Waleed Aly is right about Angus Taylor’s proposed immigration policy: in essence, he does not want Muslims coming here (“Taylor’s immigration policy points to a ban on one kind of migrant”, April 17). His assumption, presumably, is that they are less likely to subscribe to Australian values – whatever those are – because they come from nations that do not fully share our national mindset. Paul Keating has had to emerge from the political shadows to say what the Albanese government should have said immediately in response to Taylor: that it is racist bigotry, Hanson-like populism. It is time-wasting, complex to implement and discriminates against many who come here seeking freedom from oppression. The most likely consequence is an even bigger fall in Liberal support at the next federal election. Ron Sinclair, Windradyne
“Australian values” is a particularly ephemeral phrase (“Keating assails Taylor over immigration”, April 17). I am a seventh-generation Australian, I teach English to immigrants and I would be at a loss to describe to them how the term differs from what they were taught in the countries they come from. I am yet to come across an immigrant who behaved in any way differently to those of us who are supposedly instinctively imbibed with “Australian values”. On the other hand, many long-term, multi-generational citizens within the penal system appear not to have acquired “Australian values”, in spite of being born and raised here. Heather Johnson, West Pennant Hills
Phew! I am so pleased that I moved on from my British nationality and was naturalised as an Australian in the 1980s. I seriously doubt whether I would pass an Australian values test if it were to come about under an Angus Taylor-led government. Once they looked at my social media I’d really be a goner – too many complaints about unnecessary wars, robo-debt, One Nation and its influence on Coalition policy, the shift to the right. Oh, and the photos of the walk across the Harbour Bridge would be the final straw. Maureen Partridge, Baulkham Hills
I appreciate Waleed Aly’s trenchant analysis of Angus Taylor’s immigration policy, but I would urge Taylor to make more such announcements. He may single-handedly rescue Australia from its fertiliser shortage. Wayne Duncombe, Lilyfield
Minns oversteps
Premier Chris Minns went in hard with his anti-protest laws after the Bondi terrorist attack, something many people disagreed with (“Town Hall protest charges in doubt after court strikes down Minns restrictions”, April 17). Now the laws have been struck down by the NSW Court of Appeal, but Minns shows little sign of changing his attitude. He needs to be careful not to let his opinions override a statesmanlike approach to matters that concern us all. Ian Adair, Hunters Hill
Protect The Paragon
Losing The Paragon would be the biggest recent own goal in NSW’s shameful history of forfeits and rigged defeats in protecting our heritage (“The Paragon has sat empty for eight years. Locals fear it might soon be gone for good”, April 17). The Blue Mountains’ worldwide appeal is largely due to The Three Sisters and its unique art deco/art nouveau buildings. Only The Paragon offered an affordable streetfront invitation into this glamorous lost world of design and dreams. Worst of all, this iconic cafe’s slow demise has been in full view for years. If the NSW Heritage Regulator prefers overlooking its historical value, I suggest it prioritises recalculating The Paragon’s worth as a tourist magnet. Peter Farmer, Northbridge
My mother and her sister used to sing on the little stage at the back of The Paragon during the war years to raise money for the Red Cross to help our soldiers. It would break her heart to see the condition it is in now. Let’s hope that money can be raised to buy the building back and start the restoration process. Janet France, Northbridge
Glamping eyesore
What an absolute travesty to desecrate the magnificent Gardens of Stone National Park with ill-considered luxury camping developments (“Glamping project irks conservationists”, April 17). Quite apart from their deplorable visual impact, it is rightly claimed that portions of the incredible rock formations themselves will be physically damaged. The natural unspoiled pagodas are, indeed, best viewed from a distance and any action that encourages closer interaction, such as climbing them, will only lead to irreparable harm. Additionally, the multiple truckloads of soil that will be imported for waste treatment plants are bound to introduce weeds, a problem in areas such as the Blue Gum Forest, which is apparently beyond the resources of the NPWS to control. Roger Epps, Armidale
Rates pause
I’ve asked it before, unsuccessfully, but worth a second try. Can some knowledgeable person (the Herald must have a few) please explain why the Reserve Bank might need to raise interest rates to curb excessive spending and “cool” the economy when a war driving up the price of nearly everything is already doing that job very successfully? The items that are going up and affecting everybody aren’t luxury houses, designer clothing and fancy cars, they are the food we eat, the fuel in our vehicles and the fares we pay to get anywhere. Surely the RBA could at least press pause until the ramifications of the Middle East conflict become clear? Kevin Hunt, Kenthurst
Yes, Susan Dean, there is a much better response to rising inflation than increasing interest rates (Letters, April 17). It’s reducing government spending and temporarily increasing the GST, both of which are beyond the ability of the present government, which instead is planning a massive tax grab, disguised as “reform”. William Lloyd, Denistone
Vital role
In the world of healthcare our most precious resource is general practitioners, and like your correspondent, I’ve never met one who isn’t already flat out, running late, with a waiting room full of patients (Letters, April 17). In expanding the role of pharmacists, I see this not as eroding the role of the GP but rather streamlining it so they have more time to focus on other areas of practice such as triaging acutely ill patients and ongoing management of chronic disease. Pharmacists have already proved their worth as an army of vaccinators during the COVID crisis. It might interest people to know that in the UK and Europe, specially trained nurses have been performing routine colonoscopies for at least 10 years. Quelle horreur! Ross MacPherson, Seaforth
No more refineries
It’s interesting that some people still believe fossil fuels should be subsidised “regardless of the cost” (Letters, April 17). Whether people pay directly at the pump or the government spends billions on refineries, it all comes from the same place – your pocket. Such thinking is incredibly short-sighted and ignores climate change. Renewables have already generated more than half of Australia’s electricity over an entire quarter, and the tenfold increase in electric vehicle numbers in NSW took only four years. Twenty years from now, not only will Australia be 100 per cent renewable or very close to it, but fossil-fuelled vehicles and machinery will have become an archaic curiosity. New investment in fossil fuel assets would be uneconomical and a massive white elephant by the time they were completed. That money would be much better spent permanently eliminating our reliance on fossil fuels altogether. Brendan Jones, Annandale
The decision to close six old oil refineries in Australia over two decades was based on economics. With the supply of domestic crude oil from Bass Strait reducing to a trickle, the concept of importing crude from the Middle East to refine in obsolete local refineries didn’t make sense, hence the importation of refined fuel from South-East Asia. To suggest that the federal government should underwrite the construction of new refineries, which would take many years, seems pointless (Letters, April 17). Even if they were built, the crude oil would still have to come in as imports, subject to the same maritime threats and restrictions that are currently disrupting global supplies. An alternative would be to develop new deep water wells in the Bass Strait and The Great Australian Bight, a number of which were approved by the previous Coalition government. None of the approved applications have been acted on due to the high costs: they would take years to build and they would produce expensive crude as compared to that imported from the Middle East. The issue is incredibly complex and will not be solved by making motherhood statements such as building new refineries. Geoff Lindsay, Thurgoona
The PM’s trip to our Asian oil and fertiliser-producing neighbours will ensure that we will not be getting that 25 per cent tax on gas exports, regardless of how popular the idea has become. The use of words like “good neighbours” and “friendship” suggest we’ll keep giving our gas away below market rates in the hope they’ll keep selling us the stuff we should be refining and storing on home soil. But Albo must know these are hollow words, because if these countries need to keep their urea or oil for themselves, they will. So we should do the same and charge more for our in-demand and fast diminishing gas. Allan Kreuiter, Roseville
We don’t have large, untapped oil fields, so if we build new oil refineries to reduce reliance on imported fuels, what will we feed into them? That’s right, imported crude oil. Maybe we should be building manufacturing plants for vehicle batteries and home-storage batteries, as we have plenty of lithium. Steven Lee, Faulconbridge
Sink subs and save
Why is it that the letters to the editor make more sense on fuel and defence security than our politicians (Letters, April 17)? It is obvious that the more self-sufficient we are with fuel and energy, the stronger our nation will be in times of crisis. As for defence, how many letters are needed to state the obvious that nuclear submarines are a waste of money and not fit for purpose? After all, when has anything thought up by Scott Morrison turned out well? I say scrap the submarines, write off the money lost and make us self-sufficient on fuel and energy, while continuing to strengthen our military capability with drones and missiles. Ken Pares, Forster
Problem personality
Bevan Shields’ report documents psychiatric opinion on Donald Trump’s long-standing personality disorder and now possibly added dementia (“Trump’s latest messages were too dangerous for psychiatrists to ignore”, April 17). What many find hard to understand is how the public elected him twice, despite many psychiatrists and psychologists going public before each election with their fears that his psychiatric disorder indicated that he was dangerous and unfit for office; that he caused a riot resulting in deaths when he lost the election against Biden; and that between elections he revelled in displaying behaviour that anyone would have recognised as psychopathic. The answer, surely, is that human nature has a dark side, so getting rid of Trump himself wouldn’t make everything OK. Trumpism appeals to many people around the world, including here, where some political parties espouse Trump-style policies. Gary Barnes, Mosman
You don’t need to be a psychiatrist to know that Trump is mentally unstable. Respected constitutional experts believe there is more than enough evidence to invoke the 25th Amendment. It’s claimed that threatening to destroy Iran’s civilisation is reason enough. It’s been said that he has already destroyed the US civilisation as we know it. He may be able to avoid accountability by pleading insanity, but MAGA Republicans have no excuse for allowing an unhinged president to run amok. They will pay for their crimes. There seems little doubt that the Republicans will lose control of Congress at the midterms, but Trump can do untold damage between now and then. The sooner he is escorted out of the White House, the better. Graham Lum, North Rocks
Michael Koziol says “Republican leaders say they have no concerns about Trump’s mental health and stability” (“Republicans dismiss fears of Trump’s stability”, April 16). He makes no mention of the letter sent to every leader of the US Congress from five eminent psychiatrists on April 13. They say he has the “dark triad” of personality traits: narcissism, machiavellianism and psychopathy, and that this constitutes a constitutional emergency. They say “when confronted by situations they cannot control or escape, they do not recalibrate, they escalate … The urgent need to extinguish psychological pain eclipses every other consideration”. Don Meharry, Guildford
Step up, speak up
Australia’s response to Trump’s criticism for not getting involved in his Middle East war has been weak (“Trump renews criticism of Australia on Iran”, April 17). Compare it to Canadian and Italian prime ministers Mark Carney and Giorgia Meloni, who have both recently refused to be bullied. Meloni even denied Trump access to US bases in Sicily from which to attack Iran. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also demonstrated strength by telling Trump that Spain “is a sovereign country that does not wish to take part in illegal wars”. Australia is standing out for all the wrong reasons. Anthony Albanese continues to avoid direct criticism of Trump, which is out of keeping with Australia’s respect for a rules-based order. Remember, it was former Labor leader HV Evatt who punched above his weight to help establish the UN. Albanese disrespects Evatt’s legacy and morally compromises Australia. It really is time to for him to step up or step aside. Salvatore Sorbello, Campsie
Apparently, Trump can’t play poker. This week he claimed, again, that Iran doesn’t hold any cards. Actually, they’re holding a strait. Gary Stowe, Springwood
Extradition danger
Daniel Duggan, born in the US but now an Australian citizen, is accused of training Chinese pilots and has just lost an appeal against extradition to the US in the Federal Court (“Ex-Top Gun pilot loses appeal against US extradition”, April 17). The mental state of US President Donald Trump, his anger towards Australia and the supine nature of his advisers together pose an extraordinary threat to Duggan. His extradition to the US would be a gift to Trump and could mean 65 years jail for Duggan. It might bring the Australian government some goodwill from Trump, but are we Australians happy to placate an immoral, malevolent and incompetent administration by handing over this man? Susan Connelly, North Sydney
Leo the lion
No matter which of the world’s faiths or religions one follows, the logic of Pope Leo’s conclusion must be obvious to believers and non-believers (“Pope blasts those who ‘manipulate’ God to justify war amid Trump feud”, April 17). It takes only minutes to destroy lives, buildings and infrastructure using the latest deadly weapons. It will take a whole generation to rebuild them. And we are all homo sapiens, the “wise, clever” beings that evolved tens of thousands of years ago. A variety of gods must be weeping about our stupidity. Ferdo Mathews, Robina (Qld)
I dips me lid
Thank you, Cherie Gilmour, for speaking up for simple courtesies (“My one-woman mission to make friendliness great again”, April 17). In the days of my youth when nearly everyone had headwear, men tipped their hats to women. I still do this, and the response is generally a smile that makes my day. Andrew Macintosh, Cromer
Handle with care
It gladdened the heart of this old librarian seeing your archivist Harry Hollinsworth wearing gloves while handling old copies of the Herald (“Out of 11 million photos, one news photo taken in the heart of Sydney is nagging Harry”, April 16). Too often in documentaries you see commentators handling documents, manuscripts and incunabulum with their bare hands. Good on you, Harry, there should be more like you. Warren Straker, Leichhardt
Newspaper of note
The Sydney Morning Herald celebrates its 195th birthday today. As a rusted-on reader, I heave a sigh of relief to know that you are still there. Thank you for providing trusted, quality journalism, for recording and documenting our world in print, and for the outstanding photography. Congratulations for continuing to “spread the light of knowledge” as you have since the first edition in 1831. I can’t imagine a day without you. Happy Birthday! Amanda Berry, Hamilton East
The Herald is a gift that keeps on giving, from quality journalism, marvellous cartoons and clever crossword puzzles to its wide range of thoughtful and well-written letters. Happy 195th birthday. Vicky Marquis, Glebe
I have been reading the Herald since the early 1970s and have always enjoyed the letters to the editor. Long may your journalists investigate and uncover corruption, and long may you continue as Australia’s leading newspaper. Keep up the good work. Karen Eldridge, Leichhardt
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