January 8, 2026 — 8:00pm

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Got it Photo: Badiucao

To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.

I would like to express my outrage and disgust at the cartoon by Cathy Wilcox (7/1). It is tainted by the antisemitic trope of Jews pulling strings and manipulating people, and features a “dog for a RC” along with high-profile sports people, lawyers and former “Labor has beens” among others demanding a royal commission, marching to the beat of Benjamin Netanyahu. As if these people cannot think for themselves. I am astonished that The Age has seen fit to publish this item on the day of the funeral of the last person murdered at the Bondi massacre, and only weeks after the attack targeting Jews. If anything this cartoon adds to the weight of evidence that we need a royal commission in to antisemitism in this country.
Jennifer Meister, Ivanhoe

A disappointing portrayal
I am very disappointed at the Wilcox cartoon, and find it extremely disturbing. Many in the Jewish community have experienced a rise in antisemitism, I don’t have to go through all the details. This cartoon does not in my opinion show the satire side, but can encourage more Jewish hatred. The many judges, legal experts, athletes, former politicians including those from Labor have requested a royal commission. This cartoon gives a completely different view. Very disappointed, as are many.
Sue Stein, Caulfield South

A new low has been reached
Cathy Wilcox’s cartoon reaches new lows. Rather than focus on why people are calling for a royal commission, she chooses the oldest tropes in history – blame the Jews. To suggest Benjamin Netanyahu has anything to do with the calls for a royal commission is a damaging falsehood. The shooters were militant Islamist Australians, targeting Jewish Australians. The only thing this cartoon does is encourage hatred of Jews in Australia. Shame on Cathy Wilcox and The Age editorial team for publishing this rot.
Natasha Mandie, Caulfield

Just a cheap shot
Regardless of one’s views on the need or otherwise for a royal commission into the Bondi terrorist attack, I fail to see how the Wilcox cartoon about the royal commission is anything but an example of antisemitism, and a very cheap shot at that. Did I miss something?
Christine Bradbeer, Mont Albert North

Cartoonist should offer an apology …
Cathy Wilcox should be ashamed of herself. The references to Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu in the cartoon are completely irrelevant to the conversation in this country about a royal commission. She should retract and apologise to this nation’s Jewish people, still reeling from the Bondi attacks.
John Deane, Glen Iris

… She has nothing to apologise for
I support Cathy Wilcox. Her cartoons are wonderful and insightful. The subject matter may cause discomfort to some, but she has nothing for which to apologise.
Susan Kelly, Highton

Snapshot of critical thinking
I was surprised by the extent of the unfavourable reaction to the Wilcox cartoon. Wilcox depicted a point, or points, of view that could be reasonably extracted from the diatribe surrounding the Bondi tragedy. The cartoon was nothing other than a creative snapshot of critical thinking.
Andrew Barnes, Ringwood

More power to her pen
Grief and fear do not entitle one to a monopoly on expressing an opinion. Accusing Cathy Wilcox of antisemitism indicates just how reflexively the term can be used nowadays. More power to her pen.
Joe Fitzpatrick, Murrumbeena

THE FORUM

Privatising success
Your correspondent asks if anyone can identify a single example of the privatisation of a government service that has resulted in better and cheaper service (Letters, 8/1). Public transport is a perfect example. Prior to Jeff Kennett, public transport in Victoria was a shambles with dirty, old and unreliable trains and trams lined up the length of Bourke Street. Strikes were frequent and sometimes called at a moment’s notice, stranding commuters in the city. Perhaps your correspondent could tell us the last time commuters were inconvenienced by strike action in Victoria? Privatisation has often failed but in public transport it has been a clear winner.
Greg Hardy, Upper Ferntree Gully

Away from home options
Re the travel allowance of politicians’ accommodation in Canberra (″⁣The other travel perk politicians are pocketing″⁣, 8/1). Could this be eased by providing a dormitory-style facility for their use when working in the national capital? Or if they prefer, use their own residential choice at their own expense. They are then free to choose either option. The cost of running this could be offset by public bookings when not required by elected officials.
Graham Silver, Monbulk

Failing the pub test
Politicians defending their $322 daily allowance for staying in houses they own in Canberra may well be within the rules, as claimed by Senator Bridget McKenzie. However, I doubt any customer in any pub in Australia would find the arrangement defendable.
Peter Roche, Carlton

No expense spared
Some years ago, when travelling we got a daily allowance. This later changed to presenting receipts for any expenses incurred. The politicians should be no different. If Michaelia Cash has a house in Canberra she needs to present receipts for any claims made, not claim $322 for each day she is in Canberra. All politicians need to be treated the same way. Again, the figures presented in The Age may be over a number of years, but the houses owned by politicians are also gaining in value. Are they also paying capital gains tax or are they exempt?
Louis Ferrari, Richmond

Distractions galore
“Flooding the zone” is Donald Trump’s raison d’être. Is it just me, but every time the Epstein Files turns over another potential Trump scandal, we look elsewhere as multiple “dead cats” are thrown by Trump on the table to distract us, whether it is another unilateral 28-point Ukraine “peace plan,” the annexation of Greenland, bombing of survivors of alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters or the potentially illegal extraction of Venezuela’s president and wife.
Peter Russo, West Brunswick

Keeping a distance
Recent developments in Venezuela provide yet further evidence that Donald Trump is seeking to engineer a global order where militarily powerful countries dominate and exploit less powerful countries. Against this context, Anthony Albanese’s 2022 decision to follow through on cancelling the French submarine contract to pursue AUKUS amounts to funding, and actively engineering, our increased vulnerability to the misuse of US power. Exactly when and how we get ourselves out of this parlous and absurd situation is not currently clear, but we could at least start with wider recognition that the US is no longer a country we should to defend ourselves with: it is a country we need to try to defend ourselves from.
Tim Thornton, Northcote

This can’t be true, can it?
Let’s recap on a few of the recent transparencies of a game show host who thinks he can bring his charismatic exhibition to the world stage and make anything true. Venezuelan oil is meant to plug the gaping hole made by ruinous tariffs and overall economic mismanagement, while Venezuela is successfully set up as a nation of drug-runners. A Greenland venture by Donald Trump is going to put the wind up Xi Jinping who has vast supplies of precious metals but that’s going to end when Trump steals Greenland’s stash while burying in the process his famous Chinaphobia. Canada was the long-term friend and ally of the US but that’s now changed. Fair enough. Trump’s plan to acquire Canada is no longer what it was: now he wants the entire Western Hemisphere.
Is there anyone out there who can tell me this stuff is really not going on?
Ian McKail, Cheltenham

Hatred’s two sides of coin
Your correspondent hopes that new hate speech laws will allow him, as an atheist, to feel safe (Letters, 8/1.) But what will allow theists feel safe from the abuse I have seen directed at them by atheists? A belief in the absence of a god can sometimes arouse as much unhealthy passion as a belief in the existence of a god.
Margaret Callinan, Hawthorn

Absolute power
Donald Trump’s declaration that he will decide where the profits from Venezuelan oil sales go – some to Venezuela and some to the US – is outrageous. His absolute power in the US government is clearly dictating his actions now. no different to Vladimir Putin and just as dangerous.
Yvonne Trevaskis, Hobart, Tas

Money thrown away
Look no further than the excuse the US uses to justify the plunder of oil from Venezuela and the threatened military action for the possession of Greenland, than to realise that our AUKUS money will pay for the submarines the US will need for its security not ours.
Ludi Servadei, Malvern East

Back away from US
Your correspondent (Letters, 7/1) argues against hastily severing Australia’s military alliance with the United States. Whilst kneejerk reactions are generally unwise, in this case the danger of Australia being drawn into a Trump-led conflagration is too great to ignore. The US midterm elections will not restrain Donald Trump’s appetite for attention (he already pays scant regard to Congress) and as his domestic poll numbers decline, he is likely to seek new distractions abroad.
Australia should therefore suspend or withdraw from ANZUS and AUKUS. The most alarming of Trump’s proposals is the threat to seize Greenland (″⁣Military is always an option’: White House escalates Greenland clash with NATO allies″⁣, 7/1). If the US were to use military force to capture the sovereign territory of a NATO member, Australia would be legally obliged to assist the Trump regime, rather than come to Denmark’s aid.
Tim Wright, Point Lonsdale

Resources grab
After his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and his encouragement of the attempted coup on January 6, 2021, plus his pardoning of all its violent participants, it is obvious Donald Trump doesn’t give a damn about democracy in America so why would anyone think he cares about democracy in Venezuela (or Iran, Colombia and any other South American country or Greenland)?
It’s all about what resources he can grab. His grab of Venezuelan oil is proof enough, as well as his own words.
Robyn Westwood, Heidelberg Heights

A willing target
Let me get this straight – there is a very large island, with vast mineral resources, a relatively small population, a number of secret US bases, and is frequently under surveillance from Chinese warships. It’s not Greenland. But, of course, the US doesn’t need to launch a military takeover of Australia, our government is only too willing to acquiesce to everything it is told to do.
Keith Fletcher, Glenlyon

Make a move, PM
The Age editorial (“America’s actions cannot be condoned”, 7/1) shines a bright light on the bona fides, or lack thereof, of actions by Donald Trump as to the administration in Venezuela. The least the PM can do is to call in the US ambassador for a “please explain”.
Jim Aylmer, Mt Waverley

PM’s muddled thinking
What was Anthony Albanese thinking when he invited Israel’s President Isaac Herzog to visit? I mean, after two years of anti-Israel protests and unashamed anti-Israel/antisemitic activity, wouldn’t he have thought it would only inflame more resentment against Australian Jews? Now that a federal royal commission into antisemitism has been called, which I had prayed wouldn’t, I so hope Cathy Wilcox is called to give evidence.
Henry Herzog, St Kilda East

Melbourne, learn to drive
Dan Kaufman (Opinion, 8/1) is on the money regarding Melbourne drivers who are their own worst enemy. It is their own actions that cause gridlocks and traffic jams.
I moved to Melbourne 25 years ago and was gobsmacked at how territorial Melbourne drivers were, even to the point that they would happily be caught in the middle of a level crossing than allow any space in front of their vehicle being potentially usurped. Merging? Melburnians certainly never learnt the lesson of taking it in turns. And, heaven forbid that any driver, with a red light ahead, would wave you into the line of traffic as you attempt to turn left into a busy road. Finally, Melbourne drivers treat amber traffic lights as a challenge to stay ahead.
My theory is that the piggly-squiggly road system in Sydney teaches drivers a lesson – you’ll get there quicker if you drive considerately.
Kim Smith, Hughesdale

Don’t forget Gaza
Please world, don’t forget the people in Gaza. What’s happening there is far worse than Trump’s oil grab in Venezuela, or the political bickering about royal commissions.
Ron Mather, Melbourne

AND ANOTHER THING

Trump
Mar-a-Lago needs a great big sandpit in which Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio could play their domination games giving true global leaders a chance to focus on peace and prosperity for us all.
Jenny Smithers, Ashburton

Where are our leaders of the government and opposition in condemning any move by the US to take over Greenland by force? What are they scared of?
David Robertson, Wheatsheaf

If the US takes over Greenland it will be an AUK-ward moment for Australia.
Jeff Moran, Lake Wendouree

Hey Donald Trump, Greenland for Florida, what do you reckon, deal?
Mike Read, Canterbury

Furthermore
Great to see the bipartisanship and support from politicians on the issue of the $3000-a-month living away from home allowances to stay in accommodation they in fact own (″⁣The other travel perk politicians are pocketing″⁣, 8/1).
Peter Baddeley, Portland

How can a royal commission investigate the events and failures that led to the Bondi attack before the man charged has faced court? Surely we need to hear what motivated him and his father.
Margaret Ludowyk, Brunswick

The BOM chance of precipitation event (COPE) ratings. 1) Take a brolly. 2) Take a coat. 3) Shelter in place.
Peter Thomas, Pascoe Vale

The one commodity that the Earth needs least is oil. From Venezuela or anywhere else.
Ruben Buttigieg, Mount Martha

Blaming the Allan government for a sinkhole opening up is a new low for the Victorian opposition.
Fabio Scalia, Balaclava

Finally
In this hot spell all hail your correspondent (Letters, 6/1). A man who knows his beer and what real drinkers demand. A full receptacle of icy cold draught beer with just enough head to indicate it’s not flat. Perfect.
Andy Worland, Ballarat Central

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