Sydney bashing:

Brad Pace writes: Re. “Melbourne dreams of new airport but Sydney’s still stuck in gridlock” (yesterday, item 9). Last week it was a comment about the maturity of Melbourne’s business environment over Sydney’s, and now we get a comment on the inability to build infrastructure in NSW.

All framed around pie-in-the-sky rubbish around a third airport for Melbourne, which would seem to me to be far less vital than:

  1. A train line from the airport that’s already in Melbourne, and;
  2. A second airport in Sydney that will stop Melbourne visitors from flying around in circles for half an hour every time they visit.

What’s with the Sydney bashing? Is this a Michael Clarke thing? Or is everyone just a bit happy with themselves down there because the tennis is on.

The fact is both cities will continue to grow, and a co-ordinated approach is the only way to go forward. Fast train anyone?

The territories don’t exist, do they?:

Kim Lockwood writes: Re. “Poll Bludger: double whammy for major parties in Qld” (yesterday, item 1). William Bowe gives Anna Bligh the usual unwarranted accolade when he says hers was “still the only parliamentary majority ever secured by a woman leader in an Australian federal or state election”.

Yeah, federal or state. The territories don’t exist, do they? If they did, Bowe (and others who try the same sleight of hand) would acknowledge Clare Martin, who took the ALP to a one-seat majority victory in the Northern Territory in 2001, eight years before Bligh won in Queensland. And Martin turfed out the Country Liberal Party, which had been ruling for 27 years.

Taiwan:

Tom Richman writes: Re. “With China watching, Taiwanese vote for pragmatism” (yesterday, item 12). Often overlooked when commenting on Taiwanese elections is the fact that DPP support is not simply based on its stance on independence but, more importantly, because, as a left of centre organisation, it supports, for example, universal health care, workers’ rights, government  investment in agriculture, education reform and the cessation of nuclear power … all of which were instituted during its eight years in office.