While the state budget reforms for childcare and preschool are progressive,the decade-long neglect of the teaching and nursing professions continues (“”,June 22). We have a critical teaching and nursing shortage. Underpaid,undervalued,overworked and exhausted. Women dominate these professions,both of which affect the health and well-being of the entire state. If the NSW government was serious about valuing women,they would pay these professions appropriately and improve working conditions.Sharelle Fellows,Gulgong
Such a focus in this budget is on child-related issues,with benefits to flow even to wealthy families. It could be argued that beating climate change is equally important to all of us in this state. Where have Matt Kean’s previously fervent environmental policies gone? No mention of the environment in the budget. No incentives for or increase in infrastructure for electric vehicles. No serious mandates for fuel efficiency standards of existing and new vehicles. Our children will be growing up in a seriously degraded climate and environment if more urgent and direct action isn’t taken now.Judy Hungerford,North Curl Curl
The NSW budget is hailed as a “teal deal”;highlighting climate,health,education and women (“”,June 22). Not good enough. Integrity is part of the deal.Jennifer Katauskas,Wahroonga
The NSW government considers itself a winner with a funding boost of $265 million from the booming online gambling sector (“”,June 22). The losers are countless families as loved ones lose work time and face bankruptcy due to gambling addiction. The social costs far offset any revenue gained.John Cotterill,Kingsford
Illustration:John Shakespeare
The NSW government is “selling” land tax changes as a boost for first home buyers (“”,June 22). Before we know it,the government will be telling us how popular the land tax option has become,and then we’ll all be paying an annual tax based on the forever increasing value of our land. If we really want to apply a fairer tax in the first home market,don’t apply any5 stamp duty at all to first home purchases under a million dollars,or apply it under a sliding scale. Either way,just apply it once,not in perpetuity.Keith Vallis,Wamberal
Where’s the magic Metro money coming from (“”,June 22)? Another $5.1 billion for City and Southwest and then another $77.5 million converting the existing Glenfield to Leppington rail into a Metro for the western Sydney airport. Edmondson Park and Leppington commuters will be excited to have their train to Liverpool,Parramatta and the city taken away. Western and south-west Sydney needs improvements to health,education,and open spaces,not the ripping up of existing railways.Roydon Ng,Berala
As a northern beaches resident,I consider myself a winner,not a loser,to have the Beaches Link put on ice (“”,June 22). A delay to the environmental devastation,construction chaos and health problems it will bring? Yes,please. Now we just need the government to abandon this folly of a tunnel altogether.Amber Howison,Clontarf
‘Tradition’ keeps elitist school standards in place
In his school’s defence,the principal of the King’s School says it is standard practice among independent schools to fly principals overseas with their spouses and traditional for the school’s principal to travel business class (“”,June 22).Elite,exclusive private schools certainly love standard practice and tradition,especially that other “standard practice” of receiving public funding and their “traditional” response of crying poor if it’s ever suggested their public funding be removed and channelled into the public schools that need it.Lynne Wallis,Talofa
This decision by King’s is irrelevant to anyone other than the school community. It is of no relevance to the public whether the school chooses to fly individuals first class,business class,by private jet or whether proper procedure was followed by the school in making that decision. What is of relevance to the public is that a school which can afford to do this is in receipt of public funds and that every dollar which it receives from those funds is a dollar not allocated to a needy public school. “Bad optics” does not even begin to adequately describe the situation.
If parents choose to send their children to private schools because they believe a better education will be obtained,that their children will mix with the “right” people or that the family’s religious values will be reinforced,that is their right,but they must be prepared to fund that decision themselves. Currently,their decisions are being subsidised by the public,too many of whom are struggling to provide a decent education for their children in a grossly underfunded public school system.Kendal Tichon,Bundanoon
If a public school had that much money lying around they’d probably be fixing leaking roofs,employing additional support staff for kids with disabilities or making ageing toilet blocks more functional. The school’s chair acknowledges concerns of its parent body which was seemingly unaware of this largesse,but from inside the King’s bubble there is no acknowledgment of the wave of outrage it has created in the broader community.Lyn Savage,Coogee
The King’s School’s need to seek “strategically relevant schools” outside of Australia so as to “enrich the opportunities to the staff and student of Kings” displays the extreme elitism and entitlement fed to that schools’ community. Ironically,it is our own state and national egalitarian school funding model that sees all school sectors receive government funding,regardless of individual school needs,that has enabled the entitlement of this elite school.Catherine Hoskin,Gloucester
Educators have duty to complain
Teachers are at breaking point and students are paying an unnecessary price that will extend into a future made gloomier by serious damage to the education of their generation (“”,June 22).
A retired head of English and head of school,I take private students from a range of public and private schools. My standard opening question is “what did you do in class this week?” This year,the standard reply is “nothing”.
I probe further and get no satisfaction. I do not criticise teachers. Teachers are overworked,they are on sick leave,they are looking after blended classes because relief teachers are not available,they have too much accountability paperwork to do,they are preparing online classes while teaching face to face. In effect,too often teachers can only provide supervision in place of teaching. Students are bored and,although sympathetic,they have given up. Teachers are not paid properly for the basic job,let alone for all the extra they are heroically performing. They are not at breaking point. They are broken.
It is no wonder teachers are mounting a historic strike. Hear their cry. Given the seriousness of the consequences governments have allowed our children to suffer,it is teachers’ moral and civic duty to complain.Judith Wheeldon,Roseville Chase
Treasurer Matt Kean thinks the proposed teachers strike is political. I wonder if he thinks the words “abrogation of governmental duty to adequately recompense its employees” equally political?Diane Dennis,Epping
Of course the teachers’ pay dispute is about politics,just as the onerous demands that have been imposed on teachers is about politics. There was a time,not so long ago,when a backbencher was paid about the same as a teacher on the top of the scale. Now,a backbencher is paid twice as much as the highest-paid teacher. But that’s politics.Robert Binns,Blaxland
Can’t afford to wait
Illustration:Vintage John Shakespeare
Chris Uhlmann’s article is useful in that it points out the socio-political difficulties in rapidly transitioning from fossil fuels to renewables (“”,June 22). No politician could survive prolonged blackouts. However,Uhlmann failed to weigh this against the global armageddon that is becoming increasingly likely since we are failing to make this energy transition at warp speed. We are between a rock and a hard place. Blackouts are one thing but the UK’s Met Office warns that “a billion people could be affected by fatal heat and humidity if the global average temperature rises by 2C above pre-industrial levels”. The world is heading for 2.4 degrees of warming,according to the recent COP26 meeting in Glasgow. The costs of rapid transitioning may be high but the probable costs of not acting are beyond measure.Alan Jones,Narraweena
Consumption truth
Tanya Plibersek is right:we can have a healthy environment and jobs for all (“”,June 22). We will,however,need to change what those jobs look like,from production to caring — for others and nature. Plibersek is also wrong:it is not possible to have economic growth and protect the natural environment. Our natural environment is a key input into economic growth — the more we grow,the more we consume our environment. GDP and material footprint are coupled and can’t be absolutely decoupled at all,and certainly not in time to save our climate and biodiversity. We must restrain our material footprint,including energy,if we are to have any hope of avoiding mass extinction.Erin Remblance,Seaforth
Trans ban unfair
In the ’60s and ‘70s,women were barred from employment as firefighters and police officers because,it was reasoned,they didn’t have the capacity to do things men in those jobs did (,June 22). This wasn’t fair because it didn’t allow for diversity in women. When equal employment opportunity policy required criteria to specify exactly what was required to do a job — ie capacity to lift xx kg etc — women who met those criteria started to gain employment in those fields.
FINA’s outright ban on transgender women from participating in women’s elite competition also fails to take into account the diversity among transgender women. It’s also not fair because it applies a blanket rule that doesn’t recognise individual differences in transgender women.Vicki Burge,Camperdown
Nature criminals go free
The raid by police on an environmentalists’ camp at Colo points to the success of eco-cidal corporations in getting governments to stymie effective protest against the deliberated wrecking of our planet’s biosphere (“”,smh.com.au,June 22).
As life on Earth is pulverised by global heating,habitat destruction and species extinctions,the exploiters know they can’t win the debate,so they aim to put environmentalists out of action through vilification,legal sanctions and unprecedented punishment.
They want worried citizens to wave placards uselessly from the footpath while they drive their log trucks,coal trucks and gas rigs up the highways to more riches and planetary ruin.
The future is shaping up to see heartfelt environmentalists going to jail while the real criminals of this era of ecological degradation get their tax deductions and more Orders of Australia.Bob Brown,Bob Brown Foundation,Cygnet (Tas)
Under the flag
I applaud and share your correspondent’s hope for change,but I suspect it will take more than an Aboriginal flag on the Harbour Bridge to right the injustices of the past 250 years (,June 22).Ross Duncan,Potts Point
Dear premier,don’t ponder why the flagpole costs so much – just do what we all do and get a second quote. It might just be less than $1million.John Swanton,Coogee
Mind your peas
By all means send in “lettuce to the editor” (,June 22),but please remember to mind your peas and cukes.Alicia Dawson,Balmain
We should discourage “lettuce to the editor” lest they become a basis for verbal salads.John Baird,Corrimal
The letters pages should be reserved for serious letters on important topics. So,lettuce stop this frivolity.Margaret Grove,Abbotsford
Rational response
Thank you,Penny Rosier,for your rational summary of the abhorrent Julian Assange ordeal (,June 22). I cannot fathom why any reasonable thinking Australian would want to see Assange incarcerated and pilloried by the US.John Boutagy,Mosman
The digital view
Online comment from one of the stories that attracted the most reader feedback yesterday on
FromLeigh Fitzpatrick:″How about ‘exploring the option’ of us taking back ownership of our gas? I believe people have had a gutfull of laissez fare capitalism;asking these predatory companies nicely if they would please do the right thing for the country instead of their shareholders. They may initially but when the spotlight is off them it’s back to business as usual.″