The appointment of George Brandis as high Commissioner in London is another example of a inadvisable action long practised by both sides of politics.
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The sending of failed/retired/unwanted politicians to "plum" overseas postings is seen by host countries exactly for what they are. The newly minted "diplomat" is commonly a time-server at the end of his or her career, sometimes with little energy to excel in the posting. They often lack the gravitas and the skills to be fully effective in their roles.
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It is also noticeable that politicians seeking a posting avoid the more difficult or socially undesirable locations, but there have been plenty in the past appointed to London, Washington and Paris, and even a couple to the Holy See.
It is both gauche and cringeworthy that the Prime Minister is said to have wanted "a beast" as the next high commissioner in London and that a career diplomat would not do.
This totally misreads what is best for Australia and is an insult to the diplomatic corps.
Politicians seem to regard the diplomatic corps as second-best to political blow-ins, in the very profession where they have probably spent their whole career.
The reverse is much more likely to be true.
The professionalism of experienced diplomats both supports the politicians foist upon them and keeps important agendas on track. Our political leaders should support and develop our diplomats rather than putting them down in the manner that has happened with the appointment of George Brandis.
Keith Croker, Kambah
Council tone deaf
The Yass Valley Council has broken a public promise and voted to go ahead with a sewage treatment plant (STP) for Gundaroo despite overwhelming community opposition and a guarantee by senior staff that council would hold to the results of a survey on the need for the plant.
At a crowded public forum at Gundaroo on October 17 YVC general manager David Rowe stated that a "no" vote by village landowners to the survey would mean there would be no STP. This was in front of council's most senior staff and Councillors Furry, Frost and Burgess.
More than 75 per cent of landowners said "no" on a valid return rate of 60 per cent, strong confirmation that the village didn't want it, so there should have been no more action on the matter.
At the last council meeting councillors voted to go ahead with the plant. This also went against the clear recommendation of council's engineer, Robert Fish.
It is the second time his recommendations for no STP have been ignored.
It's now clear how little notice Yass Valley Council takes of community consultation when making decisions about actions that impact greatly on those communities. It also calls into question the value that councillors place on the advice and public statements of senior council staff.
Ian Jones, president, Friends of Gundaroo Inc, Gundaroo
Thanks for the help
Much industry in my street this morning (December 20) to clear a blocked stormwater line, for which thanks is extended to Roads ACT.
My missive of December 12, "Fix My Street I Wish", resulted in an email the next day from Roads ACT saying road maintenance had responded on three recent occasions, most recently December 4, and had temporarily cleared a blockage of tree roots. Further required work had been programmed.
Even moderate rain has caused the flooding of properties on the lower side of the street for many years.
On March 22 this year I again notified the matter on the Fix My Street website. Despite several subsequent reminders, there was no improvement nor any information to indicate action was being taken.
An original, now late resident, said several years ago drainage in the street had been inadequate since it was established in the early 1950s. It seems unlikely the clearing of tree roots will entirely prevent water inundation from heavy rain. Nevertheless, serious work has been undertaken for which residents are grateful.
Graham Downie, O'Connor
On dangerous ground
Rod Matthews (Letters, December 18) points to areas of gender inequities that "disadvantage" males.
First, they live shorter lives on average than females. Maybe that's because of lifestyle issues such as the amount of alcohol they consume.
Second, they are jailed at a much higher rate. Possibly males commit more offences than women and there are more men than women in positions where they can commit while collar crimes.
Third, men commit suicide far more than females. Could that have something to do with the cultural fact that men in our society are more reluctant to discuss their emotional problems and also, in cases like Vietnam Veterans, many more men than women experienced post traumatic stress given that the military is primarily male?
Fourth, we are told men almost exclusively die in workplace accidents. I wonder if that has something to do with the more dangerous work men do compared with women?
Finally, men "drown at a higher rate than females".
As part of our masculine culture, men take risks while swimming and diving into shallow water and, guess what, more of them drown.
Maybe it would be more beneficial to look at male culture as the cause of death rates rather than "gender inequality".
Paul Kringas, Giralang
Half-cocked on war
In an otherwise rational letter, Terry Webster (Letters, December 22) gets rather carried away when he refers to the White House as being "trigger happy" during the Vietnam War.
The US Defence Department may have been generally "trigger happy" to some extent, but the term could hardly have been applied to presidents Kennedy or Johnson.
Both were extremely unhappy with being in Vietnam and reluctant to increase troop numbers, only doing so more in despair than enthusiasm with Department of Defence advice.
Their White House successor Nixon realised the futility of it all and pulled troops out.
Bill Deane, Chapman
Take their names
So President Trump wants a list of the UN votes. Is he writing his own naughty-or-nice list and deciding who getscoal?
Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill, Vic
Jerking of the knee
The ACT government has a new strategy. Banning events is cheaper than managing them.
The decision to close Lonsdale Street to traffic on the weekend of Summernats is a knee-jerk overreaction to something nobody has considered to be a problem up until now.
M. Moore, Bonython
Hark to the holy whisper of Jesus
Atheists like Greens politicians Nick McKim and Peter Whish-Wilson are enjoying a field day at the expense of Christianity.
Their churlish mocking of Christmas as a "merry non-denominational seasonal festivity" in a recent social media post is reflective of an ever-increasing and, sadly, intolerant secularism taking hold in Australia.
Granted, the royal commission has exposed a wicked underbelly, a cancer that must be removed; but the essence of Christianity isn't its followers – be they ordained or not.
As for that birthday infant, the one whose name we daren't mention lest we cause offence – the essence of Christianity; well, he tends to remain tucked-away somewhere in the basement of our collective hearts: crying, smiling; longing to be cuddled and loved and fed ... merry non-denominational seasonal festivity, anyway. Yet it is this nameless one, this silenced one, who gives voice to the longings of those of us who cannot compete in a world that says, "keep up, or else": the frail, the lonely, the infirm, the strange.
And as powerful and as noisy as the new atheist Grinch and consumerist preachers are, the Christmas child can still be heard whispering : "I am with you: tiny, unassuming; lying at your feet." It is a whisper that alerts us to the beauty and majesty of our humanity; exhorting us to delight in those who cannot keep up.
It is to them to whom Christmas belongs.
Fr Peter Day, Queanbeyan
Memories of a lady
In 1981 I was in an audience being advised by senior members of the Canberra press corps on interaction with the press. One of the speakers commented on Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen.
He recalled that when Lady Flo was appointed to the Senate, members of the corps were ecstatic about the coming opportunities to lampoon her about pumpkin scones and Queensland politics. Their intentions didn't last long; instead, her courtesy caused her to be much respected by the corps.
One of her favourite pieces of advice was: "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."
I recommend that that advice be displayed in a prominent location in Parliament House as a fitting tribute to a genuine lady, and as a reminder to all politicians of the behaviour they should maintain.
Robert Salmond, Melba
Think hard on trinket
Despite Chinese President Xi Jinping's efforts to close down the ivory trade in China by imposing a ban, ("Ivory Power", December 16, pp 26 & 71), trading in elephant ivory apparently still goes on on Laos (especially), Vietnam and the "Golden Triangle" (parts of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos). This trade involves the slaughter of tens of thousands of elephants, a fact of which most Chinese were unaware until very recently, and less than half of ivory buyers or users have heard of the ban.
Let's hope that the steps being taken to stop the slaughter of elephants for their ivory are successful. It would be a considerable tragedy if a magnificent, and by all accounts highly intelligent animal were driven to extinction just for the sake of a few "look at what I've got" trinkets.
Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin
Dutton dressed as ram
John Powers' promotion of the Department of Home Affairs ("ISIS is a savvy enemy", December 20, p23) seems unfortunately necessary in troubled times although his credentials were not stated.
But what worries me is that the authoritarian Peter Dutton, a man notoriously intolerant and disrespectful of criticism or differing opinions, will be in charge of surveillance of those opinions.
Mr Powers says we need to know when communities are "stable".
We have to wonder about Mr Dutton's definition of "stability" and his implied monopoly of patriotism, given that he calls dissenting lawyers "un-Australian" and a Greens senator "an embarrassment to her country" for having complained (correctly) about being spied on.
Surely a person more moderate in tone and respectful of the right of legitimate dissent is required in a position with such sweeping powers of scrutiny and enforcement?
David Roth, Kambah
Royal reality check
Surprisingly, there is much to agree with in Philip Benwell's latest monarchical missive (Letters, December 15).
The obligations of our elected politicians to represent the national interest ahead of their personal and party interests does indeed need reinforcement.
But did he need to so grievously misrepresent the constitution?
The oath that parliamentarians are constitutionally required to swear is only to the monarch – and explicitly to the monarch of the UK in that capacity, not to the titularly separate monarch of Australia.
Contrary to his assertion, the oath does not require allegiance to the constitution.
And it is totally misleading to suggest that this is an oath to the people through the monarch and the Crown.
It is only to the monarch and her successors as the constitutionally titular hereditary rulers of Australia.
The whole structure of the constitution elevates the Crown above the people (subjects, not citizens) notas their representative, let alone their saviour.
Mike Hutchinson, Reid
Blight on our world
I would like to call on Andrew Leigh, my MP, to try to persuade the government, the opposition and the Greens to come together and agree to bring the refugees on Manus Island to Australia.
These people do not deserve the extremely harsh treatment they have received from the Australian government and they are our responsibility.
I have lived in Papua New Guinea and I know it is not a safe place to live; it can bevery dangerous.
The local people on Manus will never accept the refugees into their community. They themselves have very little.
PNG has a 2.5 per cent employment rate. The literacy levels are low, very few get a secondary education.
I fail to see how there is a future in PNG for the 450 refugees who are incarcerated there.
They are simply not safe and they have no prospects.
This matter is a blight on our society and I actually I feel ashamed to be an Australian.
Sue Danaher, Evatt
Stats all, folks
I am impressed that T. Leslie has such clear knowledge on the views of non-respondents to the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey (Letters, December 18).
The way I saw it, the outcome was in fact less than a third (31 per cent) of eligible participants voters voted "no", and 69 per cent either didn't respond or voted "yes".
Still, lies, damned lies and conservatives, hey?
Peter McDonald, Hughes
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