Real talk on education

James O’Neill writes: Re. “You what, Prime Minister?” (yesterday). Why is the education debate so circumscribed? The Scandinavian countries have among the highest educational standards in the world and they have no private schools. Why can we not have an intelligent debate about that? Or are we so beholden to the special interests that that too is off the table?

Turnbull wants to turn Australia into the US

Les Heimann writes: Re. “State income tax: a political problem in search of an economic solution” (yesterday). PM Turnbull conjures more tricks each day; the “health rabbit” one of his latest, launched amidst sparkles promising tens of thousands of chronic health sufferers not needing to visit multiple GP’s.

Utter rubbish, of course. Patients in this category in the main are the victims of public hospital no-choice doctor lottery and if they can afford a GP they go to the one GP. All this is an utter nonsense and a waste of time. However, it does demonstrate an appalling lack of political nous even considering this crazy nonsense.

Turnbull is equally inept when it comes to his infallible belief in himself being able to woo the punters with oh so clever verbiage disguising his true intentions. How could he believe that we would believe we would be better off if he gave taxing power to the states?

The net effect of state taxation is somewhat akin to the US model, that paragon of free-market economics, and if it ever came to pass would inevitably mean more taxation and a competition between states to woo people and money.

These nasty packages wafting from the Turnbull wand almost on a daily basis smell rotten. Utterly in tune with his belief that we live in an economy not a community.

Turnbull I believe sees himself as the prince of freedom. Freedom to pillage and divide, to raise the few up and cast the multitude down. Freedom to allow the market uber alles and create our own USA rust belts and $6 an hour workers.

And to encourage a nasty, divisive, expensive plebiscite shirking his responsibility.

Who was worse, Abbott or Turnbull?

Soon we shall choose.