Another attack in Sydney, this time on the eve of a breakthrough in the Gaza war (“High-profile Jewish leader lived at home targeted in eastern suburbs attack”, January 17). This homegrown conflict is no longer about the plight of Palestinians. This is now about attacking Jews anywhere. The local perpetrators would be more comfortable in 1930s Europe than they are in democratic Australia. I await our politicians to decry this latest act with their usual “it’s not the Australian way”, but platitudes like that are meaningless. Who knows, maybe it is the “new” Australian way. But each time it happens, my hope and pride in our nation is diminished, one step at a time. Patrick McGrath, Potts Point
While we feel deep sympathy for Israeli hostages in Gaza and their families (“After 18 months of agony, Eli’s ordeal nears end”, December 17), we should also remember the suffering of Palestinian hostages who have been taken in much greater numbers before, during and since the October 7 attacks. They include Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospital, who was arbitrarily detained in December. The return of all hostages on both sides is essential for the ordeal to really end. Martin Cousins, Lindfield
Alex Ryvchin, Co-CEO of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, with his wife Vicky outside their former home in Dover Heights, which was vandalised overnight. Credit: James Brickwood
I had hoped the ceasefire deal in Gaza would help bring an end to antisemitic attacks on Australian citizens in Sydney, but there were more attacks overnight in the eastern suburbs. So much for hope. When will this hate end? These people, many the family members of Holocaust survivors, have done nothing to deserve this. Vivienne Parsons, Thornleigh
Train drivers don’t have it easy
I can understand the frustration of commuters who feel let down by recent disruptions, but as the wife of an ex-driver, I know firsthand the workplace conditions drivers and guards face. There is no consistency in shifts: a driver may start at 12:06 am one day; 3:13 the next; work seven to 10 days straight; work three hours without a toilet break. If trains are delayed for some reason, you might get no break at all. These conditions result in driver fatigue and they endanger the staff and the public, yet they are rarely publicised. I can think of few other jobs that place such a strain on employees, and few employees who would work under such conditions. Let them be compensated fairly, and let the safety of these workers prevail. Drivers’ and commuters’ lives could depend on it. Jen Hacker, Ettalong Beach
Working from home has many benefits, as outlined by Tim Chapman (Letters, January 17), however, there are thousands of workers who simply can’t: nurses, ambos and police to name a few. The rail union leaders appear to have forgotten that these essential workers need to get to their workplaces, and on time. In addition, the housing crisis has condemned many of these same workers to long commutes, making transport disruption doubly hard to bear. Another reader, Ron Sinclair, pointed out that union bastardry made the election of a conservative government more likely. Do we really need another Mussolini to get the trains running on time? Stephanie Edwards, Leichhardt
Study in economy
While it would certainly be a struggle to survive on less than half the average full-time wage, there is no need for anyone to do that (“PhD students struggle to survive on just $87 a day”, January 17). Full-time PhD students can work part-time, just like any other full-time university student, as I know from my time as a dean of graduate studies. Any limits on working hours that a university may impose allow enough hours of work for students to earn a reasonable supplementary income. The beauty of the stipend, for those fortunate enough to be allocated one, is that students have a financial cushion that other students do not have. PhD students may even have the convenience of being offered part-time work tutoring, or as a research assistant, at their university. Moreover, they do not pay fees as other university students have to, so they do not incur a debt. My research on part-time student work has shown over the years that in Australia (as in many other countries), it is the norm for full-time students to work part-time. PhD students should be no different, with the added advantage that their hours of study are generally flexible, and they do not have to worry, as others do, about rearranging their working hours every semester when the times of their classes change. It would be a shame if this report by Christopher Harris deterred people from undertaking PhD study. Professor Erica Smith, Moruya
Full-time PhD students can work part-time, just like any other full-time university student.
Christopher Harris’ article highlighting the stringent budgeting required for daily survival by PhD student Katherine Warwick risks stereotyping such students as living lives akin to characters in La Boheme. However, the PhD student is a fuzzier concept. There is the PhD student whose family are the ones making the sacrifices, with the PhD spouse-parent-student spending evenings and weekends researching and writing. There is also the late-age PhD student who can finally pursue their dream of leisurely research, free from financial and family pressures. Finally, for an unknown number of PhD students, there is a marked personal cost, described by Julia Baird reflecting on her PhD path as “years marked as much by isolation and self-doubt as by discovery” (Phosphorescence, p. 146). Each PhD has its own story. Paul Casey, Callala Bay
It’s deja vu all over again. At the end of 1984, when I finished my PhD, the minimum wage in Australia was $4 an hour, or $152 per week. My postgraduate scholarship was $4400 per year, or $84.60 per week; so my income was 56 per cent of the minimum wage. For today’s students, that figure is about 66 per cent. Andrew Scott, Pymble
Trump’s conga line
Daily, the Trump Show becomes more surreal (“Trump casts Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, and Jon Voight as his ‘Hollywood envoys’ ” , January 17). This is the ultimate outcome of the historical, sustained American cult of celebrity. Somehow, millions of people have empowered an ageing public office impostor to trample on all the flowers of statesmanship, democracy, decency, intellectual power, leadership and sober vision to fulfil all his childish fantasies and surround himself with similarly unrepresentative, unqualified ‘celebrities’ . Not a single individual in Donald Trump’s expanding conga line of sycophants and ageing, tiresome ‘stars’ have any concept or interest in the realities, needs and expectations of the public. Behold, the end of the road of the American exceptionalism delusion. Robyn Dalziell, Kellyville
Although he might initially confuse him with Karl, Trump should perhaps also pick Groucho Marx as a Hollywood envoy, even posthumously. Why? Because I think he’d like but embrangle the meaning of the comedian’s famous words: “Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them, well, I have others.” Shaun Davies, St Peters
Mel Gibson (left), Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone are cast as Trump’s Hollywood envoys.Credit: Stephen Kirprillis
The contest between Joe Biden and Trump over bragging rights to the Gaza ceasefire agreement is dismally sad (“Biden leaves White House with Trump as his legacy”, January 17). The idea that “success has many fathers but failure is an orphan” is playing out. If the peace lasts, there will still be thousands of real orphans in Gaza and that’s even sadder. Peter Russell, Coogee
Portion distortion
Like Melissa Mason, I’ve often wondered about the size of pub and club meals while travelling and why it is almost impossible to order a smaller portion (“When it comes to dining out, I will always choose the kid’s menu”, January 16). This is particularly so if ordering breakfast when bacon and eggs comes with a week’s supply of bacon and two eggs when all that is required is one of each. Yes, if with a companion, you can share, although some eateries are not inclined to oblige. As Melissa asks, why aren’t smaller meals available to everyone, not just children and seniors, and why should you be shamed for asking? Max Redmayne, Drummoyne
Members of my family who insist on feeding healthy food to their children are tormented by its absence from cafe menus. While adults are well catered for, the kids’ choices are usually limited to nuggets (Chicken? Pull the other leg), chips, batter balls disguised as fish – in fact, sustenance devoid of anything that a nutritionist would approve. With society’s obesity problem, surely we should be training young palates to recognise what’s good for you. Some will sneer and say “one in a while won’t hurt”, but why is good food a punishment and chips a reward? Wendy Crewe, Lane Cove
I love a pub lunch, beer on tap, the usual menu of fish, parmigiana or pizza. However, I’m with Melissa Mason. Sometimes I want to choose from the kids’ menu because I don’t want the supersized meal that these days seems the norm. I no longer have a kid sitting at the table that makes me feel OK to contemplate the small people’s menu and meals. Half the size, half the price. I’d like to see that. Lisa Williams, Dulwich Hill
Many readers have complained about not being able to order smaller portions off the child’s menu. Credit: Shutterstock.com
Melissa Mason’s desire to eat from the kids’ menu reminded me of the four “ladies who lunch”, two of whom ordered from the kids’ menu. When the waitress delivered their dishes, she said to the first two “the plates are hot”. To the other two, “burny burny”. Derek Tennent, Manly Vale
In Italy, there is no problem with ordering a meal “per dividere”, and that’s in a country where the meals aren’t the enormous offerings found in the US or Australia. Usually, there’s no separate children’s menu as children are offered the same nutritious meals as adults. No self-respecting Italian parent would offer their bambino “chicken” nuggets … shudder. Jennifer Bacia, Newstead
Red tape tangle
I refer to yesterday’s story in the Herald (“ ‘Confusing’ approval process holding back Sydney housing”, January 17). Thirty-five years ago, I drew up my house plans with a pencil and paper, submitted them to council, obtained development approval, owner built the house at a cost of about $100,000 including land, and have lived there ever since. Three years ago, a 1940s house I owned in the same suburb burnt down. The zoning allowed a duplex, so I decided to build two smaller dwellings. Stupidly, I thought that increasing the supply of smaller houses close to shops, trains, buses and schools would be a good thing, but council did not share that view. I spent $15,000 on flood studies just to get to the starting line, even though the land has never flooded; not to mention tree studies, landscape plans and an extensive Statement of Environmental Effects. I am now engaged in an ongoing back and forth with council to address their inane and arbitrary concerns. For example, there is a gum tree on an adjacent block. Under a recent Australian Standard, the tree protection zone for this tree covers around half my block of land and I have had to demonstrate that the house footings will not adversely affect the tree. I have also had to make the driveway wide enough for two cars to park side by side, to avoid using street parking. Then there is a drainage constraint, which means I can build a McMansion with a granny flat, but I can’t build a duplex with the same footprint and the same roof runoff. It’s currently 232 days and counting, and the housing crisis deepens. John Storer, Bulli
Throughout a career in local government, I found delays in processing approvals were generally due to an applicant failing to provide the necessary information, and a shortage of staff. The Local Government Act 1919 was updated and amended yearly to make it easier for the applicant to determine if their proposal was compliant. This process was changed with the introduction of the LGA of 1993, with a more costly DA that now requires the submission of full detailed plans and a “statement of environmental effects” (completed by any unqualified person) in the first instance.
It has become a costly throw of the dice for an applicant who does not have a prior meeting with council’s staff before lodging a DA. This, together with private certification, has provided an uncertain and costly process for both the applicant and our community. Brian McDonald, Willoughby
I don’t know how to solve the housing crisis in Sydney and the resulting youth exodus (“City’s housing crisis sparks youth exodus”, January 16), but I do know the NSW and the federal governments could lessen the burden on people by setting a cap on essential food prices and drawing up a list of such items, similar to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme’s list of essential medical items. In 1974, when I started off as a graduate teacher, I could pay off one-third of my eight-year-old house with a year’s salary. In 2024, a starting graduate teacher can buy just 1/25 th of the same house, which is now 50 years old, with one year’s salary. This is indeed a crisis. Ken Grant, West Pennant Hills
Psychiatrists employed by the state are resigning in protest at their pay rates.Credit: Istock
Wage reversal
Some readers think public health psychiatrists are being greedy by resigning over pay (Letters, January 16). To put this in perspective, my psychiatrist father charged $45 per consultation in 1975 when in private practice. This apparently equates to $264 in today’s dollars. Consultations often lasted well over an hour and he bulk-billed many patients. The work was difficult and sometimes dangerous. He put three children through private school, took us on several overseas trips (unusual at the time), had a large house in a prestigious suburb and three cars. Good luck to any psychiatrist trying to do all that on the current wage today. Natalie Maschmeyer, Lindfield
A ripping yarn
Rather than go into a protracted explanation to overseas visitors of the dangers of rips, Josephine Grieve (Letters, January 17), I’d suggest you simply tell the swimmers that sharks had been spotted in the area. My guess is that they’ll walk (or run) on water to reach land. Randi Svensen, Wyong
Postscript
As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton ramped up the rhetoric this week in preparation for the upcoming federal election, Louise Dunbar of Cammeray noted that the Herald published 12 letters critical of Dutton on Monday alone, and not one in favour.
The letters team always tries to present a balanced reflection of readers’ opinions, but in this case it’s been impossible for the simple reason we’ve received almost no letters in support of the Liberal leader. Whether this is a portent of a Liberal defeat is another matter. Bruce Watson of Kirribilli pointed out that despite the apparent lack of support in the letters pages, recent opinion polls suggest a Coalition victory. Perhaps Dutton supporters just don’t write to the Herald – but we certainly would like to hear from you.
Readers of all political persuasions were mainly in agreement on the rail strike that brought Sydney to a near-standstill this week. Pensioner Ron Field noted that retirees had to accept whatever the government offered them, and that railway staff should do the same – or resign. Even loyal unionist Bob Hall of Wyoming, angry with the strikers’ demands, was tempted to employ “unconventional” hand signals after excruciatingly long waits on the platform. After taking three hours to get home from the airport this week, I can relate, but I kept my hands firmly in my pockets as the train finally approached. There are always two sides to a story, though. Jen Hacker of Ettalong, the wife of a former train driver, points out that it’s not the cushy job people seem to think, with rosters that sometimes have them on duty 10 days in a row, and being stuck on board for hours on end with no access to a loo. That’s not something most of us have to deal with at work.
With bushfires a perpetual worry during summer, Australians are particularly interested in the disaster unfolding in California, and many are drawing a direct link to climate change. Under the circumstances, President-elect Donald Trump’s “drill baby drill” slogan has raised the ire of many. Reader Amy Hiller wants the fossil fuel industry reined in by Australian governments. “Like big tobacco before it, coal, oil and gas should be demonised for what they are: polluting killers,” she wrote.
Let’s hope the rainy weather we are having is enough to keep the fires away this summer at least.
Ivan Hemens, letters desk
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