They did not, however, directly pose a more important and, in view of the circumstances, relevant question; that of the Prime Minister's fitness to hold office.

Opinions expressed by various commentators included that he: "buries his head in the sand", "denies any responsibility", "has violated the fundamentals of liberal democracy", "lacks dignity and respect", and "has shown [a] profound failure of leadership".

Without going into a more detailed analysis (robodebts, sports rorts and so on) one must have grave doubts about the quality of the leadership of this country.

Jack Waterford demolished the PM's argument that an independent inquiry into the rape allegations against Christian Porter would mean the "end of the rule of law" ("Rule of law collapse talk is nonsense", March 6, p30).

Regardless of the allegations, the Attorney-General should be stood down for decisions which disrespect the rule of law, when he is meant to be the foremost law officer of the land.

Examples are:

His failure to report the use of national security information orders to Parliament for three years. These govern what evidence can be kept secret in a court case, such as those against Bernard Collaery, Witness K and David McBride.

His lack of judgement in approving the prosecutions of the above men who were acting honourably on their conscience and/or in the interests of government-related transparency.

His defence of Minister Alan Tudge when the latter was found to have engaged in criminal conduct for detaining an asylum seeker for five days in defiance of an order by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

His suppression of parts of a National Audit Office report into a single-source $1.3 billion military contract which was critical of the contract process.

His history as a minister responsible for the Robo-debt fiasco which left taxpayers with a debt of $1.2b.

His judgement, competence and behaviour is seriously in question and is in no way acceptable for an Attorney-General.

The Attorney-General must have the trust and confidence of the Australian people.

He has forfeited that.

Recent letter writers (Letters, March 5) have focused on the old chestnut of the "rule of law" as a reason for not conducting any independent inquiry into allegations of rape.

There are many commentators and politicians who seem to think the sky will fall in if there was such an inquiry.

In public service land whenever there are serious allegations involving the behaviour of public servants (including police officers) the individual is often stood down (on pay) while an independent and internal investigation is undertaken.

This is routine.

I am therefore at a loss to understand why such an investigation couldn't be undertaken quickly and provide an outcome to the Attorney-General's employer, the Prime Minister.

You would think the Attorney-General and the Prime Minister would welcome such an inquiry.

The NGA deserves high praise for the display of the Boticelli to Van Gogh exhibition.

Plenty of space between art works, no crowding, interesting and informative commentary on art periods and individual works. Lighting and background walls very professional. And numbers of visitors limited, so plenty of space for uninterrupted viewing. All together a pleasant experience.

I think Grace Tame's recent statement that it shouldn't take having children to have a conscience was very shallow.

While ethical standpoints need to come from general reflections they are greatly sharpened by personal experience and circumstances. Likewise, it is good to discuss these issues with other people.

I think it was nice that Scott Morrison discussed the rape allegation with his wife. As a simple personal illustration, I was shocked while visiting a Berlin art museum to read the notes on a statue of a young Greek woman.

She was one of the "hetaera" or "others" (of a different kind) who were provided for men's relaxation at philosophy conferences around Plato's time.

I would have been upset at the exploitation of these women anyway, but my reaction was heightened by having four daughters.

In an unmistakable reference to the murder of Thomas Becket by the knights of Henry II, John Murray (Letters, March 8) appears to advocate the murder of former President Trump. He also viciously demeans the more than 70 million American voters who voted for him. This must be the apogee of the condition known as Trump Derangement Syndrome. Murray should emulate Henry and do penance on his knees in sackcloth and ashes.

I am appalled by the obvious drive for political gains being made by senior female members of the ALP in calling for the dismissal of the Minister for Defence.

Their accusations of incompetence, poor judgement, and so on are nothing more than words. It seems their primary concern is that Senator Reynolds can't attend Parliament in the short term to answer a range of questions.

That Senator Reynolds is unwell and has had to take a month off because of a heart condition is of secondary concern.

Their attack on a sick woman is another example of parliamentary harassment and bullying. They should be ashamed of themselves

I sympathise with anyone affected by illness or injury but consider it would be unreasonable for Ms Linda Reynolds to return to duty as a cabinet minister and unreasonable for her to expect that she would.

This is not because of any issue arising from her reported responses to a rape allegation made by a staff member.

Rather because it was unreasonable, indeed poor conduct, to seek and accept one of the most intense, complex cabinet posts when she was susceptible to a pre-existing cardiac condition. Any ministry has too much stress and too high a workload for any mind and body burdened by a cardiac condition.

No doubt all portfolios have various degrees of these demands but some have demands almost beyond human capacity.

I am continually surprised at Australia's lack of reaction to China's import bans on products such as Australian wine and barley.

When I look in Australia's shops many of the goods are marked "made in China".

So why are we not responding in kind with their imported goods to protect our producers?

I had a grandstand view of Ryan Lonergan's match-winning penalty goal, but 60 metres is a bit of a stretch ("Local hero: Lonergan lives out a dream", March 8, p40).

The kicking tee was on the halfway line between the 15 metre and five metre lines; so 10 metres in from touch and 25 metres from the centre spot. This, in turn, is 50 metres from the goal line.

I calculate that the kick was the square root of 625 plus 2500 or 56 metres. That's still impressive.

S K Chatterjee (Letters, March 8) rues the fact Labor's Dr Andrew Leigh is in the opposition rather than in government.

It's even worse than that. And, ironically, one reason why Labor is in danger of remaining in opposition. Albanese sacked Dr Leigh from his previous position as shadow assistant treasurer despite him being the most economically qualified person in the caucus for purely political reasons.

His unforgivable sin? It's awful; he refuses to join a faction.

It has been reported that in France, a country with thousands of cases of COVID-19, the military and front line medical staff have been called on to make the vaccination program a success.

This led to 220,000 people being vaccinated in just one 24-hour period.

Our Prime Minister says Australia is ahead of the rest of the world. Really? So, while our need is not so great, with few cases of COVID-19 let's keep it that way.

Over to you Greg Hunt.

I trust that Oprah and the global audience will respect Meghan and Harry's genuine wish for total privacy. Why, by the way, wasn't this interview aired on April 1?

I was "comfortably numb" when I read the birthday entry for English musician David Gilmour indicating he died in 2021 (Birthdays, March 6, p27). A quick search on the internet consoled me as news of his death was confirmed as fake news.

I'm here in The Canberra Hospital. I am amazed they are still serving plastic cutlery with their meals. I hope they "run out" soon. At least the private caterers on ground floor are using "wooden" version. Meals haven't changed much. Roast pork three days in a row is a bit hard to take.

Watching the invasion of Capital Hill by Trump's supporters, and then their rapturous reception of his first return appearance, reminded me more of the crowds giving a hysterical reception to Hitler's speeches than a handful of knights chopping into Thomas a Becket (Letters, March 8).

Was the elderly gent called a "silly old bugger" (Mario Stivala, Letters, March 9) working in Hawke's office and alleging sexual assault had occurred there? Clearly a distinction and to say otherwise is to deliberately miss the point and do a disservice to all women. Shame on you and shame on Linda Reynolds.

John Rodriguez (Letters, March 8) said the "mob" elects the Parliament. He is wrong. It's a majority, in Australia around 50 per cent plus, that does that. All the whingeing is coming from those in opposition who have still not got over losing the last election.

I noticed the Teflon coating in our saucepans has seen better days. Could the Morrison government have the same problem?

I am sure the former CEO of Australia Post would have appreciated Scott Morrison's recent comments about the rule of law and not allowing a tribe-has-spoken process to determine culpability.

I wonder if Jenna Price's comments on Christian Porter ("Christian Porter's career is finished", March 5, p50) could also be applied to Bill Shorten?

Since when have we referred to the location of the Australian Parliament as "Capital Hill", Frank Bongiorno ("Sunday I've got Wednesday on my mind", Inside Story, March 5)?

It is almost as bad as referring to the federal government as "the feds".

Can we please refrain from using another American reference in our accepted common parlance?

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