July 11, 2026 — 8:00pmBilly-Bob.Matt GoldingTo submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.A curious stanceRe the article ″⁣PM seeks deal in Pacific and slams China over missile″⁣ (8/7), how curious it is that the prime minister can condemn China over the firing of a ballistic missile, but no such condemnation when the US launched a ballistic missile that landed in the region of the Marshall Islands. Subsequently the Marshall Islands have stated their intention to join the Rarotonga Treaty, which bans the deployment and use of nuclear weapons in the South Pacific. The US has tested 15 ballistic missiles since 2021. The hypocrisy extends to Australia’s participation in the AUKUS agreement, with the plan to buy three nuclear-powered submarines at a cost of $380 billion.Judith Morrison, NunawadingMAD is as MAD doesWhen China can demonstrate that it can hit all of the US with nuclear weapons, we have mutual assured destruction and a chance for worldwide peace. But, no country should have that capability.Roy Olliff, Mont Albert NorthSpell out policiesI welcomed the article ″⁣Wilson outlines her priorities for government″⁣ (11/7). While I believe there is a strong case for a change of government, I think much more policy detail is required. I’m concerned about any back pedalling on moves to adopt renewables (many of these projects require state approval) and the earlier commitment to rip up the treaty with First Nations people. In addition, a clear plan on significantly addressing Victoria’s debt problem needs to be put forward. How can that be achieved if a number of existing taxes are to be reduced?Phil Ritchie, BalaclavaNot serving the publicTelstra made a $2.3 billion profit last year but didn’t replace a $22,000 server – that’s privatisation and profit maximisation in a nutshell.Peter Baddeley, PortlandPatchwork of flawsI was a Telstra IT contractor for many years but not in the past 10. But still I do not find it surprising that old infrastructure, patched way beyond its viable life span, was to blame for the recent outage.The Telstra IT infrastructure map was a hotchpotch of ″⁣legacy″⁣ systems that required other custom-built systems to connect them to each other. Many systems were in service long after their use-by date. For example, the contact database software used by customer relations staff had been modified (patched) so many times the manufacturer was unable to install system version upgrades. Every few months this unique Telstra iteration would be rebuilt to accommodate new requirements and remedy faults.My role was to manage the ″⁣performance support″⁣ documentation. This included standard procedures but most were ″⁣workarounds″⁣ to help front-of-house staff navigate the labyrinth. There were more than 700.Greg Williams, West FootscrayLife sentenceVictoria has made progress on voluntary assisted dying. But there is still a way to go. A category of patients do not meet the criteria for VAD and yet may suffer more than those who do. These are the people who are totally incapacitated, mentally fit, but do not have a terminal illness. As a result, they may live another decade or more, imprisoned in their bodies. This is worse than being in jail; effectively a life sentence.Put yourself in the position of having a serious debilitating condition, zero quality of life and no escape except to wait for an indeterminate and possibly very long time.Professor Peter Seligman, Brunswick WestHousing crisisWell, who would have thought. Rents are already tracking up and forecast to increase dramatically, as a result of fewer investors in the housing market.Maybe some consideration should have been given to that outcome, given we have about 3 million renters. Stabilising the housing market would have been achieved by eliminating the CGT discount and leaving negative gearing in place.The ridiculous surge in house prices happened after the introduction of the CGT discount by John Howard in 1999, and should have been repealed by Kevin Rudd in 2007.Barry Buskens, BeaumarisScourge of servicesThank you, Alison Pennington, for spelling out that privatisation is the root cause of inflation (Comment, 10/7). A wide range of essential services once “a public good made available by government for free or at affordable rates” are now provided by private organisations for which profit is a driving motive.Privatisation is also a major cause of the growing inequality in society. The gap between the super rich and those living in poverty or struggling is growing. Why is $20billion in public money going to private schools every year when state schools are struggling to provide basics? Why are essential services in private hands where self-interest and profit are the over-riding motive?Why are dodgy consultancy firms engaged to take the place of public servants in providing advice to government?I agree that “only long-term structural solution is public provision” but can’t see it happening any time soon as governments of both persuasions have long been in thrall to the private sector. Who will step up to “reclaim the field”?Anne Sgro, Coburg NorthNot so good old daysAlison Pennington shows that wanting to return to the past is not limited to right-wing populists. Her suggestions carry a similar simplistic appeal to ″⁣the good old days″⁣.Pennington seems nostalgic for a time before a ″⁣failed neo-liberal project″⁣ impacted our lives with privatisation and deregulation. Her solution is for the government to ″⁣step up and reclaim the field″⁣ through expanded public provision of essential services. Apart from new taxes, Pennington gives no indication as to how this public provision would be paid for by governments already billions of dollars in debt.The notion that the progressive left can take Australia back to a ″⁣golden age″⁣ of affordable public provision of services is just as fanciful as that of right-wing populists pining for the days when Australia was a monoculture.Rod Wise, Surrey HillsNot a ‘just war’Your correspondent is wrong (Letters, 10/7 ). Donald Trump is not on ″⁣the right side of history″⁣. He started an unnecessary war against Iran that has brought death and havoc. To say it is a ″⁣just war″⁣ beggars belief.Russell Kidd, CarnegieForever solving conflictOn the upside, the renewed fighting between Iran and the United States will give Donald Trump an opportunity to solve his war for the 40th time.Ross Hudson, Mount MarthaThanks, DerrynI was never a fan of Derryn Hinch, but he impressed me during the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety when he visited an unsung hero for the aged in Merle Mitchell at her nursing home in Glen Waverley. It was a Sunday and he brought with him a box of cakes for the staff – knowing how hard they worked to make the lives of our elders significant. Vale Derryn and thank you for caring.Rob Prowd, Box Hill SouthFlush with artRe your correspondents’ opinions on Pam the Bird (graffiti or art?). To quote artist Marcel Duchamp (he of the toilet cistern fame): “It’s art, if I say it’s art!”John Paine, Kew EastFrom our partners