One Nation is riding a wave of discontent

Niki Savva states the midterm blues have gripped the PM and his government (“Earth to Albo: Your radar malfunctioned again”, September 3). It should come as no surprise. Policy formulation and advocacy don’t sit comfortably with Albanese, even after 30 years in parliament. Organising the numbers and factional fights were his forte. Declining productivity, real wages and disposable income, coupled with rising interest rates and now falling house prices have created a quagmire that has left the electorate angry. Albanese is unable to offer reassurance or hope. As Savva correctly points out, Angus Taylor and the Coalition are in an even worse predicament. Is it any wonder a frustrated electorate at the end of its tether is raising the political middle finger at both major parties, and seemingly embracing One Nation? Mike Kenneally, ManlyPolicy formulation and advocacy are not Anthony Albanese’s fortes. Alex EllinghausenMemo to Niki Savva: our democracy is on the brink and your veiled acceptance of One Nation is worrying. You make no reference to Pauline Hanson’s stunt of driving a nail into a coffin labelled net zero, despite the dangerous rise in global warming we are seeing (“Australia called out as world hurtles past 1.5 degree warming goal”, September 2). Hanson has nothing but negativity and division as her policy framework. How can we not care about her apparent disregard for the economy and the community? Savva has wasted an opportunity to call Hanson out. Michael Blissenden, Castle HillPauline Hanson, without a solution or original thought in her head, is simply copying Donald Trump and hoping for the same result at the polls. Sadly, it seems to be working thanks to a large section of the electorate who, since COVID, seem to have lost their senses. But the biggest threat to democracy and Australian values is the “big money” that is backing One Nation. They’ve also watched and learnt from the US experience – it’s so much easier to buy populist wannabes than serious politicians. So the push for Hanson is being led “top-down” – from the boardroom. It’s really nothing to do with Albo or the Coalition which, as Niki Savva points out, is finished. Phil Bradshaw, NaremburnOnce again One Nation is proving incapable of listening to experts or caring about future business and daily living costs (“AGL warns Hanson that coal plan will lift power costs”, September 3). It continues to lazily idolise and mimic other destructive authoritarian political outfits around the world, for its own fundraising endeavours and chest-thumping pursuits. Sue Dyer, Downer (ACT)Success storyI would have thought the long-overdue drop in house prices would have Labor shouting from the rooftops (“Chalmers on budget defence as Liberals warn of market crash”, September 3). Surely this is the correction Australia had to have, and a Labor success story. As a rule, governments have to wait a long time to see the effects of positive policy filter through, by which time they may have been relegated to the opposition benches, and their political opponents take all the misplaced praise. So take the credit Mr Treasurer, and own this moment. Addressing the generational divide is something to be proud of, not cowered. Janet Argall, Hurlstone ParkYour correspondent John Elder suggests that the downside of the negative gearing changes will be a tighter rental market as investors sell their properties (Letters, September 3). No doubt there will be inconvenience as some renters will need to find new places to live, however, when the initial sell-off by investors has concluded, the decrease in supply will be matched by a decrease in demand as more renters become owner/occupiers. Bruce Johnson, LakewoodThe housing changes announced by Labor coincided with a decrease in the capacity for younger home buyers to enter the marketplace. Cries of destruction of people’s wealth by shadow treasurer Tim Wilson have to be put into context (“House prices on track to plunge by up to 13%”, September 2). It is older people’s wealth that is being reduced, but younger people will benefit by entering the housing market rather than paying rent for the rest of their lives. It is a long overdue generational change for the better. The Coalition is trapped in a time warp. John Rome, Mt Lawley (WA)Remote chancesIt’s hard to understand how operators are going to fulfil the promise to build data centres in remote areas (“Australia’s massive data centres to be built away from homes”, September 3). They may be remote from cities, but to many Indigenous Australians they are sacred sites. And where will they get their resources? There’s hardly any water and fewer people out there. You have to wonder how many of these tech giants even know where Australia is, much less that it’s the driest continent on Earth. Mary Billing, Allambie Photo: Matt DavidsonGaza vacuumIt’s telling that correspondent Judith felt the need to have her surname withheld (Letters, September 3). Why? Because “Jewish Australians who oppose Israel’s actions exist but are too often ignored or abused for speaking out.” In this instance, she was protesting, as a member of Jews Against Occupation ’48, against the participation of former Israeli Defence Forces members in the Sydney Marathon. Complaints about them being subjected to booing and hateful signs are misplaced. These military veterans have been active participants in Israel’s campaign of revenge that has inflicted immeasurable misery in Gaza. Australia’s response has been limited to verbal diplomacy. The Sydney Marathon was an opportunity for the government to take well-justified action by barring the military members of the marathon team. Its failure to do so left a vacuum to be filled by Judith and her fellow protesters in defiance of attempts to silence their voice. Tom Knowles, Parkville (Vic)As an Ashkenazi Jew who protested at the Sydney Marathon, I can confirm there were no messages of hate. We gathered to support Palestine and object to the inclusion of soldiers involved in the massacre in Gaza. The support we received from many runners shows they understand that expressing love and empathy for a people dispossessed is not about spreading hatred. It is difficult to see how anyone could interpret a message of solidarity and human rights otherwise. Jerry Dohnal, MortdaleI live on the marathon route and my children and I planned to cheer the participants at the end of our street. When I heard that former IDF soldiers were running (for disabled children, oh the irony), I instead went alone, quietly holding my protest sign at the south turn point. Several people approached and whispered their thanks. A Muslim security guard did it with tears in his eyes. I felt love that day, not hate. Antra Kalnins, KingsfordManliness v manosphereI don’t know what schools Nationals leader Matt Canavan’s sons attend, but if he’s basing his comments about the feminisation of education on them, he needs to pull his boys out pronto (“Contos sounds alarm on manosphere”, September 3). Blaming education in general, and schools in particular, for the attraction of young men to the manosphere is just a load of drivel. Canavan is taking the easy and lazy way out, when the issue requires hard thinking and serious consideration. As for solving the problem by getting more male teachers, good luck with that. As a teacher of many decades, I can assure you that there are many easier ways to earn more money with greater prospects for advancement. If you want more men in teaching, you can’t just wish them up. You need to give them reasons to join the profession and even more reasons to stay. Prue Nelson, Cremorne PointLeader of the Nationals Matt Canavan says education has been “feminised”. Dominic LorrimerHow dare Matt Canavan blame women, female teachers particularly, for the problem of the manosphere? Female teachers find themselves the targets of young misogynists in the classroom to the degree that one in three consider leaving the profession within the first five years. Good luck getting more men to do the job, Mr Canavan. Maybe you should try to keep the women you’ve already got. Maybe something should be done about the manosphere’s impact on our boys? You could, as a man and a leader, acknowledge that there is a problem and do something about it, not blame the women – again. Carla Gillis, Hallidays PointMessage to the manosphere: You are normally bigger, heavier and stronger than women, not smarter or better. It’s a biological fact, so inflicting physical violence on women isn’t manly, it’s shameful – cowardly in fact. If aggression and dominance make up your idea of manliness, try it on someone your own size. Better still, if you want to test your strength and courage, climb a mountain, sail an ocean or run a marathon. Be the sort of man you and others can admire, not a spineless bully. Jeffrey Mellefont, CoogeeYes, we need to get back to the non-political, non-sexist education I received in the 1950s and ’60’s, when terra nullius Australia was discovered by Captain Cook and domestic science subjects were a must for us future housewives. Sally Shepard, Nelson BaySpeak up, seek helpThank you, Wendy Squires for your article about men having the courage to speak up about their depression in the face of stigma (“I’ve met some wonderful men online, and this is the vulnerability they all share”, September 3). May I suggest that when well-intentioned people use modern terms such as “male fragility”, “male tears” and accuse men of “playing the victim” when they speak about needing help, it actually teaches them that it’s not safe or OK to be vulnerable. Then, unfortunately, they sometimes resort to the only other pathway they know to resolve their emotions – aggression and violence. We need men to feel it’s safe to be vulnerable and seek help for the sake of all of us, especially for the sake of the women who have men in their lives. Walter Lee, AshfieldWhose due diligence?Scott Morrison is widely recognised as the architect of Australia’s involvement in AUKUS, and as such he would presumably have been involved in the due diligence process that preceded it. To infer that this process was in some way deficient is a bit rich (Letters, September 3). Morrison now has a lucrative position at the consulting firm tasked with implementing AUKUS, so from that perspective it’s difficult to argue with the rigour of the due diligence that was undertaken. The only issue is that it appears to have been focused on what was best for Morrison, rather than for Australia. Dean Fraser, North BalgowlahFor Scott Morrison, AUKUS is the gift that keeps giving.Fairfax MediaMissed connectionsBen Groundwater has neatly summed up some of the issues surrounding the new Western Sydney International Airport (“One big thing’s missing from western Sydney’s airport: flights”, September 3). The fact that there will be no train link for at least another year for this 24-hour airport, with that link only operating to St Mary’s station, is a serious problem and one that has obviously caused airlines to be ultra-cautious in allocating flights. After all, airlines are in business to make money, not lose it. Had the existing metro system been extended to the new airport rather than building a totally incompatible one-off design, trains might have been running by opening day. The example of the ill-fated Montreal-Mirabel airport, which lasted less than 30 years, should be a serious wake-up call to the authorities to make the best of what seem like bungled decisions. Lance Dover, Pretty BeachThe biggest thing missing from Western Sydney Airport, Ben Groundwater, is a curfew. Once those flights cut in, residents around the airport will suffer all day, every day. Flights will take off and land around the clock, passengers will arrive and depart endlessly. It will be a stew of congestion, noise and air pollution at all times. If a curfew is appropriate at Kingsford Smith then it should be the same for Western Sydney. All sides in politics can take credit for this mess in the making. The fight for a curfew at our new airport will likely feature on the pages of the Herald for years to come. Glenn Johnson, LeuraA losing handTrump’s aerial bombing campaign in Iran is never going to win a war without boots on the ground. Instead, it’s inevitable that unintended civilian targets, such as the wedding that was hit, is only going to turn the populace against the US (“Iran accuses US of bombing wedding as strikes resume”, September 3). The current Iranian regime knows this and is happy to sit tight and let America’s November elections decimate the Republican Party and weaken Trump’s powers. This is a futile military campaign and the longer it goes on, the more America’s arsenal is being drained. Trump prides himself as a negotiator but is unwilling to admit he has a losing hand. It’s hard to see an off-ramp without a change in president. Larry Woldenberg, Forest LodgeBlowing in the windOn National Flag Day I fully support correspondent Peter Skinner’s call for a genuine national flag without the British Union Flag dominating the canton (Letters, September 3). However, I don’t agree that we need a new green and gold flag designed. We already have a beautiful and uniquely Australian flag in the “Aboriginal flag”. It reflects the essential colours and Indigenous heritage of our island continent better than anything green and gold, and has been in official use now for about 20 years, though farcically in conjunction with two other ensigns. Martyn Yeomans, Sapphire BeachIs it time for the Aboriginal flag to become the national flag? Meredith O’SheaSuggestions for a new Australian flag keep cropping up. Personally, I’m more concerned about the reverse side of our coins depicting the royal family. If we do ever become a republic, who are we going to have on the back side of the coins? Albo? Hanson? No, not a good look. Maybe best just run with Ned Kelly. John Swanton, CoogeeTo submit a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, email letters@smh.com.au. 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