Nobody questions people who spend their money on lovely cars or antiques,or suggests that they don’t need them any more. We bought and paid for these homes;it’s not our job to house the next generations,it’s the government’s.Kathleen Kyle,Camden
Baby Boomers are being asked to move out of their homes into smaller houses or apartments.Oscar Colman
Boomers have worked very hard to get what they have,having brought up their families in these homes. I suggest the discourse be directed to people such as town planners,local councils and state governments for their lack of vision in the past,and what the present authorities are going to do about it – and of course,the taxpayers’ expense.Kathy Willis,Kew
I can no longer remain silent on the Boomer bashing by “Self-Entitled Whingeing Generations” (SEWG). I bought my first home when I was 38 in an undesirable suburb. Buying a home (at 17.5 per cent interest) was as difficult then as it is today. I was born into a family who fled Europe during World War II and were given refugee status in Australia. My parents suffered from PTSD after the war. There was little help for mental illness so we faced many difficulties. My first home was a tent on the railways,where my father was a labourer (even though he was educated and spoke several languages fluently),then a migrant hostel before my parents scraped together enough money to buy a block of land in an outer suburb,where they built a modest home. When I left home I had no expectations of ever being able to afford to buy a place of my own. SEWGs,if you don’t like what you see,do something positive about it. Each generation has its unique problems,and it’s time to stop the moralising.Suzanne Hopping,Redfern
The housing problem has been brought about by successive governments pandering to greedy developers profiting from housing estates and apartments,and businesses wanting cheap labour and bigger markets. The social,economic and environmental harm brought about by this grossly incompetent “Big Australia” policy can only be rectified by reducing our massive immigration level.Karen Joynes,Bermagui
The elephants in the room are negative gearing and immigration – without those there would be more than enough property for people to live in. Why encourage resentment of Boomers because many choose to stay in their homes? This will not free up any housing. Many have already downsized and those who haven’t,have a variety of reasons why they don’t. We have enough division in our society without the constant Boomer bashing.Wendy Cousins,Balgownie
Policy shifts and significant planning are needed to address the housing crisis. However,of all the ideas to address this pressing issue,none have pointed to council mergers as a positive policy. When Leichhardt was a stand-alone council it regularly exceeded its housing targets. Development was done with the community,not imposed upon the community.Jennifer Barron,Balmain
Apart from stamp duty and the costs of moving,a deterrent to seniors moving is the unconscionable financial arrangements generally facing entrants into retirement villages. A common
arrangement is that entrants,mostly their estates,will receive on exit 70 per cent of the purchase price of their villas,thereby being crucially deprived of a not inconsiderable share of capital
gains. That erosion of estate value becomes a sizeable cost to children’s benefits.Peter Terrey,Castle Cove
Human rights transcend conflicts among nations
I’m neither Jewish nor Arab. The article by Irving Wallach (“”,November 25) encapsulates perfectly the complex “reasons” that lead to October 7 and its aftermath. Tragedy upon tragedy wrought by fundamentalists on both sides.Ann Morrison,Leura
Illustration:John ShakespeareJohn Shakespeare
So moved the other day in Newtown to see Danny Lim,the famous “man with the signs” displaying a sign with two sides:one for dead Israeli children,the other dead Palestinian children.
So sad,however,that this humble,human expression of compassion and gentle intelligence is not always reflected in society at large and many remain so rigidly affixed to their side,so utterly stupefied by the monomaniacal mentality of social media,so pulverised by the stupidity of modern mass movements,that I am convinced no amount of inner invigilation will ever wrench them from their “team”. Too much has been invested,too much has been lost.
And this is the type of human horror that scares me the most – not the virulent antisemite or Islamophobe,such people have always and will always exist – but the person who,as if still in the playground and wanting above everything else not to be exiled by the loud bullies,quietly chooses loyalty over integrity and in doing so,relegates the blood of dead children to second place behind their primal need for belonging and certainty.Simon Tedeschi,Newtown
When media organisations threaten to isolate journalists who signed the petition calling for greater scrutiny in the reporting of the conflict in Gaza,it is a sad reflection on free speech in this country. But it takes a man like Wallach to say what must be said. His description of the conflict in Israel is a tragic one for both sides. The more than 70 years of conflict in Israel will persist until the blame shifting stops and there is respect for the rights of each other to exist on their own lands. Otherwise,as Wallach says,“I believe that we,as Jews,are in danger of seriously compromising our basic humanity in our rush to defend Israel’s right to self-defence.” There are human rights that transcend conflicts between nations or ethnic groups. Humanity demands that these rights be applied equally to all sides.Bruce Spence,Balmain
Wallach makes many good points,but on some I can’t agree. He says Netanyahu is only ever concerned with minimising Israeli casualties,but in this and previous outbreaks,Israeli forces have taken unprecedented steps to avoid civilian casualties. These include millions of warnings through leaflets,text messages and phone calls,and calling off strikes when civilians are present.
Peace only followed the 1973 war because Egypt realised it couldn’t defeat Israel. Now,there can only be peace with Hamas gone.Athol Morris,Forde ACT
It is difficult to see how the open letter about greater scrutiny in the reporting of the war between Israel and Hamas may bring into question the impartiality of the signatories (“”,smh.com.au,November 25). Surely,it is advocating that great care is taken to not be partial,one way or the other. If one side is paying journalists to report and the other is not,the partiality of that reporting is obvious. The public is watching innocent people being slaughtered daily. They deserve a measured response about the reasons for this and the actions involved by both sides.Mary Billing,Allambie Heights
Humane solution still needed
Your editorial barely lifts the scab on the abscess that is “administrative immigration detention”,a cover for systemic dehumanising and unlawful,sadistic punishment of men and women who have fallen foul of immigration visa regulations and law (“”,November 25).
The High Court has finally,after 20 years of suffering,righted the wrong of indefinite detention. A courageous minister and government must dismantle a system and a culture that has tortured asylum seekers and others without valid visas,imprisoning them alongside “foreign” non-citizen criminals ejected from state-run penitentiaries on completion of their sentences.
Many witnesses to this unholy mix of refugee status claimants and convicted criminals in the corrupt cesspit that was and is Villawood have reported to successive ministers and countless public servants these crimes against humanity,have shouted and documented their outrage at the deaths in custody,the attempted murder of non-criminal inmates,the unravelling of mental health.
The very concept of immigration detention centres is rotten. There are other ways to deal with visa regulation transgressions and people exiting prisons. An Albanese government must set out to find lawful and humane ways.Frederika Steen,Chapel Hill (Qld)
Leaders change schools
Noel Dixon’s success in his role as principal at Granville Boys High School is a testament to the gift of educational leadership in schools:looking hard at what the school and its students need,building relationships and creating a culture where learning is valued and accessible (“”,November 25).
As an ex-teacher of 30 years,I’ve witnessed the transformative power of leadership in schools. When school leadership is strong,it changes lives. Students build a lifelong positive relationship to learning. Teaching is dynamic and innovative. Communities are connected and proud. Examples of leadership sprout easily and everywhere in the school.
When leadership is lacking,student cohorts and communities suffer. Access to success in learning and their relationship to learning is impaired. Communities are disengaged. Staff go into survival mode.
The effort taken in the transformation Dixon has achieved during his leadership at Granville Boys should not be underestimated,nor the skill in sustaining it. School success can turn on a dime.Penny McKee,Port Macquarie
Granville Boys High principal,Noel Dixon,runs a barber workshop.Edwina Pickles
Noel Dixon appears to downplay the role he has had in turning the school around from where it was just a few years ago. The fact Dixon had previously taught as a music teacher,and decided to return there in later years as a deputy principal,and then principal,speaks volumes for the man. I’m sure his commonsense approach has inspired staff,and indeed the community,who appreciate the way the students are being prioritised. This man and his dedicated staff are going far beyond expected duties to ensure these boys are achieving personal bests. Society will be richer as a result. Well done,all at Granville Boys HS.Mary Lawson,Marrickville
Room to give more
Malcolm Knox makes some valid points by criticising “the notion that private individuals spend their money more productively than governments” (“”,November 25). Knox focuses mainly on the need for domestic spending to be more systematic than that by charities and foundations. However,there is a large gap for philanthropy to fill when it comes to foreign aid,where the Australian government has dropped over the past decade to fourth last of the OECD countries. In any event,only 56 per cent of Australian citizens donate anything to charity (according to the 2023 World Giving Index),ranking us just 19th,behind countries such as Indonesia and Myanmar. There is room for both the government and our citizens to do more outside Australia.Clay O’Brien, Mosman
Thank you for pointing out some tax loopholes the uber-rich are capable of exploiting. I wish I could set up a charity that pays no taxes and yet still allows me to do all the things I would like to do,including saving the world. Saving the planet is undoubtedly critical,but so too is paying your fair share of taxes. Perhaps we should have a “super charity tax” where you can donate as much as you want to charity,but over a certain amount you can deduct only,say,10 per cent of the total donation from your tax. Billionaires use roads,hospitals and taxpayer infrastructure and need to pay tax accordingly.Warwick Spencer,West Pymble
Dark discoveries
Peter Hartcher’s article on our energy problems highlights the price we will pay for the destructive policies of the Coalition which basically amounted to doing nothing,so consumers did it themselves by installing their own energy source in the form of rooftop solar (“T”,November 25). That has now created an investment problem for more renewables as costs don’t match returns.Tony Sullivan,Adamstown Heights
Long and the short of it
I am beginning to think Michele Bullock is on to something (,November 25). Perhaps she could have expressed it better than having us think it was the odd toothache and trim. In my area,hairdressers are now charging up to $150 for a simple haircut,depending on their ranking in the salon from stylist,top stylist or style director. The dental services are problematic are cosmetic and unnecessary. I’m sure there are other services that fall into this category of self-indulgence while others struggle to put food on the table.Carole Hayes,Newtown
Stuff of legends
Correspondent Joan Brown refers to her life’s accumulation of linen,furniture,etc as “stuff” that she must find a new home for (,November 25). Of course,she’s right. InThe Tempest,Shakespeare’s Prospero says “we are such stuff as dreams are made on”.
A lock can’t be put on memory so we keep what we keep because of an associative memory;but in the end we all die and become a memory. All that “stuff” becomes part of what we once were. And which of us dares to deny Shakespeare or the Joan Browns of Orange in the world?Peter Skrzynecki,Eastwood
Benefits of co-ed
The carry on of the alumni from Newington College should be interpreted as a good example of why it should become co-ed (“”,November25).Margaret McCabe,Bawley Point
Based on HSC rankings,the comprehensive,non-selective,all-female public high school I attended in Sydney’s northern suburbs half a century ago has consistently outranked Newington in academic achievement over the past decade. Those Newington alumni horrified at the prospect of an influx of female students might wish to consider whether the college’s academic standards could actually be enhanced by such a measure.Anne Ackroyd,Melba (ACT)
As a NOB (Newington Old Boy) I wish the school made going co-ed retrospective to the 1960s. Maybe it would have helped us NOBs better understand and respect the females of our species. Surely,that too is education.Frank Walker,Coogee
House of dog
It’s reported that church attendance is waning,but when dogs are included in the congregation things must be dire (,November 26).Wendy Crew,Lane Cove North
Now that some of our canine friends are even being considered for ministerial postings,“gone to the dogs” has taken on a whole new meaning.Ross Butler,Rodd Point