On the Bruce Lehrmann defamation verdict
Nanette Kerrison writes: The Lehrmann imbroglio (to quote Justice Lee) spells out exactly why anyone with any sense in Australia who is raped is not going to pursue the matter unless they have the means to initiate a tort case, and are prepared to be strip-mined repeatedly by the police and in the witness box.
If the event occurs with any element the media will care about at all, the victim now knows exactly what will happen to them. Do they want at least the next few years of their life, if not the rest of it, utterly destroyed?
Jock Webb writes: I doubt that the self-inflicted injury by Bruce Lehrmann will be any comfort to victims of sexual assault. It is only when Lehrmann was exposed to questions that the house of cards collapsed.
It is absolutely absurd that in such cases an odious villain never had to face a single query in the court while the apparent victim was vilified and pilloried (not to mention all the backgrounding and the double dealing). Was she the sort of woman who might get drunk and do this, etc, etc. Her assailant was not required to answer whether he was the sort of person who might manipulate a woman and break all manner of security rules. How can a jury decide who is telling the truth when one version is untested?
Sam Chung writes: The Lehrmann judgment is a single raindrop in a flood of losses. After the events in Bondi Junction, one has to wonder if law enforcement would ever declare that homicidal hatred of women could ever meet the threshold of an ideology that warrants the terrorism label.
On Albanese’s Future Made in Australia plans
Dave Kershaw writes: This plan will remain a pipedream until several years after we get serious about training many more engineers, scientists and mathematicians, who will be essential to design, build and run these new industries.
After years of neglect in our schools and universities, we don’t even have the teachers available to educate the thousands who will be needed. Not even mentioned in Albo’s plan!
Bill Wallace writes: Albanese is heading in the right direction. Supply lines are so easily broken and difficult to get back to full operation. The reasons can be political, climate change (floods and droughts), pandemics, wars, etc.
What is required is a much more sophisticated and nuanced approach than just looking at strategic minerals and new developing industries. The approach must cover the needs of the defence forces, pharmaceuticals, food supply and distribution, communications, electronics and so on.
This is not an either-or situation. Some of the industries in Australia may be very small but must have the plans and ability to scale up and down as the situation requires as imports dry up due to various causes.
On the Jacqui Lambie Network
Kieran Simpson writes: Even before reading Guy Rundle’s latest on the JLN in Tasmania I knew what was there. Minor parties like JLN could actually do some good for working people. But instead, JLN like PHON, UAP, etc, do a Donald Trump. Use people’s deserved anger over the consequences of decades of neoliberalism to win votes, only to then help the Liberals back into government. All which keeps the wheels of the same terrible policies going around. Until minor parties who pretend to be the champions of working people actually help working people, they don’t deserve your vote.
