You can always tell when someone, who is trying to sell you something, that they really don’t believe in themselves. Because it makes them to stumble and bumble along.

Maybe he should have had Pauline Hanson alongside him at the press conference, so she could announce her policies that he is adopting.

The sad part about all of this is, he talks about values, whilst letting asylum seekers rot on Manus and Nauru, ignores climate change, gives less foreign aid to struggling countries, which affects millions of women and children.

How about equality, humanity, compassion, diversity empathy and freedom for a start.

All that is missing, at the moment, is a wig that matches Donald Trump’s hair piece.

All the way with Donald J Trump seems to be his latest memorandum.

Richard Ivan Ruse, Figtree

Australian values?

One of the greatest is a sense of humour.

The miners (members of that dreadful organisation, the CMFEU) at the Appin mine (the same one where 14 miners were killed in 1979 due to incompetence by the owners) turned up for work in their underpants for 10 minutes on Tuesday April 18 as a protest about failure by the company (South 32) to honour an agreement about Laundry and Mining clothing.

No time was lost but the company sacked the union representative.

So much for Australian values.

According to the company’s website the key people who I would assume have made this un- Australian values decision are Graham Kerr (CEO), Brendan Harris (CFO), Beng Ricus Grimbeek (President & COO Australia ) and Mike Fraser (President & COO South Africa).

So Malcolm deny them citizenship for not possessing an Australian value of a sense of humour?

Russell Hannah OAM, Shellharbour

In response to the article, "Protesters call for closure of Manus camp" (Illawarra Mercury, April 18, 2017), the recognition both locally and internationally of Australia welcoming refugees is well known.

This is just straight out politics.

When 1200 men, women and children drowned at sea under Labor's open borders policy only one refugee activist, the Greens Senator Sara Hanson-Young said "accidents will happen" and there was no compassion in her expression or words while the other refugee advocates remained silent.

And while 2000 children remained behind razor wire in these detention centres, refugee advocates remained silent.

Refugee activists and advocates marched in support of Labor's open borders policy which helped cause the need for detention centres.

Now they march to have them closed while ignoring the fact that we have a strong border policy in place and the refugees are being processed.

Refugee advocates should be renamed "political troublemakers".

Adrian Devlin, Fairy Meadow

Recently Merv Boatswain retired after throwing morning newspapers over fences in the Mt Kembla-Cordeaux Heights area for 35 years. Merv was a model of reliability in all weather.

If there was a spot to keep the papers dry on wet nights he would find it.

A former RL player with the Dragons and Port Kembla, Merv and wife Di were a great team.

On behalf of their many customers, I want to wish them a happy retirement.

Phil Murphy, Cordeaux Heights.