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National commission
By preventing the National Anti-Corruption Commission from holding public hearings other than in “exceptional circumstances”, Labor is exhibiting exceptional disregard for its pre-election promise to set up an effective anti-corruption body (“Clash looms over closed watchdog hearings”, The Age, 28/9). History shows that corruption in the form of pork barrelling, dodgy political donations, looking after your mates, influence peddling and other nefarious practices have dogged successive Australian governments. Rather than being exceptional, corruption is commonplace.

That brings up the question of what precisely the new legislation means by “exceptional circumstances”? In Labor’s scheme of things, it’s hard to imagine a form of corruption so unusual that it would qualify for the label, or consequently a public commission hearing.
Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills

Sunlight the best disinfectant
I cannot understand the arguments against open public hearings for the proposed anti-corruption body. Former premier Gladys Berejiklian is used as evidence against an open “kangaroo court”. However, the facts around her secret relationship with a fellow politician, who exhibited questionable public-interest behaviour, as shown by her emails, placed a question mark over suitability for her powerful position. A position ultimately determined by public opinion.
Law courts run on the principle that 12 good and true people judge a situation based on the evidence presented. If this works with 12, presumably 25 million will come to a reasonable and fair conclusion?

Finally, I would rest on a greater good argument. We are placing the need to know, a no-brainer in a healthy democracy, against the very small possibility of a totally innocent politician or bureaucrat being unjustly judged in the court of public opinion.
Howard Tankey, Box Hill North

Publicity in the public interest
It is proposed this welcome new commission should only hold its hearings in public when it believes it is in the public interest to do so. Surely it should not hold hearings at all if the public interest is not served. In other words, all hearings should be in public. Secret hearings should be used only when public safety or security might be compromised.
David Myer, South Melbourne

Wrong way around
Hearings at the NACC should always be public and only private in “exceptional circumstances”. Is anyone really surprised that the Liberals support the proposed restrictions after the car park and sport rorts scandals during their time in office?

The phrase “reputational damage” is a euphemism for “hiding behind closed doors”. The public have a right to know how their $262 million is being spent.
Nick Toovey, Beaumaris

Costly reviews
In the balance between the public interest and the risk of reputational harm a criterion of “exceptional circumstances” sets the bar too high as shown by the Victorian experience and this uncertainty leaves scope for the cost and delay of judicial review.
Ian Pitt, Brighton

Privacy for the powerful
Closed hearings are inimical to open justice, the foundation of our legal system. The tendency to give a deferential free pass to authority figures, famous personalities or those with powerful and intimidating friends is strong.

Hearings should be open to public scrutiny, with rare exceptions relating to genuine national security issues. The principle that if you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide is fundamental. Sometimes this can be seen as unfair, but those who feel sufficiently aggrieved have recourse to other reputational remedies.
Peter Barry, Marysville

THE FORUM

Scams can catch anyone
Some people reading Bridget Box’s account of how she was scammed may judge her harshly, after all she is a mature, educated person (“‘Exhausting’: Victim of scam says NAB turns a blind eye”, The Age, 28/9). But all it takes is a day when you’re tired, your mind is on 10 other tasks and you become a potential victim. Many years ago I was caught up in a scam that was run by people who shared my information with criminals. My flat was broken into while I was at work and various valuables were taken.

My loss was nowhere as bad as Bridget’s but since then I don’t answer phone calls or texts without names attached that I recognise. If that inconveniences some organisations, too bad.
Carmel Boyle, Alfredton

Awareness is lacking
Your front page story about “spoofing” phone numbers would have been a revelation to many. I first heard about it from my distressed neighbour who blocked a nuisance call to later discover it was her husband’s cardiologist’s phone number, which had been emulated. The ramifications are wide-ranging – not just financial. It’s time someone, such as ACCC’s Scamwatch, took responsibility for educating and updating everyone about these scams. Experts say scams are the new “pandemic”: the only prevention is education.
Sally Davis, Malvern East

Deceptive texts
These scams, especially those that imitate family members, are serious. What if our child is in legitimate strife? Families should set up a family only code that is within the text message. If it is not there, family members would know the message is bogus.
Penelope Jones, Hawthorn East

Remain alert and vigilant
It’s distressing to see the devastating effects fraud and scams can have on victims; not just financially, but also in terms of their emotional wellbeing. Australians have seen a significant increase in the number and type of scams in recent years. NAB customer Bridget Box is a graphic example of this.

These scammers are not a couple of kids with a laptop. They are sophisticated, transnational, highly organised criminals. Banks will always try to prevent these scams and recover money where possible. However, once the money has left a victim’s account, it is often moved overseas quickly and it can be difficult to recover.

My advice is if you get an unsolicited call from your bank and are unsure, hang up and call the bank back on their official website phone number. We will never ask a customer to transfer money to another account to keep it safe. We at NAB will continue to do all we can to protect our customers against these predators.
Chris Sheehan, NAB executive for group investigations and fraud

Penalise breaches
The situation with Optus (“Optus boss digs in over cyberattack as fury grows”, 28/9) is a case of our times. For decades, governments at all levels have not done enough about commercial conduct and dreamily rely on industries “doing the right thing”. Invariably, corporations don’t. Data breaches resulting in leaking of private data must incur large penalties to ensure security is taken seriously.
Don Relf, Mentone

Not concerned
I am not concerned about the looming shortage of GPs (“Half of GPs say they can’t afford to stay open”, The Age, 28/9). Australia will do what we have always done. Simply poach the skills we need from poorer countries. These are often developing countries that have invested in their people and desperately need these skills themselves.

With the 35,000 increase in the immigration numbers, it appears that Labor will follow in the failed policies of its predecessor.
Barry Lizmore, Ocean Grove

Cash for care
How much money do doctors need to keep them happy? As a self-funded retiree, I find it too costly to see a GP, let alone a specialist. It costs $90 to see a GP for a short consultation and a minimum of $150 for a specialist.

This means many patients don’t go to see a doctor for minor ailments or even for major ailments. In the tug of war between the doctors and the and the government, the people who suffer are the patients.
Bill Mathew, Parkville

Political awareness
There are four stages that a newly elected member of parliament goes through. The initial stage is humble, the next stage is awareness of what they are supposed to do and where they work. The third stage is self-deification and delusion where they think that they are more than just an Australian politician. The last stage is brilliance, where they think that the sun shines out of their sit-upon and they start damaging their party and the standing of parliament. Wake up Adam Bandt (“Bandt ‘never responded’ to abuse claim”, The Age, 28/9), you are a party leader.
Adrian Tabor, Point Lonsdale

Leadership lacking
Why is it that in our attempts to address racism at all levels in society the Senate lacks the spine and moral authority (“Wong slams Hanson over racist speech”, 27/8) to censure Pauline Hanson for her racist comments in relation to Mehreen Faruqi? Not only did Hanson not withdraw her offensive and unacceptable comments she reinforced her own bigotry and shone a light on the entrenched racism of many of the right side of politics through their refusal to pass a censure motion against Hanson.
David Conolly, Brighton

Job description
Before we argue about who should be the Australian head of state (Letters, 28/9) we should spell out what is expected of them. Do they need a background in law, a knowledge of the Australian Constitution? Is it purely a ceremonial position? What exactly has been the job description of our governors-general? How would it change with a new position?
Elizabeth Glenn Howcroft, Hawthorn

Access to play
Michael Smith espouses interesting children’s playgrounds in his article (“Plastic not so fantastic: a playground revolution”, The Age, 28/9). He does, however, point out there is “a big equity issue for the kids living in suburbs without high-quality playgrounds”. He lists Caulfield and Glenhuntly as two of the more deprived areas for open space. Caulfield Racecourse is being redeveloped soon to include an inner track, many sports and recreation facilities, perhaps even cheap student accommodation. Could a modern playground be incorporated in this plan?

Smith does not address the issue of parents having to physically take their children to these playgrounds. This is not always convenient and emphasises the inequality of some families being unable to afford a stand-alone home with its own yard where children can safely play.
Jan Marshall, Brighton

Capital-ising
Your correspondent has touched a nerve (Letters, 28/9) regarding the aggrandisement of Melbourne. We have the Melbourne Tennis Centre, formerly Flinders Tennis Centre. (Matthew Flinders should not to be forgotten). South Melbourne was once Emerald Hill, Port Melbourne was once Sandridge. North, East and West Melbourne also had other names.
What happened to decentralisation?
John Marks, Werribee

Equality lost
Aussie egalitarianism? The question posed by Ross Gittins (“The great Australian illusion”, 28/7) doesn’t ring true any more if it ever did. Affordable housing and sufficient and appropriate public housing is now beyond the reach of so many. Inequities in education, high rates of incarceration and strains on healthcare has changed the shape of our society.

Until we rethink the model of our society, then wealth creation through housing will continue to be a marker of inequity.
Denise Stevens, Healesville

Rental disagreement
Your correspondent (Letters, 27/9) suggests Melbourne adopt a model of housing extant in the Netherlands in which rent increases are controlled by the government. Similarly in New York, rents are determined by the Rent Stabilisation Board, which convenes annually. An arbitrator presides.
Advocates for the tenants unsurprisingly usually ask for a rent rollback. Equally predictably the landlords shoot for the sky. The arbitrator considers their entreaties and then decides the allowable rent increase. Both entities express their disappointment with the decision. For decades I lived in the same apartment in New York paying the affordable increases the arbitrator mandated.
Ken Feldman, Sandringham

War’s blame is clear
Your correspondent (Letters, 28/9) suggests that Australia assisting Ukraine in their war (described as an “escapade”) is somehow done to please the US, as an arms supplier. This letter demonstrates a laughable misreading of the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine and insults its people’s struggle. While books on US foreign policy failures would fill a national library, this war rests on one man’s shoulders. The sooner someone does something about him, from within or without, the better.
Julian Guy, Mt Eliza

Italy not like Brexit
Am I the only one choking on my cornflakes when confronted with London Telegraph articles in The Age? Yes, it’s newsworthy that the Telegraph finally writes a critical piece about the current Westminster administration after the lunatic financial measures announced on Friday, even if snide remarks about “mischievous” foes of the Tories and Brexit needed balance. But Daniel Johnson’s ode to Giorgia Meloni was too much, promoting Trumpian misdirections about global elites, lamenting the fall of Berlusconi and warmly likening Italian voters with fascist leanings to Brexiteers who just “longed for control”.
Barbara McPake, Fitzroy North

And another thing

Hacking
Learning to trust was once seen as a healthy step in psychosocial development. An increasing prevalence in cybercrime is teaching us the opposite.
Joan Segrave, Healesville

Digital societies are too vulnerable.
Rod Matthews, Fairfield

Anti-corruption body
Secret National Anti-Corruption Commission hearings into secret dealings means keeping nearly all of it secret. Isn’t that the current situation without an NACC?
Denny Meadows, Hawthorn

After all the talk about transparency, Labor has become as soft as Camembert cheese with its decision that public hearings will only be held in exceptional circumstances. A person charged with committing a crime is shown no such leniency.
John Rome, Mt Lawley, WA

Russia
Donald Trump must be spitting chips with Vladimir Putin showing him up on how to win an election.
Henry Herzog, St Kilda East

In World War II, Russian soldiers famously ran into battle with one gun between two soldiers. I doubt if Putin will get that sort of commitment in this military disaster of his own making.
Murray Horne, Cressy

Furthermore
It is a no brainer: Les Patterson for president of Australia. At least “The Yartz” would get a boost.
David Seal, Balwyn North

Wow, there are mince pies and Christmas puddings in my local supermarket. Where are the Easter eggs?
Caitlin Stone, Brunswick East

The election of Giorgia Meloni will be good news for Italian rail commuters.
Steve Melzer, Hughesdale

Finally
Carrying a sponge cake from Gippsland by train to win a first prize (“Judging turned out to be a cakewalk this year”, 28/9) at the Melbourne Royal Show? That has made my day. Bravo.
Susie Holt, South Yarra

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