Albanese copped flak for saying what needed to be said

Who’d be a politician? Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Rob Harris is critical of the prime minister, saying his national address was disappointing and unnecessary (“When a PM addresses the nation, it’s a matter of urgency. This was far from it”, April 2). But why criticise a leader for trying to reassure us that we’ll get through the tough times? Albanese may lack the oratory prowess of Barack Obama, the sense of life or death struggle as conveyed by John Curtin during World War II, or the eloquence of Ben Chifley and his “Light on the Hill” speech. However, he did as all leaders should – he spoke directly to the people whose welfare is his responsibility. John Bailey, Canterbury

A very downbeat national address – keep calm, carry on, be kind to each other and have a happy Easter. The question is, is that reassuring enough for a population that is nervous, distrustful, unconfident and prone to panic? Is the well-worn approach of “she’ll be right, mate” still appropriate for Australia today? And do we believe him? Levane Abdoolcader, Padstow Heights

Poor old Albo was always going to be between a rock and a hard place. Listening to all the criticism his speech to the nation has received from the media and pollies, I agree he didn’t really say anything we didn’t already know, or offer any contingency plan if the crisis deepens. But what did they expect? He just wanted a “fireside chat” to say we are all in this together, that we need to look out for each other and, hopefully, it will all be resolved soon. Cut him some slack. He would have known his speech would be dissected to the last word, but it was something he felt he needed to do. Good on him, I say. Alan Leitch, Austins Ferry (Tas)

It’s positive to see Albanese providing some leadership via a national address. We do indeed need to work together to ensure farmers, freight operators and essential workers can access the fuel they need. Why, however, is this the first national address since March 2020? Australians have faced devastating impacts from algal blooms, intense floods, fires and cyclones as the climate crisis worsens. Where is the national address outlining how we tackle that? Karen Lamb, Geelong (Vic)

I was very disappointed in the prime minister’s address to the nation. After Trump told everyone they can’t rely on the USA any more, I had hoped Albo would announce that Australia is pulling out of AUKUS. A missed opportunity. Dick Barker, Epping

Albanese’s speech was boring, but it was infinitely preferable to the Coalition’s advocacy for mass panic for nothing more than their own political gain. Samantha Chung, Kensington

When will Albanese get it that we want strong leadership. His address to the nation was appallingly weak and simpering. Cast off the caution and step up to the plate, Albo. It’s time. Donna Wiemann, Balmain

Hastie has to green up

As Niki Savva notes, the recent anti-One Nation statements from Liberal deputy leader Andrew Hastie and Nationals leader Matt Canavan are a refreshing departure from the normal responses by opposition politicians (“Pauline Hanson is out to obliterate the Coalition. These two MPs are standing up to her”, April 2). Both Canavan and particularly Hastie had the gumption to call out the outrageous, divisive narrative that emanates from Pauline Hanson. This is exactly the response the Coalition has needed for some time, and represents a big departure from the feeble approach of previous leadership. Hastie sounded far more effective than the colourless Liberal leader Angus Taylor, who is struggling to land any meaningful blows on the Labor government. Anthony Albanese would do well to take note that the Australian public respects firm responses from its leaders, rather than timid caution. Max Redmayne, Drummoyne

Andrew Hastie’s recent media blitz gained a lot of attention, resonating with many Australians. However, having recognised that the Liberals were “smashed” at the last two federal elections, he said the party needed to listen more closely to voters, yet still advocates walking away from net zero. The Liberals will never win back lost inner-city seats while they oppose the rollout of renewables, which is clearly supported by the majority of the electorate, especially in the inner city. Robert Loader, Pyrmont

Let us be seated!

Our PM seems to have done a Trump in offhandedly and simplistically dismissing the need to increase the size of federal parliament (“Albanese rules out plan for more politicians after Taylor comes out swinging”, April 1). I thought it was determined by section 24 of the constitution and the AEC, but now it seems a politician can arbitrarily disenfranchise voters and reject normal and expected updates to the system. Liberal leader Angus Taylor sprouted the usual line of cost, as if nothing that costs money can be good. Unfortunately, our PM has gone soft on so many issues, starting with AUKUS, and we now misconstrue his reticence for caution. Steady, safe and comfortable looks like the old-school Liberal approach. We expect more. Tony Sullivan, Islington

Private school tie-ins

It’s no great surprise that private schools spend millions on executives (“School executive teams earn $5m”, April 2). Many of these schools employ business managers, full-time co-ordinators for various sports (notably rugby union), excursion co-ordinators, full-time curriculum developers and many other positions that in the public system are carried out by teachers and the school executive as part of the day-to-day running of the school. Want to play an interschool sports match? Organise it yourself. An excursion? Better get cracking on that, organise permission notes, book the buses and venues, collect the money and roster staff on to cover classes. Private schools employ various “managers” to carry out these tasks. It’s no wonder that both teachers and pupils are moving to the private system. Perhaps, as well as disclosing the amount paid to managers, the role and job description of said managers should also be made public. Peter Cooper-Southam, Frenchs Forest

So what benefits do school communities get from their pricey bureaucrats? Well, pretty good HSC results, but the margins aren’t all that significant over top-performing state schools. A rich extracurricular experience? This has to be sought out in the state system, but with the right postcode and a fair degree of luck it is accessible there. Pretty nice facilities? A religious ethos? Not exactly takeaways down the track. The most enduring bang for parental (and government) buck is social cachet. In what other city in the world is a 70-year-old still being asked what school they went to? Margaret Johnston, Paddington

Cashing in on Trumponomics

I hope that Donald Trump’s Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, becomes a metaphorical casualty of the war in Iran. From my costly tractor seat with hefty fertiliser bills and supply risk awaiting, I just can’t believe the ineptitude, first of taking to war in such an ill-considered manner, and then saying the job’s nearly done when it clearly isn’t (“We all pay for Trump’s warmongering, bad-tempered toddler tantrum”, April 2). General Norman “Stormin’ Norman” Schwarzkopf, who led Operation Desert Storm against Iraq, would have been ashamed. Seen alongside the sharemarket gyrations of last year’s tariffs folly, one really is entitled to wonder if this presidency is about market manipulation to profit those who are close and kept in the know. Peter Comensoli, Mangrove Mountain

Trump took control in Venezuela, but US oil companies didn’t see the value of investing capital there. So what better way to make Venezuelan oil more valuable than to choke off 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply? Meanwhile, his mate Putin makes more money as well. Steven Lee, Faulconbridge

It is a sad world when, at Easter, a time of rejoicing, the most ungodly figure on earth continues to play God through a corrupt belief that might is right. The sooner we see the last of Trump and his substantial rump, the better off the world will be. Ray Alexander, Moss Vale

Moon and earth

Congratulations to NASA’s Artemis team (“NASA launches Artemis II, its first crewed moon mission in half a century”, April 2). When we last walked on that airless, dusty landscape, scientists were issuing the earliest warnings about what they then called the “greenhouse effect”. Today, those warnings have become a lived reality – climate destabilisation and accelerating species extinction are no longer distant threats but present crises. I sincerely hope that what we observe on that barren, silent world, stripped of everything life depends upon, deepens our resolve to protect our fragile, breathing Earth. Marie Belcredi, Epping

As the ancient Persian empire is being obliterated by the new country on the block, as Ukraine fights for survival against the new “tsar” of Russia, and as Palestine is bombed back into pre-Biblical times, I’m just wondering what the astronauts aboard Artemis II might be thinking as they look back from afar at our little Earth. Will they perhaps have a “Carl Sagan pale blue dot” moment? Will they notice and loudly remind us that there are no real national boundaries that divide us? And will this knowledge, in the words of astronomer Sagan, “underscore our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known?” Phil Haberland, Perth (WA)

In keeping with Trump’s proposed golden statue, could the latest moon mission just be a sneaky attempt to replace the visage of the man in the moon? Joy Cooksey, Harrington

Let’s hope the moon mission is a success and that Trump doesn’t try and claim it for himself. Vicky Marquis, Glebe

The future is renewable

Thank you, Rebecca Huntley, for so clearly articulating why renewable energy now offers the most stable and secure pathway forward (“An unlikely champion for climate”, April 1). The downsides of fossil fuels have become impossible to ignore, and Australians are increasingly on board with the shift toward cheaper renewable energy and electrification. About 70 per cent of us already agree that we should be changing to renewables, and interest in electric vehicles has surged (“Demand for EVs surges ahead of discount loans”, April 1). Australia missed the chance to accelerate a clean energy future during the COVID‑19 pause. Let’s not make the same mistake twice. Amy Hiller, Kew (Vic)

Good gracious, Hugh, you’ve driven your EV from Paddington to Wollongong and now you’re driving to Canberra and haven’t suffered range anxiety (Letters, April 2). Amazing. Can I suggest driving to Armidale, maybe Dubbo and possibly Broken Hill, then please report your findings? While you’re at it, check out the availability of working charging stations. Don’t treat these as exercises in “slow travel”. Rather, pretend you’re rushing to see a medical professional who isn’t available in your country town. Sally Croker, Port Macquarie

Governments have been encouraging us to go electric for a long time, so you would think they would have put a bit more energy into eliminating fast charger black spots across the regional areas. The road I travel from the Northern Tablelands to the Central Tablelands has a 375-kilometre stretch without a fast charger, even though it is a very busy road, which would induce range anxiety in most EV drivers. Maybe someone could suggest to Mr Minns that Dunedoo would be a good place to start. Victoria Heffernan, Walcha

Fiction frustration

Boomers are sick of being snidely blamed for the housing crisis, as if they planned it for their own benefit (“Is getting rid of Boomers the only way to get a house? A novelist plays with the idea”, April 2). For a start, the vast majority of Boomers who own their own homes just worked hard to achieve the national “goal”. And the vast majority don’t live “in rude health, eat in expensive restaurants, travel and offer expensive gifts”. The vast majority have to carefully shop and plan any trips like anyone else. It’s a cheap shot by author Fiona Wright to gain a headline and book promotion by laughingly suggesting she kill her parents to achieve her goals. Not funny. Fiona should rather have pointed the blame where it belonged: poor government policies over the past 25 years. She should rather have pilloried the politicians and their bad decisions, which caused supply shortages and turned homes into lucrative investment vehicles. Her integrity as a writer would have benefited. Ian Ferrier, Long Jetty

Best in the west

Onya, SMH, onya, Anthony Segaert. It’s excellent that we Westies can now read local news in the exalted pages of the Herald (“Western Sydney lost 21 newspapers in a decade. What’s happened in that vacuum?“, April 2). Pointing out the silliness of complaints by a certain council official about Ramadan shopping centre decorations was just the sort of journalism we need. This year Ramadan/Eid was well before Easter, as Cumberland Council beautifully underscored with its lovely Eid lights and banners in the streets of Granville. Now it’s the Easter’s turn. Where’s the problem? Go the Parramatta bureau! Anna Roache, Granville

Ghost of the past

It must be a combination of my age and my childhood TV viewing habits, but when I looked at your photo of the Ghost Bat drone, my first thought was “Oh, there’s Thunderbird 2!” (“Australia in fierce battle with US for German war drone market”, April 1). Matt Petersen, Randwick

Carrying the motherlode

Lucinda McKimm is so right (“The term ‘working mum’ isn’t neutral”, April 2). In fact, it is loaded with meaning. It perpetuates the archaic notion the women’s work is in the home, and anything other is secondary. Doing part-time work is expected, without thought to what that means, financially and socially. Get rid of the “working mum” moniker. Stop labelling us. We are parents and people. Get over it. Lisa Williams, Dulwich Hill

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