Ultra-conservatives stuck in the past will stay there

In David Crowe’s analysis of the Aston by-election result (“Dutton will stay, but will he do anything?” , April 3), he says Opposition Leader Peter Dutton “has no inkling of a new idea on climate change”. I would be more inclined to say Dutton and many ultra-conservatives in the Coalition think it is just fine to just keep polluting our atmosphere. Ultra-conservatives by definition don’t want change, even if it is for the better. The same type of people through history probably said we can’t afford to end slavery and child labour or give women equal pay. They would have opposed women voting or owning land as well. Most informed people today want to see big pollution reductions in transport, industry, power generation and households. The longer the ultra-conservatives in the Coalition support pollution, the longer they will be in the political wilderness. Dennis O’Hara, Wanniassa (ACT)

David Crowe discusses several Liberal MPs as possible alternatives to Dutton as party leader: Sussan Ley, Angus Taylor, Dan Tehan and Andrew Hastie. Not much of a field for the famous “merit-selection” process upon which the Liberal Party has always relied. Rob Phillips, North Epping

I think most Australians have spoken. We are comfortable with Peter Dutton as leader of the opposition and happy for him to hold the position in perpetuity. Phil Bradshaw, Naremburn

The Liberals are losing every election at the moment. Maybe Scott Morrison has a legacy after all. Mark Nugent, Lugarno

The Liberals keep banging on about the cost of living, but they have opposed every single measure adopted by the Albanese government to address it. They opposed an increase to the minimum wage, they opposed price caps on gas, and they oppose the social housing fund. However, the party of robo-debt has at least one policy it will take to the next election: retention of tax concessions for superannuation balances over $3 million. That tells you everything you need to know about their “values”. The Liberals have forfeited the right to complain about the cost of living. Brendan Jones, Annandale

If Peter Dutton were a footy coach, he’d have been sacked on Sunday. James Mahoney, McKellar (ACT)

As long as the Coalition resorts to claiming it is misunderstood, then all is lost for it (“MPs urge Dutton to moderate party line”, April 3). Most people don’t like the negativity and nastiness, the “just say no” attitude towards government reform that is in the DNA of the modern Liberal and National parties. The Liberals are tethered to the right-wing National Party in a relationship that is a plus and a minus for the Libs. It’s a plus because without the relationship, neither would ever win any government. It’s a minus because even if the Libs wanted to get a tiny bit more “moderate”, they would be dragged back to the outer reaches by the reactionary Nats. Hello, Barnaby. As long as the Coalition doesn’t get it, it will be in the wilderness, where it belongs. Judy Hungerford, North Curl Curl

When politicians say, “Now is not the time to change the party,” you know it is. Kevin Farrell, Beelbangera

Party faithful abandon Howard’s ‘broad church’

George Brandis (‴⁣⁣Orthodox’ defeat no cause for alarm”, April 3) is drawing a somewhat long bow when he refers to the “ever-sensible” John Howard. One of the few really “sensible” things I can recall that Howard achieved was to restrict gun ownership. He was notable for not knowing when it was time to step down as leader, and in the 2007 election he couldn’t even convince the majority of his own electorate that he was worth voting for. Howard will go down in history as a leader who not only lost an election, but his own seat in the bargain. How “sensible” was that? Derrick Mason, Boorowa

John Howard’s comment that “the Liberal Party is a broad church” was really code for saying there was no unifying philosophy for voters to support, and votes of whatever moral or ethical value were the most important thing. As it turns out the church pews are empty and what policy exists is spread so broadly it has no depth. Alan Johnson, Seaforth

The Liberal Party will survive, despite news of its imminent demise. It was founded in 1946 by Robert Menzies as a new form of conservatism, with a name which was more appealing to the middle class, anti-union suburban voters who had supported non-Labor parties since the 1890s. It may have lost some of its liberal gloss, but there will always be a market for a right-of-centre party in Australia. The Labor Party has returned to its true centrist base, appealing to the workers who keep the economy going and those who teach and care for its members. The party that holds the centre will always govern this country. Vivienne Parsons, Thornleigh

As someone who has responded with dignity to possibly the greatest humiliation of his political career, Peter Dutton had proven his resilience and fortitude to remain leader of the Opposition and take the fight to Anthony Albanese. George Fishman, Vaucluse

In all the political commentary I read, members of the Liberal Party consistently praise Peter Dutton for keeping the party united. The mystery for me is trying to work out what they are united around. Is it to cast suspicion and confusion over Indigenous recognition and a Voice to parliament? Is it unity against supporting effective strategies to combat carbon emissions? Or is it unity in reinstituting tax concessions for superannuants with more than $3million in retirement investments? What’s the point of being united over causes and issues nobody else supports? John Bailey, Canterbury

Suburbia is no place for towers

Recent housing development in Sydney has consisted of ghastly, cheaply constructed multi-storey towers at one end, and equally ghastly, gross and charmless McMansions at the other (“Perfect storm will maintain pain for years”, April 3). In my own area of Pennant Hills, modest bungalows built on large blocks in the days when children actually played outside are steadily giving way to out-of-the-box, eaves-less, energy-guzzling houses that occupy most of the block. Government should use its levers to encourage more multi-dwelling developments on large suburban blocks that are transitioning from 1960s bungalows, and do us all a favour by taxing the bejesus out of huge single developments so developers are forced to come up with multi-dwelling ground-level solutions. And it should be mandated that a certain percentage of the area is retained as green space to stop developers squashing dwellings together. Most people don’t aspire to live in treetops and still dream of a separate house and garden at human level, and it’s clearly time for a 21st century approach to solving the housing crisis in Sydney. Jennifer Indsto, Pennant Hills

The elephant in the room in the housing shortage is immigration.
Cutting immigration would not only relieve the pressure on housing but on all those other things that our governments seem to have trouble providing, such as meaningful employment, effective action on climate change and livable cities. Let’s have a genuine debate on this issue and not just follow the “growth at any price” mantra. John Croker, Woonona

We all like to think we worked harder and sacrificed more than earlier generations. I can only imagine what our parents, who lived through wars and depression, think of our easy lives with well-stocked shops, internal bathrooms and a phone in every home. Our children may have air-con and pay TV, but that is not down to their greed or overindulgence – it is simply the norm today due to technological progress. Over the past 30 years, the average house price has quadrupled while wages have only trebled. All the home-cooked meals and second-hand furniture in the world will have little impact on housing affordability in this environment. Anne Kirman, Kellyville

Mudgee mine, sludgy wine

The White family are right to worry about a lead, zinc and silver mine being opened (“Mine could turn a thriving village into a ghost town”, April 3).
I’m aware, having worked in Broken Hill, of the huge problems associated with these mines: contamination of the soil due to water leakage as well as impurities being held in the air. This leads to lead poisoning, which leads to intellectual deficit and mental health problems, particularly in children. Water contamination could also become a problem for all the city people who love to drink Mudgee wine. Katriona Herborn, Blackheath

Respect your elders, ABC

Yet again we’re told the ABC intends to do more to “resonate with younger audiences” (“ABC job cuts to offset wage deal”, April 3). If that is part of a strategy aimed at increasing Aunty’s overall appeal, then it is surely doomed.
Even a cursory analysis of our national demographics would tell the ABC planners that the 65+ age segment of the population is huge, and growing. If anything, they are more entitled to relevant programming from their public broadcaster than the young, having paid more taxes. David Salter, Hunter’s Hill

Super tax fix

Clearly the superannuation system has moved well beyond its intended purpose of providing a retirement income and there is an urgent need for change to reduce the unreasonable benefits afforded to high-income earners: “90 per cent of the benefits flow to the top 20 per cent of retirees” (“Rein in super tax breaks to give young a fair go”, April 3). Rather than changing the balance limits on tax-free earnings and introducing the flat 15 per cent tax on earnings Brendan Coates and Joey Moloney propose, a simpler option would be to have, say, 80per cent of super withdrawals taxed as income (20 per cent stays tax-free) with a credit given for the tax already paid and the balance at death treated as income in that fiscal year. Maurice Critchley, Mangrove Mountain

Memorial funding waste

As a returned serviceman (a so-called “veteran”, a quite inappropriate US term) (Letters, April 3), I am sickened at this expenditure of huge amounts of money on the Australian War Memorial, a building and organisation which was previously more than adequate. While this money is spent, many of my fellow ex-servicemen and women starve, are drug-dependent, escape into a bottle or try to take their own lives, often successfully, all in an attempt to cope. This is a massive crime against those who served. Ian Usman Lewis, Kentucky

A hole in the budget

While the NGA is the focus of attention for a massive funding boost (Letters, April 3), spare a thought for the darling Belvoir Theatre, which was also using buckets to cope with the rain this weekend. It seems there is a hole in their budget too. Vicky Marquis, Glebe

National treasure

Wonderful news that the treasure Trove will survive (“Lifeline promise of $33m shows Trove is treasured”, April 3). Rejoice all ye researchers, academic and amateur alike. Judith Campbell, Drummoyne

Full credit for the government’s intervention. Closing Trove would have been intellectual vandalism. Gus Plater, Saratoga

Add it up

All the maths I ever needed I learnt in primary school (“Maths anxiety, the fear of all sums”, April 3). John Flint, St Leonards

I suffer from “Maths anxiety”, which was self-induced in kindergarten when I found that counting went past 10 and that I would be “studying” Maths for the next 13 years. Elizabeth Starr, Abbotsford

Jump to the left

Perhaps the Liberal theme song needs to be the Time Warp. Dutton can lead his team singing ″⁣It’s just a jump to the left ...″⁣
Con Vaitsas, Ashbury

Weather or not

Is this the La Nina you have when you’re not having a La Nina (“Two rescued as wet weather begins reign”, April 3)? Phil Rodwell, Redfern

The digital view
Online comment from one of the stories that attracted the most reader feedback yesterday on smh.com.au
‘We need to stop dog whistling’: MPs call for Dutton to return Liberal Party to centre
From beproactive: ″⁣You can’t just move to the centre of politics if you don’t believe in the essential tenets of being in the centre. Voters know what the beliefs of the majority of the Coalition members are, so pretending otherwise is just fake and hypocritical. It won’t work because it’s not true.″⁣

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