Farewell Philip Lowe,it’s such a shame that he wouldn’t continue as governor of the RBA. He may have made a mistake by telling the country that the interest rates will not rise until 2024,but he has done an outstanding job as the governor during the preceding difficult period. By appointing Michele Bullock,the current deputy to Dr Lowe and first female appointee,as the new Governor of the RBA,the government has at least avoided the perception that its decision will impinge upon its independence.Bipin Johri,Epping
Dutton’s comments about Treasury and Finance Secretary contenders for the Reserve Bank Governor role show he has not learnt a key lesson from the robo-debt royal commission (“”,July 14). His comments suggests he sees the relationship between a minister and head of a government agency as a political one. A potential prime minister should not expect senior public servants to behave as political partisans rather than as public servants. We need politicians to support the challenging role of public servants,who serve both the government of the day and the Australian community. I urge our politicians to value an impartial public service that is apolitical and provides government with advice that is frank,honest,timely and based on the best available evidence.Rick Sondalini,Balgowlah
New RBA Governor Michele BullockAAP
Breaking bipartisanship on this important appointment,Dutton has shown that he is not fit to be the leader of the Opposition,let alone prime minister. Imagine Labor opposing any appointment publicly – LNP and its media mates would call Labor “unpatriotic”. If Dutton thinks he can continue opposing anything the government does,no wonder they are called “Noalition”.Mukul Desai,Hunters Hill
What a fickle nation we are. Philip Lowe wasn’t on the hit list while interest rates were at record lows and there was deafening silence all through those years of the property investment bonanza this generated for some. But staying within his professional role,Lowe resisted calling out specific policies that were ultimately to the detriment of our society,and led to our housing,rental and inequality crises. It was the RBA Board,not Lowe personally,who incorrectly predicted sustained low rates. A new governor will not change or reverse the dire place in which we now find ourselves.Robyn Dalziell,Kellyville
Peter Dutton could go down as the greatest opposition leader ever. He opposes absolutely everything;he even outdoes Tony Abbott.Mark Nugent,Lugarno.
Confidentiality can promise justice
Despite how angry I feel towards the people who engineered robo-debt,the decision to have a sealed section hiding the names of people recommended for prosecution is the right one (,July 14). Once those names are out there,those named may hide evidence,move assets or do other things that could get in the way of a successful outcome for legal authorities. Hiding their names is more than they deserve,but it offers the best chance that justice will be served.Jeffrey Gabriel,Gladesville
Scott Morrison was one of the architects of robo-debt.SMH
The first evidence of robo-debt misfeasance trickled out in early 2017. Any government member who didn’t immediately demand a full and exhaustive investigation shares responsibility for the scheme with the ministers responsible for the design and implementation.Graeme Finn,Summer Hill
I see Peter Dutton is defending Scott Morrison with the old “presumption of innocence” call. Is that the same presumption of innocence not afforded the robo-debt victims,or a different one?Peter Davies,Kingscliff
So Dutton claims Morrison should be given the benefit of the doubt about robo-debt because “we don’t find guilt before innocence”. Pity the same lofty standards weren’t applied to the hundreds of thousands of victims under Morrison’s scheme,where the onus of proof was totally reversed.Alex Varley,Dulwich Hill
While I respect the robo-debt commissioner’s decision to keep details of possible corruption and illegal behaviour confidential,I am reminded of Labor’s decisions in relation to the federal ICAC. It criticised the Coalition’s initial model due to its being held in secret. When it passed the act,it agreed to hold matters in secret.John Rome,Mt Lawley (WA)
Cathy Wilcox’s wonderful cartoon (,July 14) made me laugh out loud at Morrison,but his continued presence in parliament is an insult to the many survivors of robo-debt,and the families of those who didn’t survive this vicious assault on half a million Australian people by their own government.Kevin Fell,Cooks Hill
Bunch of mongrels
Every time some proud dog owner bends my ear about their groodle,spoodle,cavoodle,labradoodle,puggle,cockapoo or dalmadoodle,I just say “Oh,you’ve got yourself a mongrel” (,July 14).
Bill Young,Killcare Heights
Sonny is a border collie-poodle cross,otherwise known as a bordoodle.Supplied
It is not only designer dogs that cause an enormous amount of wastage. Most designer products have a short life span once the newer,replacement product is marketed.Joy Cooksey,Harrington
Dunny data
There is only one acceptable use for a toilet door and that is to display a garish yellow Valhalla cinema guide (,July 14). Thousands of share student house cubicles in the ’80s had blu-tacked a ragged sheet in smudged typeface,a way to plan a midnight trip up Glebe Point Road to see Koyaanisqatsi or Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!Allan Kreuiter,Roseville
As most males stand with their backs to the toilet door it would make more sense to paste their lessons above the cistern.Helen Robinson,Killcare
When in Rome
We are now told (“”,July 13) that there are specific rules for drinking coffee in Italy. It seems that little has changed since the 4th century,when the Bishop of Milan advised “When in Rome,do as the Romans do.” Then you won’t get into trouble.
Frank Johnson,Peakhurst
Developing situation
Little wonder that the development industry has ended up in trouble (,July 13). It is right that the building commissioner applies strict inspection of projects before occupation,particularly for high-risk and high-rise residential. However,the contract between developer and owner usually does not provide for retention of a percentage of funds to cover possible defects. The cost of the retention can be included in the contract price and can be considered de facto insurance against non completion – this sound commercial practice worked well until private certification was allowed. It is not surprising that now there is a legal stalemate around occupation. Defects must be corrected,but there can be no money to correct them and the form of building contracts needs to be better structured to protect the public. At least,certifiers need to carry out necessary inspections as the work proceeds and be paid by the owner,not the developer. It is important to get this right before the current government policy for more high-density housing is rolled out.Les Reedman,Cooranbong
Out with the old
Sean Carney’s piece has rightly been met with thoughtful comments fromHerald readers. I regret,however,that most seem to have missed what seems to me the most important of Carney’s observations,that “the political system is mostly about politicians and their parties.” Few businesses last for a century or more,and with the most junior of our traditional parties of government,the Liberals,far from sprightly at 80-odd years old,our political parties are mostly institutionalised,sclerotic,and interested only in office. Internally they reward yes people,and externally rely on “donors” as their membership bases have declined.
Carney properly notes the ongoing failure of successive governments in addressing environmental,housing and social justice issues,but the truth of it is that the institutional parties have demonstrated time and again they can’t make the changes we need. We face a number of incredibly serious challenges as a society and a world,and reinvigorating our democracy is surely vital if we’re to address the key issues of our future.Colin Hesse,Marrickville
The time is now
There will still be many people who will either choose to disbelieve or ignore the warnings made very clear in the article “”,July 14). Reducing the burning of fossil fuels and their greenhouse gas emissions is now vitally important. The experts and authorities are unanimous:there is no time to lose. Serious action is needed now.
Douglas Mackenzie,Deakin (ACT)
The world media network is highly adept at vividly documenting the dramas wrought by global warming. However,is the populace suffering from being overwhelmed by the spectacle itself rather than considering the existential consequences for all the planet’s inhabitants due to climate change? The majority of urban residents in Australia are relatively isolated from catastrophes – many are simply remote viewers of drought,flooding scenes and bushfires. But these incidents must be linked to the urgent need for climate action by politicians and the broader community.Roger Epps,Armidale
Cost of war
How dare British defence officials accuse Ukraine of not showing enough gratitude for the billions of dollars being spent on the war against Russia (“”,July 14)? Why don’t they thank Ukraine instead for having to fight this war on its own,so it does not spread to the rest of Europe and beyond? Or why not thank all those Ukrainian soldiers for having to pass over Russian landmines,only to have their bloodied body parts strewn over the battlefield? Surely the infinite cost of their sacrifice deserves our deepest gratitude.Vincent Zankin,Rivett (ACT)
We never learn (“”,July 14). When there is a war,there is generally escalation and the outcome is generally brutal and futile. We as a nation seem magnetically attracted to coat tailing the US whenever aggression pops up anywhere in the world. If people are concerned about cluster bombs in Ukraine and the alarming pronouncement that Ukraine will support us if we are attacked,perhaps we should be thinking twice about diving into Morrison’s AUKUS coalition,and rather listen to groups who are suggesting a better way.Alison Stewart,Riverview
Home truths
Ordering staff to return to work at the office will bring additional costs to those who have been successfully working from home over the pandemic years when ordered to do so (“”,July 14). Additional costs to those staff will include extra time spent in travelling to and from the office,on average between two and six hours,and the transport costs of the journey to and from the office,including tolls. I was certainly surprised at the cost of tolls – it recently cost me $25 each way just for the Sydney bit.Mitch McTavish,Cootamundra
Those heads of business insisting employees return to central offices are clearly not among those people forced into far distant and poorly serviced suburbs who are required to find the time and money to commute. I imagine making it to the office is a lot easier when you live 10 minutes away and can rely on the nanny to make lunches and get the kids to school. There might be less objection to their demands if they directed some of their collective acumen to the fundamental problem – affordable housing closer to CBDs.Gary Stowe,Springwood
Local labels
Australian producers need to develop their own naming system for products derived from European regional styles (,July 14). Perhaps Shampers for traditional sparkling,Betta (because let’s face it,it is) for Australian feta-style cheese and Parmie for the hard cheese.Bart Fielden,Lindfield
The solution to the EU wine varieties whinge is to spell the names as Australians pronounce them. For instance:Burgndee,Cabin A Savinon,Bordoh,Shardinay. Then we still know what we are getting and the EUs are as happy as they ever are.Bryce Templeton,Mudgeeraba
Grounds for appeal
North Sydney Council accepted just one complaint to disallow Tony Morgan to serve coffee from his outdoor coffee machine (“”,July 14). There must be a right of appeal to be heard for Morgan as he has been operating for a while without any issues.Peng Ee,Castle Cove
Boisterous voice
A coalition of business groups can pay for a full-page ad in theHerald expressing concerns about proposed industrial relations legislation – exercising their voice to parliament. The government can ignore them or heed their voice. Is there an analogy here?Tom Meakin,Port Macquarie
Postscript
Not since he escaped the 2019 bushfires to sip mai tais on a Hawaiian beach has Scott Morrison featured so heavily in the letters pages. The adverse findings against him in the robo-debt report have brought a huge response.
Glebe’s Howard Charles wrote that “from Tony Abbott’s cruel 2014 budget,through Morrison to Stuart Robert,this canker prevailed. I often wondered why these overt Christians could be part of an inhumane,heartless and soulless scheme. They didn’t even preach humanity for their fellow human beings,let alone practise it when it came to robo-debt”.
Pam Hawkin of Lakemba expressed a popular view;a wish that “all those who were a party to this disgusting and abusive chapter get their just deserts”.
Newtown’s Roger Tonkin channelled our former PM,exclaiming “how good is robo-debt? How good is the member for Cook?”
Later in the week,it was a story about Sydney suburbs and dog breeds:“?” that attracted the most eyeballs. Robin Love of Rozelle was dismissive of the findings that oodles dominate middle-class Sydney. “The cavoodle clusters are so pandemic. This year the Havanese is the favoured dog on our side of the latte line.”
This is my first public appearance in theHerald’s letters pages as I started as Deputy Letters Editor just a few weeks ago. In the interests of full disclosure,I should declare my biggest prejudices up front. I’m formally against the Oxford comma,needed a full briefing on the rules of cricket from Matt Wade and on the most important issue of the week,have very firm views. I’m Team Cat.Margot Saville,deputy letters editor