Legal action to deny school change is abuse of privilege

I am really shocked that anyone would bother trying to sue a school for going co-ed (“The boy who is suing his private school”, December 25). What is wrong with people that they feel they have to protect exclusiveness and the exclusion of girls? Going to any private school such as Newington is a privilege most people can’t afford, isn’t that enough? The litigant should realise how lucky he is. Why do you need to shut anyone else out of your good fortune? The parents who want to send their girls there should get together and counter-sue this boy for trying to stop them. Maybe that will shut him up. But he’s just a boy; most likely a pawn in some behind-the-scenes adult venture. There are kids in the world, still, who never get to go to school. A first-world-privileged problem. James Manché, Dulwich Hill

So the old white men trying to protect privilege have decided to hide behind a teenage boy. The misguided attempt to prevent Newington from moving into the modern world has sunk to yet a new low. Michael McMullan, Avoca Beach

How does the anti co-ed Newington group plan to deal with a possible loss in court? The wishes of the majority and the well-being of a minor might be collateral damage from their crusade. It’s dangerous to create a win-lose strategy and the potential loser group keeps expanding. Without a fallback position, they might cause a very sad and counterproductive result. Dorothy Kamaker, Whale Beach

Just how over-privileged are these people? As if there aren’t more exigent issues facing most high schools in Australia. The over-funded private system wants and receives public money, which is diverted away from the under-funded public system. And this is the issue that concerns them? David McMaster, Mosman

My cereal stopper this Christmas Day was news that Newington College parents are alarmed that the school’s fundraising arm is providing means-tested scholarships and threatening legal action. Get. A. Life. Mark Paskal, Austinmer

Really? 161 years on? For goodness’ sake, move with the times, young men! If we didn’t make progress, we’d all still be exclaiming, “Wherefore art thou?” Rose Lysnar, Orange

Harsh housing reality

If even the IMF, that most rebarbative of institutions, believes Australian house prices are too high, you know you have a problem (“Five Australian cities are now among world’s top 20 most expensive”, December 24). I write this letter in anger and despair. It is now apparent that neither major party gives a rat’s about the young and the poor, who are to be reduced to serfdom, their earnings siphoned into the pockets of the rich with no prospect of achieving security themselves. On the other hand, while the Greens at least acknowledge the housing problem, their policies would make things worse. What’s needed are candidates who have real policies designed at least to flatline housing prices, and who (in the interests of reducing excess demand) mean it when they promise to reduce unsustainable population growth. Good luck finding such candidates. Nicholas Reid, Hughes (ACT)

The IMF has indicated the obvious; the one thing that could really make a difference is the creation of well-paying jobs at greenfield locations. This has happened elsewhere – Los Angeles was the sunny choice for movie making, which morphed into TV and advertising, and the military-industrial complex because of its location away from the East Coast: this, despite LA’s obvious problems with water supply and air pollution.

There are many candidate sites for such a plan in Australia, such as on the road to Goulburn. It needs a mixture of jobs, but key ones have to be STEM-based, the secondary ones will come if the key ones are in place. It can be done, but governments have to be realistic about money: research and development can easily be 5 or 10 per cent of costs during the start-up phase. Not everyone will like this idea: when Colorbond replaced some roof tiles, the people who made roof tiles were not happy. Governments can live with that unhappiness, they can’t live with a big drop in house prices in inner Sydney. Noel Thompson, Riverview

Own goal on costs

I take issue with Football Australia chairman Anter Isaac’s assertion that the cost of playing community football is “not as high” as it’s made out to be (“Blame-game culture holding Australian soccer back, says FA chairman”, December 23). I am the president of a small football club in Sydney. We charge our regular senior players $550 for the season. From that registration fee, Football Australia receives $34, Football NSW receives $109 (covers player and public liability insurance), our local association receives $125 and $10 is put aside for a capital ground fee. In addition, each of our 11 teams is charged a $150 nomination fee. From the approximately $272 per player that remains, our club pays the local council to hire training and match day fields at $70 an hour for grass
fields and $185 an hour for synthetic fields. Referees are paid $70 a game, playing shirts and balls cost $50, and so on.

As with most community sports, football is underpinned by thousands and thousands of unpaid volunteer hours given willingly by passionate volunteers. It may or may not be expensive relative to other sports but for someone who is lowly paid or out of work, $550 is a lot of money and I am sure it would be a determining factor when deciding which organised sport, if any, to undertake. This is especially true for parents with children where some junior sports are free or heavily subsidised by their peak body. Some certainly cost far less than football. Football is funded by the grassroots and costs are “as high as it’s made out to be”. Richard Baldwin, Coogee

Worthy sentences

It may be a very late entry, but Clare Parbery’s response to Nicholas Cowdrey’s note on sentencing must surely rate as a possible letter of the year (Letters, December 24). Cowdrey is a good man with a fine mind, but he can have no response to the anguish contained in her letter. Dale Bailey, St Leonards

Friend of palindrome

I must congratulate you, as others have recently done, on the cleverness of the headlines given for your letters. I think your “A man, a plan” heading linking Trump and the Panama Canal, leading your reader to think of the palindrome “A man, a plan, a canal, Panama”, is one of the best to date and a worthy contribution to one’s enjoyment of Christmas Day. Paul Casey, Callala Bay

Baulk in the park

Brian Kidd says rear-to-curb parking is the safest option in the jungle of urban shopping centre car parks (Letters, December 25). Really? Have you seen the shoppers struggling to put their shopping into their car/SUV boots? I have never understood why anyone would reverse park before shopping. It is impractical to unload your shopping from the shopping trolley with not enough space between the car or the wall behind to manoeuvre the trolley. If you have little kids, you’re having more troubles. It is more likely to damage your car or others’ with scratches from a dodgy trolley. Mukul Desai, Hunters Hill

Student gap

Warwick Spencer notes one problem associated with 40 per cent of students with an ATAR of less than 50 dropping out – saddling them with HECS debt. Another potentially more serious issue is opportunity cost as the dropouts deny others a place. Is this the most efficient way to use scarce higher-education resources? David Gordon, Cranebrook

Union wields power

In response to Michael Britt, most of the world’s major cities subsidise their public transport, some much more so than Sydney (Letters, December 25). This is because governments everywhere, some albeit reluctantly, recognise that there are significant social and economic advantages in doing so. It offsets to some extent the huge cost to governments of providing private road transport in terms of infrastructure, managing congestion and mitigating the health effects of pollution and accident trauma.

It is not drivers who are pursuing a wage rise. The present campaign is being conducted by all the rail unions combined and the wage rise and a number of other demands are for all rail employees, from station assistants to senior officers. The actions that have caused the most disruption in the last few months have been by signallers and electricians, not drivers. Don’t get me started on what drivers really earn.

Everyone would agree that nurses deserve a substantial pay rise. But by the nature of their work, their power to pursue their claim is limited. There are no such constraints on the rail unions who have significantly more industrial power to pursue their claims. Because of this, the outcome for nurses is likely to rely heavily on what the rail unions eventually achieve. Both the Minns’ government and the unions involved know this which is one reason the dispute has become increasingly bitter. Noel Cargill, Rydal

If, as your correspondent says, Transport NSW fares only bring in 20 per cent of running costs, one wonders if it’s even worthwhile collecting them. Scrap the Opal system, the transport police and probably some station staff and that might come out about even. Andrew Taubman, Queens Park

Australia rules, OK?

Nick Bryant’s article is right on the money (Letters, December 25). I have lived in Australia for more than 40 years, having been born and bred in England. The French, for whom the mere existence of a rule is a trigger for disobedience, take delight in mocking the British as a nation of queuers and for strict adherence to rules.

I have always been struck by the abundance of rules in Australia which make England seem almost laissez-faire. Further, the enforcers know each of them as though they have eaten them for breakfast and enjoy declaiming this to you. Walk along Dee Why Beach and up the path to Long Reef. A billboard awaits you with about a dozen prohibitions emblazoned on it. Fortunately, walking is still permitted but not much else. Richard Fawcett, Moss Vale

Ironically, Nick Bryant’s article reminded me of how little enforcement there is of seemingly low-order rules and regulations: fare evasion, which must cost millions; no smoking within 50 metres of a bus stop, universally ignored, and so on. One wonders whether a heavy hand on more serious offences would be necessary if lesser infractions were policed. Wayne Duncombe, Lilyfield

Nick Bryant views Australia as a nation of rule compliers. From an ideological perspective, Australia is divided in two. The first group is those who think they know what is good for you. The other group is those who believe you should decide what is good for you. The former grouping is called progressive. The latter is called conservative. I know which cohort is preferable. Riley Brown, Bondi Beach

Sticky wicket with AFL

While the condition of Marvel Stadium for the Renegades v Scorchers Big Bash League match can accurately be described as disgraceful, it could also be described as predictable (“After Monday’s Marvel mess, call to AFL must be priority for cricket’s new boss”, December 25). As Cricket Australia continues to bow and scrape to the demands of the all-powerful and arrogant AFL, these types of incidents will continue.

We are bemused and horrified at the behaviour of the AFL. CA has reluctantly, I assume, succumbed to “drop-in” pitches to save injuries to the delicate Australian rules players to avoid being thrown off the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Adelaide Oval. They’ve moved from the WACA ground to the Perth Stadium so that we can see a half-empty stadium for the “Test In The West” – because that’s good for cricket? It’s good for the AFL and that, it seems, is the most important thing.

I’m really sick of the AFL dictating to the rest of us. The AFL does what it wants because it can. Not sure what Cricket Australia can do? Maybe call their bluff and play somewhere else – though it may only be reported in NSW and Queensland, where they don’t have as much control of the media. Dene Griffin, Lorn

The letter of the awe

As the winner of the Letter of the Year 2023 (and an inveterate letter writer) I felt neither humble nor blessed, but simply full of the satisfaction of having my small efforts recognised by the very folk I write for. The small tribe of correspondents and readers, still appreciative of the art of the written missive. I’m also rather proud of the framed cartoon in the upstairs loo by the excellent John Shakespeare, formerly of this parish and much missed (Happy Herald retirement, John). None of this would we have if not for the tireless efforts of former letters editor Pat Stringa and her splendid successor Margot Saville, together with Harriet Veitch and Ivan Hemens. My best wishes and admiration to my successor. The burden is light and the warm glow, lasting. Tim Parker, Balmain

Christmas heroes

I visited a friend in a psychiatric facility on Christmas Day and felt compelled to share my experience. The dedication, compassion and professionalism of the nursing staff was truly impressive. Those who work on Christmas Day allowing others to enjoy family time deserve special recognition. It’s been well documented that these facilities are severely understaffed, yet the staff in this facility managed to exhibit an amazing generosity of spirit in their interactions with patients and visitors alike. Graham Lum, North Rocks

I noted an empty lot near us with a sign reading “For Lease”. Underneath, someone had written “Navidas”. Jo Rainbow, Orange

• To submit a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, email letters@smh.com.au. Click here for tips on how to submit letters.
• The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform. Sign up here.