Qantas once a symbol of pride for the nation

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Alan Joyce’s departure from Qantas shouldn’t be the last departure from the company. The chairman and fellow directors have to accept their share of responsibility for the dismal performance of the company over the past several years. Not only was Qantas a once-proud company, it was a symbol of all that was good in Australia and previously stood alongside the best airlines in the world. New chief executive Vanessa Hudson has the job in front of her to restore the company’s reputation and to accept that the company under Joyce’s leadership, together with the board, made some very poor decisions in many areas. I think all of us want her to succeed.
Bruce MacKenzie, South Kingsville

Decision mainly benefits the shareholders
The federal government has failed to explain its decision to shield Qantas from greater competition (“Disclosure call on Qatar flights snub”, 5/9). It’s as if the Keating government’s privatisation of the airline back in the 1990s never happened. The decision as it stands primarily benefits Qantas’ shareholders. It’s not in the national interest. Representing a fundamental failure of competition policy, it doesn’t bear explanation. The government really has no choice but to come clean and reverse it.
Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills

Words used when you want to hide something
The ongoing use of the term “not in the national interest”, in relation to the federal government’s rejection of Qatar Airways’ request for additional flights to Australia, shows that this term joins “commercial in confidence” and “classified” as popular excuses used by politicians when their reasons for doing or not doing something is to be concealed, without legitimate or acceptable excuse.
Ian Usman Lewis, Kentucky, NSW

Did this flight even exist?
Further to the news of Qantas allegedly selling tickets to cancelled flights, I’m reminded that last October I booked flights to LA for three people for June 2023. The flight was scheduled to depart at 10am. Twenty-nine minutes later I received an email from Qantas saying my flight had changed and now the flight would leave at 8.25pm. I did think it was odd at the time that our flight in eight months’ time had changed within 29 minutes of me making the booking, but in light of events this week I’m now suspicious the initial flight never existed.
Neale Meagher, Malvern

Praise for the help and care of Qantas staff
Notwithstanding the current concerns about Qantas management, I would like to convey our positive experiences on a recent holiday to Norfolk Island. I booked the trip online. Melbourne to Sydney; Sydney to Norfolk Island; and return. I allowed at least two hours at Sydney because of the need to transfer us and our luggage to the international terminus (on the opposite side of the airport) and the requirement to clear Customs and Border Force.
I would like to praise and thank Qantas staff from check-in to ground staff and flight crew, who provided magnificent service throughout the journey. In particular, I registered for mobility assistance for my wife well before the travel dates. This put in place a whole chain of communications from start to finish, with marvellous caring staff, providing wheelchairs and motorised carts at every conceivable opportunity.
Rob Davies, Langwarrin

Airline already has a voice to parliament
It is interesting to hear questions being asked about what conversations the government had with Qantas in relation to Qatar Airways’ request for more flights into Australia. Clearly Qantas has a voice to parliament and executive government, which highlights the reality that there are already many “voices” to parliament.
Gary Heard, East Perth

FORUM

The way ahead
The failing profitability of Australia Post suggests a new strategy is called for. I recommend it charges more for its services, reduces delivery times, ignores customer complaints and convinces the government that not allowing anyone else to deliver parcels is good for competition. It has worked wonders for Qantas.
Stephen Farrelly, Donvale

History repeating?
That Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto has announced his intention to vote No at the forthcoming referendum may ultimately transpire to be another case of history repeating itself. That is, as with a previous embattled, moderate Liberal leader, Malcolm Turnbull, Pesutto is likely to learn that appeasing his party’s right will be insufficient to secure him a lengthy tenure as Liberal leader.
Geoff Feren, St Kilda East

Recognition not enough
Indigenous people have told us that symbolic recognition in the Constitution is not enough. For John Pesutto to reject the request to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to parliament in the Constitution, it is once again white Australia insisting that they know best.
Sarah Russell, Mount Martha

Muddying the waters
First it was Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s assertions about the validity of using crosses on the referendum ballot sheet. Next it was his seeming “thought bubble” promise to subject us all to a second referendum should the current one fail. Now he is claiming Anthony Albanese can, with a stroke of a pen, simply alter the referendum question prior to October 14 (“Dutton is wrong on changing Voice question, say legal experts”, 5/9). Is this a case of foot-in-mouth disease, muddying the waters, or treating Australians as fools? Perhaps all of the above.
Jennifer Quigley, Balwyn

Read the Constitution
One of the arguments against the Voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders being embedded in the Constitution is that it will be there permanently, even when it is no longer needed. I wonder how many people have read the Constitution. There are many things in our founding document that are puzzling to say the least.

For example, “The Queen may disallow any law within one year from the Governor-General’s assent”. Imagine the chaos that would ensue if the King disallowed one of our laws. Yet this statement is in the Constitution permanently. I challenge everyone to read the Constitution and am sure you will be amazed by what it contains and by what it does not contain (e.g. the prime minister).

I fear that we will never be able to change our Constitution again as many of the arguments for the No case can apply to any given topic. Just as well we were not the people being asked to vote in the referendums in 1898 to 1900 as the Constitution would not have been approved and we would still be in our separate colonies.
Pauline Brown, Woodend

Like a marriage
When my husband and I married 35 years ago, we signed our “constitution”, the marriage certificate. We didn’t have the future all laid out. We didn’t know we would both be diagnosed with cancer. We didn’t know how much money we would have or that my husband would change his profession four times. We didn’t know how many times we would move house or if we could afford one in the first place. We hoped that with hard work we could live healthy, happy and fulfilled lives. All we knew was that once we had signed our constitution, our mutual intent was to care for, respect and support each other, and then we stepped into the void that was our life together. The Uluru Statement from the Heart was the marriage proposal, and the Voice to parliament is the marriage ceremony. The way we, the Australian people, step into this marriage is based on our intent to make it work. It’s that simple.
Rosie McMahon, Gisborne

Dutton is right
I do not know what the motives of Peter Dutton are, but I agree with what he says about the proposed Voice, and I have never been on the conservative side of politics.
Margery Renwick, Brighton

End this myth
Although some may have ideological or political reasons for doing so, particularly in the current febrile climate of the Voice referendum, surely it’s time to stop perpetuating the misinformation that Indigenous people were ″⁣counted as fauna″⁣ (Letters, 4/9). Aboriginal people in Australia have never been covered by a flora and fauna act, either under federal or state law.
Deborah Morrison, Malvern East

Feel-good ad fails
For a Yes advertising campaign to make a difference, to help make up minds and change minds, it needs to be powerful, informative, thought-provoking and prompt debate. Sadly, I don’t think the nice, comfortable, feel-good commercial they have made will do much.
Ron Mather, Melbourne

Leading by example
The Victorian Yoorrook Justice Commission has asked for Indigenous oversight of numerous areas of concern to Aboriginal communities (“Push to end justice system ‘pipeline’ for First Peoples”, 5/9). The powers and funding requested relate to child care, changing the age of criminal responsibility to 14, and banning detention for those under 16. The Koori court would deal with child custody and diversion systems and similar matters.
These are the sorts of issues that the Voice could address at a national level, disseminating solutions shown to be effective and economically sound around the nation. Will it be a success? We won’t know until we give it a go.
Peter Barry, Marysville

Careful who we cancel
First Alfred Deakin, then William Walkley. Who’s next? Perhaps one of Australia’s best-loved prime ministers, John Curtin: ″⁣This nation will remain forever the home of sons of Britishers who came here in peace in order to establish in the South Seas an outpost of the British race.″⁣ (Speech to the House, December 16, 1941)
Peter McGregor, Sandringham

Stop the spending
The article on sluggish spending (5/9) portrays this as a negative. Isn’t this the way we should be heading if we are serious about mitigating climate change and environmental impact? And it has bolstered the case for the Reserve Bank to hold interest rates steady.
Peter Seligman, Brunswick West

A green opportunity
Open space is valuable, so is eco-housing, why not combine the two? (“Golf course leaves residential zone plan mired in the rough”, 5/9) Surely the residents and the council can find a developer that could retain a healthy percentage of the open space of the disbanded Kingswood Golf Course and make the housing element of the development a showcase for environmentally sound living.
The residents’ concerns are well-founded. Far too often such golden opportunities are handed over to developers whose prime aim, regardless of the claims of their brochures, is to maximise profits by squeezing as many home units onto a parcel of land without concern for its local amenity.
John Mosig, Kew

Good reason for an SUV
My wife has a small SUV and I have a medium-size SUV. We have been fortunate enough to reach the wonderful age of 80, but back problems make it difficult to get in and out of the average small car. Maybe I need to put a sign on our cars to explain this to those criminals who let tyres down.
Leigh Marshall, Torquay

Worry about fumes
I am fortunate to be one of the rare few who walk their children to school. But the traffic congestion, idling cars and exhaust pollution problems aren’t lost on me (“Call for car clampdown at schools to cut fumes”, 4/9). I worry daily about the impact of toxic fumes on my children’s developing lungs. School zone traffic restrictions and anti-idling laws that get us out of our cars and back onto active or public transport may be just the medicine we need to boost the health and wellbeing of our kids.
Amy Hiller, Kew

Prevention is best
The Age rightly highlights the unacceptable delay that hospital ramping has caused in treating some hospital patients experiencing heart attack or stroke.

The Heart Foundation is concerned that any delay in treatment of an emergency cardiovascular patient experiencing a heart attack or stroke could lead to a more difficult recovery, disability, or even death.

While increased investment in emergency department capacity is immediately needed to support both staff and patients, we must also invest more in preventing cardiac events in the first place.
We encourage all governments to invest more in prevention of cardiovascular disease as well as emergency care. This includes targeted cardiovascular screening programs, continued focus on strengthening tobacco control measures, and addressing systematic barriers to healthy eating and exercise. Unless the whole system is properly repaired – with a focus on prevention before cure – nothing will change.
Chris Enright, Victorian general manager, National Heart Foundation of Australia

A united front
God speed to the politically mixed group of Australian MPs who are off to the US to meet with Democrats and Republicans this month to request the release of Julian Assange (“Cross-party group of MPs off to US to lobby for Assange’s freedom”, 5/9). Maybe they will all also learn that they can just agree as humans.
Barbara Fraser, Burwood

Snail mail campaign
If everyone wrote and posted one letter/card a week the snail mail section of Australia Post would flourish, jobs would be kept and people would once again enjoy checking their letter box. I am going to start by sending my next letter to The Age by post!
Margaret Collings, Anglesea

AND ANOTHER THING

Credit: Matt Golding

The Voice
If you don’t know, don’t vote. Be honest and write “don’t know” on your ballot paper. It is unconscionable to determine the future of Australia through ignorance.
Louise Kloot, Doncaster

Most Australians love John Farnham as a singer/entertainer, but with respect, he’s not needed to advise how to vote in the referendum.
Geoff Lipton, Caulfield North

It seems that when someone offered John Pesutto political advice to not simply be a yes-man, he took it literally.
Phil Alexander, Eltham

We’ve never properly acknowledged that our fears about Mabo were unfounded. No wonder we’re sitting ducks for the Voice scare campaign.
Bernd Rieve, Brighton

Still waiting to receive the Yes/No arguments in the mail. Still waiting … waiting …
Frank Flynn, Cape Paterson

Furthermore
In the ’50s at Mildura High School, we had four school houses – Chaffey, Hopetoun, Deakin and Sturt. Thank goodness I wasn’t in Deakin.
Tris Raouf, Hadfield

May the future judge you the way you judge the past.
Paul Spinks, South Geelong

Rock band KISS may struggle to rock and roll all day.
Ian Macdonald, Traralgon

Now that the American terms “off-ence” and “dee-fence” have achieved such widespread acceptance in our national game, I can’t understand why we are referring to the finals series as “finals”. Shouldn’t we be having “play-offs”?
Graham Bridge, Morwell

Australia let us all “reJoyce”. The once great flying kangaroo is under new management! Let’s hope it regains its past glory in leaps and bounds!
Myra Fisher, Brighton East

Snail mail will always get my stamp of approval.
Claire Merry, Wantirna

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