Letter to The Editor

To The Australian
Gerard Henderson tells an important story about cultural integrity within Australia and other Western nations (‘Conservative values not safe in Liberal academic hands’, 1-2/4). He notes that the new executive director of the Ramsay Centre, Simon Haines, ‘has never stood up in the public debate in defence of Western civilisation or any other cause’ and that his ‘public quietude’ has been through fear that ‘his academic career would suffer.’

It certainly seems true that conservatives in Australia are inhibited by various factors from full discussion of the nature and extent of the different threats to our traditional culture, civilisation and quality of life. This appears to be even true of brave defenders of freedom such as ‘The Australian’ and ‘Quadrant Magazine’ in some contexts. We need more conservatives willing to risk all for truth - and more investigative journalism into the inhibiting factors.
Nigel Jackson, Belgrave, Vic