The neoliberals are showing that they are not up to this vital task

Angus Taylor and the Libs have learnt nothing from the past and have no plan for the future (“The cards are not in Taylor’s favour”, February 16). When they speak of cutting government spending and “waste”, they really mean austerity. How has that worked out in the past 50 years for those on low incomes, pensions and disability? The neoliberal experiment with “small government” has been a disaster for many in our society. It has been proven that “the market” cannot provide adequately for those in society who are struggling. Only government is capable of providing those support structures and services, and for that to be done we need revenue from a balanced taxation and income streams that are fairly derived from all sectors of the economy. Successive governments have been bullied by big business and multinational corporations into ignoring this need for tax equity. It is this part of the budget equation that needs to be addressed, and no amount of posturing by the leader of the opposition on spending will provide a solution. Tony Heathwood, Kiama Downs

Sean Kelly outlines the three key elements present in a leader capable of making the transition from elected opposition leader to a leader ready to govern: timing or luck, charisma and restraint. If we examine Taylor’s approach to taking over the leader’s role, it was clumsy and lacked timing. In his opening comments, Taylor spoke about standards of living and protecting our way of life, but there was no sign that he had answers. The concern with Taylor’s other approach comes when we look at the focus on the national flag, migrants and reports that privately he wants to limit the use of Welcome to Country. Dog whistling didn’t work for Peter Dutton, and it won’t work for Taylor. In opening remarks as leader, Taylor outlined two choices for the Coalition: change or death. So far, he was right about that. Time will tell if he is up for change. As disunity is death, a potential prime minister must unify the country, not divide it. Geoff Nilon, Mascot

Will the Liberal Party confine Angus Taylor to nine months to get the party competitive again? Elvis Kipman, Killara

Based on what I have read, I’ve yet to see the new Coalition “dream team” express any meaningful thoughts on climate action/renewable energy/energy policy. This whole issue has rated in the top tier of problems to solve for nearly two decades now, and is scientifically confirmed as essential for current and future living standards. Given the soaring cost of insurance, you can include that in “cost of living”. The new “change or die” advocates seem to be exhorting us to “look over there” towards immigration, cost of living and good old Australian values, and hoping a rather large elephant remains in the corner, unnoticed. Brian Jones, Leura

The growing number of climate-focused independent MPs reflects a clear shift in public expectations. Many voters feel the major parties have not yet shown the level of climate leadership required to meet the scale of the challenge. Independents have gained support by offering credible, science-driven commitments where voters perceive a gap. Unless the main parties show genuine intent to strengthen their climate policies, Australians will continue turning to independents who treat the issue with the seriousness that it demands. Ian Falconer, Turramurra

Three elements help to determine whether an opposition leader will succeed: luck, charisma, and whether the opposition leader demonstrates restraint and controls their party to prove they are ready to govern. There is a fourth one, which is most important but found to be wanting in the Coalition: to have strong policies, explained to voters well in advance, so that voters can digest them. A fifth one is hard work: to be out every day with voters rather than polarise voters with culture wars. It is the hardest job in politics, but the leader needs to have resilience, patience and tenacity, and I doubt Angus Taylor has all five to succeed. Mukul Desai, Hunters Hill

Have a close look at Angus Taylor, standing in front of the Australian flag, speaking for the first time as leader of the opposition, his deputy clothed in colours matching the flag. Not an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island flag in sight. Compare that with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who stood in front of all three flags when he won the election. It says a lot. Janice Hull, Katoomba

How long will it take for the Liberal Party to have more ex-leaders than seats in the parliament? Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill (Vic)

Show us the CGT money

Brittany Busch reports (“Taylor calls on PM to work together on spending cuts”, February 16) that the Coalition’s new leadership will seek to “win back a reputation as the party of lower taxes and better economic management”. I support such an ambition provided the lower taxes are directed at those in, say, the bottom 50 per cent of wage earners and those on pensions and other forms of government support. And to pay for such tax cuts (or increased financial support), I would expect a government led by Angus Taylor to ensure the top, say, 20 per cent of earners, and especially those owning million-dollar property portfolios thanks to government-funded negative gearing, have their taxes raised to cover the revenue shortfall. Martyn Yeomans, Sapphire Beach

In his first policy announcement after being elected as leader of the opposition, Angus Taylor showed himself firmly committed to ongoing taxation subsidies to property investors, ignoring the urgent need to assist younger generations into secure housing that won’t break the bank. Taylor’s insistence that subsidies to property investors are the key to resolving the housing crisis flies in the face of 25 years of market failure. Truly, terribly, there is nothing new in the Coalition zoo. Colin Hesse, Nowra

I hope Albo, Jim Chalmers and company run with the touted capital gains tax reform. It’s a line in the sand, and Angus Taylor has already had his hissy fit about it. Screw your courage to the sticking place, Albo, for the good of all Australians, not the privileged few. Barry Ffrench, Cronulla

The companies we keep

Company income is taxed twice in many countries, including the US (“Higher GST, lower income tax urged to lift economy”, February 16). Our 30 per cent company tax rate plus dividend imputation is highly regarded. The narrow base of the GST should be broadened before the rate is raised. The wealthy benefit most from exemptions. The capital gains tax concessions recognise gains and losses are often made over many years. Amending up to 40 years of previous tax returns is too hard. Taxing unrealised income has the same problem. Hyundai and Tesla humanoid robots will start replacing workers in two years’ time. The tax on human worker payrolls should be replaced by a general increase in income tax and GST. Peter Egan, Adelaide (SA)

Here we go again. Another organisation (the IMF) with “tax the poor, give relief to the rich”. If the level of company taxation influenced productivity, the companies paying no tax should be flying. The fact is that, because of mergers, large companies have more income than small countries. They need to pay more tax, not less. Indeed, we should introduce a receipts tax to stamp out tax evasion. Furthermore, the rich who use trusts and other vehicles to avoid paying a fair share of tax need to be stopped. The GST is an unfair (regressive) tax. Whether rich or poor, both pay 10 per cent extra. Those on high incomes love this; much better than paying 40 per cent on income. Barry O’Connell, Old Toongabbie

Libs ignore teals at their peril

George Brandis, like all other Liberal politicians (“Liberals must tackle Hanson head on”, February 16), focuses on Pauline Hanson and One Nation, when the biggest problem is the fact that Liberals are continuing to lose seats to the teals. Not only do the teals recognise climate change for what it is, but if you happen to watch a parliament question time you would find these independents ask far better probing questions of the government than the Coalition, who continually ask the same boring question to try to make a political point.Ken Pares, Forster

In invoking much-loved senator Ron Boswell, George Brandis suggests that a conservative conversation about immigration without trying to be “One Nation lite” or dog whistling to racists requires courage, subtlety and good faith. He’s met Angus Taylor, though, right? Colin Stokes, Camperdown

It’s not often that I agree with George Brandis. But in this case, I think he’s right. Moving away from the centre and adopting One Nation policies is folly for the Liberal Party. David Rush, Lawson

I agree with George Brandis. One Nation is a danger to our democratic way of life, but it is entitled to stand for election, as that is what being part of a democracy is all about. May God help us all.Pasquale Vartuli, Wahroonga

Address gender balance

Your correspondent (Letters, February 16) is being glib and only looking at part of the Liberals’ female problem. We need more female MPs to reflect the gender balance of our society. More importantly, the policies and actions of a party have to be responsive to the concerns of women in the electorate. Tim Coen, Ashfield

Of course we see Liberal women out front. The party pushes the very few they have to the fore, hoping that no one will notice the glaring vacuum within. A cursory glance of the government numbers came up with 16 female ministers, many in the Cabinet. Elisabeth Goodsall, Wahroonga

Your correspondent asks how the Liberals are perceived to have a “women problem” when they have a raft of women in leadership positions in three states, the NT, and the deputy leadership in the federal opposition. The key part of the Liberals’ women problem is, despite all that, the majority of women won’t vote for them. What’s more, a lot of those non-Liberal voting women are relatively young, with many elections ahead of them. Daniel Flesch, Bellingen

Your correspondent misunderstands the term “woman problem” – it refers to the collapse of the Liberal female vote, not the number in senior positions, whom women can rightly see have just been sent in to clean up men’s mess again. Andrew Taubman, Queens Park

How many women have led the federal government when the Liberals were in power? Zero. How many women were appointed governor-general when the Liberals were in power? Zero. In contrast, the Labor Party had Julia Gillard as a prime minister and Quentin Bryce and Sam Mostyn as governors-general. Reg Richardson, Mosman

Boomers budget better

The lack of financial education by parents and at school has evolved for some in today’s society having little understanding of money matters in relation to the lifestyle they endeavour to desire (Letters, February 16). It is not just a lack of budgeting skills but also the constant advertising espousing the “must have” instant gratification types of purchases on ‘no deposit, buy now, pay later’ schemes. The stress associated with ever-increasing debt needs much more attention. For instance, financing a motor car purchase at one time required a 30 per cent deposit, this was reduced over time to the current no deposit consumer lease, and the impact of having a “balloon” at the end of the contract is understood by very few. The power of advertising at particular times of the year such as Black Friday, pre-Christmas, post-Christmas, and end-of-financial-year sales, are all designed to encourage consumers to spend on non-essential instant gratification purchases. And of course the current issue is housing, where a bigger house indicates status within society rather than providing shelter. The conversation always seems to focus on what Boomers have achieved, without analysing how their assets were accumulated with a strict “going without” budget-orientated lifestyle. Bruce Clydsdale, Bathurst

AI: Can we worry now?

A few years ago, I attended a public panel discussion about what was then the early days of AI. I asked one of the panel members, an eminent scientist, if we should be concerned about the so-called Terminator/Skynet scenario. My concerns were met with a dismissive “that would be like worrying about overcrowding on Mars”. Leaving aside the proposition that even one person on Mars could be seen as overcrowding, reading Maureen Dowd’s article (“Don’t worry about it?” , February 16) has left me with a strong sense that my concerns might have deserved a more considered response. It also left me with increased apprehension about the future and a feeling that climate change, as serious as it is, may, in fact, not be the greatest of our worries. Harvey Sanders, Annandale

Here come the drones

Now that the US Navy has realised that unmanned underwater drones are going to be more important in the future than Virginia Class subs (“Shift in US Navy strategy bodes well for Australia’s subs”, February 16), they’ll no doubt be relieved to have Australia as an enthusiastic buyer of their unwanted, outdated, hugely expensive submarines. Richard Tainsh, Potts Point

Age is snow barrier

Being concerned about ageing when turning 40, Laura Prael (“Young enough for TikTok, old enough to sit on a board”, February 16), seems a bit premature to me. Wait until the highlight of your day is the ski lift ticket seller in Japan wanting to check your ID to see if you are entitled to the over-60s senior ticket. I am 76. Ingrid Zoebe, Coogee

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