In these times of retrospective apologies, I am waiting for Bill Shorten to apologise for the Labor Party’s trashing of the surplus it inherited from John Howard and Peter Costello. But there’s faint hope of that, because Labor MPs can’t even bring themselves to acknowledge the fact.
Elizabeth Moser, Newtown, Vic
I see Jane Fonda says Donald Trump is dangerous to Americans. She was called “Hanoi Jane” for a good reason. As she was being led through a line of US prisoners of war by their communist captors in Vietnam, they passed notes to her. Fonda then gave the notes over to the Vietcong jailers. Who is more dangerous?
Jack Sonnemann, Lucaston, Tas
How do environmentalists justify urging us to turn off our lights to participate in Earth Hour when Sydney City Council turns on thousands of extra lights for two weeks to celebrate the Vivid festival?
John Clark, Burradoo, NSW
The choices on July 2 are pretty clear. The government is encouraging us to live within our means and work hard to grow an economy that can support those who need help, but one that is struggling to get its message heard against a backdrop of a population that has its hands out for more.
The alternatives on the Left believe those who contribute the most should contribute more, that jobs growth should be in a bureaucracy funded through public debt, and that everyone has the right to come to our country whenever it suits them.
Nowhere near the middle of these spectrums is Bill Shorten, and anyone who thinks he won’t form a minority government with the Greens, if required to govern, is deluding themselves. We will then be in a position much worse than the years of the Gillard Labor-Greens alliance that has left us with a debt legacy that will require years to repair.
We will have a more rabid Greens alliance that promotes “compassionate” open-border policies that put asylum-seeker lives at risk, that wants the individuals and companies who drive this economy taxed more to support the increasing handout mentality, and all while Greens leader Richard Di Natale thinks it’s appropriate to underpay staff he employs in his own home.
Conservatives unhappy with Tony Abbott’s removal should consider this when contemplating a protest vote in either house. The risks are too great.
Dean Stocks, Nedlands, WA
Jobs and growth? I don’t think so. It should be growth and prosperity. Growth that leads to prosperity is another matter. Even Labor voters want that. We want growth that means we can start to pay off the record debt Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Bill Shorten and his crew of unionists left us and want to increase. And what exactly does living within our means mean? Paul Keating explained it pretty well and won an election after trimming expenditure. It can be done. But it takes balls and extraordinary communication.
Donald Stallman, Colinton, Qld
Stopping the boats is one of the Coalition’s most significant achievements, and for its competence on this issue alone, is enough to warrant it being rewarded with a second term. And yes, it has Tony Abbott’s name stamped all over it. But if, as is being suggested, Malcolm Turnbull is not trumpeting the government’s record on our border security out of pique for his predecessor, then he is not fit for office.
Our nation cannot afford a return to the open-slather people smuggling that flourished when Labor and the Greens were at the helm.
Mandy Macmillan, Singleton, NSW