Bluster is one thing One Nation, delivering is another
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Granted, there is no doubt that One Nation’s win in Farrer is a shift in the Australian political landscape. The fact that so many people from tiny towns up to larger regional centres feel they are being ignored by the status quo should be a lesson to politicians across the divide. Notwithstanding is the fact that these people chose to park their “protest” vote with a party that revels in anger and outrage – and not much else. Do the people of Farrer, or any other future seat One Nation might win, really think that Pauline Hanson can deliver what they want? Or did they vote just to stick it up to the major parties? The other odd part about voting for One Nation is that their signature anti-immigration policy would be detrimental to the agricultural and industrial activities of these small towns that rely heavily on migration for their workers, and schools, local economies, healthcare, sporting teams, etc. But people chose to ignore this contradiction because “Pauline tells it like it is”. They voted not so much for the candidate as they voted for the brand.
One Nation has got some wind in its sails. But talk and bluster is one thing, winning seats and delivering for local communities is another. And then there’s the other challenge for One Nation, which is to keep their MPs in the flock – difficult when they saddle themselves with a range of independent types who don’t always toe the party line.
Jeremy de Korte, Newington, NSW
Appeasing One Nation intensifies the threat
Your correspondent (Letters, 6/5) claimed that ″every day″ the Allan Labor government showed why it should be booted from office and he was not fussed if the Liberals won with or without the help of One Nation. But is a win at any cost the solution? Preferencing Pauline Hanson legitimises her more extreme positions and is a huge risk among Liberal voters in the middle and inner-urban heartland, seats it must win to form government, and where anti-One Nation sentiment is the strongest. While any preference deal may contribute to Labor losing seats to One Nation, a bigger danger to the Liberals is the stimulus it will give to the teals and the threat that represents to Jess Wilson in Kew, John Pesutto in Hawthorn and Amelia Hamer in Malvern.
The reality is the Liberals (and the Nationals) are locked in an existential fight with One Nation, and appeasing One Nation will only intensify that threat. The result in Farrer and in the recent South Australian election where One Nation cannibalised the Liberal’s primary vote (reducing its representation from 16 seats to five) tells us which party will win that fight, and it’s not the Liberal Party.
Neil Hudson, East Melbourne
Fischer would lament the irony
I wonder what the late Tim Fischer, former member for Farrer and leader of the Nationals, would have made of Saturday’s result. During Fischer’s time the National Party was the natural party of choice for rural Australians, whereas on Saturday the Nationals came fourth on the primary vote, trailing One Nation, an Independent and the Liberals. How ironic would it be to Fischer, a strident One Nation critic, that Farrer elected a One Nation candidate made possible by preferences directed by the Nationals and Liberals – literally the Coalition falling over themselves to out-Pauline Pauline and giving them Farrer.
Frank Collins, Selby
Five easy pieces to the end
How to obliterate the Liberal Party? Step one: overthrow within a year the first woman elected as leader. Step two: make sure the woman overthrown is the long-term member, in a regional electorate, who then resigns and refuses to support the Liberal candidate in the resulting byelection. Step three: give your preferences to your biggest immediate threat, One Nation, rather than a more reasonably aligned independent. Step four: get thrashed in the byelection by an electorate that feels betrayed and ignored. Step five: obliteration – there is no step five and no Liberals.
Robyn Westwood, Heidelberg Heights
THE FORUM
Nation needs migrants
The recent report that shows two-thirds of migrant workers are underpaid and that international students alone are losing $61 million a week in lost wages is horrifying (″Workers are losing billions in migrant wage scandal″, 7/5). Even more so in light of the recent surge in One Nation support. This is a party whose main ″policy″ is to slash immigration. New migrants do the jobs we don’t want to do, such as the badly paid and poorly respected work of looking after the vulnerable in our community. One wonders what would happen to the economy if One Nation got its way? That’s $3 billion a year, just for international students to be paid properly. Where does this money come from? Tertiary education relies on the money from these students. Not to mention the wider economy relying heavily on underpaid migrant workers. Over to you Pauline.
Claire Cooper, Maldon
Warning from the islands
The growing geopolitical importance of islands and atolls in the Indian and Pacific oceans is well covered in the article ″Location, location″ (10/5). There’s a need for a parallel piece that focuses on their importance as signalling stations for global warming. Rising sea levels threaten the islands’ viability for human habitation. Rising ocean temperatures are warning signs of major changes in weather patterns that have implications far beyond their shores. Some Pacific Island leaders are doing the world a great service by calling out loud for the urgent take-up of clean energy and the abandonment of polluting fuels. They deserve to have our full attention and co-operation.
Tom Knowles, Parkville
Different perspectives
Any changes to the capital gains tax and negative gearing that will come along, or any super profits tax, will see so many wealthy people ironically plead, ″Poor, poor, me.″ However, the poorer people who don’t own houses or have shares may have some hope that their welfare payments creep up a little closer to the poverty line. They are likely to be grateful. Different viewpoints, different reactions.
Greg Tuck, Warragul
Rethink stamp duty
Many elderly people are living in large family homes that they no longer need. They resist moving to a smaller home as the cost of stamp duty is too high to allow them to move comfortably.
Many of us would move if the government allowed people over 70 who have one home to downsize without the cost of stamp duty.
This would free up much needed space and money saved could help the economy.
Helen Hayes, Musk
Donation sources
Fortunately for state Opposition Leader Jess Wilson, she will have the benefit of access to the Cormac Foundation’s estimated $70 million to fund her campaign when she faces ″cashed up Independent challenger Sophie Torney″ (″Teals exploiting the donations gap in bid to unseat Wilson″, 9/5) who has received $40,000 from Climate 200’s donor base.
Transparency in the source of donations has been lacking from both major parties and their nominated entities but that will finally change with the recent successful High Court challenge.
Belinda Burke, Hawthorn
Orwell, meet Trump
Donald Trump has declared that a ceasefire with Iran remains intact — even as both sides exchange fire. George Orwell, meet 2026. Orwell in 1984 gave us the slogan “War is Peace” — and Trump appears to be field-testing it. (It may even be his path to a Nobel Peace Prize.) Perhaps Pete Hegseth could complete the picture by renaming his department “Minipax” — the Ministry of Peace.
Martin Hunt, East Malvern
Good hourly rate for some
I can see no justification for annual incomes of $26.5 million and $35 million (″Flip the boss: Macquarie’s $35m man out-earns CEO″, 9/5). This equates to thousands of dollars an hour. This should be going back in growth in the company or greater shareholder returns.
Louis Ferrari, Richmond
Chemical alerts
The article ″Dying RAAF veteran forced to battle for justice after exposure to poisonous chemical″ (10/5) regarding the awful consequences of inappropriate trichloroethylene use reminded me that my mechanical engineer father told me in 1960 that it was a very dangerous chemical.
He explained that my paternal grandfather had been exposed to it in a different form during World War I , as phosgene gas. Phosgene was subsequently forbidden in the post WWI international agreements.
Trichloroethylene was also used in the dry-cleaning industry for a time, under strict conditions. My father also was adamant that asbestos was very dangerous – in 1960.
Elizabeth Coe, Caulfield North
Pause for the nurses
May 11, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, should cause us to think of the work that nurses perform as the backbone of our health system.
Theirs is a highly skilled, physically and emotionally demanding profession. We often encounter them when we are unwell and vulnerable, needing care, empathy and reassurance
In crowded and understaffed hospitals the stakes are high with many nurses working long intense shifts and at times copping threats and abuse, even from other health workers.
They are the patients’ advocates so let’s appreciate all aspects of their work when we interact with them.
I am the proud mother of a nurse.
Edna Russell, Ocean Grove
Regift the rego rebate
If you can afford to pay the full cost of a vehicle registration, perhaps think about donating the government rebate amount to a person or organisation to help someone who can really benefit from extra funding.
Jennie Epstein, Little River
Measuring the future
Without denying the success of One Nation’s routing of the conservative political parties in Farrer, and potentially in other rural electorates, it is also now arguable that a more authentic measure of our nation’s future lies in the remarkable rise of Australia’s Indian-origin population, as detailed in the article ″Young, smart, driven: the dynamic diaspora″ (10/5). With nearly 1 million now in this grouping, we have a brilliant national resource: academically successful, business-savvy, democratically inclined and connected to a dynamic worldwide force of nature. They represent a refutation of the anti-immigrant and parochial national stance envisioned by Pauline Hanson’s recrudescent Anglo-Celtic remnant. Across Australia, the urban multicultural Point Cook-type communities, whatever the rural naysayers would suggest, reflect our future. Sad, perhaps, for some but true.
Jon McMillan, Mornington
Planned obsolescence?
If the Liberal and Labor parties don’t take a good hard look at the direction and policies they are offering, they could become obsolete after the results in Farrer for One Nation.
Christine Hammett, Richmond
Three-word story
For years the Liberal Party has adopted three-word slogans as its preferred mode of political communication. Remember “stop the boats”, “shut the door”, “numbers too high”, “standards too low” etc. Now, after Farrer, it has a new one: “Think we’re stuffed”.
Mike Smith, Sandringham
One Nation not the answer
It comes as no surprise that the Farrer byelection was won by a One Nation candidate.
How can any other party or candidate compete with prophesies such as, the party is “at the end of its beginning” and we are ” like a chisel and a hammer and we’re carving letters into Australian democracy”?
I understand that country Australians feel abandoned and this is their vote of protest.
But there are better solutions to their problems than voting for a party that makes vacuous statements and offers vague promises.
Time and time again, One Nation has shown contempt for democratic processes. In the Farrer byelection, ABC journalists were removed from a party media event.
How is this respect for freedom of the press?
We need to work together and One Nation has proved over and over, that it is a party of division and exclusion.
Marisa Di Giacomo, Beaumaris
Pat before you eat
After reading the article ″Alpacas gentle and cute″ (9/5) I have to ask what is wrong with humanity? On the one hand alpacas are described as having unique personalities, being calm, inquisitive, gentle and great to be around and then the article goes on to describe the taste of their meat. Sorry, who on earth would want to eat these creatures? A study showed that if pictures of the relevant animal (lamb, calf, piglet etc) were placed next to the relevant item on the menu, orders went down. As they should, and I would hope that anyone who even contemplated eating alpaca was made to pat one first.
Samantha Keir, Brighton East
Maaate, great idea
Your correspondent proposes May 9 as an alternative date for Australia Day (Letters, 10/5). I suggest the day before might be an even less divisive date because when pronounced just so (″May-eight″), it uniquely encapsulates many of our core values, including respect, camaraderie, resilience, trust and equality.
Peter Myers, East Melbourne
Can’t win, best join
The Liberals and Nationals slogan from the next federal election – If you can’t beat them, join them.
Philip West, Jan Juc
AND ANOTHER THING
Politics
What did the removal of Sussan Ley achieve?
Malcolm McDonald, Burwood
Oh, well done Liberals. Not only did you manage to get rid of your leader, you also managed to lose Farrer. Great way to be the alternative government.
Les Aisen, Elsternwick
The Liberal and National parties may well rue the day they decided to preference First Nation.
Arthur Pritchard, Ascot Vale
If Pauline Hanson is so confident that One Nation is coming she should resign from the Senate before the next election and stand as a candidate for the House of Representatives.
Phil Alexander, Eltham
I feel like I’ve got a grandstand seat to history – watching the slow demise of the Liberal Party, both federally and locally.
David Cayzer, Clifton Hill
One Nation winning in Farrer is like my footy team losing the grand final – can’t read the paper for a week.
Tom Stafford, Wheelers Hill
The Liberals lost more than the seat of Farrer. They lost their moral compass when they preferenced One Nation. Extinction is nigh.
Belinda Burke, Hawthorn
To the voters of Farrar (paraphrasing Goethe curse): “May you get what you wished for.“
Robert Juozas, Eaglemont
Furthermore
Donald Trump’s timely UFO stunt: Undeniable Flagrant Obfuscation.
Bernd Rieve, Brighton
When it comes to climate change who should I listen to, Donald Trump or David Attenborough?
Michael Brinkman, Ventnor
UFO files to take attention away from the Iran war, tariffs, mid-term elections and Epstein files? Too late Donald.
Arthur Pritchard, Ascot Vale
Carlton won a second half. Now if they put some winning first halves with this one, who knows?
Graham Fetherstonhaugh, North Fitzroy
