The recent revelation that Australia has been relegated to hoping for three second-hand submarines instead of the promised mix of new and used vessels is a profound humiliation for Defence Minister Richard Marles and the nation. AUKUS has achieved the impossible, uniting opposing strategic camps in complete exasperation.
Advocates of "Forward Defence" are left distraught by a long and uncertain delivery timeline that relies entirely on the whim of a US president.
Advocates of territorial deterrence are dismayed by the massive financial and strategic distraction the program has become.
Washington has clearly prevailed by dictating terms that suit its own struggling shipyards, leaving Australia to ponder its true non-playing-character role in the "alliance". Meanwhile, our posited strategic enemy, which ironically doubles as our largest trading partner underpinning our national prosperity, must be watching this chaotic, multi-billion-dollar charade with amused contempt.
Sub-standard equipment, confusion, and humiliation are now the defining features of Australian defence.
Former ACT opposition leader Leanne Castley has resigned from the Liberal Party allegedly saying that the Liberals had a "toxic culture."
Her performance as opposition leader was mediocre, and her decision to sack former opposition leader Elizabeth Lee and Peter Cain from the party room was unjustified, and appears to have backfired on her.
If a member resigns from the party that they stood for, the member should resign, and the vacancy created filled on a countback, otherwise it would be a betrayal of those that supported them. It should not be allowed to continue.
Leanne, by doing what she did, has ensured that her re-election chances have now been reduced to only two; Buckley's and none. To all intents and purposes she has signed her own political death warrant.
As a result of the recent pay rise granted to workers, some of whom will get a 6 per cent increase, employers and economists have warned of dire consequences and they might be right. There could be some small businesses closing down or worse, outsourcing jobs as Officeworks recently did with hundreds of jobs going to India.
The Fair Work Commission has admitted that despite wage increases many workers are still worse off in real terms, and in fact there are now 3.7 million living in poverty. This is probably a situation created by skyrocketing rents which increased by 5.9 per cent in the 12 months up to September 2024.
But what didn't get mentioned was that Australia's 178 billionaires are $25.7 billion richer than last year and that 44 of those got their wealth through property investment, or putting it bluntly by screwing renters.
Pauline could see the writing on the wall 30 years ago or more, making her a perceptive soul, not self-absorbed ("Pauline has the attention span of a gnat for anything other than her", June 4). The Libs, on the other hand, can't see for looking, despite the fake charity of today staring them right in the face.
Their occasional jabs to the contrary are but soulless expediency, a poor imitation of that which requires selfless conviction. At least the far left proper is openly proud of its insularity, giving even it a lot more heart than the lukewarm Liberals.
Roger Terry thinks I am ignorant of Australia's past, I am not. I am just not going to be made to feel guilty of it.
Are the French feeling guilt because of 1066 and the invasion and decimation of the Anglo-Saxon populace? No.
Why? Because it's a ridiculous assertion. As to a foreign monarch, whether he likes it or not, Charles III is King of Australia, and he has a personal birthday in November and an official birthday marking his ascension to the throne.
But that's me just being ignorant of history.
Big numbers are indeed hard to comprehend (Letters, June 4). This might help; if you go back 1 million minutes from June 1, 2026, you get to early July 2024 (just under two years).
If you go back a billion minutes you are in the first half of the Roman Empire (just under 2000 years).
A trillion minutes back (around 2 million years), human ancestors were beginning to craft primitive stone tools and expand out of Africa.
Another fun fact is that a person with $1 billion making a return of 5 per cent per year on that single billion is growing their wealth by a million a week. No one needs, or deserves, that kind of wealth.
Australia is the acknowledged world leader in legislating to prevent modern slavery, as it leads the world in keeping children safe on the internet.
It seems illogical Australia be hit with a new tariff for its failure to act on forced labour.
The US Agency for International Development has ceased all aid funding going to anti-slavery NGOs and victims of slavery. It has not contributed to the UN Voluntary Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery.
It does not recognise the UN Special Rapporteur.
The United States uses 800,000 prisoners to produce $11 billion of products for the open market. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, except as a punishment for a conviction.
The UN may see this as modern slavery.
The planned deficit in the current US Federal Budget is $1.9 trillion and brings the total national debt to $39 trillion.
President Trump has lost America's AAA credit rating with all three ratings agencies.
Bonds will now need to be offered at much higher interest rates. Higher taxes are urgently needed but are politically difficult.
Tariffs, for whatever manufactured reason, seem to be accepted by voters.
In April, Donald Trump's efforts to replace himself as Jesus Christ in an array of tacky Bible-inspired montage scenes were a spectacular attention-seeking failure. After descending a few rungs on his imagined popularity ladder, he now boasts that he can draw "much larger audiences" than Elvis Presley.
A test of that congregating power (Letters, June 4) would be Parkes trying to hold an annual Don Fest that is dependent on a trainload of Don lookalikes doing awkward dance steps in the corridors for seven hours all the way from Central, and readings from rambling Trump monologues and Truth Social posts being broadcast at regular intervals throughout all the carriages.
Even the most dedicated MAGA supporters on board the Trump Train would most likely want to alight well before they reached the Blue Mountains.
The whole point of the recent budget was to make housing more accessible to young people. For that to happen, prices have to come down. Yet with the drop in auction clearances and apparent house values already appearing, there are people starting to complain.
Are we so selfish as to continue to keep young people out of the market for our own benefit, or are we going to rectify a hugely unfair element in our economy and way of life. This is a test of national character.
I refer to the sad decision by the owners to close the Book Grocer store at Majura Park. Over the years I have purchased many books in store and online with free in store pickup.
As of now I won't purchase any further books from Book Grocer online due to the added cost of the postage. Instead I'll continue to frequent the Lifeline Book Grocer store, Bookfairs and Cantys who continue to support Canberra bibliophiles.
"God is human" opines Mark Kenny, reflecting on Pope Leo XIV's latest encyclical (May 31). But he is reading the Pope's words through the lens of his own worldview.
Christians affirm that God is transcendent, independent of the created order, but also immanent, present and connected to his people.
The human heart as "the place where God desires to dwell" is a reference to this real, not metaphoric, connection.
Sincere Christian conviction does not result in avoidance of responsibility as Kenny suggests, but drives the pursuit of love, justice and peace.
Google suggests that many historians and political aficionados generally rank Robert Menzies, John Curtin, Ben Chifley, Bob Hawke, and Gough Whitlam as among Australia's most respected prime ministers. Imagine Pauline Hanson having a sit-down chat with this group. Please explain?
Zoe Wundenberg says that "The only institution that should ever be responsible for administering public funds is the government itself" (June 2). The ACT government should, therefore, establish a state-owned monopoly enterprise to build the light rail. That way, no "unelected" private companies, as she puts it, would be involved.
Between 17 and 48 people killed and 64 to 97 wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon in a 24-hour period according to the Lebanese Health Ministry (June 3). Israel considers this period a "ceasefire." I wonder just how many people would be killed and wounded if there were not a "ceasefire" in Lebanon right now?
I can appreciate the difficulty Alastair Bridges (Letters, June 4) has trying to conceptualise millions, billions and trillions. It might make it a bit easier to think in terms of something we are more familiar with. So for example, if one million is the equivalent of one month, then one billion is equal to approximately 83 years and 4 months, and one trillion is equal to 83,333 years.
Digby Habel (Letters, June 3) called for the Australian War Memorial to increase recognition of the "Frontier Wars". He fails to appreciate that the role of the AWM, from its conception and subsequently through legislation, is to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the defence forces. Can he name any member of the defence forces ever involved in the colonial conflicts?
Maybe it's about time we put an upper age limit for people to be able to drive. ("Accused driver, 80, set to plead guilty", June 5). There's a reason why there's a lower limit, young people being inexperienced and sometimes reckless. As we get older, we have lots of experience but we also lose many of the faculties required for safe driving including good vision, normal hearing, swift reaction and overall concentration. It happens to all of us.
Abbott and the Japanese subs. Turnbull and the French subs. Morrison and the US nuclear subs. Remind me again who is the main party responsible for the disaster we have found ourselves in? The government needs to bite the bullet and buy the SAAB Kockums subs from Sweden.
I agree with David Richards (Letters, June 1). Migrant nurses who provide a valuable service should not be denied access to benefits. Alas, the policy announced by Angus Taylor specifically excludes all incoming non-citizens from benefits. Will there be any reason for these talented people to consider Australia as a destination?
