A voice from past is no help to the Liberal’s future

Channelling Tony Abbott would be akin to tuning into Australia’s first radio transmission in 1923 that played “light orchestral” music to several hundred listeners fortunate enough to own crystal sets (“Taylor channels Abbott in vow to take on Albanese over tax reform”, May 30). If Abbott were to reflect upon the broken promises mirror on the Liberal wall of integrity he would find it well and truly shattered. Steve Dillon, Thirroul

Poor diddums, “Tantrum Toddler” Taylor. Albo won’t get out of the sandpit to let him play with his coal trucks. And to make matters worse, we have the ultimate sandpit bully, Tony Abbott, trying to get back in too. John Swanton, Coogee

Does Tony Abbott really believe that only Liberal voters truly love Australia? Does he really think that wearing little Australian flag lapel pins and saying “Make Australia Great Again”, or giving every press conference in front of a dozen Australian flags, will bring back the Liberals’ glory days? The people have already revolted, Tony. Sick of not having their concerns listened to, the voters of the safest Liberal seat, Warringah, revolted and threw you out. The Community Independent movement also removed many other Liberals who could not provide the representation that their electorates demanded. We now have independent MPs who listen to their electorates and provide positive representation that the Liberals could never provide. As long as the Libs continue to fight against the science of climate change, and refuse to accept that the cleanest and cheapest form of energy is renewables, they will face a people’s revolt. As long as they offer negativity and divisiveness, and keep weaponising their climate and culture wars, the voters will revolt against them. Alan Marel, North Curl Curl

If the Liberals want to lift their game and march into the next decade with a win over Labor they have gone backwards by electing Tony Abbott as their president. He looks and walks like someone’s grandfather trying to make an impression at his grandkid’s 18th- birthday party and sounds about as relevant. Sorry, guys, but even the tired old Pauline and her toadies seem more relevant. Albo must be feeling so happy. Alan Rosendale, Leichhardt

Tony Abbott wants to be rid of the “worst government in living memory”. He must have forgotten his own and Scott Morrison’s. And even I remember McMahon’s. John Burman, Port Macquarie

With Tony and Angus, the Liberals now have two right-wingers and no left wings. So like the legendary “Oozlum Bird” it will spin in ever diminishing circles, eventually disappearing like a “suppository of wisdom”. Glenn Wood, Bardon (Qld)

Tony Abbott has been elected president of the federal Liberal Council with Alexander Downer as his deputy. Strange way to show the electorate that you are serious about reform and change. Maclaren Wall, Manly

So Tony Abbott is the new federal president. To go forward, the Liberals look backwards. The next step is to recycle Morrison and Dutton, hoping that by doing the same over and over, new insights will be found for the party. Donald Sleer, Manly

Tony Abbott being elected federal president of the Liberal Party won’t make any difference to the party’s hopes of winning the next federal election. The Liberal Party needs more than a pensioned-off Don Quixote on a bike to overcome the disadvantage of having Angus Taylor as leader. Ian Adair, Hunters Hill

The shrivelled Liberal Party balloon has been bumping around on the floor for a while. Tony Abbott will be the prick that finally makes it go pfffft. Dave Watts, Avalon

Tony Abbott’s parliamentary career encompassed 25 years, which is the lifespan of a healthy draught horse. The Liberal Party’s election of Abbott as its president, in the hope that he will revitalise it, is the equivalent of a farmer attempting to flog his old dead draught horse back to life. John Payne, Kelso

So the Liberal Party is under new management? Sorry, Tony, but unless you’re having another head-bobbing mind blank, please take a look at recent history when you were PM. The Liberal Party is back under old management. Please archive yourself. Bill Young, Killcare Heights

I propose that we Australian citizens approach Pope Leo to appoint Tony Abbott as a saint, and King Charles to name the same person Sir Anthony. His endeavours on behalf of the Liberal Party deserve no less. Ferdo Mathews, Robina (Qld)

At last some good news for Anthony Albanese, Abbott got the job. Pauline Hanson probably turned him down. Paul Duncan, Leura

Now with Tony as president, even though he won’t be able to give Phil the Greek any acknowledgement from the colony, he could try to get God Save the Queen reinstated as the national anthem. Paul Keys, Clouds Creek

I turned on the evening news and there was Tony Abbott saying Albo’s government was the worst Australia had ever had. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I have been wrestling the mortal coil a lot longer than Abbott and can assure him the worst government we’ve ever had was his own, closely followed by Morrison’s then Howard’s. Tony, your aggressive bigotry will not win the Liberals a single vote let alone a seat. John Grinter, Katoomba

I seem to recall Tony Abbott eliciting quite a revolt in 2019. I’ve never ceased to find him revolting. Jennifer Briggs, Kilaben Bay

Sloane blueprint

Well done, Kellie Sloane, for wanting to eschew anger and division for the next election campaign (“Sloane vows to build, not just oppose”, May 30). If she follows this direction throughout the campaign and succeeds, it may become an accepted blueprint by all parties for future state and federal elections. That I would like to see. Cecily Chittick, Wyong

Aimless anger

Your correspondent’s contribution (Letters, May 30) about the politics of anger being equated to politics of fragmentation as anger when unresolved is directionless gets my vote for letter of the year. I wholeheartedly agree that it is the work of the government and the media to play an educational role so public responses to policy are based on calm, reasoned argument rather than anger. It’s time the opposition parties and their offshoots engaged in more meaningful, respectful and reasoned debate. Merilyn McClung, Forestville

I agree about the politics of anger. The rise of One Nation and Reform UK; the unfettered destructive forces of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu in their Middle East wars; and Vladimir Putin’s berserk response to his failed war in Ukraine epitomise anger’s apocalyptic effect on our civilisation. Anger begets anger. As Seneca wrote in De Ira (On Anger) some 2000 years ago: “Mankind is born for mutual assistance, anger for mutual ruin: the former loves society, the latter estrangement. The one loves to do good, the other to do harm; the one to help even strangers, the other to attack even its dearest friends.” Peter Clarke, Turramurra

Time to call Brethren to account

How much more evidence of the nefarious practices of the Exclusive Brethren/Plymouth Brethren Christian Church will it take before the authorities sit up, take notice and take action to call the church hierarchy to account (“Secrecy, loyalty, discipline: Videos, texts blow lid on Brethren election conduct”, May 30)? It flies in the face of our democracy that Australian taxpayer dollars contribute to the running of EB/PBCC schools and, while ever the government turns a blind eye, the EB/PBCC will continue to maintain its charitable status and keep its tax-free millions. Those of us who have had the misfortune of being associated with this secretive sect, and suffered lifelong trauma as a result, are tired of the lies trotted out with seeming impunity. At the very least, the incriminating claims re: election campaign coaching exposed in Michael Bachelard’s article should be taken seriously by our political representatives. Joy Nason, Mona Vale

The tax-exempt status of so-called “churches” is both a farce and a danger. Businesses in competition with them are disadvantaged, while exemption fosters accumulation of profits and wealth to its leaders. Antisocial, anti-democratic and elitist indoctrination of children and adults alike is a suborning of the free will of members, whose fear of the threat of divine retribution enforces a subordination of adults and an objectively oppressive childhood to their offspring. These cults are similar to domestic violence on a grander scale. They are a business. They must be treated as such and subjected to the same scrutiny and taxation. Members’ contributions are not donations but income in the hands of those who receive it, notwithstanding the belief of “subscribers” that they are paying to curry favour with God and avoiding being forsaken by Him. Andrew Cohen, Glebe

To call the Brethren a church is an insult to established Christian churches. It is, as called out by the PM, a cult, one that controls and manipulates its members and ruins the lives of those who wish to leave. As to it being a tax-free charity – what a joke. It’s an insult to marvellous charities such as the Smith Family that do so much good in the wider community. Stephanie Edwards, Leichhardt

Michael Bachelard exposes the deceitfulness being practised by the upper echelon of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. Apart from the fact that it did them – and Peter Dutton in particular – no good, I wonder about their understanding that deceit is a characteristic of those opposed to Jesus (Romans 1:29). So what does “Christian” in the church’s title mean? David Gordon, Cranebrook

Working with AI

AI models (“It’s already too late to stop AI”, May 30) are probabilistic in nature. All one can do is have various AI systems respond to the same requests and compare the results for insights into the usefulness of the systems. Developers of large language model AI systems already do this. Agencies of many governments already run such comparisons as they make use of the technology. Formal testing by government before public release transfers product risk to government. AI vision and driving systems are quite different. Tesla has spent more than a decade developing its artificial vision and driving system for vehicles and humanoid robots. The latest public version is labelled 14.3.3; many versions have been tested, some get a public release. Tesla tests the system by releasing each version to an expanding group of employees and customers. The extent of deployment depends on the issues found. The system has got better over time. Peter Egan, Adelaide (SA)

We have been living for a long while under the “moral vision” of big tech bros and the suits that enable them, with little supervision or regulation. So now it will be the AI bros’ turn, with their eyes that blink ker-ching ker-ching, delivering their moral vision of how our lives and economy, indeed humanity, will benefit, or not, from this latest new “thing”. We have yet to adequately regulate the other two major man-made madnesses – nuclear and biochemical weapons – that could lead to the planet’s erasure but, gee whiz, bring on the AI-sphere right now. It seems that we need a new vision for ourselves, one not based on greed and power but on the humble warnings of a Pope if we wish multigenerational survival. The second hand just moved. Helen Lewin, Tumbi Umbi

True Valentine

I listened to the memorial service for James Valentine (“Valentine memorial ‘a room full of love’ to celebrate his life”, May 30). Not a memorial but a celebration of a life well lived though sadly cut short, such a bright, joyous celebration of an outstanding individual. Listening to his children speak, you could understand what a fantastic upbringing they had. Wonderful human being and father, great raconteur and musician, friend to millions who never met him, we would all be the poorer if he had never existed. Canberra, Trump, Israel, the climate change war – all pale into insignificance beside the loss of Sydney’s No.1 personality. Goodbye, James, you are greatly missed, but we are glad you came along. Lawrence Dwyer, Oak Flats

“A room full of love”, all right. I was there. The Town Hall was bursting. Congratulations to all the people who contributed to the running of the memorial. Perfection. The finale lifted the roof and rocked the floorboards. Vale, James, and rest in peace. Helen Russell, Leichhardt

Listening to the memorial for James Valentine brought back memories and put a smile on my lips. What a great, empathetic yet humble man, a great loss to us all. Rowan Godwin, Rozelle

Drone recovery

The “collapse” of the drone show during Vivid was unforeseen, and the subsequent cancellation of further shows this year was understandable for safety concerns. However, there are safety concerns for the water environment – it has been ascertained how many drones dropped into the water but how many have not yet been recovered? Their batteries are not degradable nor environmentally friendly. When will we be told that all the drones are out of the water? Marjie Williamson, Blaxland

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