The 60-day script is a commonsense reform that’s in the interest of the many millions of Australians who suffer from a chronic condition. It will save time and money for many. It will free up time spent by GPs providing scripts. It has overwhelming community support.
Pharmacies have many other sources of income than processing scripts,and the changes will apply to less than a third of the medicines listed on the PBS.
Businesses come and go. For as long as I can remember,it’s been common,but entirely unnecessary,for retail areas to have multiple pharmacies. However,it is not individual Australians’ job to keep pharmacies in business by sacrificing their own health and finances. And if this change means that over time we have fewer pharmacies,so be it.Prue Nelson,Cremorne Point
Millions of Australians with chronic health conditions to gain cheaper prescription medicines.
Your editorial is spot-on (“”,June 23). Having resisted my doctors’ advice to take blood pressure medication for some time,I caved in and was told by my doctor that I would need to take it for the rest of my life. This means decades of trekking to the pharmacy every month just to have a script filled. I could understand the clinical need for the medication,but I recall arguing with my doctor that these medications supported a greedy pharmaceuticals industry.
It is outrageous that the Pharmacy Guild should pressure the government to continue an inefficient system that is costly to hundreds of thousands of ordinary Australians purely to enable self-interested pharmacists to make more money while most Australians are struggling to balance increasing living costs. I have no sympathy for them.Lyn Reitano,Sans Souci
Perhaps it is time for a little disruption in the retail pharmaceutical industry. Although my suburb is atypical,I have counted the number of pharmacies in our main street,from the Icon Building to the famous Coca-Cola sign,a distance of 650 metres. There are six;all of them are presumably subsidised by the taxpayer.
If the reduction of these subsidies can be proven to risk the closure of the only pharmacy operating in some places,such as small country towns,then special direct subsidies can be paid to allow to continue trading. If necessary,unemployed pharmacists in over-serviced areas could be given special assistance to study abridged university courses in medicine,as part of a government plan to overcome the general shortage of GPs due to the poor policies of previous governments. Tom Kelly,Potts Point
Pharmacies have encroached on other retailers’ turf by selling cosmetics,toys and footwear et cetera,which hurts these other businesses in the local mall. There’s also talk of pharmacists being able to diagnose and dispense scripts for some common ailments,which the AMA isn’t exactly thrilled about. It seems wrong to keep consumer prices high just because you can,or “that’s the way it’s always been”. Everyone’s in competition,just the Pharmacy Guild has a bigger voice.Luke Crosthwaite,Clear Island Waters (Qld)
Some of my prescriptions have three repeats per script,some only one. This means I need to return regularly to my GP for new scripts,unnecessarily taking up both his and mine as well as costing Medicare for each consultation. Within 50 metres of my GP’s practice are four pharmacies. If chemists are finding it tough maybe their number,in my area at least,may have more to do with the problem than the proposal to double the number of repeats for each script.John Bailey,Canterbury
The pig is set to fly,and Bradfield is turning in his grave
Regardless of the agreement reached with the Heritage Council,the proposed cycleway exit is ugly and will ruin the park and look of the bridge (“,June 23). Cycleways are built for ideological reasons not transport reasons and cost taxpayers a motza. Why can’t the cyclists who use the bridge cycleway,simply continue to dismount as they do now? It seems a minor inconvenience. (Yes,I cycle.) Meanwhile,cyclists continue to complain about improving road safety while failing to observe basic road rules including stopping at traffic lights.Tim Egan,Mosman
I have likened the contentious Harbour Bridge linear cycle ramp to a slash across the Mona Lisa. A brass handrail will do nothing to mitigate the terrible impact on this internationality recognised architectural and engineering heritage. The mastermind of the Bridge,John Bradfield,must be turning in his grave.Frank Johnson,Peakhurst
An artist’s impression of the Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway design,which the state government finalised last March.Transport for NSW
Critics claiming that the proposed cycle ramp will “destroy the heritage of Bradfield Park and the Bridge itself is sacred” exaggerate. The proposed cycle ramp is alongside the long road ramp (and below the parapet) leading up to the bridge proper. It is 350 metres away from the steel structure with its decorative pylons that get photographed every day. No one photographs the ramp. The cycle ramp starts on the edge of Bradfield Park and moves away from it to the north. The Milsons Point station is more of an eyesore and visual distraction from the Sydney Harbour Bridge,so maybe the station should be removed if they are that concerned about looks. Forcing cyclists to use the north-end steps is an embarrassment in this day and age.John Whiteing,Willoughby
It looks like the pig is going to fly. Now we’ll have to endure the squealing while a fair cyclist toll is negotiated for the use of the ramp and the bridge.Dave Watts,Avalon
Maroons’ winning spirit
With respect,all your correspondents are missing the point (,June 23). Queenslanders are truly and genuinely passionate about rugby league and their team plays as a team because of it and the concomitantesprit de corps that such passion engenders. As they say:“A champion team will always beat a team of champions.” What can be done? Start with a slogan to rival “Queenslander!” and the rest will follow - hopefully.Pasquale Vartuli,Wahroonga
Coming from the Northern Rivers and sick of losing. Can we move the border to south of Grafton?John Hollingsworth,Evans Head
Finally,a win over those Queenslanders (“”,smh.com.au,June 22). Well done. You played with passion and never gave up. Next year the series.Denis Suttling,Newport Beach
Bowler Boland betters batters
Why would the selectors drop Scott Boland from the Test team,knowing he made more runs than some of our established batsmen in the first Test (“”,June 23). Australia cannot keep on relying on the bowlers to win matches.Robyn Lewis,Raglan
Why is the women’s cricket Test series called the Ashes (“”,smh.com.au,June 22). There is only one urn and that is for the men. It should just be the Australian team playing the English.Jean Kingdon,Wahroonga
Let the people vote on the Voice,Peter Dutton
There is nothing Peter Dutton would love more than to have the Voice referendum abandoned (“”,June 23). Not for the good of the country,as he claims,but purely to gain a political advantage over Anthony Albanese. The referendum must be allowed to proceed,and the people make their decision.Ian Adair,Hunters Hill
Why would we listen to Dutton about the Voice when not too long ago he walked out of the apology to stolen generations? Then,as now,there were plenty of dire warnings about the damage it would do,all utter nonsense in hindsight.Colin Stokes,Camperdown
Illustration:Matt Golding
Right-wing politicians have conned Australians into fake stories about Indigenous people from the first European settlement. Now we are being told an advisory Voice is either not going to achieve anything or will be too powerful a Voice for all of Australia. For fairness and basic humanity it’s time to ignore the Liberal fearmongering and their media voice.Greg Thompson,Bega
Close relationship
Despite the gift to all Australians of an amazing 65,000-year first history,First Nations people could not dream of having the closeness of voice to parliament and executive government once enjoyed,on trust,by PwC (,June 23).
Graeme Stewart,Palm Beach
Why now?
Who is behind this propaganda against China and why now (“”,June 23)? Who really do these military experts represent? They certainly do not represent the interests of Australia and its relationship with China. We must talk down the possibility of conflict and talk up the need for collaboration and understanding as a way to peace and stability. Will we listen to the voices of peace rather than those who have much to profit from military conflict?
Anne Shay,Ballina
Bad tax
The NSW state government chargers me $10k per year in land tax (“”,June 23). My tenants and I get nothing for this. This is a cost that has to be recovered as part of the rent charged to tenants. If the NSW government and the Greens were serious,they would drop this cost,so I didn’t have to pass it on.Murray Coates,Burra
Reform needed
David Crowe mentions “at least five policy challenges” but of course the elephant in the room is tax reform (”,June 23). The Housing Australia Future Fund for only 30,000 homes is not a housing solution as Crowe says and without larger income streams from effective tax reforms,it’s likely to remain so.Geoffrey Williamson,Woollahra
Lifeline spike
It is hardly surprising that the nation’s current economic pain is being reflected in the number of calls to Lifeline (“”,June 23). Cost of living pressures including disproportionate increases in the price of food and energy costs,coupled with interest rate hikes,are critical issues facing governments and policy makers. The social fabric of the Australian society is being rent asunder and repairing it with patchwork solutions will not work. The task is not easy,however,it should not be an impossibility for those with power to do so,to resolve to provide more than the vital responsibility of listening to those impacted. The work of Lifeline and its volunteers underpins a society that cares for each other.Allan Gibson,Cherrybrook
Titanic realism
Tragic as the loss of five lives was on the Titan submersible,the reality is that this was a deep ocean excursion to view a 110 year-old shipwreck,by a small group of wealthy individuals (“‘”,smh.com.au,June 23). No major community public or scientific interests were identified as a reason for the venture. US and Canadian taxpayers would be justified in asking who should be liable for the huge search and recovery costs relating to this self-indulgent jaunt to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The Titan was identified as a high-risk operation from the outset - liability for recovery costs should rest with interests associated with the venture,rather than North American taxpayers.Brian Kidd,Mt Waverley (Vic)
Weekend work
Paul Barnes,I hear you loud and clear (,June 23). Private certifiers seemingly don’t work on weekends or public holidays. Otherwise,they’d be cracking down on rogue tradies working on construction sites on Sundays and public holidays,contrary to local councils’ conditions of consent for development applications.Col Shephard,Yamba
No favour
Your correspondent asks:“If the majority of home buyers are couples wouldn’t the favouring of sons even out?” Short answer:not if the couple happens to be two gay women (,June 23).Alicia Dawson,Balmain
RIP Crispin
It’s a measure of the warm person that his friends - and he had so many - knew him to be that even today,more than three decades on after his cruel and senseless death,we remember Crispin Dye (,June 22). For me,I had no idea who he was when he walked into the music store where I was working in the classical section and placed a small cassette player on the counter and asked whether we could identify for him a piece of music he had recorded from the radio while overseas. It was the beginning of a friendship - a shared love of music. Folk,rock,pop,bluegrass,trad jazz,classical. Only much later I learned from Crispin what his own day job was. He said:when people ask me what I do I just tell them I’m an electrician. Another measure of this modest person loved by all who knew him.Alexandra Szalay,Berowra Creek
We like what we see
At least the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House are not eyesores like the brown Yarra River and dreary Federation Square (“”,June 23). Self-evidently,Melburnians are simply more accepting people.Edward Loong,Milsons Point
Illustration:Matt Golding
Vienna and Copenhagen rated higher than our cities. I have recently returned from Copenhagen and the reason for that city’s rating is clear:a bright airy city that has maintained its heritage buildings,with developments limited to no more than five storeys. No high rises for the second-best city in the world. Sydney can learn a lesson from Copenhagen.Linda Page, Baulkham Hills
Please don’t tell me that Melbourne’s tram network helped get Melbourne ahead of Sydney in the “most liveable city” comparison. Last time I was in Melbourne my experience of tram journeys was to be crammed in like a sardine with no chance of a seat. And this was on the back end of COVID times.Eric Sekula,Turramurra
Some mums do ’ave ’em
If I spent $900,000 on a memorial for Mum,she’d whack me across the bum and send me to my room (“”,June 23).George Manojlovic,Mangerton
Postscript
Most,but not all, were dismayed to learn that some private school principals’ pay packages top $1 million,while their schools receive government funding and don’t pay tax.
“I think private school principals deserve the money they are paid,” wrote Robert Hickey of Green Point. “Overseeing multimillion dollar budgets and facilitating the delivery of cricket pavilions,swimming pools,state-of-the-art libraries,overseas excursions and dealing with wealthy parents who demand bang for their buck must be very stressful. How can their job compare with a public school principal who only has to deliver on educational outcomes with increasingly diminishing resources?”
The inequitable distribution of wealth was also the focus while discussing the housing crisis. In response to an that suggested that “if we are to address housing affordability we need to think in the interests of the entire community,not just our own backyard”,correspondent described what he believes is the “selfishness of wealthy suburban communities”,who do not want to allow high-rise development around their major transport hubs. If they were to acquiesce,“the local burghers might get their lattes because all their cafes in their main streets are not closed,” he wrote.
But it was the tragedy deep in the Atlantic Ocean,where the frantic search took place for the submersible that set off to see the Titanic wreck,that made many question whether all lives are equal. As Steve Fortey of Avoca Beach wrote,“Five wealthy people die tragically at the bottom of the ocean. It’s catastrophic. Hundreds of desperate,penniless refugees perish at the bottom of the Mediterranean. That’s unfortunate.”Pat Stringa,Letters editor