Covid investigation reveals failure of democracy in crisis

Covid investigation reveals failure of democracy in crisis

Sharri Markson has nailed it again (“Covid cover-up: how science was silenced”, 29-30/7). Her investigative reporting describes the US funding of a laboratory that was conducting vaccine experiments for the People’s Liberation Army, the death and likely murder of a scientist, a cover-up by officials and millions dead. These all provide the ingredients of a Netflix series. Like the Watergate saga and its dramatisation in All The President’s Men, this Wuhan cover-up is another shameful example of corruption in a country that expects democracy, honesty and transparency in others. No doubt we will see the story streaming soon.

John Kempler, Rose Bay, NSW

Housing wars

Jamie Walker writes that Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather is up for the “fight” on the housing funding (“The Greens tyro under the skin of the PM”, 29-30/7). As a former Queensland housing minister – dealing with the Howard government, which reduced the housing funding to pre-Second World War levels – I know what fighting for the housing funding feels like.

That underfunding, repeated by the subsequent Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments over two decades of no housing support from conservative governments is the root cause of today’s problems.

Chandler-Mather is fighting against a Labor government that has made the biggest commitment to housing in several generations.

As long as he maintains the arrogance of demanding he is always right and everyone else wrong, the homeless better get used to sleeping rough. Continuing to block housing projects in his own electorate, while admitting that opposing funding is his political strategy to stir up the housing poor to stay relevant should be condemned. Blubbering in parliament, while being supported by conservatives who have never spoken up for the homeless, adds to the hypocrisy.

Robert Schwarten, Rockhampton, Qld

As a landlord for over 40 years I find it astonishing that any government would attempt to freeze their sometimes (only) income stream for investors, most of whom are not wealthy but mum-and-dad investors. If the government was serious and fair it would also freeze local council rates, property insurance and bank interest for rental properties, as well as ongoing maintenance labour costs. Let’s be honest and realistic regarding this proposed change.

Rob Webster, Quirindi, NSW

Teaching reform

Every politician and educator should read Ben Jensen’s article in The Weekend Australian (“A bridge in the classroom”, 29-30/7). It is a road map for the revolution in Australian education. For decades, the curriculum has been dumbed down through a mixture of sloppy sentimentality and ideological fixations. Knowledge, carefully constructed, was virtually discarded. What educators should know is that it is what is in a person’s head that gives them the capacity to explore and interact with the world. The mere availability of the internet is not sufficient. Students, especially those from deprived backgrounds, find it hard to grasp and understand knowledge that does not appear to have immediate relevance to them, but that can be solved by using appropriate teaching and learning methods.

Jim Wilson, Beaumont, SA

Ben Jensen’s article on Australian education assumes that the main aim of education is to help students to remember prescribed content. Teaching students how to ask their own questions (to think) about topics they themselves select does not get a mention. The success of any student, business or nation in a rapidly changing world depends on the ability to create new ways of doing, making and thinking about information. Knowledge gaps can be due to inappropriate content, inappropriate instruction, inappropriate opportunities and inappropriate test designs. Content has a very short half-life. As Albert Einstein once said: “The main aim of education is not the remembering of facts: rather it is the training of minds to think, to ask questions, to be curious, to create new information.”

John Langrehr, Leabrook, SA

Magnificent Matildas

It is refreshing to see the discussion and celebration around the women’s soccer World Cup. For decades, women’s sport has taken a back seat and been underrated and under-appreciated. When I was growing up, male sport dominated the media and female sports stars were not easily visible. Today, my niece grows up in a world where not only are female sports stars such as Sam Kerr acknowledged for their skill, but they’re also revered. This marks a cultural shift long overdue. The coverage of the Women’s World Cup bucks the trend of iconic sporting events backed by money being only the domain of men. Not all change is bad.

Sonia Morell, Alice Springs, NT