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Sydney Morning Herald

Ley's party numbers do not inspire confidence

We'll see how Sussan Ley goes over time trying to fix the paucity of women serving in, or even voting for, her party (' Are we ready for another female PM? ' , June 27). But I can't help remembering she won the Liberal leadership by just four votes, one of which (it turns out) shouldn't have been there, two more won't be there after June 30 and the fourth was (presumably) her own. Maybe she's since won over quite a few who voted for Angus Taylor. I hope so. But she's got a big job keeping whatever parliamentary backing she now has while lifting overall voter support far above its current pathetic level. If our democracy is to avoid the tarnish that afflicts the systems operating in places such as the US and Israel, a solid alternative is a must to give voters a viable option. And if she can achieve that at least, she will have done well. Adrian Connelly, Springwood The question should be: Is the Liberal Party ready to give female Opposition Leader Sussan Ley the chance to lead the party into the election? Voters are always ready, if you go by history. Sirimavo Bandaranaike (Sri Lanka) was the world's first female prime minister in 1960, after her husband was assassinated; Indira Gandhi in India in 1966; then Golda Meir in Israel in 1969 and so on. Ley is also vague when asked about the quota for female representation: yes, but she says all Liberal states have their own democratic way of electing candidates. It is a code word for saying that she doesn't want to take on the Liberal 'heavyweights'. It'd be interesting to see if Liberals are ready to change. Mukul Desai, Hunters Hill One thing Sussan Ley can be certain of is that, from the current government, she will never have to face the disgusting and obscene treatment Julia Gillard was subjected to by the Abbott government and certain members of the media. Johanna White, Woonona Quotas? Our first female PM's take on being the first female PM: 'It doesn't explain everything. It doesn't explain nothing. It explains something.' It might be easier for the next female Labor PM, but until the misogyny and the old men are retired from the Liberal Party, quotas might be its only hope. Geoff Nilon, Mascot Australians don't care whether their prime minister is a male or a female. They just want a conviction politician. Someone who sticks to their principles rather chasing popularity. Riley Brown, Bondi Beach Are we ready? Yes, but not Sussan Ley. Peter Miniutti, Ashbury Where is Angus, your correspondent asks? (Letters, June 27). In the backroom counting numbers. Margaret Jones, Bathurst Thatcher? No, thanks Your correspondent (Letters, June 27) says, admiringly, Sussan Ley 'appears to be our Thatcher down under'. It was Margaret Thatcher, remember, who said, 'There is no such thing as society', in one of the most blatant victim-blaming comments ever made (read her whole patronising statement about over-dependence on government support for the needy). Do we really want Sussan Ley to follow the ultra-conservative Thatcher example? I thought we rejected any thought of that at the recent election? Eric Hunter, Cook (ACT) Abandoned in Syria Now that some sort of peace is happening and missiles are not flying overhead, perhaps Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke can do something about the Australian women and children in camps in Syria? Their 'guilt' is irrelevant and, as we have seen by those returned already, no harm is done by this action. Naturally, the opposition will be loud and obnoxious but it can be ignored. Just do the right thing, minister. Tony Sullivan, Adamstown Heights Spirit of Ukraine Thank you, Rob Harris, for such a powerful and heartfelt piece of reporting from Kyiv (' The extraordinary city that continues to defy Putin ', June 27) on the extraordinary spirit of the Ukrainian people. You have shared their history and experiences and their resilience. This reader is grateful for your insight, your courage and your focus on what really matters in a painfully broken world. Deb McPherson, Gerringong Rob Harris says that while the Russia-Ukraine war may appear to be just over land, critically it is also about 'identity, memory and truth', and this accounts for why the Ukrainian people will not give in. Harris, in stressing that land, culture and memories intertwine to form the essence of a people, has nailed why many wars are drawn out, even unwinnable by the aggressor in the long term. Past wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan come to mind. To choose war over diplomacy is irrational short-sightedness. To choose an unwinnable war is even more so. Paul Casey, Callala Bay In defence of truth What Julian Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton learned in the fight for Julian's freedom (' My brother, the truth and the rising ', June 27) has led him to now establish The Information Rights Project to try to protect journalists and others being attacked for telling the truth. That has grown massively with the arrival of Trumpism, the deaths of 185 journalists in Gaza and Donald Trump's attacks on journalists in the US. We, shamefully, don't protect our whistleblowers, some of whom are now in jail. Shipton has taken on a big task. He says that if truth loses, democracy loses, and we can't rely on governments alone to fight this fight. Gary Barnes, Mosman Failing federalism When the federal government introduced the fecal occult blood screening program in 2006, the surge in need for colonoscopy was quantifiable. For those with a positive test who could not afford the out-of-pocket costs for an immediate private colonoscopy, the burden fell on the state-run, already underfunded public hospitals, the need greatest in the poorest areas. Some hospital managers were more able to support their clinicians than others but the problem persists beyond western Sydney ('Hospital boss departs after diagnosis delays revealed,' June 27). The commonwealth funded the screening test and it part funded private colonoscopies but it washed its hands of those unable to pay. It is yet another example of inequity of access to essential care due to the split jurisdiction in health between state and commonwealth. It is federalism at its worst. Maybe dividing authority over health services made sense in 1901; it is certainly no longer fit for purpose. In 2009, the Rudd-appointed National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission laid down a transitional process to a single funder, starting with the commonwealth taking over all hospital out-patient costs, which would have included gap-free consultation and colonoscopy by a gastroenterologist. Unconscionable colonoscopy delay is a symptom of a sick system and a lack of political will to treat it. Graeme Stewart, Avalon Beach Platitudes rather than action do nothing for the environment We could probably write now the ministerial statement (' Scathing report on dire state of nature ', June 27) to accompany the next State of the Environment report due in three years' time. More hand-wringing. More statements about how turning environmental decline around takes time. More platitudes. More ineffectual action. Wouldn't it be nice if our decision-makers stopped listening to lobbyists and started listening to the environment? We need our so-called leaders to explain why business as usual cannot be an option and enthuse us all on how good life could be for all species that inhabit this planet. Experience tells us, though, that this is extraordinarily unlikely. Greg Baker, Fitzroy Falls According to the State of the Environment report, there has been a devastating decline in NSW's ecosystems since 2021; a further 18 species of both plants and animals are now endangered, and land clearing continues unabated. The 2021 report coincided with a Herald editorial calling for a 'Big Australia', which declared there was 'nothing to fear' from high immigration. The editorial made no mention of climate change or the environment. Australia has added nearly 2 million people since 2021 and the world is on track to add 2 billion people by 2025, according to the UN. 'Immigration causes no net change in people flows' is the specious 'Big Australia' argument, showing either a catastrophic misunderstanding of a hugely complex problem, or more likely, a deliberate deception. Meanwhile, our pursuit of net zero is increasingly absurd. To stop climate change, net zero must be achieved across the world. Instead, Australia is busy flogging fossil fuels, trashing the net zero aspirations of other countries while pretending our achieving net zero occurs in a vacuum, just like our immigration intake. Net zero has become a Labor Party front for business as usual, ie: never-ending growth. It is sending our pollution offshore, driving up the world's population powered with fossil fuels, all while pretending to be cleanskins at home. Paul Davies, Crows Nest Save the Powerhouse It is too late for Powerhouse Parramatta, and it is probably also too late for this Labor government to revisit Powerhouse Ultimo (' ALP's $300m Powerhouse revamp hit at last minute ', June 27). Millions are still to be spent on the unnecessary so-called revitalisation. The Powerhouse Museum only needed some TLC, not the wipeout of its charter. Garry Horvai, Pennant Hills I wish the last-minute revamp of the Ultimo Powerhouse had been hit a lot harder. It appears that even more destruction of the award-winning Wran extension is planned. Experts, including the late Powerhouse architect, Lionel Glendenning, have proposed that repair and maintenance costs, retaining the existing structure and internal layout (included in the commendations of those bestowing the architectural award) can be carried out at a fraction of the $300m+ proposed expenditure. How about re-allocating this money to schools infrastructure and hospitals? Elizabeth Elenius, Pyrmont Trains going backwards The Herald's nostalgic goodbye to our 'V-set' interurban trains (' Era closes as workhorse of train trips makes final Newcastle run ', June 27) forgets to reveal that the new Mariyung trains do not have reversible seats, enabling those passengers who choose to, to face the direction of travel. Backward-facing seats were so unpopular on other previously introduced trains in NSW that the seats were soon replaced with reversible seating. Nat Buckley, Drummoyne Utes are brutes I disagree with the suggestion from your correspondent (Letters, June 27) that the middle class is doing its best to keep the planet habitable for everyone. The number of dual-cab utes one sees daily, crawling along in Greater Sydney's traffic snarls, unburdened by any tools of trade, suggests that many in the middle class have scant regard for their impact on the environment. Glenn Johnson, Leura Cherry on top I say yes to the new road rules but not all drivers are beyond the pale (Letters, June 27). May I acknowledge the Cherrybrook drivers? I use a mobility scooter and our drivers are polite when they see me approaching a road crossing. Once I dropped a parcel and the adjacent car stopped, the driver came over and retrieved the parcel. You are a model for the nation. Just don't ask me about pedestrians on mobile phones. John Crowe, Cherrybrook Could the Minns government please provide NSW Police with sufficient highway patrol cars and personnel to help control tailgating by trucks? Regardless of whether you're travelling at the speed limit, some drivers of these monster machines seem to think it's acceptable to be only two or three metres behind you. On rural roads where the likelihood of having to brake for a kangaroo, wombat or some inanimate obstacle is high, the momentum of these machines means the car and driver become the roadkill. The aggressive cowboys who behave like this give the entire trucking industry a bad name. Peter Thompson, Grenfell I'd happily pay a road user charge instead of fuel tax because here in the Central West, my time is often spent on goat tracks rather than roads. I'd save a fortune. Rurik MacKenzie, Summer Hill Creek Bezos begone Low society (' Bezos' brazen behaviour part of the tech bro vibe ', June 27). Phil Rodwell, Redfern I don't believe I've seen a more disgusting show of wealth than the Bezos wedding in Venice. Imagine how that amount could help unfortunate people. Zuzu Burford, Heathcote Postscript This week started quietly on the letters page. Some gentle discussion about the approaching state budget, some well-meaning advice for federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers about tax reform, discussion about whether dog cafes are a sign of the decay of civilisation or the impending apocalypse (probably the decay) and, on a lighter note, a letter from a reader sick of humans who wants to transition to being an emu. Then, of course, Trump happened, as he so often does these days, bombing Iran and setting the world to sixes and sevens again. This did not endear POTUS to the majority of writers. Some writers, yes, thought the bombing could, possibly, be a good thing, mainly because the Iranian government is not one that the world wants to be equipped with nuclear weapons. Most writers, however, thought it was Trump throwing a tantie because his big, beautiful army parade had been ridiculed and hardly anyone had turned up anyway. So he now wanted revenge by bombing a country that wasn't going to bomb back. Then came Trump's ceasefire, which had most writers hopeful for peace. It didn't matter who thought of it or announced it – people not shooting at each other, or dropping bombs on each other, was decided to be a good thing, no matter if the action was internationally legal or not. However, Trump's mooted big, beautiful plan to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was resoundingly disparaged. Towards the end of the week, though, pausing only to reprimand the Netherlands' royal family for giving bed and breakfast to the Trumps, writers had moved on to giving advice to Opposition Leader Sussan Ley. Writers are over the Liberal Party harrumphing about the election and squabbling about quotas, and are dubious about internal enquiries (seen it all before). They are giving Ley the benefit of the doubt now because she's new, but they want to see some positive action soon. Sad news at the end of the week was the death, at 85 after a battle with Parkinson's disease, of long-time correspondent Joan Brown of Orange. She wrote over 500 letters and was last published on May 24.