Anne Richter, Middle Park

End the terrible cycle of neglect and violence

More than 100,000 Australians are homeless. Many others are kept off the streets only because they are in jail. The majority are under 35, and many have suffered severe, pervasive domestic and family abuse, neglect and violence. Most of the perpetrators were themselves victims of childhood neglect and violence.

Many perpetrators and victims suffer psychiatric and medical conditions, typically a complex combination of several diagnostic categories. Adequate treatment often requires long-term,

co-ordinated care, for which many health professionals lack adequate skills and the required facilities are lacking.

It is shameful that Scott Morrison won office by fuelling fears of tax increases for retirees and job losses for miners, rather than by advocating policies to make wealthier citizens contribute a proportionately fairer share of their wealth to help address the urgent problems typified by the sad story of Courtney Herron.

Dr Edwin Harari, consultant psychiatrist, Fitzroy

Spend on mental health, reduce prison numbers

I wonder whether we would achieve a better outcome for our community if, instead of spending the proposed $1.8billion to expand prisons in Victoria, we diverted that investment into the mental health budget.

Vivienne Kane, Hawthorn

The terrible decision to close psychiatric hospitals

The Victorian government needs to build homes for the homeless and repair the terrible damage done by the Kennett government when it closed our major psychiatric hospitals. Successive Labor governments have not repaired the damage.

Some people with mental health issues know that they need help and just want "a safe place". Others might require involuntary secure accommodation. Victoria needs three or four new psychiatric hospitals so that people – especially vulnerable women and children – with mental health issues do not have to sleep rough. The adjunct wards at our "physical illness" hospitals cannot cope. No one should be sleeping rough in this wealthy country.

David Langsam, Flemington

Changing the laws so that women are protected

It was not "society" which failed Courtney Herron, as the police have claimed (The Age, 27/5). Every day, social workers fight to ensure that vulnerable women receive housing and protection. It was the failure to change laws so that vulnerable women are protected. It is the failure of men to change the way they view and treat women.

Elaine Stops, Balwyn North

How can we justify spending so much on subs?

If the federal government could see fit to eliminate just one or two submarines from its current order, it would go a long way towards solving our homelessness problem. These subs will never fulfil any useful purpose. What is more important?

Ray Kenyon, Camberwell

THE FORUM

The right to treatment

It is inconceivable that Courtney Herron was unable to be placed on a methadone program, prescribed to treat heroin addiction, because she lacked a stable address (The Age, 27/5). Why wasn't the address of her family sufficient, given that she had contact with them? For others, why isn't a nominated post office address sufficient?

Surely there is a way around this issue so we can start to address the appalling and shameful existence of homelessness in our wealthy country. It should be given priority over removing one or two railway crossings.

Kaye Kibblewhite, Frankston South

The right to a fulfilling life

As a mother of a son who developed an addiction to drugs as a late teenager, I am relieved that he has recovered and become a fine man. He is now supporting others in the same boat. We were lucky to be able to afford private rehabilitation for him.

Fortunately, he was never homeless. Not so for those on waiting lists for publicly funded drug rehabilitation programs. Some wait months. In the meantime, some die because they do not have a stable address, so may be denied access to the programs. Shame on the government for failing our young and vulnerable. They could potentially have a worthwhile life beyond drugs and homelessness.

Name and suburb withheld

Shameless campaigning

Alcohol and men are key factors in crime and domestic violence, so why did the political minders conspire relentlessly to show Scott Morrison (mostly) and Bill Shorten with a beer in their hands during the election campaign? And why did the media go along with it?

One aim of Mr Morrison's campaign was to make his image more relatable to ordinary people. Would Julie Bishop and Tanya Plibersek, had they been heading their parties, been treated similarly? What is the message to adolescents? First, it is hypocritical for adults to lecture them on the evils of drink and drugs. Second, if something is considered important enough, anything goes. Is this the best we can do?

Vic Rowlands, Leongatha

The path to promotion

Scott Morrison's new cabinet includes two recycled ministers, Sussan Ley and Stuart Robert. Where else can you misuse expenses, keep your job, bide your time and then get promoted? Building trust and confidence? I do not think so.

Susan Simpson, Surrey Hills

End the cruel export trade

The new, pro-live export agriculture minister Bridget McKenzie has a duty to continue the reforms that were instigated by her predecessor, David Littleproud (The Age, 28/5).

No doubt the industry is relieved by the election result as Labor had promised to phase out the sheep trade. Already exporters are reneging on their self-imposed suspension of exports between June and August by seeking a permit to send 56,000 sheep to the Middle East before their May 31 cut-off. Since it takes three weeks to reach the Middle East, the sheep will endure extreme heat stress during June. The Australian Veterinary Association does not recommend voyages between May and October. If the minister wants live exports to continue, she must protect farm animals.

Jan Kendall, Hawthorn

ALP, same old, same old

So Labor has replaced a leader who, for three years trailed as preferred prime minister, with another who will also probably be "least preferred". This is a huge missed opportunity to bring in one of the many supremely qualified females in the party and/or more contemporary males who would make it relevant to current day Australia.

David Parker, Geelong

Our precious 'friends'

I enjoyed Clare Cohen's article – "Istill can't bear to sleep without a teddy" (Comment, 25/5). I myself, at 61, have a "blankie" given to me by my grandparents in 1959. Long live our constant, unwavering childhood companions.

Michele Layet, Prahran

Taxes provide our services

David Corbett (Letters, 27/5), taxation is not "theft". It is the price of admission to live in a civilised society. It buys you law and order, a world-class health system, education, property rights, roads and public transport, and a million other things we all take for granted.

Australia is a good country, but it is not great, and it is far from the best. If we want to make it better, we need to collect more taxes, not less. Until the "haves" among us grasp this concept, we will continue making only tiny gains while leaving significant sections of the community behind.

David Nelson, Clayton South

Selling our kids short

As a teacher in a government primary school, a recent episode exemplified to me one of the problems with education in Australia. Our science teacher had acquired butterflies so that our students could observe the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly. The first insect started to emerge from its chrysalis a day early, inconveniently during a standardised reading test.

Disappointingly, the children were not properly able to observe it emerging, drying, unfolding, resting and plumping its delicate wings. The Education Department's online test would have "timed out", leading to poor data for our school and, apparently, insufficiently assessed children for our reporting.

So they sat at computers, mostly oblivious to the miracle going on beside them. Luckily they will be able to recall, fondly, the precious moment of doing that test for years to come, long after the average four-week lifespan of a monarch butterfly has ended.

Elizabeth Knight, Oakleigh East

A family's nightmare

Jo Hartley describes the morning struggle to get her children off to school (Essential Kids, Online 27/5). We sympathise but we are also envious. You might not be able to imagine what happens if sometimes you do not get to the school gate because your child struggles with anxiety, when trying harder stops working, when getting to the gate happens only sometimes, and then never.

When the problem looms so large that your child would rather jump off the roof than deal with it, when the rest of the family is so neglected that they are self-harming. Everybody is expected to get to the gate. There would be tears of joy in our house if we fought the morning battle and sometimes won.

Name and suburb withheld

A true promise to 'burn'

So this is what the Scott Morrison really meant: I will burn coal for you. And it is not just Adani, we have lots of it in Queensland. Now we know. I am so afraid for my two grandkids.

Robert Cox, Blackburn

The myth of many jobs

Margaret Strelow's article, "We need to talk about Adani, Melbourne" (Comment, 28/5) did not address my major concern. The mathematicians and engineers have worked out how to run a big mine from an office anywhere (eg, India) with very few local workers. If Adani goes ahead, there will be jobs while it is built but they will disappear. So families who have relocated for these jobs will likely have to relocate again.

Meanwhile the Adani mine will be a modern, very efficient operation that will be able to undercut other mines. The net result is likely to be job losses in the Hunter Valley.

I oppose this project on environmental grounds but the con job being done on workers is unforgivable. A significant increase in Newstart along with targeted training around sustainable jobs would put money in these communities and give people, especially the young, much better options.

Jan Thomas, North Melbourne

The facts on dirty coal

Yes, Margaret Strelow, we need to talk about Adani. More specifically, we need to talk about coal. You are welcome to visit the Latrobe Valley where the residents live in close proximity to the coal-fired power stations that pump out as much as 20 times more toxic air pollution than other countries allow. Victoria's power stations emit far more mercury than other coal-fired power stations in Australia.

Do not feel left out, though. Environmental Justice Australia's analysis of this year's National Pollutant Inventory data found that the NRG Gladstone power station emitted more oxides of nitrogen than any other power station, despite generating only half as much energy as Origin's Eraring, Australia's largest power station. If Victoria is too far to visit, you could read the NPI and educate yourself before you subject our friends in India to a fate that the Latrobe Valley's residents would not wish on their worst enemy. No coal is clean.

Leah de Vries, Traralgon

Momentous, but ignored

Yesterday marked the centenary of the electrification of rail services in suburban Melbourne – a momentous forward step, phasing out coal-powered steam engines. Having we heard anything from the Victorian government about this? Not a toot. Unless one counts reports of the threat to local rail museums and restoration workshops (The Age, 25/5).

Andrew Mackinnon, Kew

The torment of Ablett

One imagines there is some spiritual/psychological correlation between Gary Ablett's uncharacteristic behaviour – "Cat finally runs out of lives" (Sport, 28/5) – and his experience of banal booing, week after week. This of one of the finest and fairest players we have seen. Is this how it is to end? Even while he still plays so wonderfully?

Philip Huggins, Albert Park

Capital punishment and...

Good point, Mary Walker (Letters, 28/5). The new stand against abortion by some American states is not consistent with their death penalties. Where do the evangelical stand on this conflict?

David Jones, Essendon

...the right to bear arms

Obviously guns are banned in those states that are "pro-life".

Graeme Perry, Skye

AND ANOTHER THING

Politics

It's a bit rich for the government to claim a mandate on anything. It took few policies into the election.

Jack Wajntraub, South Melbourne

Sometimes it's best for the government to implement a worthy but controversial opposition reform.

Peter Walker, Black Rock

The Victorian government could make Pallas available to the Greek government for a financial year.

Mark Dymiotis, Hampton

Is Fifield's new appointment a reward for his cuts to our ABC?

Phil Lipshut, Elsternwick

Now that the ABC has failed to get Labor into government, does it have a Plan B?

Ken Barnes, Glen Iris

Soon there'll be brand new senators (28/5). They're waiting for a vacancy that suddenly arises.

Ralph Tabor, Pakenham

Cabinet sounds like our economic situation: Price is down, Cash preferred.

Kevan Porter, Alphington

You know climate change is going badly when we need a drought minister.

Samuel Leeder, Seddon

The Age

What a disappointment: the comics repeated and no "Brain Food". I want my money back.

Heather Butler, Bairnsdale

Groundhog Day. How comical.

Rod Martin, Glen Waverley

Deja vu. However, Zits always gives me a laugh, even second time around.

Selma Seknow, Elwood

Good Food with no vexing culinary questions? Sacrilege.

Ann Young, Chirnside Park

Furthermore

"Australian coals burn cleaner than coals from other countries" (27/5). How?

Jessica Hill, Burwood

What sort of society do we live in that lets market forces determine whether vulnerable people have a safe roof over their heads?

Christine Grayden, Phillip Island

It's not men's behaviour. It's some men's behaviour.

Rod Matthews, Fairfield

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