David Williamson responds:

Gerard Henderson keeps rabbiting on about my
sensitivity to criticism. This is a bit rich coming from one of the most
sensitive and combatitive egos in Australia. He also claims that my article
“Cruise Ship Australia” was a sneering attack on Australians less educated than
I am. The real concern of the article was to question the belief that economic
growth can continue for ever with no energy or environmental consequences, but
yes, I did also take a satirical (not sneering) look at the behaviour of those
on board the cruise ship, but it was not directed at the so called “battlers” of
society as implied by the attack dogs of the right (of which Gerard is by no
means the most rabid). The satire, much of it tongue in cheek, was directed
at affluent Australians whose horizons seemed limited to material consumption.
The real battlers of Australia, who are about to become even more desperate
battlers after Howard’s IR laws are enacted, would never have been able to
afford the trip. The psuedo concern of my attackers for the “battlers” is
pretty nauseating. They know full well that the intent of the new IR laws is to
impoverish “battlers” even more. David Williamson.