He Can’t Stop

Barrie Cassidy writes: Re. “Like a wrecking ball” (Friday). Regarding the four I have chosen to follow on Twitter … who would have thought humour would be wasted on the Crikey team of all people? Though my 19-year-old daughter didn’t get it either, and reacted with horror.

Time to steam ahead

Linda Roylance writes: Re. “The cost of being a true believer” (Friday). I agree with Steven Whybrow about “the airlines having people over a barrel when there is something big on”. The time is nigh to build an eastern seaboard high-speed train (with lots of jobs to boot).

On boycotts and yoof

Terry Mills writes: Re. “Wyatt Roy going to Splendour” (Friday). Just a small correction on the subject of Wyatt Roy. You said : “the Coalition frontbench are still boycotting Q&A in the studio”. That’s not strictly correct, the frontbench are under an embargo put in place by the Prime Minister : if they break the embargo they will lose their jobs. They are effectively muzzled and that is different from a boycott.

Tough love

John Kotsopoulos writes: Re. “Will Shorten’s high risk ploy achieve a remarkable recovery?” (Friday). Deliberately downplaying drownings at sea and indirectly encouraging people smugglers are hardly indicators of a humane asylum seeker policy. It is interesting that much of the rhetoric from the Liberals has now shifted from the xenophobic mantra of “protecting our borders” to a more nuanced concern over drownings and the need to discourage the illegal activities of people smugglers. Shorten appears to be alert to this change in emphasis and has responded  appropriately in my view.  The Greens and those on the Labor left who are attacking him risk helping Abbott with their carry-on.

Niall Clugston writes:  Friday’s edition had at least six items attacking Bill Shorten. Does Crikey have an official policy to oppose him? Perhaps it should change its name to “Kill Bill Volume 3”. (Zinger.)