12 TWh by 2030. Even more alarmingly, our population growth is forecast to continue with ABS projections, which have invariable underestimates, putting Australia’s population at 31.5 million by 2035 and giving joy to the coal lobby. Don Owers, Whitebridge

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