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Anthony Albanese’s backdown on the proposed gas tax is yet another in a long line of disappointments from a government with a whopping majority yet constant timidity of action (“PM kills gas tax to protect fuel and Asia refinery ties”, April 30). Julia Gillard achieved more in her brief tenure than this government has in its second term and she led a minority government. Albanese may view himself as cautious but from this distance it looks more like fearfulness. What is the point of political capital if you’re not willing to spend it?
Neil Ormerod, Kingsgrove
The late comedian Robin Williams proposed that politicians, like sports stars, should be obliged to display the logos of their sponsors and supporters. In the case of our federal government and opposition, fossil-fuel transnationals would feature prominently. The announcement that little or no change to the current PRRT scheme is contemplated, despite significant and widespread support for a minimum 25 per cent tax on exports, bells the cat. It confirms just who is responsible for policy development in this nation. It is not parliament, it is not even cabinet. Such decisions are taken in the boardrooms of fossil-fuel transnational corporations and conveyed to the minions. To suggest a 25 per cent tax on exports is “dangerous populism” and would have a harmful impact on other nation’s energy demands is, to be kind, naive. To further suggest that such an impost would result in fossil-fuel transnationals abandoning Australia is nonsense.
George Williams, North Balgowlah
While I understand why the prime minister has decided not to impose a new tax on gas during the current crisis, that does not make the need for such a tax any less urgent. For too long, the gas companies have got away with paying a pittance for what they send overseas and this has to end. If ordinary citizens had seen their tax rate fall from 30¢ in the dollar to just 6¢ since the mid ’90s, as has happened with the gas companies, I’m sure they’d be delighted. But government revenue would have collapsed, leaving us in a parlous state. It’s therefore imperative that the government return to this issue as soon as the oil crisis has ended and do what’s right for the nation.
Ken Enderby, Concord
It is beyond disappointing that Prime Minister Albanese has chosen to support multinational gas corporations over everyday Australians. The vast majority of voters, from across the political spectrum, support a 25 per cent tax on gas exports. Experts have explained that this tax would not affect Australia’s gas trade supply; it would simply reduce the profits of gas companies. With voters struggling under cost‑of‑living pressures, this was a moment for Albanese to boost the budget and signal that he is on our side. He’s just gassed it.
Sarah Brennan, Hawthorn (Vic)
Wong’s diplomatic touch
Penny Wong’s measured, graceful and diplomatic poise never fails to impress me, as she continues to extract advantages for Australia from difficult nations and challenging times. (“Wong confirms China negotiating on jet fuel supplies”, smh.com.au, April 30). She has done it again by securing China’s agreement to facilitate renewed negotiations on jet fuel exports to Australia, which had been wound back due to the conflict involving Iran and the broader Middle East. One of the biggest pacifiers between nations is ongoing trade, but it can also become a trigger for hostilities when that trade is threatened. China is our largest trading partner; our exports to China far exceed those to any other country or trading bloc, and Australia maintains a strong trade surplus in that relationship. It is therefore in Australia’s interest to keep China engaged economically and diplomatically, as stability and predictability serve trade on both sides. At a time when the world is increasingly recognising the dangers of a unipolar power imbalance in global geopolitics, Penny Wong is performing well in exploring alternative partnerships and gradually rebalancing relationships to help keep Australia secure. Wong’s extension of Australia’s hand towards alternative sources of energy and trade is a welcome form of diplomatic outreach.
Manbir Singh Kohli, Pemulwuy
Assault on batteries
With more and more Australian homes being outfitted with solar panels and storage batteries it is difficult to hear any downside (“Battery installations more than doubled in past year”, April 30). It’s a win for the environment, it’s a win for the home owner and it should be a win for electricity providers. With all this positivity, it really concerns me that some energy providers are thinking of increasing fees to homes with solar and batteries. This is obviously nothing more than a ploy to increase their already high profits. At the end of the day, energy providers, like many big corporations, don’t give a toss about their customers and are only focused on profit.
Peter Miniutti, Ashbury
Rate pain ahead
It’s counterproductive for the Reserve Bank to punish Australians with higher rates just because Trump’s folly has caused oil, gas and fertiliser prices to rise (“Prepare for more price pain, warns Chalmers”, April 30). Australians aren’t increasing discretionary spending to cause this inflationary effect so whacking up rates only causes unnecessary pain for everyone. The very impact of these price rises will further reduce discretionary spending, so allow that to run its course. It’s hard enough now dealing with current cost increases without slugging us with extra interest costs. The Reserve needs to rethink their policy when dealing with inflation caused by outside factors, or they may well be responsible for a recession.
Ian Ferrier, Long Jetty
What the shell?
It appears there is no stone or “shell” that the US government won’t leave unturned in their puerile pursuit of ex-FBI director James Comey (“Ex-FBI chief charged with threatening life of Trump after posting photo of seashells”, April 30). The seashell arrangement of “86 47” posted online by Comey has been deemed a threat “to take the life” of the US president. If it weren’t so serious, it would surely have most level-headed people giggling at the banality of this indictment. All I can say to any person travelling to the US is do not touch any seashells, do not post any online pictures of seashells and never utter or write the numbers 86 or 47. I assume Smartraveller is all over this?
Peter O’Brien, Shoalhaven Heads
Ringing endorsement
A gold bell, inscribed with his name, and with historic value, was a brilliant gift from Charles to Trump (“Inside Trump’s state dinner for the King, where Australia took centre stage”, smh.com.au, April 29). And the comment of “should you ever need to get hold of us, just give us a ring ring”, was gold-plated.
Marjie Williamson, Blaxland
Friends in high places
I was reminded of the idiom “she who pays the piper calls the tune” when I read of Gina Rinehart’s generous donation of an aeroplane to Pauline Hanson (“Rinehart gives plane to Hanson amid donation blitz”, April 30).
Gordon Lambert, Kiama Downs
So now Pauline is heading to the skies, not in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang style but in a shiny new toy where she can drop leaflets to the hoi polloi below. While she relayed all the things the aircraft had, she forgot to mention the eject button which, hopefully, the pilot will be keeping a trigger finger on.
Brian Thornton, Stanmore
Does Pauline’s plane have a left wing?
John Bailey, Canterbury
HSC success a lesson in diligence
Congratulations to Layla Wicks, 2025 dux of Kempsey High School (“How I got a 97-plus ATAR without a tutor or selective school,” April 30) on achieving her great result, and explaining how she did it, in such a powerful article. You would have given your teachers so much encouragement, by being serious about the amount of time you were prepared to put in to follow your dreams. So often, when teachers see great potential in a student, the student does not believe that it is possible and gives up before the journey can even begin. Congratulations also to the teachers at Kempsey High School who believed in her, expanded her horizons and supported her so far. It will be exciting to see where her journey leads her.
Mia David, Wollongong
It is so pleasing to see young Layla Wicks writing so eloquently about her success in the HSC. Wicks is modest not to bring her intelligence and giftedness into the picture, but provides a simple recipe for success in studies – whether it is HSC or other studies – to all students: that there is no substitute for sheer hard work, dedication, passion and choosing the right subjects/ faculty. When you hear someone is described as an “overnight” success, almost all would say that it was the work of years for that “overnight” success.
Mukul Desai, Hunters Hill
Layla Wicks, like many current and past graduates who have excelled at a public comprehensive high school, show the incorrectness in downplaying this type of education. Layla is justly proud of her outstanding result and stated that it was through dedication. When you consider she dealt with floods and having to study advanced English via distance education the resilience shown was obvious.
John Cotterill, Kingsford
Addressing antisemitism
Jeremy Leibler’s submission to the royal commission contains one sentence that should stop every Australian (“Jewish leader tells commission use of ‘Zionist’ normalised antisemitism”, April 30). His young children saw a state school without armed guards and were puzzled. They had grown up assuming guards were normal. Children absorb what adults permit. In 2026, Jewish children have absorbed that their schools are different. That is not a policy failure. It is a moral one. And it belongs to all of us.
John Kempler, Rose Bay
For a purportedly intelligent man, Zionist Federation president Jeremy Leibler has trouble connecting the dots. The rise of antisemitism in this country has everything to do with Israel’s slaughter of the innocents in the tens of thousands in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and across the whole Middle East in the cause of Zionism. Attempting to blame the Australian government for the result of the Israel government’s actions is a despicable deflection.
Barry Welch, Bridgeman Downs (Qld)
Jeremy Leibler made a personal submission to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. He bemoans the allowance of “unchecked rhetoric” that he views as antisemitic and he wants such rhetoric forbidden. Fortunately for him, those he effectively labels as antisemites are less pushy in seeking to ban what they consider unpleasant non-cohesive unchecked rhetoric.
Ross Drynan, Lindfield
Bygone customs
I worked at David Jones in the 1958 Christmas school holidays (“Sad decline of DJs’ family values”, Letters, April 30). At our training course, it was emphasised that the customer is always right. As an example, we were told that the previous January, a customer had returned the bones of a Christmas turkey bought in the Market Street food hall and claimed the flavour hadn’t been up to scratch. He was given a refund immediately.
Jennifer Katauskas, Turramurra
It is indeed a sad list of readers recollections, and the decline of what an old department store with family focused values meant to a city. I well remember David Jones celebrated Christmas with a staff choir singing on the ground floor staircase as the store opened each morning in the weeks before Christmas. Just recently, the Market Street windows celebrated the season with a huge French luggage label taking priority of the space, marketing their wares with no recognition of Christmas at all. It is the erosion of the fabric of what an old department store meant to the city that is turning the locals away, as these stores offer not much more than a string of franchised labels that could well be found in the soulless environs of an airport.
Greg Vale, Kiama
Mark of Don
Donald Trump seems to want his image everywhere, the latest being American passports, seemingly desperate to leave his mark (stain), rather like a third-world dictator, graffitist or a dog (“President’s image to appear on US passports”, April 30).
Paul Doyle, Glenbrook
Donald Trump’s face to appear in new US passports? How about his face on male passports and Melania’s face on female passports?
Mokhles Sidden, South Strathfield
Lifeline for Medicare
Health Minister Mark Butler will be tackling high fees of specialists (“‘Out of control’ specialist fees will be Labor’s next health priority”, smh.com.au, April 30). One of the things that needs to be done is to increase the fees listed on the Medicare Benefits Schedule. These fees have not changed for over 40 years and they are a joke. The fees for clinical services such as radiology, nuclear medicine and pathology should be included. Item numbers should be issued for tests that currently don’t have an item number. Everyone is suffering financially at the moment, and sorting out the Medicare Benefits Schedule will help a lot. None of us is made of money.
Susan Dean, Ashfield
Pool party
Given that the North Sydney Olympic Pool redevelopment received a $10 million federal grant drawn from a fund designed for regional and remote water safety projects, we country folk can’t wait for its opening (“Olympic swimmers keep their kit on for Klim’s foundation”, April 30). Brandishing our invitations, we’ll revel in the festivities … although we will wait the recommended hour to swim a few laps after our slice of celebratory cake! Just got to find somewhere to park the ute.
Graham Fazio, Cootamundra
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