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Badiucao<\/p>\n
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au<\/a>. Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here<\/a> for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.<\/p>\n EDUCATION<\/p>\n Your correspondent posits that by sending their children to private schools (Letters, \u2033\u2063Private benefits\u2033\u2063, 15\/8<\/a>) parents are alleviating \u2033\u2063strain\u2033\u2063 on state schools. State school parents provide for private school luxury If only public schools were better funded Private school is social segregation Applaud protesting school students THE FORUM<\/p>\n Toll cap promise Toll companies\u2019 benefit A stupid idea Culture clutch One-eyed Hughes Not funny, Dave Allan\u2019s achievement Too much trivia Ley not disingenuous Republic question Legal system adapts Flanagan\u2019s comments Hornet\u2019s nest AND ANOTHER THING<\/p>\n Politics Re \u2033\u2063Dave Hughes to campaign for Liberals in Victorian election<\/a>\u2033\u2063, 16\/8. Is there anybody who actually cares what Dave Hughes thinks? Dave Hughes, a comedian? Jess Wilson and the clown! Let\u2019s put Andrew Bragg into one of his recommended, substandard houses for six months in the height of hot summer and see if he has the same opinion regarding solving the housing crisis. (\u2033\u2063Taylor rebukes Coalition frontbencher after Bragg goes rogue on housing, migration, tax<\/a>\u2033\u2063, 14\/8). It was great to see so many young folk protesting against Pauline Hanson\u2019s One Nation. Bravo, students. Furthermore Re your correspondent\u2019s question (Letters, 14\/8<\/a>) \u2033\u2063Would you be able to understand the reports if Shakespeare was reading the news on television?\u2033\u2063. Finally The opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here<\/a>. <\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n
I have a family member who has taught in government schools for 25 years, so I am well aware of \u2033\u2063strains\u2033\u2063 of a different kind resulting from long-standing inequitable underfunding of facilities, resources and salaries.
Our society is becoming increasingly divided between the haves and have-nots, exacerbated by odious comments from public figures glibly dismissing the needs of those who have less.
The appalling mismatch of grossly inequitable education funding is a blatant example of one sector of society seeing itself as more worthy than others.
Thus, we are ripe for the picking by populist politics.
Jane Ross, San Remo<\/p>\n
Re Letters, \u2033\u2063Private benefits\u2033\u2063, 15\/8<\/a>: I have zero sympathy, let alone any thanks to offer, to parents who think they make a \u2033\u2063considerable sacrifice\u2033\u2063 to supposedly ease the burden on public schools by sending their offspring to schools with all the bells and whistles and everything that opens and shuts.
Whole families have to live on what they spend to send one child to a private school. Through their taxes, parents of government school children contribute not only to the basic education of all children but also to the state-of-the-art facilities at private schools \u2013 without their children receiving any benefit from the latter.
There would be no need for those enclaves of conspicuous wealth if even half of that \u2033\u2063considerable sacrifice\u2033\u2063 went to government schools which already do a remarkable job in spite of their conspicuous under-resourcing.
Margaret Callinan, Hawthorn<\/p>\n
Is your correspondent aware that many parents who send their children to private schools do so because public schools are underfunded? (Letters, 15\/8<\/a>). According to research commissioned by The Australia Institute, around one-third of parents with children at private schools would have chosen public schools if they were better funded.
James Proctor, Brown Hill<\/p>\n
The latest scandals of elite private school boys highlight the problems that we are building for ourselves in the future in deepening divisions and prejudice in our community.
If nearly 30 per cent of young people attend these ethnic, religious, gender or class divided schools, how can we then imagine that this will not carry on into the future?
What we experience in our youth goes deep into our psyche in ways we are hardly aware of.
Our schools should be places where young people from all backgrounds get to know, tolerate and value each other.
Schools in Finland have a global reputation for quality and performance. Private schools are virtually unknown there. The clincher is that their public schools are properly funded and respected.
David Scott, Eltham<\/p>\n
Your correspondent (Letters, 15\/8<\/a>) suggested that parents should be ashamed that their under voting-aged children took part in a protest.
I would be as proud as punch if my children felt so strongly about an issue, affecting the society in which they live, to go out and protest whether they are old enough to vote or not.
Julian Guy, Mt Eliza<\/p>\n
Re \u2033\u2063Road tolls to be capped at $50 weekly under Coalition commuter plan<\/a>\u2033\u2063, 16\/8. The Coalition plan to replicate Sydney\u2019s $50 weekly toll cap in Melbourne is an uninspired piece of policy copying that misunderstands Melbourne\u2019s road transport system.
Sydney\u2019s cap responds to geographic barriers that funnel drivers into unavoidable tollways. Melbourne is fundamentally different. Our road network offers far stronger arterials and freeway alternatives, and toll roads provide convenience rather than essentiality.
Additionally, there are fundamental issues relating to problematic transport engineering and transport economics distortions, coupled with the absurdity of taxpayers subsidising Transurban.
Carlo Ursida, Kensington<\/p>\n
Perhaps it\u2019s unsurprising that the Coalition is pledging to reimburse drivers who use Melbourne\u2019s toll roads up to $3000 per year. Not only will this effectively transfer public money into the coffers of the highly profitable private toll road companies, but it will encourage more drivers to hit the road and away from public transport, thereby increasing traffic congestion and increasing petrol and diesel fuel usage.
Noting the level of donations to the Coalition parties by both the tolling companies and those that sell such liquid fuel, the cynic in me cannot help thinking that this is a factor in the Coalition\u2019s policy.
Kevin Bailey, Croydon<\/p>\n
No state Liberal Party, you do not need to spend $90 million a year (that Victoria cannot afford) to subsidise toll road users. If the example of \u2033\u2063office worker from Glen Iris\u2033\u2063 in The Age report (16\/8<\/a>) chooses to drive to the CBD instead of spending half the cost of that on a train or tram fare, why should other taxpayers pay for that?
Stupid ideas like that show that you\u2019re really not ready to take the reins in November.
Greg Smith, Caulfield South<\/p>\n
My late mother was a third-generation Australian. Her Anglo-Celtic ancestors arrived by boat in the 1850s and became pioneering farmers. Two of her Australian uncles died in France and Belgium during the Great War. She joined the Women\u2019s Auxiliary Australian Air Force during WWII where she became a sergeant. Her Australian patriotism could never be questioned. However, even as late as the 1970s, when required to nominate her (and my) nationality on official forms, she wrote \u2033\u2063British Subject\u2033\u2063 in firm capital letters. One Nation\u2019s requirement that newly arrived Australians \u2033\u2063adapt to one cultural identity\u2033\u2063 may require some patience.
Graeme Betts, Shepparton<\/p>\n
Re \u2033\u2063Dave Hughes to campaign for Liberals in Victorian election<\/a>\u2033\u2063, (16\/8). While I understand Dave Hughes\u2019 view about Labor\u2019s mistake, I also think he\u2019s being one-eyed about it. Both the Labor and Liberal parties are fearful of being seen as cowardly in the face of our powerful business and union lobbies.
It\u2019s not just a Labor or Liberal problem. Even the Greens seem to be caught in this. Hence, a good reason to look to independents and non-partisan politicians of which we thankfully do have a few.
Teresa Martin-Lim, Brighton<\/p>\n
I am dismayed to learn that life-long Labor supporter and talented comedian Dave Hughes has become so disgruntled with Labor policies that he has, not only \u201cflipped\u201d over to the Liberal side of politics, but decided to help open the Liberal state election campaign, for free.
For a so-called, long-time supporter of social democratic values to make such an emphatic statement and perform such a public backflip to embrace the other side does not compute. It is unfathomable, especially as Liberal Party policies are those of yesteryear, formed from its close relationship with multinational mining corporations, big business and developers.
I must say Dave Hughes\u2019 own values espoused over many years now count for nothing and he will be now known as the Mark Latham of comedy.
Derek Costello, Belmont<\/p>\n
In discussion of whether Jacinta Allan \u2033\u2063leaves the electorate in a better or worse condition than she found it\u2033\u2063 (15\/8<\/a>), little mention has been made of what, for my part, is a fine achievement of her government. Victorian Labor has stood above all other state governments for its response to the invitation to Australians made in the gracious and dignified Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017.
The statement, so beautifully worded and \u2033\u2063from the heart\u2033\u2063 sought constitutional recognition and Voice, Treaty and Truth in order that our \u2033\u2063children walk together in two worlds\u2033\u2063.
The First Peoples\u2019 Assembly (2019) is the voice, representing the Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in negotiations with the Victorian government. The Yoorook Justice Commission heard heartfelt truths from both Indigenous and settlers about the consequences of colonisation. These two laid the groundwork for Treaty (2025), the first between an Australian government and First Peoples.
Anyone who has paid close attention to these steps would surely be impressed by the quiet, patient, exemplary democratic processes that have characterised negotiations on the parts of all involved. Leaders of the First Peoples\u2019 Assembly, Commissioners of Yoorook Justice Commission, Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, Natalie Hutchins and Jacinta Allan deserve the thanks of all for leading us towards a richer and reconciled future.
Prue Gill, North Carlton<\/p>\n
Who the heck is this podcaster Nikki Osborne who seems hell-bent on throwing our PM under a bus? Let\u2019s get back to the serious press who want to discuss policy. Enough with the trivia.
Wendy Baker, Lilydale<\/p>\n
Your correspondent (Letters, 16\/8<\/a>) comments that Sussan Ley\u2019s Greyhound bus trip through America was \u2033\u2063disingenuous\u2033\u2063, is a failure to acknowledge that her trip was to observe, to empathise, to listen to the heartbeat of America without judging.
Ley could have sat in plush surroundings in New York conversing with those of her political persuasion. However, in ethnographic style, she immersed herself in the humble world of her fellow travellers \u2013 sometimes prisoners, veterans or nuns with minimal possessions; she walked a distance to the bus in the cold; she travelled light; as a sole woman she went into bars; at times she experienced loneliness.
Her trip encapsulated the ethnographer\u2019s role, to understand the other from their point of view, from their experience of getting through the day. That\u2019s not disingenuous.
David Hickey, Heidelberg<\/p>\n
Is it time that we, as a proud nation, restarted debate surrounding the \u2018R\u2019 word? Surely, we are mature enough to stand on our own feet and have a head of state elected from within our own people and with our own interests at the forefront of all decisions.
Ken O\u2019Brien, Mentone<\/p>\n
Re \u2033\u2063A man lied about paying this worker for sex. He is now going to jail for rape<\/a>\u201d, 16\/8). Put to the legal test \u2013 Victorian affirmative consent law reforms introduced in July 2023 has confirmed that there is no delineation of the core principle of \u2033\u2063informed consent\u2033\u2063 based on vocation and gender.
That the same legal system that once criminalised sex workers for their job has produced the aforementioned ruling is positive progress in another important way. The delineation of labelling a woman a \u2033\u2063damned whores or God\u2019s police\u2033\u2063 (a bad or good woman) as a justification to abuse her, is no longer plausible or socially and morally acceptable.
So, bravo to the judiciary for drawing a clear line in the sand whereby any person who \u201cmakes false or misleading representations to induce consent\u201d \u2013 whether from a sex worker or not \u2013 will be said to have committed a \u201cserious violation of bodily autonomy\u201d (ie a basic human right) and will be punished accordingly.
Jelena Rosic, Mornington<\/p>\n
Following controversies, including regarding this year\u2019s Adelaide Writers\u2019 Week, Richard Flanagan (\u2033\u2063Lunch with …<\/a>\u2033\u2063 15\/8) criticises the widely adopted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
It should be pointed out that in her remarks at the commencement of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, Commissioner Virginia Bell stated that the commission would apply the IHRA definition, stating that its critics overlook that it does allow for criticism of the policies of the Israeli government, and that it requires consideration of \u2033\u2063the overall context in which conduct occurs before making any determination that the conduct is antisemitic\u2033\u2063.
Geoff Feren, St Kilda East<\/p>\n
Pedants cop a lot of flak for their interventions, but I suppose somebody has to police our language. Your Letters correspondent, (16\/8<\/a>) admonishes Nikki Barrowclough for apparently confusing style with grammar. He states that she is reacting to \u2033\u2063a trend\u2033\u2063 that many find disagreeable. He then adds that \u2033\u2063none seem to be ungrammatical\u2033\u2063.
But as \u2033\u2063none]\u2033\u2063 is a contraction of\u2019 \u2033\u2063no one\u2033\u2063, and as he has made \u2033\u2063trend\u2033\u2063 the subject, according to the subject-verb-agreement rule, he should have written \u2033\u2063none seems\u2033\u2063. Or is that being too pedantic?
Owen Hugh, Kensington<\/p>\n
Re \u2033\u2063Coalition pledges to cap Melbourne\u2019s road tolls at $50 per week<\/a>\u2033\u2063 16\/8. Motorists to be subsidised by taxpayers to use Melbourne\u2019s profitable privately operated toll ways. The $90 million could be better used to fill in potholes on public country roads.
Jim McLeod, Sale<\/p>\n
Keith Fletcher, Glenlyon<\/p>\n
Peter O\u2019Brien, Newport<\/p>\n
Doug Springall, Yarragon<\/p>\n
Merle Mitchell, Mt Eliza<\/p>\n
There should be weekly rubbish removals across the state. The reason is to avoid health hazards. It is appalling that some councils do not collect garbage weekly. It should be legally required to do so.
Doris LeRoy, Altona<\/p>\n
I would love to hear Shakespeare reading the news, but it would mean putting up with Pauline Hanson saying \u2033\u2063Please explain\u2033\u2063 at the end of each line.
Claude Miller, Castlemaine<\/p>\n
It\u2019s refreshing to hear one of my artistic heroes saying out loud what has become totally evident to me: our fascination with cancelling and self-censoring our discourse on big issues stifles discussion of the human condition in all its forms. Thank you, Richard Flanagan (\u2033\u2063Lunch with<\/a>\u2033\u2063, 15\/8).
Rupert Steiner, Balnarring Beach<\/p>\n