Our women in Syria should have support they deserve

I applaud the PM’s view that if they make the bed they should lie in it (“Road to Damascus”, February 21). It completes his transition from left-wing table thumper to national leader. It has a much wider application, though. Smokers with lung cancer, or drinkers with liver disease? No Medicare for you. Speeding and hit a tree? Get yourself to the nearest private hospital. Finally, tell the abusive boss to stick it? No JobSeeker payments for you. Go to a conflict zone and get injured or imprisoned? Suck eggs, sister. Imagine the savings: money that could be better used. David Neilson, Uralla

As a private citizen, Anthony Albanese is entitled to feel “contempt” for the Australians languishing in an increasingly dangerous Syrian camp. But having sworn an oath to “serve the Commonwealth of Australia, her land and people”, he does not have the right to deny procedural fairness and access to the rule of law to these Aussies. No amount of political posturing and tough-speak can cloud his responsibility. Mark Paskal, Austinmer

Our “nothing but contempt” PM, Angus Taylor and Pauline Hanson have finally achieved “cohesion” in beating down on the Australian women and children stuck in Syria. But Australia has, of course, form in this: only five years ago, during COVID-19, we threatened our own citizens in India with imprisonment and hefty fines if they dared to come home to Australia. What a timid and fearful country Australia has become. With the current “leadership”, there is not much hope for improvement. Dierk Mohr, South Turramurra

I fear our PM, Anthony Albanese, is disappointing many of those who put faith in him and his government. With a thumping majority, and the opportunity to prove that his government values kindness and decency, he has stigmatised these unfortunate women and blameless children. Instead of offering them friendly asylum, he has followed the hard right in condemning them. It seems obvious that he has done this in order not to be out of step with the noisy popularist right, who he fears might take some votes away from Labor. The Australian electorate is better than that. Rather than join in the baying throng, he should be endorsing principles contained in a progressive Labor agenda. You’ve failed us, PM. Shame on you. Derrick Mason, Boorowa

Is Australia’s public security so frail that it cannot manage the assessment and support of 11 Australian women and 23 Australian children wishing to return to the country whose passports they hold? Does the prime minister’s expressed contempt for these women extend to the titans of the gambling industry who wreak such destruction on the lives of thousands of Australians and who access the halls of Parliament House with easy confidence? Does this contempt fit with his previously avowed view that kindness is not weakness? Or does it suggest a scurrying to the right, to shore up perceived voter threat? This has been a bleak episode; the moral compass crushed under the marching heel of political expediency. Jon Fogarty, North Avoca

My mother used to say, “You learn from your mistakes.” Paree Hartley, North Sydney

So, when Anthony Albanese says that the girls who went to Syria made their own bed and should therefore lie in it, isn’t he basically saying that women who end up in violent relationships should not try and leave those relationships because they made a foolish choice in going into the relationship? I notice that Tony Burke has expressed similar uncaring, judgmental views about this group of teenage girls who were groomed or coerced into travelling to Syria. And here I was, thinking that this was going to be a nicer, more compassionate government than the other lot. How wrong I was. Catherine Rossiter, Fadden (ACT)

The current leaders of the Labor, Liberal and National parties all profess to hold strong Christian values and morals. Regarding the dire circumstances of the ISIS brides and their children, a simple question: what would Jesus do?Paul Soares, Bardwell Valley

Gutted by rejection

Much of the community is gutted by the UNESCO rejection of the Parramatta Female Factory for World Heritage (“UN rejects Parramatta heritage bid for precinct”, February 21). This is after 15 years of advocating for it with support by amazing Australians including Jack and Judy Mundey and Tom and Meg Keneally, 20,000-plus petitions from all over Australia and internationally, as well as significant state and government support. The reason, we believe, is that its assessment focus was on the institutional care of the submission, not the thousands of women who went through it, or the fights for rights by hundreds of women against military, police and the system, including the first women’s workers action. We are pleading that the state and federal government continue the good work and submit an extension of the 11 world heritage sites to 12, as was done for the Tasmanian wilderness; make it a museum with management by museum experts with appropriate funding. The Parramatta Female Factory Friends have fought for this place. We submitted a successful National Heritage Listing because we believed it worthy, just as we believe in the world heritage value. Gay Hendriksen, president, Parramatta Female Factory Friends

Off to the Tower

There are suggestions that the scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor could be a catalyst for revisiting the question of changing our head of state (“A duke reduced: arrest, prints, cell”, February 21). However, as long as the king of a constitutional monarchy prioritises national duty over family loyalty and reputation, insisting that the “law must take its course” while the president of a democratic republic blatantly flouts justice and disregards all personal responsibility, I reckon that any increase in support for an Australian republic would now be unlikely. Col Burns, Lugarno

Surely there is a traditional and practical solution to the problems raised by the behaviour of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor: have his majesty the King lock him in the Tower, as has happened with previous royal transgressors. Not only will it give those splendidly uniformed Tower jailers a real purpose in life, it should also vastly increase tourism numbers and easily pay for any costs involved. Irving Warren, Riverview

While it is embarrassing in the short term, I believe that Andrew’s arrest demonstrates the strength, importance and ongoing value of the monarchy. Not a single president, elected politician, government official, business magnate, charity advocate or star celebrity has been arrested for their entanglements with Jeffrey Epstein – yet royalty has been prepared to step ahead before all of them to see justice done. Supposedly “progressive” institutions have been put to shame by the monarchy’s meaningful gesture. Robert Frazer, Campbelltown

If Andrew does get sentenced to jail at his brother’s pleasure, we can only hope he isn’t sent to the colonies to serve out his time.Jenny Coote, Woonona

I have great respect for King Charles. One gets the sense that he is a decent human being: a good King. Prince William seems to be cut from similar cloth. So we condemn the behaviour of Mountbatten-Windsor and we keep monarchy. But suppose Andrew had been the firstborn? I imagine that if nothing else we’d regret not having become are public. Gerianne Rudd, Toowong (Qld)

I wonder if he’s sweating now? Patrick McGrath, Potts Point

Put endangered fauna before cats

Every cat owner should be required to read Antone Martinho-Truswell’s article (“Don’t bell the nation’s cats. Make it illegal to own one”, February 21), which is a common-sense blueprint for state and federal governments. Local councils need suitable laws to eliminate cats outside owners’ properties. The killing of 3 billion of our native animals by cats each year cannot rationally be acceptable. Since 1788, immigrants to this country have failed to protect our environment. As custodians, we have a duty to leave this country in a better condition then we found it, for our future generations. Is it time to consider breeding our endangered fauna for pets? Regardless, it is time to protect what fauna we have left by stopping the import and breeding of cats, and thus for our politicians to use their common sense to control and eradicate existing cats found in the public domain. Brian McDonald, Willoughby

Oh, Antone! Think of those poor lonely people whose pet cat gives them a reason to live. I agree, though, that pet cats should definitely be indoor pets and neutered. Where I live, huge feral cats roam the bush and there are thousands of rabbits running around unchecked. They are frequently seen grazing the nature strips and don’t even bother to move when you drive by. This is 20 minutes from the CBD. Baits were put down a while ago to eradicate the foxes, which has helped the rabbits to proliferate. It’s not unusual to see a group of bush turkeys marching down the street. At least the foxes kept the cat, rabbit and bush turkey numbers down. Judith Rostron, Killarney Heights

Antone Martinho-Truswell describes a very alarming picture of feral and domestic cats decimating, if not eliminating, Australia’s native fauna. It’s an emotional, misleading article. Feral cats are referred to with domestic cats. The estimated population of feral cats is 6.3 million, with another 700,000 living in urban areas. Domestic cats number about 5 million to 6 million. Over 90 per cent are neutered. According to Antone, pet cats kill almost 200 animals per cat, per year. What are these animals killed by domestic cats? Because many of the native species under threat live in the regions and the national parks near the cities, we don’t see them in city streets and parks. In fact, in urban areas, cats kill mostly mice and rats, as well as skinks and little lizards.
What we don’t have are bilbies, numbats, bandicoots or quolls – the native species most at threat by feral cats. So before we ban domestic cats, perhaps we could address the problem of feral cats roaming the countryside and killing native animals. Rodney Crute, Hunters Hill

Good luck with that, Antone. Alicia Dawson, Balmain

Another environmental advantage of banning cats would be reduced resource use and less waste through the elimination of their single use plastic, single serve dinners and associated plastic paraphernalia. Karen Joynes, Bermagui

I have to ask; “Why pick on cats?” There are many other sources of threat to native wildlife. For instance, dogs. The biggest threat to our wildlife is land clearing, which destroys habitat. What about the effect on habitat of farm animals? Should we ban cars, which are responsible for many deaths of native animals? Domestic cat ownership provides many benefits to families and individuals, so let’s not foster a pathological hatred of them. Robin Douglas, Cherrybrook

In response to the call to outlaw cat ownership, please note that the inner west, at least, is indeed alive with roaming mammals, but unfortunately, those mammals are rats. The rats are now largely resistant to poison and are no longer taking bait. Cats are an effective line of defence against the rats and should most certainly not be banned until there is an alternative and equally effective method for eradicating rats. Patricia Loughlan, Glebe

Yes, cats need to be contained indoors or in secure areas where they cannot roam. That could be a requirement to owning a cat. Not hard to do, but perhaps harder to enforce. Stray or wandering cats could be rounded up and, if not possible to identify and returned to the legal registered owner, be euthanised. Legal owners who do not contain their cats need to be fined. Yes, I am a cat lover and own one cat, who has never been outside. My cat is affectionate and part of our family. She brings joy and happiness into our home. I think a less emotional approach needs to be taken to resolve this issue. Stephen Wilton, Ettalong Beach

Fear of violence

I understand the trauma of break-in and burglary in the Kempsey region (“The towns where kids wear balaclavas and carry machetes”, February 21). Recently, while working at the Aboriginal medical service in Kempsey, and staying in Crescent Head, I had a late-night break-in. My bag, with cash, keys, phone, and two cars were stolen – video surveillance showed it was four balaclava-covered youths. I was fortunate, as tracking software enabled police to locate my phone and one of the cars. I was only significantly traumatised when I learnt there were golf clubs in the cars, stolen elsewhere, that could have been used if my husband or I had woken, as the burglary occurred in the next room. The burglary was not the traumatic fear – it was the fear of violence. These young people have often suffered repeated episodes of violence in their lives. This is what needs to be addressed. Where are the old police boys clubs where young men are occupied and taught life skills and other ways of dealing with emotions and boredom? Where are the older men leading by good example? Katriona Herborn, Blackheath

Australia-wide request

A wonderful letter about Lakemba (Letters, February 21). Whether we visit Lakemba or not, surely your correspondent’s request not to bring anger and racism with you should apply Australia wide. Lynne Poleson, Kingsford

Lakemba sounds like a great place to visit. A bonus is that Pauline Hanson won’t be there. Kathy Gall, Toronto

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