There is a sense of perspective there for the politicians and others who are trying to stir public discontent for self-serving ends. In a world where so many people do it extremely tough, Australia has been generally well looked after by government policies in this pandemic.

Barbara Chapman, Hawthorn

Tim Smith, it is in your best interest to remove your unnecessary political grandstanding and read the article in yesterday's paper: "I didn't say a proper goodbye, it was the last time I saw them" (The Age, 11/5).

Sarah Saaroni details her experiences in Majdanek concentration camp and within Jewish ghettos. If you want to talk about oppression and a life of restriction, I think it best you avail yourself of a broader view and understand our situation really is not that bad.

You have embarrassed yourself.

Julian Roberts, Burwood

Another vote of support for the cautious approach taken by the Premier. Do I want the world to be back the way it was? In many respects, yes, but not at any cost.

For all those in a hurry, my 85-year-old mother and I respectfully suggest you might wish to look overseas and see how that's working for others.

Nick Gibson, Romsey

The negative carping of some members of the Victorian opposition leads me to believe that Australia may have been lucky that Scott Morrison won the unwinnable election last year.

I hope Liberal MP Tim Smith read the story about Tom Wolf's struggle with COVID-19 in The Age ("Coronavirus robbed Tom of oxygen but whispered words brought him back to life", 11/5). It gave a perfect counter-vision to Mr Smith's "me" moment, name-calling Premier Daniel Andrews like a silly schoolkid.

Stand by if, god forbid, a second wave of the virus hits Victoria. The Smiths and Bernie Finns in the opposition largely irrelevant just now will be the first to say Andrews lifted restrictions too early.

David Allen, Bayswater North

If you contract COVID-19 as a result of protesting against measures that were put in place to prevent you from contracting it, you have only yourself to blame.

Oh, and by the way, if you were protesting because of the restrictions not being lifted for Mother's Day, you do realise that a) thanks to technology such as phones and Zoom, you were still able to say hi to your mum on Mother's Day, even if you couldn't do it in person, b) potentially giving your mum COVID-19 is a funny way of showing that you love her, and, c) now that the restrictions have been eased, you will be able to visit her in person even though it's not Mother's Day any more?

John Howes, Rowville

Congratulations to Peter Hartcher on an excellent article correctly comparing Australia's performance in containing the coronavirus with other nations on a deaths per million of population basis (Comment, 9/5).

Our performance deserves to be more widely known, because (along with New Zealand) at 4 deaths per million, that low death rate stands in stark contrast to the very high death rates per million in Europe: Belgium 684, Spain 540 and the UK 420, as at May 4. Even Germany, regarded as a success in Europe, had 84 deaths per million.

It was pleasing to see Hartcher give credit where it is due, because in this crisis the federal government mostly got things right, being guided by medical experts, acting promptly with interventions such as border controls, testing and public education programs, getting public and private hospitals to act in unison, plus forming a national cabinet to manage the crisis and communicating regularly with the public.

Apart from mishandling cruise ships, the generally capable performance of our combined governments contrasts with the slow to act, near shambolic administration of some other nations, with their consequent unnecessary deaths.

Thomas Hogg, East Melbourne

It's a waste of time trying to appeal to scientific evidence to convince conspiracy theorists they are misguided.

There is a deeper social displacement and psychological condition that makes some people highly receptive to this nonsense that needs to be understood and countered with care.

Paul Miller, Box Hill South

On the way coming into the city today on Dandenong Road, Springvale, petrol 119 a litre, on the other side of the road going out of the city petrol 85 a litre

In these traumatic pandemic times one needs to be alert as to whether they are coming or going.

Francis Bainbridge, Fitzroy North

Some commentators are saying that getting immigration started again is fundamental to kick-starting the economy after the virus-induced recession and that immigration has always been a key to economic growth. However the evidence does not support this.

In recent years Australia has had historically huge immigration numbers and therefore population growth far exceeding rates in the rest of the OECD. Between 2003 and 2018 Australia's population grew by 26 per cent compared with the OECD average of 10 per cent.

Did this growth put Australia's economy ahead of the pack? Well GDP per capita for Australians between, for example, 2010 and 2018 grew by nearly 9 per cent. However in the same period the OECD economies grew by an average 12.5per cent, the EU economies by 11per cent and Japan 9.5 per cent.

Given the stress that higher population numbers are creating for Australia's environmental carrying capacity and the huge backlog of infrastructure creation which has lagged, and always will, behind population growth, simple population-expansion panaceas need to be questioned.

Peter Fellows, Ashburton

People who can't wait for the lockdown restrictions to be further eased will have another chance to complain if such easing produces a surge in infections.

Heed the medicos' message: more patience means fewer patients.

Jenifer Nicholls, Armadale

Had Labor formed a federal government I have no doubt that a Coalition opposition would have delayed and been against every action taken during this COVID-19 crisis. Look at its track record during the GFC.

Scott Morrison's success with the coronavirus crisis is in large part a result of the Labor opposition playing a constructive, bipartisan role while state and territory leaders have significantly influenced decisions of the national cabinet.

It is interesting that in every major crisis facing Australia for more than 100 years it has been a Labor government and prime minister who have successfully led Australia through uncertain times.

During WWI we had the Fisher/Hughes governments (albeit that Billy Hughes changed parties in 1918), while the Great Depression saw the election of the Scullin government and it was John Curtin to whom Australians turned during the darkest days of WWII.

At a state level Daniel Andrews has continued this tradition of strong, effective leadership.

James Young, Mount Eliza

As an arts practitioner for more than four decades and a union delegate for eight years, I maintain little optimism for creatives during the pandemic despite the efforts of Labor's Tony Burke and the Greens. When dealing with conservative governments it was a given they would place the arts at the bottom of any funding list. The reason: "There are no votes in this for us."

Why would the Morrison government spend extra billions to sustain an industry it sees as antagonistic and presents as elitist and out of touch? It's pathetic but it's true.

Kevin Summers, Bentleigh

Yes, Sue Green ("Working at home not always a win-win", Comment, 11/5), working from home means "lower labour and infrastructure costs for employers", and that would be a win for employers.

Unless the law has changed, employees working from home get to claim tax concessions for phones, computers, printers, internet services, office expenses, etc. This enables employers to have their operating costs subsidised by taxpayers.

Employers, usually in a position of power, have used a great many legal tricks to manipulate the employer/employee relationships to their benefit, including putting full-time staff on contracts, avoiding legal obligations for employees (sick/annual leave).

The government needs to ensure employers are not able to transfer their operating costs to the Australian taxpayer. If they cannot provide a safe working environment for staff then the employer needs to pay all of the costs of any employee working from home.

Wendy Tanner, Footscray

How about speed bumps or sections of corrugated boards or cement, sand or pebbles on shared pathways to slow cyclists down and prevent horrendous injuries to pedestrians like those suffered by Margot Schmidt (Letters, 11/5)?

Probably all walkers on these pathways could report many close calls as cyclists come flying past without you even realising they're there. The compulsory ringing of a bell when a cyclist is 20 metres or so from a pedestrian would be helpful.

It's time for some undercover police to nab the small proportion of cyclists who act as if the shared pathways are their private velodromes.

All adult cyclists should have to display an official number plate so that miscreants can be identified and reported to the authorities.

Tony Lenten, Glen Waverley

John Quinn (Letters, 11/5) pinpoints the problems caused by shooting brumbies. Feral cats and wild dogs will feast on the easy meal of brumby carcasses and then breed exponentially. Once they've eaten the carcasses, they will prey on native and farm animals.

A program that takes account of the entire food chain is the answer. Shooting brumbies is not only cruel, it will increase other feral animal numbers and create more problems.

Jan Kendall, Mount Martha

Tim Smith has a problem. There is an autonomous part of his make up that makes him verbally respond to information before the signal reaches his brain. His leader knows this.

He should learn that playing politics in an age of real uncertainty doesn't work. The skilled politics comes when you can identify failures with objective facts. Not the school-yard tactics of casting aspersions for the sole reason of being noticed.

John Rome, Mount Lawley, WA

As a retired teacher I wish to endorse Col Mason's comments (Letters, 11/5) in lauding the work of teachers in this COVID-19 world.

Our teachers have been magnificent in their commitment to their students, their heroic adaptation in a very short time to alternative ways of progressing learning, and their dedicated management of student welfare.

Teaching is arguably the most important role in society, and amid the panic, confusion and political conflict, teachers have continued to provide learning for their students.

If the coronavirus has given us something positive it should be inestimable gratitude for our teachers, and it is hoped that this new found appreciation will be for what teachers do every day, and not just in times of crisis.

Maybe, just maybe, when this is over, when the dark clouds disappear and the sun comes out again, and our school grounds resonate once more with noise and laughter we might have an epiphanous moment, and give teachers the recognition they have always deserved .

Bryan Long, Balwyn

I can sympathise with Tom Wolf's coronavirus experience. Fortunately, I didn't have the virus, but still suffered the horrors of an isolation ward in which nurses dressed in full protective gear attempted to communicate with me. I was allowed no visitors, and needless to say, found the whole experience lonely, terrifying, and not easily forgotten.

Helen Scheller, Benalla

I have just listened to Premier Daniel Andrews' message (11/5) on how he is going to manage coronavirus in Victoria.

I am disappointed. What is the purpose in coronavirus testing on hundreds of thousands of Victorians? That will take several weeks and cost several hundred thousand dollars.

If the purpose of the exercise is to find out how many people in Victoria have coronavirus infection, please select 1200 or so people at random and test whether they have coronavirus.

This is an exercise similar to what the pollsters do on a daily basis. The exercise will take two days.

Bill Mathew, Parkville

Shop till you drop ...

Ian Hill, Blackburn South

Jill Dumsday (Letters, 8/5) nailed it about our sense of entitlement to travel: I went to the tropics and found Ashburton.

Kate Bond, Glen Iris

As lunatic fringes go it doesn't get any worse than the people on the steps of Parliament on Sunday.

Reg Murray, Glen Iris

Is there a cruise ship handy we can send the protesting loonies on?

Jan Newmarch, Oakleigh

Not sure which is more scary, COVID-19 or Sky News.

Jon Smith, Leongatha

I've been following the anti-lockdown protests in the US and now Melbourne and all I can see are crowds of Darwin Award hopefuls. The judges are going to have an extra-hard time this year.

Lynne McLennan, Mount Helen

And a peace descended on the land. Golfers stopped railing against the ban on golf games.

Jenni King, Camberwell

Dear Prime Minister, with all this washing of the hands business, can we please have a one-off soap allowance payment?

John Cummings, Anglesea

There'll be a Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On in heaven. Vale Little Richard.

Mary Hind, Brighton

Tim Smith, playing the fool may have worked for Donald Trump and Boris Johnson but it doesn't necessarily mean it will work for you.

Phil Alexander, Eltham

Really, Tim Wilson; Daniel Andrews enjoying the clampdown because it gives him power? I prefer the one that blames Bill Gates for orchestrating the pandemic.

Henry Herzog, St Kilda East

Vale Jack Mundey, a loss of a strong unionist and leader. A privilege to have known him.

Mary Fenelon, Doncaster East

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We have been looked after in this pandemic - The Age