The teal wave is coming.Credit:Dionne Gain.
It is a given that major parties in Australia will never touch any major economic reforms,including climate change,pokies,gambling etc. unless they are forced into a minority government with teals and Greens. So far,the experience of the teals has shown that they are switched-on,intelligent policy wonks in many areas and strongly independent thinkers. Teals supporting any government will be crucial to undertaking these reforms,and these reforms could be implemented in one term. Australians are not Americans,but mis/disinformation has become a staple in some Australian media and politics. All policies/statements announced by any leader must be challenged by all media rather than allowing a free pass. I can’t wait to see a minority government undertake long-overdue reforms in several areas.Mukul Desai,Hunters Hill
Teal candidates are usually progressive centrists so it is doubtful they will support Peter Dutton who has shifted the Coalition further to the right. The Greens are currently losing favour because of a similar shift too far to the left and also because they have difficulty explaining how their policies would be paid for. As Niki Savva argues,the election of teal candidates might well make for better government;this is primarily because centrism,either moderately left or conservative,is the national political tendency.Ron Sinclair,Windradyne
Niki Savva discusses those who want Trump policies and politics in Australia. Clive Palmer has already firmly hitched his wagon to the Trump train. My guess is that if Albo leaves the election as late as possible Australian voters will be seeing the full and disastrous effects of Trump. Economically,we can expect a “Trump Dump” as US inflation climbs,jobs are lost,and the US’s furthered weakened social welfare and health systems leave even more people struggling.I’d love to see more teals and centrist independents in parliament,as minority governments are more collaborative,representative and productive than a major party majority pandering to its vested interests. Albo can help by holding off calling the election.Steven Lee,Faulconbridge
Niki Savva is to be applauded for her insightful and balanced opinion piece on the very real prospect of community independents holding the balance of power in a hung parliament. Savva’s article should strike fear in the heart of the major parties,as with the seemingly unstoppable teal wave,Australians can dare to hope the stranglehold of the duopoly may finally be coming to an end. We should be very clear on one crucial point regarding the fundraising efforts of Simon Holmes a Court – Climate 200 represents not one donor,but as of today,an impressive 17,000 concerned voters and rising from all 151 electorates. Yes,Niki Savva,it is an insult to the teals’ intelligence to suggest they are beholden to billionaires;they stand proudly in parliament,not for themselves,not for a party,but as a voice for their constituents. Bring on the federal election!Joy Nason,Mona Vale
Niki Savva is right to point out the capability of the teals to improve our political debate-smart,articulate and unburdened by the rules structure of the two major parties. The best election option is for a Labor minority government,with the independents pushing Labor to legislate the reforms they should have but haven’t. Imagine if Jim Chambers and Allegra Spender dusted offAustralia’s Future Tax System Review(the Henry Tax Review) of 2010 and came up with a totally new tax system that reduced income inequality and increased productivity. We can only dream!Gordon Howlett,Kirribilli
Peter Dutton may not be responsible for Cyclone Alfred,but his pro-coal,anti-renewable stance will certainly make him responsible for later ones,should he form a government (Letters,March 6).Wayne Duncombe,Lilyfield
Peter Dutton is not only responsible for Cyclone Alfred,Mitch Geddes. Everyone knows that as a Queensland MP,he was also behind the Swans’ devastating loss to the Brisbane Lions in last year’s AFL Grand Final.Stephen Driscoll,Castle Hill
By denying the science of climate change for way too long,by being a senior cabinet member in governments that consistently failed to produce a sustainable energy policy and by proposing a nuclear energy programme that will be costly and insufficient for our needs,I can safely say that Peter Dutton is responsible for Cyclone Alfred.John Bailey,Canterbury
Cylone Alfred is causing huge swells.Credit:Nick Moir
It has been most refreshing that our PM has yet resisted the urge to blame Cyclone Alfred on diversity,equity and inclusion policies in the Bureau of Meteorology.Michael Haisman,Uki
Don’t be silly,Peter Dutton is responsible for more damage to our society than Cyclone Alfred.Peter Nelson,Moss Vale
It’s difficult to comprehend how an expert panel on gambling reform could recommend breaking a promise to reduce the number of poker machines (“Labor abandons promise to dump 9500 poker machines”,March 6). When considering the cost-effectiveness of dumping these evil machines,I wonder if they seriously considered the impact they have on the health and well-being of compulsive gamblers and their families? Arguing that 9500 is only a small share of the overall poker machine entitlements anyway smacks of bureaucratic BS. Another win for the gambling industry!Graham Lum,North Rocks
NSW Labor has walked away from a promise to remove 9500 poker machines from the state.Credit:Peter Braig and Dominic Lorrimer
It is difficult not to agree with the NSW Coalition when they accuse state Labor of not being serious about gambling reform. Shame on the Minns government for reneging on its promise to remove 9500 poker machines.Richard Tainsh,Potts Point
Thank you,Judith Campbell (Letters,March 6). As my wife attempts to clear the breakfast table and pack the dishwasher,I can now look up from reading theHerald and tapping my phone to plead that I am busy “polishing my epistle.” It is the perfect rejoinder to her usual question of me:“What are you having a whinge about today?”Paul McShane,Burradoo
Seeking out the finer things in life in Bondi that Ian McNeilly craves firstly involves a 50-minute bus crawl from his Darlinghurst home to be greeted by homesick Irish crying into their Guinness singing “the Fields of Athenry”,British football boozers chanting “’ere we go,’ere we go”,or cosmetically altered influencers pouting at Bondi Icebergs. Alternatively,a 20-minute ferry ride across the finest harbour in the world will deposit you at Sydney’s,and indeed one of the world’s finest beaches,Manly. A stroll along the Steyne is even more pleasant hearing French,Portuguese and Spanish languages,to name a few,not to mention the athleticism on display at the beach volleyball. Still,if pork pies and “hullo governor” are your preference,Ian,then stick to Bondi.Mike Kenneally,Manly
Manly Beach.Credit:Ben Symons
This report exposes the abject failure of the current legal system in NSW to deal with criminals like the unnamed man (“This serial rapist is earmarked for release,but the system doesn’t know when or where he’ll go”,March 6). The long list of horrendous sexual and violent crimes he has committed really calls for chemical castration. Those officers who have been mollycoddling him need a stint in prison to get a taste of life among men like him.Kim Woo,Mascot
The Old Testament wisely reminded us that “where there is no vision the people perish” (“We’re flying blind,now they’ve quietly buried our vital Six Cities blueprint”,March 6). The people in Sydney desperately need a strategic vision to guide us into the future. Is the government now proposing a laissez-faire approach where things just happen,or maybe not? We need a separate planning authority to develop that strategic vision,an umbrella,and below that umbrella our year-on-year development can proceed.John Crowe,Cherrybrook
Infrastructure NSW puts whatever time frame on infrastructure projects the government of the day wants. Time frame is a government decision (“These Sydney metro rail extensions have been pushed out to the 2040s – if they go ahead”,March 6). The separate entities of the Departments of Planning,Transport and Treasury and Infrastructure NSW are a recipe to muddle along. NSW needs one agency under the direction of a ministerial committee to do detailed land use and transport planning. More importantly,we need a parliamentary committee to take evidence from the community and public service on the land use and supporting transport we need,and for the MPs to horse trade and produce a report on what government should implement at a high level. This is how we planned during the state’s most successful period – between the gold rush and WWII. A key change that we need is for our railways to become a grid-shaped network like our roads to ensure their utility for more people and for network resilience.Peter Egan,Mosman
Another big con job by the US as it tries to embarrass its “allies” by telling them they don’t spend as much on defence as the US does (“Trump admin to Australia:spending $56 billion on defence isn’t enough by half”,March 6). Why is that? They are the ones who wanted to create an American hegemony and rule the world with their military/industrial complex making huge profits from arms production. They’ve done it for nearly 80 years since the end of WWII to make themselves the biggest,toughest hombre in the neighbourhood. Endless expensive nuclear weapons that should never have been made and hopefully will never be used. A huge,powerful fleet of aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines and expensive wars like Iraq and Afghanistan. Now we all have to do the same stupid thing:ignore social welfare and disadvantaged citizens,and spend up big on weapons! And who is the biggest supplier of these weapons? More spending by their hapless allies will certainly bring more jobs back to US shores,which will keep the Trump camp happy.Phil Kerrigan,Speers Point
Donald Trump wants us to spend more on defence.Credit:Illustration:Cathy Wilcox
Not even a week after giving the Ukrainian president a lesson in abject humiliation,the Trump administration is proffering advice on our national defence spending. Personally,I’d like a thank you for our unwavering involvement in the futile Korea,Vietnam,Middle East and Afghan conflicts – not to mention the targets painted on northern Australia through US “communications” bases. The man in the Oval Office needs to be forcefully reminded that old friendships,traditions,agreements and treaties have been replaced by deals in the reign of Donald the Dull.Peter Snowden,Orange
That’s the game. Abuse your allies. Make them crawl to you by demanding increased defence expenditure which feeds the American economy. At the same time US defence of your country has to be purchased. Who wins? The US and no-one else!Eugenie Lumbers,Medowie
The Trump administration is pushing for Australia to increase its military spending without thought to the Commonwealth’s ability to fund other portfolios such as health,education and welfare. Perhaps Australia should increase the rent on Pine Gap and North West Cape by the required amount.Suska Scobie,New Lambton
If anything further were necessary,it should be obvious,after the long speech to the US Congress,that Trump can no longer be relied upon as an ally of the European democracies (“Trump says he’s ‘just getting started’ in address to rowdy US Congress”,March 6). It was full of hateful rhetoric,shameless rambling,outrageous lies and self-glorification. The threats to annex other countries were repeated and his promise to “take Greenland one way or another” was applauded by the intimidated Republicans. A cult of personality is underway and it resembles very much the fascist takeover of a democratic country.Bernard Moylan,Bronte
The images of a triumphant Donald Trump gleefully leading his fellow Republicans in a chant of “USA! USA!” in Congress,as if they were all at a swimming carnival,brought to mind Samuel Johnson’s quote:“Patriotism,the last refuge of the scoundrel.” God help us all.Merona Martin,Meroo Meadow
Donald Trump arrogantly said in his speech to Congress that God saved him from the bullet so he could make America great again. Does that mean God redirected the bullet to murder a volunteer fireman? Therefore,God should be charged with murder.Malcolm Johnson,Alstonville
I was amused to see English is now the primary language of the US. Does this mean Trump will have to learn how to construct a sentence and put it into a fully formed paragraph?Gary Lane,Milperra
During Trump’s speech to Congress he boasted of having declared English as the official language of the US,to much applause from his supporters. Will one of our political parties be promising a similar proposal for us in Australia?Con Vaitsas,Ashbury
Trump:“This will be our greatest era.” The bloke can’t even spell. It’s spelt “error”,Mr President.Kent Mayo,Uralla
Liz Gooch says,“with Trump in the White House for the next four years,the US media is buckling in for a rocky ride.” (“Hands up who fears for press freedom”,March 6). Even at this early stage of Trump’s presidency,Liz could have finished her sentence at “buckling”.Vincent Jewell,Manly
Could it be that jealousy of a younger world leader with film-star looks,a great pedigree and infinitely higher intelligence is the cause of Trump’s antipathy to Canada?Janet Cook,Waverton
Was it deliberate that the T on Trump’s left boot in today’s cartoon looked more like a 7,indicating the small size of his feet?Michael McFadyen,Kareela
More EV chargers at existing petrol stations? (Letters,March 6). No thanks. Highway service centres are good locations (and many now have them),but suburban servos generally have awful amenity and are the last place anyone would want to spend any time at. EV charging allows us to do things completely differently from liquid refuelling. Most urban EV chargers are appearing at locations with amenity where people are stopping to do activities they were going to do anyway – particularly suburban shopping centres.Brendan Jones,Annandale