Governors-general get paid far too much for what they do

The pension is reversionary. It reverts to a surviving spouse.

When the new governor-general, Samantha Moyston, finishes her term, she will also receive this pension for life.

At that time she will be 64 years of age, meaning she will have a life expectancy of approximately 24 years. To commercially fund an annuity of this value would cost around $7.5 million.

Governors-general can live a long time. Sir Ninian Stephen died in 2017 at the age of 94; 28 years after the end of his term. His pension would then have reverted to his widow until her death in 2019.

Ms Royston will be getting the equivalent of $1.5 million in superannuation benefits in each year of her five-year term.

When this is added to her salary which will be the same as the chief justice of the High Court and the many other perks of the position it is an extraordinary amount of money for a position that is largely ceremonial.

It is 20 years since the defined benefit Parliamentary Pension Scheme closed to new members, and a similar time since the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme (defined benefit) was closed.

Surely it is time for this gravy train to be stopped.

With the bile already spilling out against Sam Mostyn's appointment as G-G, I was struck by one such example: "How can we have a neutral umpire with her woke background". Since when were G-Gs "umpires"? Umpires make decisions. G-Gs don't make decisions.

Have they ever even questioned anything? We don't know, because our "democracy" prevents us from knowing about such "confidential" matters.

Apart, that is, from that notable occasion when Morrison's secret extra ministries were signed off by the G-G without query, but we only found out after the event and then just by chance.

As for a G-G being neutral, a better rhetorical description would, I think, be, "neutered".

I wonder, after such an outstanding public career, will Her Excellency be able to stand the intellectually stultifying atmosphere of a job that is little more than a cipher? Jenna Price was spot on when she wrote in her Canberra Times column that, "Governor-General is the wrong job for the woman"( April 3).

Those like the governor-general in waiting Sam Mostyn who see our recent history mostly in terms of Indigenous disadvantage are missing one of the great achievements of modern times.

When the First Fleet arrived, there were some 500,000 people, more or less, in all Australia. They survived on what they could hunt and gather, slept on the ground, walked everywhere, lived in an often violent world, gazed at the night skies, made up stories for entertainment and often died young.

Modern Australia is a complete contrast. It feeds not just its own 27 million people, but at least another 50 million elsewhere, sleeps in beds in buildings (often climate controlled), travels via car, train, plane, ship or bicycle and has a much less violent environment (but with room for improvement), enjoys the wonders of modern medical care and double the life expectancy, and is bombarded by entertainment of all kinds.

Compared with 1788 it is a wonderful world the inhabitants of that time could not even have imagined. But today it is real, their descendants are part of it too.

Take the blinkers off Sam and fellow travellers. Truth telling is about the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. You are ignoring the many good bits of the whole.

Now I have all the confirmation I need that the ACT Labor-Greens government is devoid of any rational decision-making capability.

The recent proposal by the ACT Minister of Population Health, Emma Davidson, to legislate for the removal of penalties for the personal possession of single use nicotine-containing vapes, similar to cannabis ("A health issue: plan to remove vape penalties", April 7) is beyond comprehension.

Following extensive policy and legal analysis and frankly the application of common sense, federal Labor's proposed anti-vaping laws will prohibit certain activities relating to non-therapeutic vapes and strengthen their enforcement.

Whilst there are some exceptions for legitimate prescribed use, the rules are intended to protect primarily young people who I suggest, use vapes more as a fashion statement, probably not fully aware of their health risks.

With the spotlight directed at the insidious use and consequences of vapes, to propose the policy suggested by Ms Davidson is not only inconsistent with federal legislative intent. It will also encourage our vulnerable young people to use them more and encourage their unlawful sale and distribution.

If Ms Davidson considers that the use and regulation of vapes is a health issue rather than a criminal one, then her ministerial title is a contradiction in terms as she is promoting everything that is unhealthy.

The Qantas press release heralded "a long-awaited revamp of its frequent flyer program as part of its push to restore its credibility with consumers".

A quick look at the revamp reveals that before the changes the return business class Classic Reward flight from Sydney to London cost 317,500 points. That price still stands, however looking through all available flights between July and December no Classic Reward seats at all are available at this price. Instead, Qantas has introduced a new category of Classic Plus Reward seats, and you guessed it, they come in at a highly inflated cost: 1,002,000 points for a return trip.

Well done Qantas! You have hiked reward seat fares by over 200 per cent: I suspect that this will do nothing at all to "restore credibility with customers".

Clive Williams's cynicism towards and bias against Israel are blatantly obvious in his article "New outrage won't alter Israel's warpath" (April 5). What he mischaracterises as "public relations variations" are genuine Israeli explanations for hitting buildings Hamas is misusing

His claim Israel is unconcerned about the loss of human lives, despite Israel's great efforts to evacuate civilians from the fighting, including millions of phone calls, texts messages and leaflet drops. It's Hamas that doesn't care about human life, using the civilians as shields.

Similarly, he accuses Israel of using food deprivation as a weapon, but Israel lets all genuine international aid into Gaza. The problem is that Hamas steals about 60 per cent of it, intent on using the misery of its civilians as a weapon to gain pressure on Israel to stop the war.

He also accuses Israel of provocative strikes against Iran in Lebanon and Syria, but surely that provocation is from Iran, arming its proxies Hezbollah and Hamas, and directing them to attack Israel. Israel's strikes are aimed at disrupting that aggression.

Rajend Naidu pleads with someone to explain the US support for Israel notwithstanding the ICJ case (Letters, April 2). The US supports Israel's war against Hamas because it agrees that after Hamas' October 7 atrocities and promises to conduct similar attacks "again and again" Hamas' military capacity must be destroyed for there to be any chance of peace.

Our government has also often said there is no role for Hamas in Gaza's future.

I'm sure the US also knows the people of Gaza would be far better off with Hamas gone, given the wars it keeps starting, its human shield tactics, its generally repressive rule, and its constant stealing of humanitarian aid both before and during the war.

The ICJ made it clear that its interim findings, which despite South Africa's requests did not include any order requiring a ceasefire, were without prejudice as to the final decision of genocide. The US rightly described the charges as unfounded - Israel is seeking to avoid civilian casualties, not cause them.

Dave Roberts is an 85-year-old driver. He asks, "When can we get rid of this awful government?" (Letters, April 9).

Our present, anti-car government makes it difficult for senior citizens like him to get around in cars.

I am a relative youngster at just 81 years of age, do not have a driver's license, and get around perfectly well on a bicycle and on buses.

I do not share Dave's enthusiasm for a new, car-friendly government, fearing that an increase in older drivers might mean that I will never attain 85 years of age.

Good to see that the RAN, definitely our senior service, is back at the helm of the ADF. The last old salt to serve as Chief of Defence Force was Admiral Chris Barrie (of children overboard fame) who served an extended term from 1998 to 2004. Break out the rum ration mateys. It's a new broom at Russell. And don't we need one very badly.

Addressing different topics (climate change and kangaroo management respectively) in Sunday's letters (Letters, April 7) both Doug Hurst and B Furze both suggest an evidence-based, rather than ideological approach be taken. Now wouldn't that be a refreshing change?

When I read that Emma Davidson MLA is working on a bill "to remove vape penalties" (April 7) I had to check the date only to find that April Fools Day was a week ago. And this is under the auspices of "population health"?

Mark Kenny claims Israel murdered the aid workers in Gaza in a deliberate attack when all indications are it was a tragic mistake with the IDF thinking that they were Hamas fighters ("Israel finally gets some plain talk", April 7). Hamas regularly hijacks aid convoys. Why would Israel deliberately attack World Central Kitchen aid workers when Israel is working with WCK in preference to UNRWA?

Surely, with the killing of the World Central Kitchen staff, the media will begin now to question the information supplied by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). Many of their claims since October 7 have been inconsistent, unverified and lacked credibility.

On April 5 an article referred to ''the Jerrabomberra Hotel in Queanbeyan''. Jerrabomberra is not in Queanbeyan. Jerrabomberra is a separate town with its own post code, school, shopping centres, and its own hotel. It is not part of Queanbeyan, and Queanbeyan is not part of Jerrabomberra.

When, oh when, are letter writers like Brian Measday and Anne O'Hara (Letters, April 8) ever going to realise that Australia could disappear off the map tomorrow and not make one scrap of difference to global warming let alone climate change?

The Great Barrier Reef is the mesmerising pinnacle of life, beauty and colour. Yet, somehow, humanity is allowing climate change driven coral bleaching to turn the iconic reef into a colourless graveyard ("Coral bleaching hits 75 per cent of reef", April 7). The Climate Change Authority's latest report says Australia is not on track to meet our 2030 climate targets.

Netanyahu is attempting to emulate his brother, a hero of the Entebbe raid. This sociopathology is driving these wars. He has no solutions.