Letters: Stuck with ‘the devil we know’?

We live in a society, not just an economy

Our choice at the federal election is between a fundamentally rotten, broken and untrustworthy government and an opposition a little better – potentially a lot better – on the positions of fairness, empathy and people-centric priorities, ahead of business-centric policies.

They also differ in that the government is fundamentalist, in both economic and religious ideology, while the opposition is more varied and far less inclined to allow either religion or business to dominate them or to be integral to the power structure.

For some of us it’s easier to accept that the opposition would at least be more honest and more caring, but it’s easy to understand the rise of independents, as well as those preferring to do an informal vote.

Good luck working out how to cast your vote; mine will go with compassion rather than financial sentiments – although as an economist I believe we live in a society rather than an economy.

Philip Carman, Hovea, WA

Why unemployment stats are open to doubt

Unemployment figures produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics are rubbery at any point in time. Further, there is significant underestimation of the true numbers of effective unemployment.

Structural change to employment and the burgeoning “gig economy” renders ABS measures wholly inaccurate in establishing effective unemployment rates.

The focus of both the federal government and the ABS should not only be on hours worked but also wages earned, referenced against the established poverty line.

Gig workers and services sector employees drift in and out of employment. As a result, workers who draw negligible or no wages from one week to the next are effectively unemployed against the poverty line.

Anthony Albanese could be excused for his mental block. His response was more likely an awkward mental search for a more accurate unemployed rate. Maybe it was a spurious question.

Kirsten Anderson, Toorak, Vic

Albo’s worrying lapse is not the only concern

Given the complexity of managing the economy and all of government, it is not surprising to see an opposition leader not having all facts and figures at hand during press conferences.

However, Anthony Albanese’s inability to recall some key statistics was very disappointing, and it did not inspire confidence.

But equally, based on recent research reported by your paper, it seems that the PM leaves much to be desired in the minds of many voters.

Michael Schilling, Millswood, SA

Rival frontbenches offer a different picture

The media has placed undue but partially justified emphasis on the shortcomings and lack of vision of both the PM and the leader of the opposition.

However, more attention should be directed to the strength, qualifications and abilities of the frontbench in both parties.

The Coalition frontbench is probably the worst in decades, while Labor has an impressive frontbench, as well as an impressive backbench – which the Coalition certainly doesn’t possess.

As Karen Middleton pointed out in her biography of Anthony Albanese, he is little more than a numbers man for the Left in NSW politics, so if Labor gets in, we can only hope that wiser heads on the frontbench will prevail.

Trevor Bail, Deakin, ACT

Holmes à Court’s beef against the Liberals

Reading Lunch with The AFR (April 14-18) with Simon Holmes à Court, it is difficult to see any motive for his actions other than pure spite, in the Malcolm Turnbull tradition.

He is keen to emphasise his falling out with Josh Frydenberg and Angus Taylor, and his subsequent abandonment of the Liberal Party. Why else would he put his candidates into blue-ribbon seats, if not to damage the Liberal Party?

John Brooke, Woodlands, WA

The challenge isn’t just against Josh

Wow! “The Treasurer says you have to leave now” (April 14-18). What an insightful article.

While it says as much about Josh Frydenberg as it does about Simon Holmes à Court, I felt the takeaway message was to be found in the closing paragraphs. The independents’ challenge hasn’t been a targeted attack on Frydenberg but a community groundswell to reinstate the principles of liberalism upon which the Liberal Party was founded.

I see nothing more sinister in Climate 200 than a concerned citizen putting his well-padded shoulder to the wheel to right the ship of state.

John Mosig, Kew, Vic

Merkel’s legacy plays out across Europe

Having been born in Germany, I am still puzzled about German political gullibility. Recent history is repeating itself. This time it was Angela Merkel who seduced her country.

It looks like her plan was to strengthen Russia and weaken Western Europe. It seems her ideology was formed growing up in communist East Germany.

After she had climbed the political ladder in a unified Germany, as chancellor she blocked Ukraine in 2008 from becoming a member of NATO. US president George W. Bush was in favour of admittance, but Germany supported Russia’s position.

Another strategic decision by Mrs Merkel followed in 2011 when she decided to close all seven of Germany’s nuclear power generators, which had operated safely for decades and supplied a third of the country’s electricity. That was the precursor to endorsing in 2014 the doubling of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

Not only did Mrs Merkel make Ukraine vulnerable to Russia and help make Western Europe dependent on Russian energy, she hurt Western Europe by publicly announcing in 2015 to set no limits on the inflow of refugees. When she retired, the consequences played out. Refugees had swamped Europe. Most were not integrating. Criminality is rising. This contributed to Brexit. Russia invaded Ukraine. Sanctions were hampered by dependence on Russian energy. Energy prices skyrocketed.

Everybody blames Vladimir Putin, nobody looks at his handmaiden. She has quietly stepped back. If it was her plan to leave the West in tatters, we can only admire her success.

Gunter Schaule, Balgowlah, NSW

Baggage handling: who is to blame?

Sixty years ago, US president John F. Kennedy was famously informed by a NASA janitor, “I’m helping put a man on the moon, Mr President.“

If the long weekend’s airport baggage handling snafus happened to be the result of slipshod job outsourcing on a grand scale, then our airline moguls clearly have a lot to learn about the people side of their business.

Management pioneer Alfred Marshall wrote way back in 1895 that “highly paid labour is generally efficient and therefore not dear labour”. This pearl has filtered down to us through the ages as, “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.”

Fraser Faithfull, Caulfield South, Vic