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School discrimination
Why would any Christian school wish to exclude trans students? (“Schools keep power to expel trans students”, The Age, 8/2) Surely if you believe that an all-powerful God created the universe and everything in it, you must accept that God also created transgender people? In which case how can you justify refusing to allow one of His(?) creations into your school?
Dave Torr, Werribee
PM is lacking compassion
Scott Morrison’s willingness to discriminate against transgender children makes me ashamed to admit I have any Christian heritage. Has he understood the central Christian teaching “do to others as you would have them do to you”?
Susan Pepper, Mooroolbark
Political contradictions
Oh, the joys of a state and federal election in the same year. In Victoria, we have inner-city Liberals trying to up their appeal to the LGBTQI community by promising to fund a specialist legal service (“State Libs to woo rainbow vote”, Sunday Age 6/2). Meanwhile in Canberra, Scott Morrison is trying to “deal with the problems” in the Sex Discrimination Act to ensure religious schools keep the right to discriminate against a vulnerable population in that same community. Adequately funded legal services, specialist or otherwise, would be wonderful. A genuine commitment from both state and federal Liberals to protecting and advancing the legal rights of all LGBTQI+ people would be even better.
Catherine Reidy, Reservoir
Exemptions from government funds
To many of us mere voters, the answer to the seemingly extremely difficult issue of framing current legislation around discrimination in schools is very simple. If schools want to receive taxpayers’ money they should adhere to all the rules that apply to government schools. If they want exemption from those rules then they are exempt from taxpayer money. Secular money where secular rules apply.
Jenny Callaghan, Hawthorn
Ridicule without vilification?
The Coalition’s religious freedom bill proposes people be allowed to make statements against others that offend, humiliate, intimidate, insult or ridicule. It’s subject to a bizarre proviso that the remarks must express their faith – or lack of faith – and are not malicious, do not vilify and do not harass. This is nonsense. If someone offends, humiliates, intimidates, insults or ridicules another person, especially a vulnerable person, the recipient of their abuse will feel vilified and harassed whether the perpetrator was motivated by religious belief, malice, or both.
Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills
Put our rights on paper
With all this conflicted talk of a religious discrimination bill and the Sex Discrimination Act, it’s time we looked again at an Australian bill of rights. We are about the only so-called Western democracy not to have established one. While not a panacea for all our ills, a bill of rights might enable us to become “a more perfect union”. It would promote the protection of our human rights by clarifying the rights held by us all.
Nick Toovey, Beaumaris
Individual preferences put before the community
As I mature in age, I see our society losing moral and ethical behaviour passed down over generations. Good and bad have little distinction with as much sympathy and emotion shown to the perpetrator as the victim. Things once accepted as right rather than wrong, good rather than bad, have become a shade of grey with an attitude of personal preference to whatever feels good rather than doing good. The governments of the Western world were founded on Christian principles that are being curtailed to suit certain minorities, leading to a system of individualistic demands rather than the communal caring and benefit of all.
Bruce Hambour, North Haven, SA
FORUM
Pedestrian safety
It’s good to see the police cracking down on e-scooter riders who are endangering pedestrians (“Police crack down on electric scooter misuse”, The Age, 8/2). But I’m more worried about being hit by a car. Indeed, many drivers treat giving way to pedestrians at intersections as optional.
Of course we don’t have the police resources to monitor every intersection. But there are technical solutions, such as early starts for pedestrians at signalled crossings. What does it take to get the authorities to implement such simple measures? I recently asked my local council to apply for improvements to a signalised intersection where near misses are common and pedestrians have been seriously injured. It said no. Apparently the criteria is that there must be three serious injuries (requiring hospitalisation) that could have been prevented by the improvements. Three! It says a lot about how much the authorities value pedestrian safety.
Andrea Bunting, Brunswick
Scooting safely
After travelling more than 3000 kilometres in six months on my e-scooter I’ve had to become hyper-aware of my ability to return home safely. This vehicle can roll downhill without power at 45 kilometres an hour but that’s a death wish.
Some roads I won’t travel on and I resort to the footpath. Everybody’s safety is paramount, so be seen, slow down and be hyper-alert to the rules and return home unscathed.
Patrick Walker, Coburg North
Useful guidelines
Rod Wise suggests (Letters 8/2) religion is to blame for many of society’s problems. I believe that, in the main, religions provide guidelines for ethical behaviour. The problems are caused by how people interpret, then apply those interpretations, to their actions.
Andrew Moloney, Frankston
History wars
Deborah Morrison, (Letters, 8/2), makes a telling point – in the context of teaching history – that “instead of teaching what to think, perhaps teaching how to think is required”. Such an approach would contradict the conservative Commonwealth curriculum draft, which, the World War I Gallipoli campaign being a prime example, does not allow for contested narratives. Ideally, an enlightened curriculum in 2022 would acknowledge that the brave Anzac Diggers in 1915 confronted an equally brave Turkish adversary for whom Islam was their guiding force. For the latter, the Anzacs were perceived arguably as latter-day “Christian Crusaders” invading their nation. Questioning skills in relation to historical narratives should be a curriculum priority in a world where students are being subjected to disinformation across a range of media.
Jon McMillan, Mount Eliza
Not the full story
By golly, Captain Cook has a lot to answer for. If only he had curbed his adventurous spirit and remained at home, we would not be having this tedious debate on Australian history. In fact, we wouldn’t have any schools, much less all these opinions on what should be taught.
It is what it is. The history prior to settlement is based on myths, handed down over generations. It remains part of the history of Australia, which must be acknowledged, but not the full story. Trish Young, Hampton
Real jobs
That the last time the jobless rate had a 3 in front of it was in the mid-70s will be a mantra used by the government right up until the May election. But it should not be taken at face value. In 1974-75 a job meant tenured employment, holiday pay, sick pay and in most cases superannuation. In 1974 more than 50 per cent of the workforce belonged to a union and received regular wage increases arbitrated at the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and most workers could afford to buy a home in one of the growing suburbs of our capital cities. Today to be employed is to work more than one hour every week and a vast number of new jobs are contracted or casual and are without the benefit of holiday or sick pay. Less than 17 per cent of workers belong to a union and so we now have a sector of the workforce referred to as the “working poor” who struggle to find money for rent and for whom home ownership remains an impossible dream.
Craig Horne, Fitzroy North
Aged care assistance
In addition to sending in the Defence Force to provide certain limited functions in aged care homes (“Plea for aid as aged care surge force ‘inadequate’”, The Age, 7/2) maybe Scott Morrison could ask Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck to help as well. The senator could provide assistance with dressing, showering and toileting and it could give him a better understanding of his portfolio and the difficulties and daily pressures that workers experience.
Peter Williams, Alphington
Skills shortage
The Prime Minister’s statement that, in aged care, “you want qualified people providing care” (“Compliance checks in aged care cut back”, The Age, 8/2) is quite right. The aged care royal commission has identified that a core problem with Australia’s broken aged care system is that aged care workers are not sufficiently trained to provide quality care. This is also the ongoing daily observation of primary, family and friend carers of aged care residents. The amount of minimal training that currently enables someone to earn a salary as an aged care worker, does not enable workers to fulfil even the basic requirement for care, which are the skills of observation and thought processes that lead to practical solutions. Carers entering a resident’s room usually don’t even notice what is wrong, and on the rare occasions they do notice, they don’t have the time, knowledge or skill to alleviate the problem.
The aged care royal commission’s report provides full details of the whole range of facets of care, where expertise which should be core knowledge for aged care workers is completely missing from their training and consequently, their care practice. It is this that the Coalition should have been working on from February 2021, when the aged care royal commission’s report was first released.
Ruth Farr, Blackburn South
Fair pay
I see the Fair Work Commission is going to make a decision on the value to the community of the work of aged care workers, in order to set an appropriate wage rate. I’m sure many would like to see the commission do the same for bank executives.
John Hannah, Castlemaine
Successful return
A huge shout out to all staff in schools on their rather daunting return to the workplace. Having conformed to the vaccine mandate (triple-vaxxed by mid-March in Victorian schools) they continue to educate, motivate, counsel and nurture all students. With case numbers high as was predicted in the first week, many staff are in the “at risk of more serious illness” category. As with our wonderful health care workers, their responsibility for those in their care is paramount. The last two years have highlighted just how much many of those in positions of power have historically undervalued, underpaid and under-acknowledged the contribution made by workers in the service industries.
Terry White, Lilydale
Park your egos
There should be a sign where politicians enter Parliament House that reads:
“Park your egos. Leave any wheelbarrows to be pushed outside. Take off any political party ideology and place it in the cloakroom along with any sexism, racism or willingness to discriminate. Your role here is not self-serving, nor is it to serve a party. You have a job to do on behalf of all Australians. You chose to be here and to do this job. Now just get on with it without any fanfare, fuss and self-aggrandisement.”
Greg Tuck, Warragul
Seen it all before
The current shenanigans emanating from Canberra are of little interest to a vast number of Australian voters. That’s because we have such a low opinion of politicians that all the skulduggery, infighting and backstabbing is seen as par for the course.
Tim Nolan, Brighton
How to save the reef
The only action that will help save the Great Barrier Reef is the government taking urgent science-based measures, specifically, 75 per cent emissions reduction by 2030, and speedily ending new fossil fuel mining and subsidies. Such measures would also help the world to stay under the crucial 1.5 degree warming limit that is essential for the survival of all coral reefs (“Reef report only muddies the waters”, Opinion, The Age, 8/2).
Tragically, the Morrison government refuses to heed the science. The question is why is it so irresponsible and callous? Is its higher value money and profits? Or has it lost control of the fossil fuel industry?
Barbara Fraser, Burwood
Closed to visitors
I went to watch a sitting of the Victorian Parliament and was turned away. The person on the door informed me there was no public gallery, online viewing only. Fair enough I thought, probably due to COVID. I then wandered across to Treasury Place and saw people gathering for the government outdoor press briefing. I thought I might watch from a distance but was intercepted by a protective services officer who told me to leave. I apologised saying I thought I was in a public area, that I’d not seen any signs or barriers and how far away do I need to be? “I’m telling you now, 50 metres away” snarled the PSO as he followed me off the premises. Welcome to the state of Victoria. Democracy by invitation. Security by intuition. Interpersonal skills optional.
Duncan Cameron, Seddon
And another thing
Illustration: Matt GoldingCredit:
Politics
The Prime Minister’s values are on display – he would rather see a transgender kid kicked out of school than a crook kicked out of Parliament.
Gary Sayer, Warrnambool
It looks like an effective federal ICAC is still a year or two away – and always will be, if the Coalition has its way.
Laurie McCormack, Northcote
So there are core and non-core policies! Who’d have thought that? Perhaps Scott Morrison would be kind enough to label them for us this election.
Doris LeRoy, Altona
I don’t want Scott Morrison or anyone else peering into our kids’ undies.
Dean Platt, Ocean Grove
It’s time for Jen to wonder what if one of her daughters is trans, then explain it to Scott.
Margaret Callinan, Hawthorn
I can’t understand what swines have to do with park barrelling.
Mike Pantzopoulos, Ashburton
Aged care
And will the ADF be paid at the same rate as carers while working in aged care homes?
Pamela Pilgrim, Highett
My mum in aged care is waiting to have her hair washed. Is the Prime Minister available?
Cheryl DeCoite, Gembrook
The Nationals
In the “four watches saga” Christine Holgate resigned after being shamed and told ... “She must go”. Barnaby Joyce can stay after a bitter and damaging leaked text. Ain’t forgiveness grand.
Myra Fisher, Brighton East
The political survival of Richard Colbeck and Barnaby Joyce doesn’t reflect a talent pool (Letters 8/2) but a blocked sink.
Gary Sayer, Warrnambool
Furthermore
If we need three vaccinations why don’t tourists?
Barbara Lynch, South Yarra
The Queen sees Camilla as the future Queen Consort of Britain. Do we see her as the future Queen of Australia?
Reg Murray, Glen Iris
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