Power to the people! (“”,June 17.) Unless,of course,it interferes with the profits of public utilities which should never have been privatised in the first place.Peter Russell,Coogee
This week’s news bulletins recommended we use as little power as possible,so we dutifully did. Then there’s a cross to the city,showing hundreds of almost-empty office buildings brightly lit up and presumably all with thermostats lowered,but still on. Along with correspondents asking about the amount of power Vivid must be chewing up,I would ask,what is the point of us complying? Surely it is no different to those many who query the point of little old Australia curbing our minuscule emissions when big bad China’s emissions out-pollute the rest of the planet combined,with the exception of India? Until major offenders play ball,nothing the little guy does is going to make any difference.Kay Buckeridge,Mosman
There are thousands of homes in Sydney alone whose owners had the foresight to install solar panels. If every one[of them] also had battery storage to use during evening peak,the strain on the grid during peak usage periods would be greatly reduced. Government assistance other than interest-free loans for battery installation would go a long way towards a partial solution to our current problems. Stephanie Edwards,Roseville
I have just returned from South Africa,where load-shedding or blackouts have become the norm. This in a country with a population of 60 million,where illegal access to electricity supply lines is rampant. In Australia,a country the size of the USA with 26 million people,big gas and coal supplies,we are being asked,like South Africa,to rationalise use of power. It is unbelievable that past mismanagement has led us to this. The Australian public deserves so much better and there is just no excuse.Elizabeth Kroon,Randwick
Matt Golding
What’s that they say? Privatise electricity for a secure,efficient,reliable and cheap source of power? And they would never ever hold the state to ransom to bolster profit,would they? Yeah,right.Pasquale Vartuli,Wahroonga
There is a certain irony in being asked to minimise non-critical electricity usage to preserve power supply while,night after night,the Vivid displays churn through what must be an enormous amount of electricity for our entertainment. Perhaps we need to rethink the future of Vivid as we don that extra jumper.Jan Twomey,Lilyfield
Who will supply the teachers?
Once again,the NSW government has announced an ambitious plan,this time for an extra year of school for pre-schoolers (“”,June 17). Surely the first step should be addressing the issue of low salaries,which deter many high achievers from entering or remaining in teaching. Over the years,entry requirements for teaching have fallen,and we wonder why educational standards have also fallen. Pay teachers well and more high achievers will be attracted to the profession and standards will rise. The looming teacher shortage should be a wake-up call to the government that salaries need to be addressed to get an adequate supply of teachers to implement this new plan.Sandra Burke,North Sydney
The extra pre-kindergarten year at school is a precious opportunity to design a curriculum to open up the rich world of nursery rhymes,fairytales and myths and legends that devices have stolen from many. Here is our chance to re-establish this important cultural heritage for our young people. It will stick with them for all of their lives.Nedra Orme,Neutral Bay
It is not rocket science to see there will be a shortage of early childhood teachers to implement the extra year of education for four-year-olds. Have universities been consulted to check whether they can train the extra teachers? This is in the same category of supplying thousands of new nurses and paramedics in NSW. Universities have to be involved in training all the personnel required to meet these policies from the state government.Robyn Lewis,Raglan
Badge of honour
Is this Tsar Vladimir’s equivalent of the Queen’s birthday honours list (“”,smh.com.au,July 17)? Well done.Peter Hay,Islington
Now there’s an honours list.Susan Newman,Mona Vale
I admire those Australians sanctioned by Russia for being suspected of opposing the slaughter of Ukrainians in Putin’s war. A more prestigious award than getting an AO,I would have thought.Roger Pamphlett,Balmain East
Sick now dead
Actually,your correspondent is also “so last century” in saying the word is “sick”(,June 17). According to my 15-year-old daughter,the current word is “slay”.Nick Andrews,Bellevue Hill
″Sick″ is just so pre-COVID.Gary Lawrence,Bangor
Trough justice
What an insult to pigs (,June 17). A pig is smart,perfectly designed and quite handsome,and piglets are impossibly cute. In no way should pigs be compared to these ugly,cheaply built developments. On behalf of all pigs,I call for an immediate apology.Kris Mckeon,Cowra
Supplied
Not much efficient,fair or transparent about land tax
Your correspondent (,June 17) questions the “efficiency”,“fairness” and “transparency” of the proposed land tax. It’s worth pointing out that when the government talks of “efficiency”,they mean for them – to simplify their budgeting process by assuring a certain revenue. Land tax gives government levers to raise the revenue deemed due and has nothing to do with an individual’s actions as relating to economic input. Much like council rates,the taxpayer has no idea of the charge being incurred before it is levied. The charge is distributed to taxpayers via opaque parameters in a calculation and is subject to pressures and alliances within the governing body. In this way,land tax is similarly not “transparent”. Even now,the public has no idea how it will be calculated.
As for “fairness”,the charge is disconnected from any demonstration of the taxpayer’s ability to pay,as it is not generated as a result of the taxpayer’s income or consumption of goods or services. It simply exists. I am not against taxation. However,I am wary of a tax that is not transparent and is disconnected from any indication of the taxpayer’s ability to pay.Marie Del Monte,Ashfield
John Shakespeare
I am in agreement concerning a “fair,transparent tax”. A one-off stamp duty payment based on an actual land purchase price is fairer than a land tax based on nebulous assumptions of value that are currently applied to properties for purposes of council rates and investment property land tax. The Valuer General’s department in assessing land value,as distinct from market value,of a property applies a method of sales of comparable properties. Then,all sorts of assumptions and “guesses” are applied to arrive at a land value of the subject property. In regional areas “comparable property sales” can be 50 or more kilometres distant. Hardly comparable. My advice is to stay with stamp duty,which is based on a realistic amount. You will be far better off in the long run.Richard Arndell,Avoca Beach
Tree house unaffordable
While it is nice to want imaginative,architect-designed homes with mature trees,that is all expensive and needs to be paid for (“”,June 17). This all adds to the cost of a new house and land and,as a developer,I can say that the main criterion for our first home buyers is price. This will become even more so with interest rate rises,supply issues and cost increases. We build what the market wants,will buy and pay for,and no one has told us that they would pay more for imaginative architect designs,balconies or large mature trees. If they would,then we would happily provide them.Peter Icklow,Pymble
Fair pay is fair play
Employer groups say that the 5.2per cent awarded to the lowest paid will cost businesses $7.9billion in the coming year (“”,June16). Is it fair that business has profited by that $7.9 billion in the past year by paying less than fair wages that include an inflation component? Equally,as the CPI bounds upward,will they not reap another $8 billion next year? It may be time to introduce quarterly or six-monthly wage updates.Michael Kirby,Castle Hill
Privatisation sell-out
When the great privatisation push started (,June 17),I was horrified. Politicians said that competition would drive down prices and promote better outcomes. Blind Freddy could see that profits would be all that these companies would care about. So where are we now? We dread having to send our loved ones to aged care facilities because of the lack of 24/7 nursing staff,and food that is nourishing and appealing. Power companies can charge what they want – and do. Gone are the days when you could pick up the phone and not have to wait forever to speak to someone because “we are experiencing a longer than normal wait time”. Perhaps it is time for federal and state governments to find a solution to the mess left by their predecessors.Sue Jones,Windradyne
Literacy for life
It is stupid to say people who are not good at English shouldn’t have to study it (,June 17). It is an essential skill. Although I did not realise it at the time,my high school English has stood me in good stead throughout my life,including writing scientific theses. Surely it is ridiculous to let boys off studying English for their HSC because they are not good at it (if that’s true). Instead,they should be given extra help. We all need good literacy skills in all spheres of life.Clare Rudkin,Barellan Point (Qld)
The discussion about whether boys or girls are better at English (Letters,June 17) did not concern me as a lad. I always thought that Joyce Cary,who wroteThe Horse’s Mouth, was a woman,George Eliot’sMiddlemarch was written by a man,and even Evelyn Waugh was probably a woman.Evan Bailey,Glebe
Bravo for this dynamic duo
Isn’t it great that we have political leaders prepared to cast aside party strictures and work together to benefit their respective states (“”,June 17)? It’s an example of the kind of co-operation we ought to be having. The Australian people have just expressed their verdict on the party system by electing a slew of independents. Australians want to see political representatives working in their interests,not spending time in petty squabbling. Dom and Dan are showing the way to follow.Derrick Mason,Boorowa
IllustrationMatt Golding
Am I dreaming,or did I just see the word “collaboration” mentioned in an article about two premiers from different parties discussing joint aims? This is so refreshing after all the chatter based on division we’ve heard endlessly for the past decade. Growing up and away from the win-or-lose mentality can’t come soon enough.Angela Namoi,Crows Nest
Perhaps not so odd as,to paraphrase Henry Kissinger,politicians have no permanent friends or enemies,only interests.Steve Ngeow,Chatswood
Off the leash
I venture to predict that having a sign in every classroom saying “girls and boys can do anything” (,June 17),will prompt a dramatic and complete breakdown in school discipline.Kent Mayo,Uralla
Postscript
Letter numbers have been down the past few weeks;it may be that you’re nearly all exhausted after the rigours of the election and the aftermath of settling the hash of so many politicians.
Still,a good subject will always raise the writers’ interest and pens. This week it was the premier’s idea about replacing stamp duty with a land tax. This drew some days of vigorous discussion both for and against. The fors believe it will reduce upfront costs for home buyers,making it easier for people to buy. The nays say it is a perpetual tax that will be a burden on everyone,world without end,amen.
Other discussions included electricity,and the threatened lack of it,which brought in many letters,all of them condemning the arrangements that made this possible. Many writers are furious at the idea of expanding the Narrabri gas project,an area of great biodiversity and Indigenous culture,which should not be wasted on the extraction of gas that will almost certainly be sent overseas.
Education will always bring in letters. For many writers,the idea of rigging school subjects to favour boys by making English not compulsory is anathema (the sort of word you learn in English classes),and they offered plenty of ideas about how education should be organised.
Many writers are also deeply annoyed by the state government’s attempt to use public land to make money by building housing on our precious rapidly disappearing bushland. No,thank you,premier.
Harriet Veitch,acting letters editor