Freedom isn’t free

John Richardson writes: Re. “Police pursue journalists in Parliament House NBN raid” (yesterday). Based on Mitch Fifield’s self-serving pronouncement about the unfettered powers of the Australian Federal Police (AFP), it seems that we really have become a police state.

Of course, the fact that Labor has chosen not to challenge the NBN-related actions of the AFP in court, notwithstanding the strength of its legal advice that the police have exceeded their powers, could suggest that there are other games afoot that might lead to even greater embarrassment for poor Malcolm?

On the other hand, given its chest-beating and shrill demands for Labor to “respect its mandate” this past week, it could be that the government is not just on the back foot, but in complete disarray, & is therefore not only determined to crush its opponents, but to be seen as ready to do whatever it takes to do so.

Maybe a police state is just what we need to bring an end to the childish circus that these days poses as democracy down under?

On Olympics

Peter Matters writes: Re. “Why didn’t we win more medals in Rio?” (Tuesday). Okay, stiff luck, so we got fewer medals than expected. When everybody else is also doing their best, most contestants must lose, anyway.

Of course, I barracked for all the Aussies, but if they did their best and still got beaten, I was pleased to salute the winner: after all, the contest ought to be between people, not countries. In any case, Australia collected the most medals per capita – so what’s the grizzle about?