Parents will pay almost $1 million for two children to attend the city’s most expensive private schools over 13 years.Louie Douvis
The education minister Sarah Mitchell supports parental choice as to where parents enrol their child (“”,February 16). Income and wealth determine whether parents can make that choice,yet many in our community are not afforded the opportunity. Nor are people allowed to choose what school system their taxpayer dollar funds. “Low” fee private schools exist due to profligate government funding. If parents choose to send their children to private schools they should also fund it. The inequitable funding of our state school system is a blight on the wider community. The sooner the private school sector is allowed to fulfil its desire to be independent and have government funding removed and channelled into public schools,the greater benefit to the entire community.Scott Warnes,Suffolk Park
This question needs an honest answer:“Should all Australian children have the same educational opportunities?”
Would a child from Cobar public with no heated Olympic pool or high-performance coach be a better swimmer than someone from Cranbrook if given the same opportunities? Would a child from Wilcannia who has no specialist economics teacher be a better treasurer than someone educated at St Ignatius College Riverview? Would a child from Alice Springs,if given the opportunity to attend Toowoomba Grammar,be a brilliant minister for agriculture? As a parent,it is only natural that I want the best in educational opportunities for my children. As an Australian,I want what’s best for all Australian children. Australia is poorer without it.Rob Siebert,Skennars Head
There are a number of reasons why the decline of the great public school education system of the last century has resulted in decreasing enrolments. Inadequate funding,political interference,bureaucratic constraints,poor school leadership and the ever-increasing number of experienced staff leaving the system are just a few reasons. So-called solutions such as more selective and specialist high schools have only added to the decline as parents desert the local comprehensive schools in droves.Bruce Cuneo,Mortdale
Overcrowd and underfund your local public school,give new,untried and untested independent schools the advantage of extra funding and then express surprise that public school enrolments are down a few per cent. It’s simple,government schools are being neglected by the government.Steve Fortey,Avoca Beach
It seems a conundrum when we hear that the drift of students to private schools is more pronounced in suburbs on the metropolitan fringe,an area in which mortgage strain is felt more acutely. The lure of these schools lies in the perception that they provide an environment more conducive to achieving better social and academic outcomes and clearly parents are more than willing to sacrifice their incomes to have this take place. Many of these middle-class parents were probably products of the public school system,so what has changed for them? This question needs to be answered and acted upon before the public-to-private trend is arrested.Max Redmayne,Drummoyne
The most important fact in your article was that there is “a lack of public schools in the growth areas”. It is the fundamental responsibility of the current state government to build public schools in areas that need them;they are failing in their primary duty and their job. They are encouraging low-fee private schools to proliferate in areas that are crying out for public schools because that’s a cheaper option for them. And what about their utter failure to staff already existing public schools in both advantaged and disadvantaged areas? This is the headline story in education in NSW today and this government needs to be held to account on it.Deb McPherson,Gerringong
Illustration:John Shakespeare
The education minister supports parental choice of schools and so is a proponent of what is now a self-perpetuating,segregated and inequitable education system,relegating disadvantaged and needy communities to underfunded schools avoided by local parents. We need to accept that we have a system of education that has created a societal apartheid. We need nothing short of a royal commission into how public funding is propping up the decline of egalitarianism in our nation and its influence on the future of democracy in Australia.Vanessa Tennent,Oatley
Sydney’s spaghetti soup must be unravelled
Having recently returned from London for the first time in five years,I was staggered to read the series on development and planning in Sydney (“”,February 16). Regardless of the merits of the arguments made by proponents and opponents of more development,it is clear the fact you need at least a PhD to understand the spaghetti soup planning system in NSW which leaves everyone dissatisfied. I thought the English planning system was a mess. It has nothing on NSW. At the very least,clearer lines of delineation between state and councils,and a simpler set of reduced planning pathways are needed,to provide everyone with clarity. Communities would be clearer about what they can influence,and developers could spend less time and money navigating unnecessary complexity and more on designing beautiful buildings and places. That would be in everyone’s interest.Oliver Deed, Sydney
I grew up in South Turramurra when I could walk through the bush to Epping and it wasn’t until I lived in London for three years that I appreciated the benefits of high-density living. In London,in all the many areas I lived,I was never more than 500 metres from a major park or open space,and it was the same in many places I have since lived in the inner west of Sydney. However,Sydney does not generally do development well as there does not seem to be any attempt at ensuring that overall there are enough open spaces to cater for those living with the new higher densities. It is generally left to the developer and their only concern seems to be maximising the profit from each project,and that works against open space.Brenton McGeachie,Queanbeyan West
Centrelink has a lot to answer for in keeping young people out of the housing market due to their restrictions on aged pensioners’ gifts to family members (Letters,February 15). The piddling amount allowed for gifts to family without incurring a five-year penalty is ridiculous. A decent amount gifted by elderly parents and grandparents towards a deposit on a home should be encouraged to ease younger family members’ inability to raise the money. The draconian Centrelink rules should be scrapped now.Christine Tiley,Albany Creek (Qld)
Illustration:John Shakespeare
Negative gearing,where one is constantly losing money,is not the problem (Letters,February 16). The jewel of all tax breaks is the 50 per cent capital gains discount,where investors can choose the timing of their disposal,reap the benefits of peaks in the market and spread the gains between joint owners. To keep capital circulating and more homes on the market,the discount needs to be lowered the longer you keep the asset.Michael Blissenden,Dural
Who watches the watchdog?
Your columnist’s answer to declining media standards and rock-bottom news media performance is the adoption of yet another regulatory model of which he gives neither particulars nor any evidence of relevance to the Australian experience (“”,February 16). In the same manner,he criticises the ACMAFour Corners finding as inexpert,but gives nothing from which we can judge for ourselves. The Press Council,which he would have take over the regulatory task (overlooking the absence of any Constitutional power to regulate print,as opposed to broadcast media) has proved at best only marginally more visible than the media trade union’s own complaints body (nowhere to be seen and totally inactive),which never achieved anything in terms of public trust by attempting to enforce its Code of Ethics. It is hard to imagine an unenforceable,voluntary Finnish-model mass media council (even if we knew what it was) winning the confidence of jaded consumers here,where the real problem isn’t complaints handling,but journalistic standards. In the final analysis,it is hard to imagine any practical mechanism that could affect the performance of our mainstream mass media,shrinking in numbers and social significance as they are,except the sole discipline of the law of libel.Stuart Littlemore,Paddington
Alan Sunderland thinks Australia needs a new “self-regulated” authority to replace the Press Council and the Australian Communications and Media Authority in assessing complaints about the media,citing Finland as a worthy model to replicate. The former ABC editorial director’s proposal is worthy of consideration,on the proviso it includes the national broadcaster in its sphere of investigations.Riley Brown,Bondi Beach
Major ‘mayor’ headache
Labor’s vow to provide more powers to an additional nighttime “mayor” is deeply disturbing (“”,February 16). It masks Labor’s abiding close relationship with the powerful alcohol and gambling lobby. The so-called city’s “long-suffering” nightlife is an exaggeration,particularly when pubs are selling for record prices. Residents and their families’ safety and amenity living in these mixed residential and commercial zones continues to be ignored by these industry and political spruikers.Tony Brown,Newcastle
Independents’ day
Shaun Carney has painted a picture of an Australian public which mainly votes in a conservative government that does nothing and then,when things have really stagnated,votes in a Labor government to fix things up before imploding (“”,February 16). This apathetic scenario has been true for a long time,but it would seem that some electorates have recognised that we could do better and have elected a number of independents,like the teals,who aim to listen to their constituents rather than just pandering to big business,unions and lobby groups. Hopefully,this trend is a permanent one that will continue to improve our democracy.Peter Nash,Fairlight
Restrict development instead of raising Warragamba wall
Last week,justifiable outrage was expressed regarding the potential development of 100 hectares on the south coast of NSW. This week,Dominic Perrottet claimed that the raising of Warragamba Dam wall,which would inundate 4700 hectares of pristine habitat during flood events,would proceed in the next term should the Coalition be re-elected (“”,February 16). Despite this forecast environmental devastation,the project would have zero benefit to urban areas of Menangle,Camden and Wallacia,and would provide absolutely no additional drought proofing of Sydney’s water supply.
The rational alternative is to maintain a flood buffer in the reservoir,construct additional desalination water supply (providing guaranteed augmentation during drought),and totally restrict any further development in the flood-prone areas downstream.Roger Epps,Armidale
Plans to raise the Warragamba Dam wall has proven controversial.James Brickwood
Rein in energy giants
While Australians rightly question the ethics of “bumper” bank profits courtesy of interest rate rises,the elephant in the room is the power of a handful of fossil fuel corporations,whose record-high product prices have reaped several hundred billions in windfall profits last year (“”,February 16). The energy giants are not only feeding inflation around the world,they are opting to sit on this windfahttp://p5cks5ll wealth (simply through dividend payments or share buybacks) rather than taking the responsible option of investing in large,climate-saving renewable energy projects.
Surely it is time for governments,round the world,to scrap the licence under which these transnational corporations extract “our” strategic resources and sell them back to us at highly inflated prices.Rob Firth,Red Hill (ACT)
US bombers no comfort
Your article’s reminder that US nuclear-armed aircraft could transit in Australia makes me feel more than a little uneasy,particularly because of the political situation in the US (“”,February 19). While it is tempting to think after Joe Biden’s victory that the chaos of the Trump years are behind us,the state of the Republican Party and US society in general allows no such comfort. Even if Trump doesn’t run again the likely Republican presidential candidates,while not as personally repulsive,inspire no confidence that they would be any more sensible than him. We may have no choice given the threats from Russia and China than to seek powerful friends,but the UK and EU seem more stable if not as powerful. The Australian government will need all its diplomatic skills to steer us in these dangerous times.Gary Barnes,Mosman
A dangerous method
The danger with gay conversion therapy is that homosexuals can be made to feel like they have committed a crime (,February 16). But as head of the Roman Catholic Church,Pope Francis recently declared homosexuality is not a crime. Will the premier agree to ban this harmful discriminatory practice?Vincent Zankin,Rivett (ACT)
To all those heterosexuals who think being gay is a choice,I challenge you to choose to be gay for a week,starting tomorrow.Richard Cammies,Bundaberg North (Qld)
I can’t see why an adult who wants to have gay conversion therapy should be prevented from doing so.Jane Wilks,Baulkham Hills
Cash trapped
A week or so ago the last big bank left Sussex Inlet,taking its ATM with it (,February 16). There are still three ATMs left in town,but by an extraordinary coincidence they are in the three poker machine venues. Another example of the club industry providing a service to the community?
Des Mulcahy,Berrara
Tiara twist
The greatest tiaras are the wreaths of twisted branches for Olympic excellence and glory (“”,February 16).Janice Creenaune,Austinmer
The digital view
Online comment from one of the stories that attracted the most reader feedback yesterday on
FromAromamerinda:″More people would buy hybrid or
electric vehicles if the government would cut the taxes and
force lower prices.″
The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge,champion and inform.