Janette Howard’s larger role

“John Howard’s wife” – you mean Janette Howard? (Editorial, “Moral stature”,

August 28–September 3). Bit “casual sexism” to reduce her to the anonymous butt of the joke, don’t you think? She is a person with a name and a place in history. Wasn’t there an opportunity to make the joke and the point about morality without resorting to this? Hard to make a morally defensible point about the indefensible with such a discursive shortcut.

– Antoinette Holm, Drouin, Vic

Thanks for the story on translators for the

Deaf (Fiona Murphy, “Signs of the times”, August 28–September 3). I am an elder losing my hearing to illness and dependent on lipreading. Covid presents special problems. Government staff happily help me, none of which I can hear, and of course requests to drop the mask are met with suspicion. Normally I confess that “I am as deaf as Scott Morrison”. That usually does the trick. Laughter followed by lowering the mask. So far no scowls.

– Melody Kemp, Balmoral, Qld

Letters are welcome: