One tradie,many more needed now,please.Dion Georgopoulos
Who would have thought? After the annihilation of TAFE and an effective apprenticeship system and the raising of the school-leaving age to 17,with no corresponding trade credential for students forced into the HSC,there is now a shortage of tradies. Talk about bad luck.Wayne Duncombe,Lilyfield
Calls for greater immigration of skilled builders are blinkered;the very last sentence in this long analysis of trade shortages holds the simple answer,that more apprenticeships are needed. If that had been done four years ago under Morrison,we wouldn’t have shortages now.Barry Laing,Castle Cove
I’m just wondering where the tens of thousands of new migrant construction workers will live while they’re busy building urgently needed homes for the rest of us.Ross Duncan,Potts Point
Coalition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan criticises the Albanese government for not bringing in enough skilled workers to fix a housing shortage that has developed over the past twenty years,at least. What was the Coalition doing in that time? Not much,obviously.Ian Adair,Hunters Hill
Stop knocking down perfectly good stadiums,museums and old buildings,and redeploy the tradies to build houses.Tim Schroder,Gordon
Public schools promote tolerance
The importance of public education is highlighted at Birrong Girls High (“”,March 24). Seema and Sania are receiving a quality and inclusive education in a school comprising a variety of cultures and religions. Public education promotes tolerance and acceptance in our multicultural society.John Cotterill,Kingsford
No cash cow
After years of receiving next to no return on their money,savers may feel happier as they chase interest rate returns of 5 per cent or more (“”,March 24). However,there is an unfortunate reality lurking behind this apparent improved fortune. A high rate of inflation,which is primarily responsible for the high interest rates,effectively erodes the value of the invested capital invariably by more than the interest rate received. Secondly,most savers will be taxed on the interest received at their top marginal rate. With a reasonably high interest rate return,savers may feel that they are getting ahead or have more disposable income to spend,but sadly,this is not a cash cow as their financial assets are effectively being eroded.Geoff Harding,Chatswood
It’s all about power
I am constantly annoyed by the references often made to “the white race” (“”,March 24). There is no such thing. It’s a skin tone,not a race. I am descended from both the Irish and the Germans. If you think they are alike because of their white skins,you don’t know anything about them. I agree with Giridharan Sivaraman,it is all about power. The whole world is about might is right. In Australia,white-skinned people have most of the power. That’s about power,not about skin tone. And people who have power want to keep it. Power is intoxicating.Garry Feeney,Kingsgrove
Lefties left out
No matter what support is given for the teaching of handwriting (“”,March 24),there is never a form that suits the left-hander,who must adopt strange positions to manage it. Leonardo da Vinci decided it was easier to write backward from the right-hand side of the page. Those who bemoan handwriting’s passing seem to ignore the equality the layout of the QWERTY keyboard has brought. Thousands of words can be typed with the left hand using its share of the keyboard,while only three hundred or so can be typed with the right’s share.Anna Searls,Randwick
Give a dog whistle a bone
I thought the Nigel Farage interview much to be expected of an ultra-right-wing Brexiteer who was bent on stirring up Donald Trump in whatever way he could as well as having a spiteful sideswipe at Australia (“”,March 24). Trump responded to the dog whistle,but for Peter Dutton to throw in his two bits was mere opportunism.Nola Tucker,Kiama
Wrong message
It seems that some show bags are anti-health (“”,March 24). What sort of message does this give to young children?Dorothy Gliksman,Cedar Brush Creek