Failings of major parties led to surge for One Nation

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While much focus has been on the election of Tony Abbott and Alexander Downer to senior positions in the Liberal Party, I would suggest it is time to switch the attention to the elephant in the room, and that is the rise (at least according to the opinion polls) of One Nation. One must question why this has happened so suddenly. I might suggest that it is because of the lack of direction by both Labor and the Coalition in responding to the needs of the community.
For example, for too long we have heard from the Labor Party how the housing crisis has been with us for years, and yet despite their protestations that they are doing something about it, there is no clear evidence that this will happen quickly. For the Coalition, leadership is their major issue and their inability to get out of their ongoing negative mode, and instead offer positive policies. The appointment of Abbott, Downer and Angus Taylor is not going to change their downward slide.
So One Nation, despite their complete lack of policies, except perhaps for immigration, with its racist overtones, is going to take the country backwards, and yet they appeal to many. It is so sad that in terms of government and the lack of a competitive opposition, the nation finds itself in this situation, as we all deserve better.
Bruce MacKenzie, South Kingsville

Hanson and supporters must be taken seriously
As columnist Sean Kelly suggests, it is worth remembering that other people don’t automatically see things the way you do and that treating political opponents with scorn can indicate a closed mind (Comment, 1/6). This is particularly the case with those on the progressive left who claim to be morally superior and ″⁣on the right side of history″⁣ on many issues. The rise of One Nation presents a challenge in this regard. Hard as it may be for Labor and the Coalition to stomach, the once minor party, and its growing group of supporters, must be taken seriously. Decades of treating One Nation’s leader Pauline Hanson with scorn and derision, has only made her stronger.
Remember Hillary Clinton and the basket of deplorables?
Rod Wise, Surrey Hills

Being pro-Australian is a meme
Pauline Hanson is certainly full of ambition. If she were to become prime minister after the 2028 election she would need to command 76 seats in the lower house. This would probably include having enough support from minor parties, including the Coalition, and independents. Her party currently has two seats in the lower house. From a new pack of MPs she would need to elect ministers. It would be impossible for One Nation to form a quality government without many not having managerial experience. Being pro-Australian is not a policy, it is a meme, being pro-Australian requires management of a complex world and economy. These are beyond Hanson’s capacities.
John Rome, Mt Lawley, WA

Abbott’s powers of opposition
Tony Abbott was a great opposition leader. His concentration on opposing everything is legendary. However, he had no idea of how to say yes to anything new when he was PM. Now he is about to bring this wonderful power back to ″⁣help″⁣ the beleaguered Liberal Party. I am sure this will go down as well as his last effort in office.
Marie Nash, Balwyn

Confidence no substitute for substance
Re your correspondent’s letter (1/6) on Tony Abbott, ″⁣A clear eyed systematic thinker″⁣, I do agree people will have a clear understanding of what they’re voting for; vacuous simplistic slogans repeated ad nauseam, with a good dollop of misogyny and gormlessness, on climate change and most social issues. An absurdly aggressive opposition who disagree with everything to the point it becomes meaningless . All confidence, no substance.
Julie Conquest, Brighton

THE FORUM

Portrait of greatness
Now that the great man has gone, I urge everyone to visit the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra and stand for a minute or two before Michael Peck’s extraordinary portrait of Neale Daniher. It is large, maybe two metres high and a remarkably strong and poignant rendering of the man. You may feel his soul, his determination, his grit. Its title is Play On and you can see why.
A few moments standing before this great portrait in the silence of the gallery will likely bring a tear to your eye in admiration of both the skill of the artist and the determination of the footballer, both on the field and in his relentless pursuit to champion his cause, for others.
Frank Flynn, Cape Paterson

Boost health systems
Your correspondent (Letters, 1/6) is alarmed that someone with Ebola symptoms arrived in Melbourne from the vicinity of Uganda and the DR Congo. The strongest defence against the virulent spread of infectious diseases and pandemics is a robust, global medical system.
However, where Australia has 4.1 physicians per 1000 people for its population of 28 million, the ratio for the DRC and Uganda is 0.2 physicians, each, for their respective populations of 109 and 50 million. Australia is among many affluent countries that poach overseas-trained medical professionals.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke recently announced that half of Australia’s doctors and nurses were born overseas.
As of 2023, recruiting overseas-trained doctors had saved Australia $US1.7 billion in training locals across five years. It is the ultimate false economy and unethical.
Australia should be training its own medical professionals and also supporting countries in need to strengthen their health systems.
Barbara Chapman, South Yarra

Stop this suggestion
Re Antone Martinho-Truswell’s proposition (Comment, 1/6) that Australia should introduce a universal “Left turn on red” rule at traffic signals is alarming.
Research has repeatedly shown that what he describes as “freedom” for left-turners actually means more crashes, both vehicle crashes and pedestrian crashes. “Left turn on red permitted after stopping” becomes the simpler message “left turn on red is permitted” in most drivers’ minds: few drivers stop first.
Pedestrians (particularly those with vision impairment), cyclists and older drivers are the ones who pay for this “freedom”. Then left turn slip lanes – which have better sight lines to pedestrians and conflicting vehicles – cease to be provided, as they cost a little more to build. So a legacy of less-safe intersections builds up.
Rather than being “a case of personal responsibility”, left turn on red is an example of forced “responsibilisation” of vulnerable road users in a situation where they are unlikely to appreciate the risks that the state has burdened them with. In the US, signs that ban turning on red are regularly ignored. Keep it simple and safe: red means stop and stay stopped.
Rob Morgan, road safety engineer, Bulleen

Not ready for change
Antone Martinho-Truswell is mistaken in advocating left turn on red. The risks of left turn on green are already significant due to the 50 per cent of pedestrians who ignore the ″⁣red man″⁣ at traffic lights. Adding to the risk are speeding cyclists in the bike lane.
Bruce Love, East Melbourne

Time to tap back on
Now that free public transport has ended, the state government through the PTV will hopefully start designating authorised officers to check that the 60 to 70 per cent of bus travellers who never tap their myki (ask any bus driver) will start doing so.
Henk van Leeuwen, Elsternwick

The Trump tragedy
Bruce Wolpe (Comment, 1/6), documents the mental decline of a paranoid old man arguably exhibiting clear signs of senility. Rather than the tragic fall of a flawed and noble hero, we see in Donald Trump, drawing on Shakespeare’s play As You Like It, the ″⁣last scene of all … second childishness and mere oblivion″⁣. His current priorities of a reflecting pool between the Washington and Lincoln monuments in the US capital, a gigantic White House ballroom and a cage fight arena on the South Lawn attest surely to the fantasies of a deeply distracted individual. His indifference to the state of his realm does indeed bear comparison to Nero’s fiddling in Ancient Rome.
Hopefully, Joe Biden might just now be enjoying some sleepy schadenfreude at his Delaware beach house.
Jon McMillan, Mornington

Now, here’s a bargain
It would appear that Donald Trump is an exemplar of the used-car salesman. Now we will spend billions of dollars on three submarines that are more than 20 years old. I have a 20-year-old aluminium boat for sale for just $5000.
Alan Inchley, Frankston

Not a good deal
Those new submarines from France when Scott Morrison was prime minister are looking pretty good right now. For all the AUKUS money we have already paid, second-hand subs from the Americans doesn’t cut it. It’s like we have paid for a shiny new car and got a second-hand one. Not happy Jan.
Nick Toovey, Beaumaris

Stop being the lapdog
So the US has altered the terms of our submarine deal. The new sub in the deal of three is to be replaced by an old second-hand one and the total cost for the three “wouldn’t substantially change the underlying cost” (“Marles points to savings with second-hand AUKUS subs”, 1/6). Would you accept this deal from a car salesman? We are still lapdogs to the US, as we were when we followed it into various dubious wars. When will we find our voice?
Jan Marshall, Brighton

Let Abbott have his go
Your correspondents (Letters, 31/5) mainly canned Tony Abbott. This is unfair. He may have learnt from his mistakes and changed his silly positions. His trumpeting of possible policies may appeal to Australian voters who favour recalcitrant politicians. Who knows, he may become the onion knight of the Liberals. The Australian way is to let him have a go and then vote him into obscurity.
Adrian Tabor, Point Lonsdale

Same as it ever was
Recent articles have clearly identified a strong “burn it down” sentiment among the growing numbers of One Nation supporters. History tells us three things about such political movements. The would-be fire lighters rarely have any coherent notion of how their grievances might be practically addressed. In the process, should it happen, things get broken and people – especially the fire starters themselves – get hurt. Finally, once the smoke has cleared things eventually go back to pretty much as they were before.
Peter Orpin, South Hobart, Tas

American parallels
That One Nation has overtaken Labor in the latest RedBridge poll (1/6) “is a matter of deep concern”, to use a term loved by politicians. Regrettably it is a definite outcome of the impoverishment of so many people brought about by the effects of neoliberalism, transferring wealth from the poor to the already wealthy.
And what will One Nation do about this if it gains office? Likely nothing except to continue the transfer, albeit claiming it is helping the poor and struggling. The parallel with the present political/economic situation in the US is obvious and deeply disturbing.
Greg Bailey, St Andrews

Upgrade EV capacity
It’s great that the arrival of the BYD Zhengzhou signals a ″⁣turning point in the electrification of Australian road transport″⁣ (″⁣Monster ship carries vehicles into new era″⁣, 1/6). I have owned an EV for three years and they’re great. Unfortunately, the charging infrastructure is seriously lagging behind EV ownership and the increase in EV uptake will only make it worse.
Driving from Melbourne to Sydney is fine, but regional towns can be a problem. The anti-EV stance of the LNP when they were in government stymied the rollout of charging infrastructure. It’s time the ALP government and charging companies worked together to improve EV charging infrastructure outside of the busiest transport routes, otherwise the regional areas will miss out on the benefits of EV-driven tourism.
Rohan Wightman, Brunswick

History’s echoes
I have recently been watching the documentary World War II, with Tom Hanks which shows how the Nazis systematically used derogatory terms and lies to target Jews as non-humans and were responsible for all of Germany’s problems. I see echoes of this in the Trump administration’s latest website ″⁣they walk among us″⁣ referencing immigrants as invading aliens and referring to them as ″⁣it″⁣ not ″⁣they″⁣, removing any vestige of humanity.
Vicki Jordan, Lower Plenty

Transport of delight
Day one of half-price public transport fares and the ticket inspectors are back on the job, welcoming me moments after touching on the regular 19 tram I take.
David Eastwood, Coburg

AND ANOTHER THING

Subs
Donald Trump: Would you buy a secondhand submarine from this man?
Kevan Porter, Alphington

Does the new AUKUS deal include a trade-in deal for our incredibly reliable Collins class subs?
Bernd Rieve, Brighton

How do you kick the tyres on a second-hand sub?
Tim Durbridge, Brunswick

Demonstrator models, even submarines, are always a bit of a bargain.
Steve Melzer, Hughesdale

When I bought a second-hand car it came with a 30-day warranty. With a submarine being more sophisticated would the warranty be for a longer period?
Meg Biggs, Yarraville

Liberals
Liberal party president: Tony Abbott. Liberal Party deputy president: Alexander Downer. They forgot to wheel out John Howard. Forward thinking indeed.
Helena Kilingerova, Vermont

If the Liberal Party thinks that Tony Abbott is the solution to their electoral woes, then clearly they have not spotted the problem yet.
John Page, Glenroy

With Tony Abbott as president of the Liberals there should be a name change to Jurassic Party.
Terry Mattison, Mentone

Furthermore
The ducks don’t mind how many guns someone has, so long as none are pointed at them.
Debbie Lustig, Elsternwick

Who needs to own four guns? This isn’t America.
Chris Hooper, Castlemaine

When the free world is led by a 80-year-old acting like a two-year-old we are in trouble.
Paul Chivers, Box Hill North

Trump is big-noting himself, yet again (″⁣Push for $US250 bill with Trump’s face″⁣, 31/5)
Chris Burgess, Port Melbourne

Finally
And this was just day one of winter!
John Walsh, Watsonia