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We all know LGBTQI people don’t count to the Coalition but now it seems they don’t count to Labor either. In a reversal of Labor policy, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will not include questions of sexuality or gender identity in the census (“ Call for PM to be banned from Mardi Gras over census ‘betrayal’ ”, 27/8). This capitulation to the religious right is a betrayal of Labor values most recently outlined by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in his John Curtin oration as “compassion, foresight and vision” (“ Dutton seeks only to divide us: Chalmers ”, 27/8).
The specific needs of LGBTQI people can be met only when we know how many there are and where they live. By not identifying this, they will continue to be discriminated against because if the government doesn’t want to acknowledge their existence, then why should those who already question their legitimacy? Samantha Keir, East Brighton There is nothing to fear It wasn’t until 1967 that our First Nations people were finally included in official population counts for constitutional purposes. How long will the LGBTQIA+ community have to wait before they can be included in the census for 2026? Why does this so-called “inclusive” government persist in keeping them statistically invisible? Did the successful but hurtful marriage equality plebiscite of November 2017 achieve nothing? Apparently, the Albanese government wants to avoid a possible backlash from the Coalition and faith groups.
This person of faith welcomes questions about people’s sexuality being included in the next census. What’s to fear? Absolutely nothing. Nick Toovey, Beaumaris.
Staying statistically invisible Here is yet another failure of both process and outcome by this timid allegedly progressive federal Labor government. By quiet direction, once again the substantial minority of Australians who identify as LGBTIQ+ are to be kept statistically invisible in the next 2026 census. In the basic count of who, where and what Australians are, we do not exist.
And it seems that does not matter, though service provision and health supports, for instance, depend on such information. If the idea really is not to upset conservatives or faith groups by simply ascertaining what actually is, this is real head-in-the-sand stuff. This person of faith is not so quietly outraged.
This is a trigger point for LGBTIQ+ Australians, their families and their allies – very much like the process of the 2017 postal survey. John Davis, Wangaratta Flawed political strategies The strategy to attain/retain government could not be better illustrated than by The Age articles, “ Dutton seeks to divide us: Chalmers ” and “ Call for PM to be banned from Mardi Gras over census ‘betrayal ’”, (27/8). On the one hand, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton using a divisive approach, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers, to win, whatever it takes.
On the other hand, the government opting not to record gay and trans people in the census. The challenger using negative and divisive tactics to attain power and the incumbent, to stay in power, shying away from anything that may cause a negative response, don’t upset anybody. Bill Pimm, Mentone ALP not connecting with ordinary Australians Treasurer Jim Chalmers has decided to hold forth on divisive politics and inequality (“ Dutton seeks only to divide us: Chalmers ”, 27/8).
It might be possible to take him seriously if there were evidence that the ALP connects with ordinary Australians. At the 2022 election, its share of the primary vote was the lowest in more than a century. It “connected” with less than one-third of voters (32.
58 per cent). The ALP presides over a very divided Australia and shows little sign of being able to bring us together. Alun Breward, Malvern East Time to get tough In 1969, when a group of striking railway workers disrupted the city by marching through its streets, the then longest-serving Victorian premier, the tough Henry Bolte, said: “They can march up and down until they’re bloody footsore.
” It was not going to change anything. It actually caused a public outcry because he had used the word “bloody”. I just wish Premier Jacinta Allan was as tough as Bolte and sent the CFMEU the same message.
And yes, let her say “bloody” which today will not cause the same outrage. The key word is “tough” against bullies. Geoff Lipton, Caulfield North CFMEU adds to costs Re “ Building unions to walk off job in protest ”, (27/08): Cost overruns on major infrastructure projects cannot just be attributed to global issues and the rising cost of materials.
The CFMEU is partly to blame with allegations of illegal and thuggish behaviour revealed this year. The net result is a huge waste of taxpayer money. No one can argue the role this and other unions play concerning the safety of their workers.
We all want people to go home safely. The challenge for the prime minister and our premier is to take a firm stance and not kowtow to the CFMEU. Yvonne Bowyer, Surrey Hills Support for protest A wonderful turnout yesterday with many different unions supporting the CFMEU and protesting against the administration order initiated by the federal government.
Mary Fenelon, Doncaster East Wake-up call for Greens When the Greens members selected Lidia Thorpe over Julian Burnside, a lifelong social justice campaigner, for a Senate seat in 2020, it was a wake-up call for non-members who have voted for the Greens over the years. If the current members want to change the focus of the Greens, they may want to consider changing their name and colour? Leah Billeam, Portarlington Climate crisis is here The human species seems determined to destroy the environment that has supported its evolution over the past 12,000 years (“ Anti-wind farm lobby mobilising across the regions ”, 27/8). With more and more evidence of careering climate change unfolding every day in every part of the globe, the luxury of procrastination disguised as debate is not an option.
Heaven knows what’s driving the anti-renewables/pro-nuclear movement, but it sure as hell isn’t common sense. We don’t have 20-plus years for nuclear energy to save us. The enemy is at the gates right now.
John Mosig, Kew Freedom is priceless Michael Bachelard highlights the problems of wrongful conviction (“ No law to pay for injustice ”, 24/8). He cites Geoff Ferguson and Lindy Chamberlain who “suffered one of the greatest injustices the state can impose a citizen: the wrongful removal of their freedom”. Ferguson and Chamberlain spent two years and just over three years respectively in custody before they were released.
More recently, Kathleen Folbigg was in custody for 20 years before her release. By contrast, Jason Roberts (for whom I acted as a solicitor from 2014-20) spent almost 22 years in custody for the murders of Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rod Miller. The Victorian Court of Appeal granted Roberts’ appeal against his murder convictions based on “significant police misconduct” involving “fabricated evidence” and “reprehensible conduct by the investigating police”.
Roberts was acquitted at a 2022 retrial. It has been reported that Roberts is suing the state of Victoria for compensation and he should be able to prove that the police acted with “malice” and “corruption”. As lawyer Jeremy King stated: “All the good cases settle.
” However, no amount of money can compensate for the decades he spent in prison. Simon Moodie, Carlton North Gambling harm real I can, from personal experience, tell you that gambling has devastating effects on families. Imagine being taken at the age of 14 years, nine months, by your mother to Coles to apply for a part-time job.
Every cent earned going to feed your stepfather’s gambling and alcohol addictions. For the good of families and victims, please ban all gambling advertising. Name withheld, Newport Voting system wins poll The argument made by David Charles against the Australian voting system (Letters 27/8) is flawed on at least three counts.
First, in Australia, it is not compulsory to vote. It is compulsory to cast a ballot. People can, and do, cast a blank ballot or in many cases adorn it with messages or drawings.
Second, if it is compulsory to cast a ballot, it is illegal to prevent someone from doing so. If this were the case in Afghanistan, I doubt the Taliban would win. Third, first-past-the-post voting allows candidates with very few votes from winning, whereas preferential voting, while more complex, takes account of a larger number of electors.
Juliet Flesch, Kew Still disadvantaged Bravo Barbara Chapman (Letters, 27/8) for pointing out that “universal Boomer wealth is a myth; wealth and poverty are highly gendered in Australia”. As a female, married, Boomer teacher in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I experienced unequal pay, no superannuation and compulsory resignation during two pregnancies. The sad reality is that there is still disadvantage for women in the workplace despite advances triggered by feminist protests.
Glenda Johnston, Queenscliff True debt level alarm A secret payment of $888 million to the Metro rail project (“ Labor offers $888m lure to hit Metro build target ”, 27/8) is the latest edition of the Victorian taxpayer being used by the state government as an ATM. Equating to $127 for every man woman and child in the state, this latest blowout will also see the project possibly running a year behind schedule, opening in September next year, while costing even more. And it comes on top of recent revelations that the trains will have to go slow under the hospital precinct to avoid affecting sensitive medical equipment.
Given the May state budget forecast debt to hit an eye-watering $188 billion in 2028, secret payments such as this bring into question whether the true debt level will be much higher. The next generation is set to be saddled with consequences of this. Mathew Knight, Malvern East Disconnect law overdue The rules around the right to disconnect are long overdue.
The ordinary worker has only his or her labour to sell, and giving it away freely disadvantages us all. However, Natasha Hawker (“ Workers will game disconnect law ”, 27/8) is correct in saying that there is work to be done to navigate the new rules. Work that should have been done long ago as the workforce has changed.
Businesses should do the hard yards if they want to continue operating and profiting, and all employees should be well-informed of their rights and responsibilities when working flexible hours and from home. The ad hoc system we seem to be operating under thus far seems to be a bit of a shambles. One example from my own experience was when I wanted to contact my health fund about rehab after surgery.
Repeated phone calls by me went unanswered until I finally got someone who told me that the person responsible for my query (which was urgent) was working from home and if she didn’t answer, well too bad, try again. Cheryl Day, Beaumaris Negative-gearing plan With negative gearing to cost the budget and hence taxpayers $165 billion over the next 10 years, can someone explain why it wouldn’t be a good idea to take that and invest it in public housing, either by build-to-rent or build-to-buy schemes? Yes, it may mean bigger government but we need to accept that there are some who will never be in a position to own a home, particularly given the cost of houses, high rents making it harder to save for a deposit, and increasingly more precarious work situations. Anthony Albanese, you like to remind us of your background.
Now step up and offer others the same chance. Rod Eldridge, Derrinallum Airbnb tax sensible Contrary to the nonsense peddled by some, not all taxes are bad. News that, finally, there is to be a modest levy imposed on Airbnb accommodation, where the owner is not present, is good (“ Primary places of residence exempt from Victoria’s Airbnb levy ”, 27/8).
For too long, Airbnbs have drained supply of rental housing in regional towns while also creating misery for neighbours where owners are not there to supervise miscreant party animals. It’s bad manners all round, with owners not satisfied with the generous negative gearing tax concessions plus capital gains discount still allowed. Surely, there’s a fair principle we can agree on, whereby property owners should not enjoy a nice little earner, tax-free, at the significant expense of the broader community, in terms of rental housing supply and neighbouring residents who should be able to get a good night’s sleep.
Bernadette George, Mildura A class above Surely, Melbourne High’s insistence that all year 11 students are required to take a VCE humanities subject is a good thing “Just one all-boys school bucks VCE trend, and it’s not private”, 27/8). It may just result in Victoria’s next generation of doctors being able to write legibly. Tim Habben, Hawthorn Peter Dutton A suggested slogan for Opposition Leader Peter Dutton: Make Australia Great Again.
Lindsay Donahoo, Wattle Glen Credit: Matt Golding Golding’s cartoon (27/8) depicting Peter Dutton as a “neveready battery” is unfair. Any schoolkid knows you can make a battery out of a potato thanks to the (electrolytic) acids inside. Ray Peck, Hawthorn There goes another of your nuclear sites, Dutton (“ Coalition to ditch reactor sites if seismic risk too high ”, 27/8).
Latrobe Valley’s Loy Yang is an earthquake area. Michael McKenna, Warragul Anti-wind farm lobby Many countries in Europe seem to embrace wind and solar farms and yet in Australia, there is a select group who see them as threats (“ Anti-wind farm lobby mobilising across regions ”, 27/8). If some farmers think nuclear is the better option, they will still have the power lines and a very long wait.
Paul Chivers, Box Hill North The anti-wind farm lobby sounds like more hot air, something to be avoided at all costs. Phil Alexander, Eltham Furthermore Re “ Labor offers $888 million lure to hit Metro build target ”, (27/8): With the state overburdened by debt from infrastructure projects, the government is like a problem gambler chasing their losses. Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills Many building workers are marching against Labor Party legislation while the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is doing little to deal with the big builders who keep going broke and springing up again, or refuse to fix defects.
Loch Wilson, Northcote After watching Q&A , voting for 16-year-olds should be allowed but not mandatory until age 18. This would allow those who were interested to have their say. Rita Reid, Port Melbourne Finally Re “ Seven’s ‘sexy Santa’ dancers leave staff cold ”, (27/8): So much for the “cultural reset”.
Jenny Bone, Surrey Hills T he Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here . To submit a letter to The Age , email letters@theage.
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