Harassment has no place at the polling booth
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When men, at least one of whom is identified as a neo-Nazi ('Frydenberg condemns antisemitic stunt at appearance with Hamer', 1/5) dress up as orthodox Jews and spew antisemitic rants at a polling booth, the police should immediately intervene. The safety of our election process is a precious part of Australian life. Not only would most people be upset, offended and intimidated by such antisemitic tropes and harassment at the polling booth, this would be even more likely for elderly Jewish people, who in other countries have seen such mockery and antisemitism turn to organised lethal violence. Who would doubt that some voters would be frightened to go and vote, knowing such antisemitism was waiting for them at the polling booth? Even more so if it was known the perpetrators were indeed neo-Nazis. Not only is there no place for such antisemitic or any racial harassment at polling booths, history surely teaches us that the failure to confront shocking public political conduct only gives voice and momentum to the dangerous clowns doing it.
Julian McMahon, Melbourne
[Police said yesterday they were investigating the incident.]
Democracy is a rare privilege
With the election campaign winding down, the cynics in this country who don't know how good they've got it might revert to some positive thoughts about just that. On Saturday, we Australians can cast our vote in a truly democratic election. A privilege not shared by millions of people on the planet.
John Rawson, Mernda
Impressed by the experience
On Wednesday, I voted at a polling centre in Oakleigh. Apart from the wait, I was quite impressed by the experience. The queue was orderly and the volunteers handing out how-to-vote cards had amicable exchanges with each other and the people in the queue. Their commitment and passion has to be admired regardless of who you vote for. You could have a civilised conversation with another person in the line waiting to vote regardless of them informing you (unsolicited ) that they were not voting the same way as yourself. You were confident that your vote would be counted properly and that you could vote without fear or favour.
Also you know that you are not going to face violence when you vote. So although our voting system is not flawless, I think that overall Australians should mostly be proud of it.
Susan Nisbet, Caulfield North
The phoney election war
I despair when I read that the Kooyong corflute war looks set to head to court. I think most voters will vote with their brains and heart on what is in the best interest of our country and each of us. To see yet more waste of resources being devoted to election signage only serves to show politics at its worst. If only politicians and candidates can be as emphatic and passionate when it comes to real issues in their electorate.
Sandy Morris, Mont Albert
Strength in difference
This week I voted at a polling booth in Kooyong. It was very crowded, but I found the atmosphere to be congenial and respectful. It was good to see a range of different political parties and interest groups being represented. I appreciated the opportunity to hear their views, particularly those different from mine.
A strong sign that we live in a democracy.
Leigh Ackland, Deepdene
Flute plays two tunes
A word that's appearing more and more in our vocabulary prompted me to look it up – corflute – an industrial name for a laminated plastic sheeting suitable for political placards, not only does it advertise the politician it also advertises the product name. Clever.
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"On behalf of people in our communities, we are calling on the Albanese government to, at a minimum, fund 20,000 new packages to commence on 1 July 2025 under the current home care packages scheme, which can then be rolled over onto the new support at home program when it eventually commences," the letter reads. The call for bridging support to cover the delay is supported by both Council on the Ageing (COTA) and the Older Persons Advocacy Network. "I regularly have families contacting me about the excessively long wait times for home care packages," ACT independent senator David Pocock said. "We can't afford to delay this further." Dr Helen Haines, the member for Indi in north-east Victoria, said waiting times were lengthened by a lack of qualified people to provide care in regional areas. "We also can't delay the rollout of a pricing framework that fairly reflects the travel costs to deliver care in rural areas," she said. 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