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Credit: Matt Golding
Less commuter stress
Finally, we have independent verification of what we’ve known for ages (″The $85 billion Australians saved by ditching the commute″, 13/9). Why should the average worker be expected to sacrifice up to two hours morning and evening on a senseless commute when half that time could have been spent in bed and the other half not being stressed about getting children off to school and parents to work on time?
It’s a better quality of life and less financial stress for those humble workers and families not on million-dollar salaries and fewer vehicle and greenhouse emissions too.
Ever since COVID taught us how more efficient, accessible and cost effective it was to work from home at least half the time, why do some in senior management resist such an obvious better way of organising urban life?
Perhaps because it doesn’t match the pre-COVID business plan for metro tunnels and a daft suburban rail link?
Bernadette George, Mildura
Equity in education
Associate Professor David Hastie (Comment, 13/9) supports the taxpayer funding of private schools and states that some countries provide even more generous public funding.
Do the countries he refers to permit non-monetary subsidies such as tax-deductible building fund donations and an exemption from payroll tax, which are a cost to the taxpayer?
An independent review is required to determine the full costs to the taxpayer. I note that the UK, while not providing any public funding, will actually be charging 20 per cent VAT from 2025 on private school fees. Why should we not charge the 10 per cent GST on private school fees?
Barry Lizmore, Ocean Grove
Serious on climate?
Your correspondent (Letters, 14/9) summarises the lunacy of importing gas. The Age also reports the latest on the Beetaloo gas fracking saga (″Plibersek intervenes in gas project″, 14/9).
With so many scientists, business and farming organisations and politicians – even including Peter Dutton – supporting net zero by 2050, how did we get here? The answer includes vested interests and politics. Certainly Australia needs jobs, and to ″keep the lights on″, by ensuring adequate energy for domestic purposes.
But the development of new gas extraction and transport infrastructure takes a huge risk, not least being of the world reaching a climate tipping point. If this happens, the damage and cost of more extreme weather will be far more than any benefit of jobs and ″reliable″ energy.
Is Australia really serious about climate action?
John Hughes, Mentone
Stop the logging
Congratulations to The Age on the article ″Why logging of native forest just won’t end″ (14/9), for highlighting an issue that is often presented as a war between urban and regional communities. The fact that Victoria is the most cleared state yet logging is still occurring, threatening our state faunal emblem the Leadbeater’s possum, is disappointing but not surprising given our government’s half-hearted commitments. Animals don’t see the difference between public and private land, and neither should we when it comes to ending logging.
Sarah Brennan, Hawthorn
Join airport dots
Look at Tullamarine’s proposed third runway in a positive light: there may be no need to worry about building the long-awaited airport rail link after all (″Residents sound alarm, call for curfew after third airport runway approved″, 13/9). If they build a couple more runways, the airport will soon stretch all the way to the CBD. Problem solved.
Jenifer Nicholls, Windsor
Farewell, city charm
The proposals reported recently in The Age to revamp and slash the rights of residents for new developments are horrifying.
Residents will lose the right to appeal building proposals yet developers can appeal. This puts the developers in control of building proposals and will often result high-rise flats. The government is tearing down the old housing commission flats but now we will see a rash of buildings which will be no better.
The reduction in setbacks, the increase of height limits, the increase in overlooking, and the total disregard of neighbourhood character will destroy the amenity and beauty of Melbourne. It will no longer be the world’s most liveable city.
We do have a lack of housing stock but the government should consider supporting more housing in regional cities and areas where there is more space to build without the need to implement these changes. It should also support an increase in staff to more quickly assess planning proposals.
The charm of Melbourne will be lost forever.
Maria McKinnon, Northcote
He comes up trumps
Donald Trump never loses an election and he never loses a debate. Just ask him.
Phil Lipshut, Elsternwick
A fair go is gone
The Australian notion of a ″fair go″ for all has surely been shattered forever when the head of the Reserve Bank can tell ″battlers″, well you just might have to sell your house in order to counteract the effects of rising costs of living.
Cheryl Day, Beaumaris
Not right place for arms
Although it is (terribly) necessary for peaceful states to arm themselves in the deterrence and resistance of tyrants and their invasive forces, your correspondent (Letters, 13/9) is right that for arms companies to display their wares in such a commercial and open fashion in a civilian place is entirely inappropriate – indeed, the very idea of it to many of us is rightfully obscene.
Peter Drum, Coburg
Perpetual war
The weapons of war are, necessarily, terrible things and have always been such. Often deployed unwisely and unjustly they can, however, be equally used to defend the innocent against an unjust aggressor or deter an adversary from embarking on a destructive military campaign. Because it seems sadly true that ″only the dead have seen the end of war″, the weapons of war seem destined to persist despite any amount of moral outrage. Perhaps a sizeable percentage of those protesting the Land Forces expo in Melbourne might have remained silent if its hardware were intended or destined for their preferred causes and actors?
Lawrence Pope, Carlton North
Unchain ourselves
Warwick McFadyen’s Faith article (8/9) is a sober reminder of the precarious state of the world. The 24-hour news cycle and social media have in so many ways desensitised us to this instability. The violence of wars, poverty and inequality renders the need of millions to seek refuge. As he writes, we must ″fight against the hammer shaping the hand″. I am reminded of a poem by the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, Earth Poem. The last line is ″But could only see themselves in chains″. Let us not be chained to destruction.
Judith Morrison, Nunawading
Have mercy
The Port Adelaide v Hawthorn contest on Friday again raises consideration of whether it is worth embracing a rule change to allow that when the ball crosses the boundary line through the goal posts it should register as a goal, irrespective of whether it touched a goal post on its journey. It could be called the player (kicker) mercy amendment.
Brian Marshall, Ashburton
Who’s on laundry duty?
There was an ad during the Friday night game mentioning the AFL’s ″Official Laundry Partner″, but surely someone’s parent takes home all the jumpers and gives them a good wash? Is there still a parent who brings along the orange quarters for half-time or have all the footy traditions died?
Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill
Recalling royalty
The visit of King Charles III is an opportunity to remember his mother Queen Elizabeth II and Australia’s ″first lady″ Dame Edna who both sadly passed away since his last visit.
Malcolm Cameron, Camberwell
Suspend the Loop
The works related to building the Suburban Rail Loop should be suspended before many more millions are wasted on early excavations and unwanted community disruptions. Victoria does not need to be saddled by any more debt – and certainly not debt caused by a project that has not been properly evaluated and is unlikely to be used much.
Peter Fagg, Blackburn