Sensitive exposé of insensitive behaviour

Jacqueline Maley’s sensitive article on the Priya Bill, which includes the loss of unborn children and parental leave rights, rightly criticizes “the remarkable (and for many women) display of men trying to police matters that are the business of women, their partners and their doctors” (“Baby Priya brought compassion to parliament. Then four men took over the debate”, 2 November). The clergy (almost entirely male) have been doing this for centuries and are particularly insistent on this area today. It’s really annoying, but it’s proven to be a problem with no solution so far. Joyce, Hastie and others are merely servants of this behavior. Wayne Duncombe, Lilyfield

Jacqueline Maley handles this sensitive topic well. Unfortunately, the four Coalition members who took on the role of morality police showed no sensitivity or courtesy. It seems that the mentality that brought us robot debt is alive and well in the dark corners of the right. How do you assess the further harm his words and actions cause? Cheap political points that undermine the credibility of those trying to score points. Geoff Nilon, Mascot

think before you speak

“Politicians sometimes get terrible advice from immature partisan hacks in their offices,” Parnell McGuinness writes (“Sussan Ley should say ‘sorry’ – and not just about T-shirtgate,” November 2). There are obvious questions about hiring immature people who give bad advice, but the answers are pretty simple; If anyone, not just immature partisan hacks, gives you advice, think carefully before you open your mouth. Peter Butler, Wyongah

Sussan Ley is quickly gaining a reputation for poor judgment. Hits of Rudd and Joy Division t-shirts landed like lead balloons. However, instead of learning from these blunders, he preferred the trilogy. He accused Labor of blocking his trip to the Tomago aluminum smelter and began to sound paranoid. His party is in disarray and his leadership is under threat from Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor. He’d better resign now and let them take the blame for the inevitable crush in 2028. Graham Lum, Northern Rocks

Parnell, am I faulting you for projecting your much-needed apologies onto Sussan Ley’s need for a new approach? I have often disagreed with your defense of the coalition, but this article contains a refreshingly even-handed balance. Peter Kamenyitzky, Copacabana

Direct train to learning

The $47-a-day youth allowance for students who can’t live at home and go to college is too stingy, Professor George Williams said (“Of all the things that go wrong at universities, this rarely makes the headlines,” November 2). Around the world, students are encouraged to move home while attending university. However, we should not make it difficult for students who want and can afford to live with their parents. Sydney’s two main research universities are located in the inner western and eastern suburbs, far from most of the Sydney metropolitan area in terms of travel time. Both the Universities of Sydney and New South Wales require direct rail access to adequately serve students and the economy. A 3.5 kilometer extension of the Eastern Suburbs Rail Line to UNSW and Prince of Wales Hospital has long been planned. The University of Sydney, which has been rejected for Sydney Metro services, should be added to the Inner West Line via a 3.5 kilometer diversion to underground platforms at Newtown and University, with reconnection near Cleveland Street. Regional hub Newtown could then receive platforms on the Western Line. Peter Egan, Fairview Park (SA)

Lack of action is not a success

Correspondent Riley Brown argues that Tony Abbott’s success was that he “rescued Australia from the shambles of dysfunctional Rudd/Gillard/Rudd governments” (Letters, 2 November). But this was not Abbott’s success. It was that of voters who chose not to persist with a Labor government. Unfortunately, Abbott made promises to voters that he was not prepared to keep. His own party soon realized their folly. And his election marked the beginning of nine years of the Coalition’s do-nothing rule. So which is worse: dysfunction or doing nothing? Ideally, we need leaders who will competently act in our interests. David Rush, Lawson

committed Liberal Party supporter Riley Brown’s claim that Tony Abbott “saved Australia” dovetails uneasily with the record of subsequent coalition governments. History will be much kinder to the Rudd and Gillard governments, which steered the country through the global financial crisis, than to the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison governments, which sadly achieved little during their almost nine years in office. Maurice Critchley, Mangrove Mountain

Your correspondent waxes poetic about Tony Abbott’s achievements but neglects to mention a few more: Not only did Tonesy lose his job as party leader due to declining public support, he also lost his own seat to an independent candidate. This is quite an achievement. Dave Horsfall, North Gosford

opposite poles

How ironic that the investigation into Andrew Tate and his neo-Nazis appears on the same page as an extract from Peter FitzSimons’s book on the life of Weary Dunlop (“The moment war hero Weary Dunlop broke away”, November 2). Undoubtedly, the characters of the former article do not have the dignity, character and endurance of the latter. Christine Tiley, Albany Creek (Qld)

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