Trump's acceptance of a $400m jet was a gaffe
Progressive regression
The brains trust at the ALP appear not to have road-tested the PM's new slogan: ″progressive patriotism″.
It sounds like a medical diagnosis; up there with progressive cancer, and progressive dementia.
It sounds to be the sort of condition that leads medical practitioners to tell patients who have had the diagnosis: ″Go home and get your affairs in order.″
Alun Breward, Malvern East
The voters didn't see it
Bridget McKenzie's comment ″Obviously, our country is best served by a strong Nationals and Liberals coalition government″ was clearly not obvious to the great majority of Australian voters on May 3.
Merv Keehn, Melbourne
The values of loyalty
Political parties substantially depend on loyalty for many votes. So how hypocritical is Labor with the new frontbench? Seems that the treatment of Mark Dreyfus demonstrates just how much Labor thinks of loyalty and his value.
I'm questioning mine.
Carol Fountain, Mentone
Wrong priorities
Victorian farmers are wracked by drought, risk financial losses and face a hefty fire levy. Funds earmarked for public schools had been quietly sequestered and delayed by the state government (″ Victoria secretly slices $2.4b from public schools ″, 12/5). Completion dates of smaller projects like country rails and roads have been deferred (″ Timelines for swath of Victorian construction projects blow out ″, 11/5).
Where have the taxpayers' funds gone? The article ″ In Allan's Victoria, pouring concrete is more important ″ (15/5) shows that public funds are being shovelled into cash intensive Big Build megaprojects.
One of which being the North East Link Project: $26 billion for 10 kilometres of roads and tunnels. Local community groups have worked relentlessly with various authorities to minimise the social and environmental impacts. It has been an exhausting uphill battle since 2016.
At 3am on a week night, residential areas along the construction route are lit up like the Tullamarine Airport, plumes of dust rise and pile drivers thump incessantly through the night. We despair that our taxes are stirring up Big Build dust storms while shortchanging our students, teachers, police, farmers, healthcare, and emergency workers.
Kahhui Zikou, North Balwyn
There's still the big event
You've got to hand it to Jacinta Allan's government. Through drought, floods, school funding cutbacks, and state debt, the major events keep on coming.
David Cayzer, Clifton Hill
Blockade a necessity
Simon Tedeschi's claim that Israel has a policy of starvation that is collective punishment, not military necessity (Letters, 16/5) is wrong on every count.
Israel's policy is to deny Hamas the means to stay in power to continue the war against it. Israel let enough aid into Gaza to last until at least June, but then Hamas stole huge quantities of it, as Hamas has been doing for years, and then used it to keep control in Gaza, and also sold it to fund the wages it pays to its fighters.
Israel is under no obligation under international law to allow in aid that helps its enemy, so the blockade is absolutely military necessity. However, Israel will be restoring aid flows in the next couple of weeks, in co-operation with US, but in a way that prevents it going to Hamas.
George Greenberg, Malvern
Informed on Gaza
Well said David Leser (″ Call me a self-hating Jew, but what Israel is doing in Gaza is indefensible ″, 17/5). Leser's scholarly, informed and perceptive article shines a rare light on Jewish opposition to Israeli policies and actions in Palestine. This not to say that Jewish voices are not raised, but that media coverage of these voices is generally less than extensive. Leser's analysis of the IHRA definition of antisemitism and his comparison with the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism is cogent and backed by many Jewish scholars. Zionism is not Judaism, we all need to reflect carefully on what is racist and what is pure polemic, meant to whitewash apartheid and genocide.
Lorel Thomas, Blackburn South
Reap the wind
Why the fear and loathing of wind farms (″ Labor's victory puts transition to cheap power on agenda ″, 17/5)? A recent article in the German magazine Der Spiegel on the village of Feldheim showed that it got all its electricity from renewables, exported the considerable surplus to surrounding regions and paid just 12 cents a kW.hr, a third of the average for Germany. It has dozens of wind turbines, which in my opinion add not detract from the landscape.
Crops are being grown almost up to the base of the wind turbines, which are tall and elegant. Wind is free, unlike coal and natural gas. Or enriched uranium for nuclear power plants.
All houses in Australia should have solar panels, and as many as possible should have home batteries. I'm looking forward to having home batteries installed in my home and my two rental properties. Electricity should be produced where it's used as much as possible obviating the need for long-distance transmission lines.
Wayne Robinson, Kingsley
What's the chances?
Anti-gambling advocate Tim Costello recommends that gambling reform be transferred from the minster for sport and communications portfolio to that of the health minister's (″ Gambling reform less likely ″, 17/5). I wonder what the odds are for that to happen?
Robin Jensen, Castlemaine
Terrorist no more
Definition of a former al-Qaeda terrorist: 'Young attractive guy. Tough guy.' From US Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump, describing Ahmad al-Sharaa, interim Syrian president. I have no cornflakes left to choke on.
David West, Essendon
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Sydney Morning Herald
31 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘We have a mandate to act': PM throws open doors to bolder agenda
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has thrown open the doors to a more daring economic reform agenda, convening a summit later this year to kickstart Australia's stuttering economy. As he set guard rails for his upcoming negotiation with US President Donald Trump on tariffs, Albanese revealed he would bring union and business bosses together in August to chart a path to a more prosperous society after years of flatlining living standards and productivity. The government did not speak of the roundtable before its election win, the size of which has spurred calls from economists, think tanks and some MPs for Labor to consider broader reform to tackle issues such as reducing the reliance on income taxes. 'The commitments the Australian people voted for in May are the foundation of our mandate, they are not the limits of our responsibilities or our vision,' Albanese said in his first major speech since his generational 94-seat win. 'We want to build the broadest possible base of support for further economic reform … Our government has secured a mandate to act.' Loading Holding the economic summit, as Labor did in its first term on industrial relations policy, could hand Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers more authority to pursue bolder policies than those it took to the election. Chalmers has been emphasising the productivity problem since the election, while Housing Minister Clare O'Neil and assistant minister for productivity Andrew Leigh have both recently taken aim at red tape, suggesting a new focus on growth after facing criticism for allegedly over-regulating and over-spending last term. Labor ministers have stressed their policies on childcare, school funding, green energy and housing were already ambitious, but they have faced calls to examine major issues such as the GST, property taxes and the company tax rate.
The Age
31 minutes ago
- The Age
‘We have a mandate to act': PM throws open doors to bolder agenda
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Canberra Times
an hour ago
- Canberra Times
Average Australian home now costs $1 million
The average price of an Australian home has now reached an eye-watering $1 million. The average price of an Australian home has now reached an eye-watering $1 million. Pic: Shutterstock That is the finding from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which said the record price for Australian dwellings came in the March quarter of 2025. "The national mean price of residential dwellings passed $1 million for the first time in the March quarter 2025, rising 0.7 per cent to $1,002,500," Dr Misha Tan, ABS head of finance statistics said. "Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland were the main drivers of the rise , with Queensald reaching the second highest mean price in Australia, behind New South Wales." While the national average house costs $1 million, prices vary from state to state. Source: ABS NSW dwelling prices, which include both houses and units, remained in front with an average price of $1.245 million. It is the only state with an above $1 million price tag, despite the national mean now hitting over $1 million. Next in line is Queensland where the average home will set you back $944,700 according to the ABS. The ACT has seen its home prices drop over the last year, in the March quarter 2024 it stood at $951,800 but this year had dropped to $944,700. WA, which has seen strong growth jumped nearly $100k in the same time, with the mean dwelling price of $869,200. Victoria has also seen a drop in prices over the past year. It went from a mean dwelling price of $911,800 in the March quarter of 2024 to $899,700 this March quarter 2025. The rise of the national home price came in a period when the RBA had made its first cut for 2025 in February. Pic: Shutterstock The rise of the national home price came in a period when the RBA had made its first cut for 2025 in February. It cut rates again in May, taking the cash rate to below 4 per cent for the first time in two years. The total value of Australian housing has also jumped. Source: ABS And while there was strong growth in prices in the three months to March, yearly growth in prices were down. Despite the quarterly rise in national dwelling value, annual growth in the March quarter slowed to 5.9 per cent. This was down from 9.5 per cent in March quarter 2024', Dr Tan said. Quarterly growth was seen across all states and territories, and most evident in Queensland (+1.9 per cent) and South Australia (+1.6 per cent). The total value of all Australian homes also rose in the March quarter according to the ABS. It reported that the total value of Australia's residential dwellings rose by $130.7 billion (1.2 per cent) to $11.4 trillion in the March quarter.
