What a sad tirade is Jenna Price's article ("Morrison has missed chance for bold choice", December 17, p15) about the appointment of David Hurley.
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She observed "the Prime Minister turns to a white man for the role of Governor-General", that "Hurley is too safe, too similar, too male, too white" and that "These military men are not representative of Australia in any way shape or form and their knowledge of structural barriers would be theoretical at best".
She does make some complimentary personal remarks about him.
It seems Price considers that white men in the military spend their lives in a cocoon away from real life. Long-term soldiers spend their lives always at call for defence and civil emergencies.
They raise their families just as others do, often away from them while serving national interests.
Governments often call on them to assist or lead difficult civil tasks. They lead forces with both men and women in all kinds of roles and have been notably active in recent years in promoting the role of women at all levels.
Often military people go on to excel in civilian life.
Others from diverse walks of life have made good G-Gs, including academics and lawyers, such as Zelman Cowen and Bill Deane.
It is not evident that "representatives of diversity", whoever they might be, would do a better job than the denigrated white male, who seems to be still a prevalent species in Australia, even while unprotected by laws about offending them.
There have been few G-Gs involved in scandals, none from the Australian military.
I hope tokenism would not be a factor in the choice for the highest office in Australia and that the best person, regardless of sex, colour, religion or occupation would be chosen.
The PM has made a good choice, not only of David Hurley but also of his talented wife Linda.
Ross Ramsay, Farrer
'Picket fence' choice
Australians are an equitable people, just and honourable as the Thesaurus defines it, or perhaps more colloquially, "she'll be right, mate".
But it seems unlikely, however equitable, that they will quietly accept the appointment of General David Hurley, "the first and only choice" declared the Prime Minster, as their new Governor-General for the year of 2019.
It won't "be right". With the proffered "package deal" of Mrs Hurley, whose "singalongs at Government House are legendary", Scott Morrison confirms, it smacks too much of the old "picket fence".
This is a country full of creative, distinguished, innovative, and forward-looking men and women of ideas, experience and diverse professional and social interest and it is, clearly, not the time for a retired military figure reportedly eager to extend his four years as Governor of New South Wales to the "top job" where he can witness his fellow countrymen on "a day to day basis".
Given the amazement and concern that this "captain's choice" appointment has caused, it would not seem inappropriate if the thoughtful General Hurley would heed the suggestion made by Jenna Price in her excellent article 'Morrison has missed chance for bold choice' (December 17, p15) and do "the right thing and chuck[s] it in soon" that a successor might be drawn' from other sources, in Price's case, talented women.
Ann Moyal, Bruce
Options limited
I see that Scott Morrison has said that retired general David Hurley was his "first and only" choice to be the next governor-general.
"First" perhaps, but "only"?
I thought about that for a bit. Someone from the clergy: no, perhaps better not.
What about from the financial world: no, they're just as much on the nose.
A miner: they're both too young.
A teacher: no, they let kids skip school to bag the government's lack of environmental policy.
A scientist: no, again: they regard the Coalition as "flat earthers".
An engineer: no, they bang on endlessly about renewables and cycle efficiencies.
Someone from the judiciary, then: nope, look at how they savage the Liberals' campaign donors at the royal commission we didn't need to have.
So, I guess our Prime Minister is probably right; it would be much safer to stick with a soldier.
Bronis Dudek, Calwell
Clinging to the past
The appointment of another retired soldier as Governor-General is a sad commentary about the Liberal Party's desperation to cling on to an archaic past.
This is no reflection on David Hurley, clearly a fine man who brought credit to military service.
Surely, though, if we have to have a representative of the British Raj cutting ribbons with ceremonial scissors, it should be someone from a more broadly representative community background?
Fortunately, this will be the last opportunity for the Liberal Party to inflict its stale conservative agenda on Australians for many years.
By the time it is next in charge of the exchequer, Australia will be a republic and the British monarch will be just another head of state.
Mark Slater, Melba
Negative gearing aid
The generosity of Australians never ceases to amaze. Take investment properties for example. It is reported that 1.3 million people negatively gear investment properties ("Data backs Labor on negative gearing", December 15, p21).
Since there are some 13.5 million individual taxpayers this means about 10 per cent of taxpayers are claiming tax deductions on investment properties. The fact that the other 90 per cent of taxpayers are effectively subsidising the 10 per cent who negatively gear does not seem to worry many people.
A recent Ipsos poll found 43 per cent of those polled are in favour of restricting the tax deductions on investment properties while another 44 per cent are against changing the current system ("Voters split on Labor's tax plan", December 17, p1). Obviously it is not self-interest that would have 44 per cent thinking the current system does not need to be curtailed. One can only conclude that a huge number of Australians either don't appreciate the fact that they themselves are subsidising investment property owners or else they do realise and are happy to generously continue providing this charity to property investors.
P. Boyd, Reid
Apostrophe a sign
Perhaps our Prime Minister was right in saying that school students who were protesting should go back to school.
The young person holding a placard in your photo (Letters, December 15) stating "Greedy pig's of parliament" should have been taught apostrophes are not required in a porcine plural.
Maria Pellegrino, Gungahlin
Drug use is the danger
Cannabis is a many sided issue ("Everything you need to know about legalising pot", December 15, p16).
I have been published in the same Melbourne University periodical as Dr Alex Wodak so I am not without knowledge on drugs.
The article reports Dr David Caldicott saying "Do they [Australians] want to see reduced harms or reduced consumption. From a health perspective, obviously reduced harms is where we'd come at it, and reduced consumption, which almost never results in reduced harms, is probably an ideological or philosophical, occasionally religious position. I think most people have given up on a completely drug-free Australia — the concept is nonsense".
I believe these assumptions are manifestly wrong.
Decades ago I helped with the banning of cigarette advertising from television, and instigated the ban on smoking in aircraft. Around 1950 an estimated 74 per cent of Australians smoked.
Bombarded with no smoking messages and effective legislation, that figure has shrunk to about 13 to 16 per cent today, with concomitant falls in mortality and morbidity.
The drug-free aim is alive and well today as the Swedish policy has demonstrated.
In 2008, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found in a study of 180 countries, using major drug problems as the benchmark, and ranking from 180 as the best and 1 as the worst, that Australia ranked No.8 — and Sweden ranked at No.162.
Sweden's drug policy reflects the principles of the United Nations declarations on human rights, and affirms that limiting the aims of drug policy to basically "reducing the harmful effects of drugs" is to capitulate to illegal drug trafficking and to accept that drugs have come to stay in our societies.
A limited aim of this kind is in practice a lowering of society's ambitions, and sanctions the marginalisation of certain groups.
Colliss Parrett, International Drug Watch, Barton
The people's Christmas
Re Errol Good (Letters, December 18) on the absence of the joy of Christmas in Civic.
I don't think you will find the Christmas spirit in anything associated with the current government.
As Oscar Wilde said, they "know the price of everything but the value of nothing".
I believe as citizens we should create our own Christmas spirit at this time of year. Thus on Sunday last in the early evening, the Three Wise Men on horseback (read men to include all and any genders) passed along Dixon Drive, Holder, travelling to Bethlehem.
Their westward passage, following a helium balloon star, was mercifully free of any involvement from the ACT government.
Applications, permits, lists of rules and regulations, fees and parking restrictions were not part of this journey.
Despite the "cat-herding" nature of the lead-up, the horses, wise men and a contingent of enthusiastic dogs performed their roles magnificently on the day. Miss Callie Rose, carrying a rainbow flag, stepped out with the spirit of a horse much younger than her 29 years.
The Vinnies and Salvos shops of south Canberra got a substantial boost in putting together the Wise Men's costumes.
To my embarrassment, the sound system (my elderly CD player) worked erratically on the day, causing a solemn reading of T. S. Eliot's Journey of the Magi to be interrupted by a loud snatch of Dolly Parton singing We Three Kings.
The hastily formed Arawang Horse Paddock Women's Choir, dressed in a fetching array of paddock gear, stepped in heroically to fill the musical gaps.
It seemed like a disaster at the time but photos and video clips attest to a joyful occasion. Never forget that it is the community, not the government, that is the heart and soul of this city.
Celia Kneen, Weston
Super needs reform
Peter Bradbury (Letters, December 16) questions why dividend imputation credits for company tax previously paid should be refunded to some shareholders with low or no tax liability.
I would suggest that it is good policy that supports the government's primary objective for superannuation which is to provide income in retirement to substitute or supplement the aged pension.
Also, that it is equitable for tax on grossed up dividends to be taxable in the recipient's hands with either a refund given or further tax paid depending on circumstances.
This proposed Labor Dividend Imputation Reform (DIR) has been substantially justified by Chris Bowen because some self-managed super funds receive cash refunds of $2.5+ million. This $2.5 million infers grossed up dividends of $8.3 million which implies assets of $150+ million were these funds 100 per cent invested in Australian equities, perhaps assets of $450+ million if only a third.
A 15 per cent tax on the earnings of super balances over $1.6 million was recently imposed which this proposed DIR will substantially or totally negate, plus Labor have exempted aged pensioners from DIR. This leaves those who have provided for their retirement income but have less than $1.6 million bearing the brunt.
I consider that it is the super environment that needs reform; not the dividend imputation system.
And I think that reform should take the form of a second super cap of $3.2 million, over which earnings are taxed at 30 per cent. And, if one really wanted to rid the super henhouse of the foxes, a third cap could be $4.8 million, over which earnings are taxed at 45 per cent.
J Coombs, Kaleen
Move the embassy
While the Morrison government's formal recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel's capital is to be applauded, why not take the final step now and move our embassy to West Jerusalem?
If, as the PM said, "foreign policy must speak of our character and values", why kick the can down the road?
A peace settlement and two-state solution are still a long way off.
Cement our relationship, and evidence our support for the only true democracy in the Middle East by moving the embassy now.
Owen Reid, Dunlop
TO THE POINT
THIRD PARTY BILL'S FLAW
Giulia Jones describes the compulsory third party bill as an "abject failure" in the compensation it would offer to injured road crash victims ("Split committee finds CTP bill lacking detail on external reviews," canberratimes.com.au, December 18). Insurance companies would continue to profit as lower payouts would allow them to reduce premiums. The greatest beneficiaries would be dangerous drivers who would pay artificially low premiums.
L. Arundell, Downer
BROAD CHURCH
Recent events give a whole new meaning to the phrase "a broad church".
Heather Nash, Kingston
TESTS FOR CANDIDATES
If a mandatory and rigorous intelligence test can't be appended to the citizenship test all candidates for federal election must meet, the public interest surely requires the application of such a test to all those considered for assistant or full ministerial positions. That should ensure a few more women appear in any Coalition ministry.
Sue Dyer, Downer
LNP AND WOMEN
The only women the LNP can select on merit are au pairs and sugar babies.
M. Greene, Curtin
GOODBYE, ANDREW
Just in case people were wondering why they haven't seen any letters lately from Andrew Rowe of Florey, I thought I would tell you that, sadly, he died on December 5. He had hopes of watching the cricket while in hospital but it was not to be.
Andy was always surprised and pleased when his missives made it to the Letters to the Editor. He was buried on Tuesday.
Christina Rowe, Florey
MILITARY FOCUS
Three out of our four recent Governors-General are ex-army. Helen Keller once said: "Militarism ... is one of the chief bulwarks of capitalism, and the day that militarism is undermined, capitalism will fail." Surely we have people fit to be G-Gs besides all these war barons.
Richard Ryan, Summerland Point, NSW
TAKING ON EXPEDIA
Well done to Hugh Selby for taking on Wotif.com and Expedia. A win for the little guy.
M. Moore, Bonython
ROBINSON REMEMBERED
Vale, Philip Robinson of Bruce (formerly of Holt).
Your nephew, Christopher Ryan (Letters, December 14) honours me while honouring you, reminding readers of our metaphysical jousting in these pages.
I share your distaste for communism.
If we meet in heaven I'm declaring you winner of our letter wars.
Peter Robinson, Ainslie
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