Rundle stumbles in Wales

Andrew Bell writes: Re. “Rundle: who will definitely (maybe) win the UK election, in six scenarios” (yesterday). Mr Rundle’s coverage of the UK election stumbles because he can’t get the name of a constituency right. He writes: “Plaid make no gains in seats like Yves Mon — that’s the whole name of the seat, I’m not being all Welsh about a seat named Yves.” Mate, you ain’t no Montand. It’s Ynys Mon and has been since 1983. Methiant llwyr — Massive fail !

Guy Rundle replies: So I added a vowel, look you boyo. The bloody language could do with them.

The difference between being in opposition and being in government

Terry Mills writes: Re. “Abbott and Hockey’s reality check isn’t over yet” (yesterday). Great rejoicing from Joe Hockey with the  RBA reduction of interest rates to an historical low of 2% : we are encouraged to “borrow and invest”, presumably in property and shares. Yet, in opposition the same Joe Hockey bemoaned in October 2012 :

“Last week’s reduction in the cash rate to 3.25% took it to levels only one cut away from the lows reached during the financial crisis. The Reserve Bank are cutting interest rates not because the Australian economy is doing well but because the Australian economy is deteriorating.”

Seems it all changes in government.

What is the point of Anzac?

Marcus L’Estrange writes: Re. “The old and new of Anzac amnesia” (April 24). Isn’t it time, now that the 100th Anzac celebration is over, to cancel Anzac Day but celebrate Remembrance Day and with a public holiday? After all, as Melbourne Archbishop Mannix once said, WWI was a trade war. Paul Keating labelled it a “war of no value”. Others have labelled it a “war between monarchs” and the first war for oil..  Part of the guff of Anzac is not imagining how men die on a beach overlooked by cliffs, shredded by artillery and disembowled by snipers.

Gallipoli was a pointless military conflict and some $300 million of public money was spent on the recent commemorations so best we forget — as if we’ve not merely ignored the central lesson of the Anzac legend but we’re determined to mock it as we endlessly repeat the errors of Gallipoli by involving ourselves in imperial adventures such as the Boer War, Gulf Wars, Iraq twice, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Laos, Cambodia and others.

Remembrance Day celebrates the end of WW1 and nightmares such as Gallipoli. The continual celebration of Anzac Day is an affront to a generation of youth senselessly slaughtered so far from home for precisely nothing. After all, we became a nation not at Gallipoli but on 1/1/1901 when we became the Commonwealth of Australia.