Scott Morrison’s criticism of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rings hollow, to put it mildly (“Delusional and cheap’: Scott Morrison launches at Albanese over swipe on antisemitism”, January 21). This from a man who undermined our transparent democratic process by adopting multiple ministries; who took part in the creation and enforcement of the egregious, illegal, robo-debt program; whose outspoken railing against China, implying it was to blame for the COVID pandemic, seriously damaged Australia’s relations with an important trading partner; whose denial and politicisation of climate change set him at odds with many international contemporaries; and, among much more, whose failed leadership at the local and international levels finally led to a well-deserved, humiliating defeat in the 2022 election. Frederick Jansohn, Rose Bay
Is this the same Scott Morrison? The Morrison who alienated China, the Morrison who brokered the AUKUS deal, the Morrison who ignored our Pacific neighbours, the Morrison who secretly took over various ministerial portfolios? The expression “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones” comes to mind. Ken Pares, Forster
Morrison’s attack on Anthony Albanese for weak leadership is a bit rich. I’m sure most people can still remember his holiday to Hawaii in the midst of the bushfire disaster, advising us that he doesn’t hold a hose and declaring that Australia wasn’t in a race to acquire vaccines during COVID (among others). It appears self reflection is not one of his strong points. Denis Minehan, Cooma
Show of restraint
Can I offer congratulations to Opposition Leader Sussan Ley for resisting the urge to blame our PM for the recent spate of shark attacks. This shows remarkable restraint and, perhaps, a willingness to change from her usual reflexive negativity? Let’s hope so. Tim Parker, Balmain
Mystery files
With all the coverage of the Greenland issue, I wonder whether this is another distraction from the elephant in the room, the Epstein files (“Trump ups ante over Greenland”, January 21)? The Trump administration has been in breach of the act passed by Congress to release all the files for at least a month now. When are they going to have the courage to confront the administration on this issue? There are a lot of women out there who have suffered dreadful abuse and want the perpetrators brought to justice. Will this ever happen or will there be a new distraction next week? John Jones, Armidale
President Donald Trump is obviously ignorant of the fact that, as the Korean and Vietnam wars and a host of smaller conflicts attest, American ground forces have not completed a successful operation without the assistance of troops from other nations since they captured the tiny island of Iwo Jima in 1945, while sustaining huge casualties. John Lewis, Thornleigh
I get some great laughs reading the news. Wednesday’s Herald includes Trump allegedly explaining in a letter to Norway that the reason he wants to take Greenland is because he was snubbed for the Nobel Peace Prize. Even more Orwellian was when US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent referred to the issue as a “national emergency”. Quote: “Asked what the national emergency might be, he replied that ‘the national emergency is avoiding the national emergency’.” And these people are running the USA? Glenys Quirk, Forster
Looking at the track record of some of the luminaries President Trump has invited to join him on his little committee, I think there is a typo in its name. I believe it was meant to be the “Bored of Peace”. Stephen Driscoll, Castle Hill
Way to Trump’s hurt
In response to Ben Groundwater (“Why I won’t be boycotting the US this year”, January 21), there are good reasons I will be boycotting the US. For centuries, boycotts have been used to successfully pressure governments, companies and individuals, be it for a living wage, better working conditions or basic human rights (huge problem in the US right now). Their purpose is not to change one person’s mind but to arouse and unify the masses, so they, in turn, can force change. So I say boycott the US. Not because you want to hurt the everyday American but because, collectively, it is the only way to make Trump feel the pain – the pain of lost income. No form of protest is going to influence him. He will only be moved when faced with the loss of power or money. Now, let’s talk about boycotting the World Cup. Claudia Alvear, Chiswick
There is really one very easy way Europe can deal with Trump: cut off his money. A number of European countries are what we could call tax havens, with billionaires across the world hiding their money in Swiss banks or tax havens controlled by some European nations. All they have to do is quietly freeze his personal accounts, those of his businesses, family and closest allies. The foreign-policy pundits who say Trump has Europe between a rock and a hard place fail to recognise that Europe has a big card to play. Maybe Trump and co need to be quietly reminded of where their money is. Erin Brady, Woolooware
I know this is a simplistic answer to Trump’s threat to increase tariffs on European countries that oppose his Greenland grab, but why not slap a ban on any trade with the USA for the foreseeable future until Trump backs down? Diplomacy does not work with him. I would urge Australia to also join in this boycott. The Trump government must be taught a lesson. Lynn Nadjarian, Forster
Celebrate and remember
Let this Australia Day be an occasion when the whole nation celebrates as one, with no protests and demonstrations – just a day when we all count our blessings and remember those killed, injured and traumatised by the awful tragedy at Bondi. Surely one year can go by in which we all stand as one. Kaye Leitch, Austins Ferry (Tas)
Time to nurture nature
Chris Pepin-Neff explains that heavy rainfall, raw sewage overflow and a concentration of baitfish, along with warm and brackish water, constitute the causal chain that attracts bull sharks and makes them dangerous (“After the heavy rain, it’s not safe to go back in the water,” January 21). Attacks remain relatively rare but are dramatic, dangerous and all too often have tragic consequences. The immediate question they provoke is how we human beings can keep ourselves safe from such predators. Lurking underneath may be a sense of resentment that our leisurely enjoyment of beach life is being jeopardised. Summer holidays are not conducive to asking the hard questions but there’s no time to be lost for us to rethink our relationship with nature. The real issue isn’t how to protect ourselves from wild creatures and weather, it’s how to keep nature safe from humanity. We simply have to stop poisoning the atmosphere and polluting our waters. That means taking serious and urgent steps to ditch our addiction to fossil fuels and invest all the more in clean energy. Tom Knowles, Parkville (Vic)
Consuming my daily Herald with tea and toast as an actual newspaper has at least one advantage over the digital alternative. The page layout of headlines in print can convey its own story. Page 16 of Wednesday’s edition juxtaposed “We must adapt and learn to live with sharks” alongside “Joining Trump’s ‘board of peace’ would be futile”. Nuff said. Paul McShane, Burradoo
Riley Brown puts forward some spurious arguments about sharks (Letters, January 21). Firstly, culling is not the only way to reduce shark attacks: better education about sharks and their habitat would also work. Secondly, the crowds swimming and surfing at beaches have not remained static over the past 60 years, as he says. Surfing itself has grown hugely since 1966. Thirdly, any person who advocates for environmental responsibility and recognises an apex predator in its own environment is not a do-gooder. They’re just sensible, a la Jane Austen, to the environment. It simply makes sense for humans to stay out of murky waters when sharks are active, rather than cull them. Peter Butler, Wyongah
The front-page picture on Wednesday’s Herald says it all. Two signs on a beach. One says, “Sharks Sighted”, and the other, “Beach Closed” – and in the background, between the signs, are people in the water. Susan Threlfall, Minto
Memories of Marie
Many will grieve the loss of an outstanding woman such as Dame Marie Bashir this week (“Dame Marie Bashir, first female NSW governor, dies aged 95” January 21). For us, she was a really special person. In 2011, our daughter, Jenna Donley, a student of Veterinary Science at USyd, was killed by a charging elephant in Borneo. Our daughter, an ambassador for the health and well-being of all animals, strove to be the best in her field. As the Chancellor of the University of Sydney, Dame Marie Bashir presented the degrees to the veterinary science year of 2011. The great hall was packed with students and their families. I had been asked to receive my daughter’s veterinary medicine degree in her absence. When the roll came to my daughter’s name Dr Bashir, who was obviously familiar with what had happened, gave me her warm hand and said some very kind words to me as we turned to face the audience, who were all standing. As Jenna’s mother, I will always be grateful to Dame Bashir for being so empathetic and gracious. A more kind and intelligent woman would be hard to find. Liz and Peter Donley, Bangor
Vale our national treasure Dame Marie Bashir, a lady who earned our upmost respect through her ethics, hard work and dignity. One incident I remember well in 2005 while attending the City Recital Hall to see soprano Emma Kirkby. During the performance a fellow soprano collapsed on stage, and within seconds Professor Bashir, had leapt onto stage to help. We can add agility to her many attributes. Catherine Murray, Wentworth Falls
Power and passion
Tributes will be rightly flowing for Rob Hirst, Australia’s greatest rock drummer, as well they should (“Peter Garrett joins tributes as Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst dies aged 70”, January 21). As a gigging muso back in the day, I had never met or worked with Rob, but I can share one small story. In early 2017, word got out that Midnight Oil was doing a warm-up gig for their upcoming world tour at Marrickville Bowling Club. I jumped in a cab on the chance I could catch such a magic moment. When I arrived at the club, there were kids everywhere, mums and dads in daggy shorts and thongs, sausage sizzles and meat raffles, but on the stage was the unmistakeable line-up of Vox amplifiers and that iconic Ludwig drum kit that was synonymous with Rob Hirst. As we huddled around the front of the stage and the band drifted out, there was a young child standing at the front of the stage. Rob came forward, drumsticks stuck in the back of jeans pocket, knelt down and greeted the kid, asking if he was okay. He then looked around at the gathered fans, and announced: “Hey guys, let’s all please be mindful of the kids here, okay, and give them heaps of room. Look after them, please.” As much of Rob’s towering musical history will live forever, that moment is a lesson in how a real, compassionate and down-to-earth human behaves. Vale, Rob Hirst, and deepest condolences to his family and friends. Nick Andrews, Bellevue Hill
Timely warning
Bronwyn Haasdyk, your letter clearly warns anyone against considering a career as a medical researcher or academic (Letters, January 21). More’s the pity, as such professionals are essential workers striving to help countless others. You also show it’s an extra tough choice for women. What a tragic state of affairs. Your pleas for the prime minister to release more funds is simply a no-brainer. Jennifer Fergus, Croydon
True cost of coal
Keeping 43‑year‑old Eraring coal-fired power station open as an “insurance policy” is costly and risky business (“Nation’s largest coal-fired power plant closure delayed by two more years”, January 21). Coal stations broke down 128 times last summer, often triggering sharp spikes in power prices. And coal pollution is costing us in both climate impacts and healthcare every year. Propping up ageing generators isn’t energy security – it’s a reminder why we can’t afford any more stalling in the shift to renewable energy. Larni Dibben, Glen Iris (Vic)
Extending the life of Eraring for a second time might be necessary to avoid the risk of a catastrophic power failure, but it will do nothing to cut people’s energy bills or the state’s emissions. Only a rapid transition to renewables will do that, and the faster we get on with it the better. Ken Enderby, Concord
Enforce e-bike rules
Politicians love making new laws but seem less concerned with enforcing them. Before creating impractical new registration and number plate rules for e-bikes, how about enforcing the laws as they exist now? Maybe instead of standing around observing peaceful protests, the police could dedicate some resources to ridding the streets of illegal, high-speed, throttle-driven “motorcycles”. We might then discover that the problem has largely been eliminated. Tom McGinness, Randwick
Gun dealers payday
A little-known downside of the gun buyback scheme after Port Arthur was that some gun dealers and stores were offloading all the old stock they hadn’t been able to sell in years. A golden egg moment indeed. John Swanton, Coogee
Money laundry
The headline about an alleged NDIS fraudster (“Claims of dirty cash in pants drawer”, January 21) is much preferable to the obvious alternative, though both might benefit from a good wash. John Elder, Brisbane (Qld)
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