Robo-debt was a disgrace from its original planning (‴Heartless’ scheme results in largest class action payout”, September 5). Those politicians and senior public servants who designed, approved and implemented it should be accountable for it – and could begin by paying the fines and compensation to those so terribly and unjustly affected. Graeme Hudson, Avalon Beach
The large financial settlement for the robo-debt victims is some compensation for the appalling injustice they have suffered, but what of the architects of this illegal monstrosity that inflicted traumatic cruelty on so many innocent Australians?
Why have there not been any criminal prosecutions for those who designed and ran this heartless scheme while knowing it was unlawful? The robo-debt victims will not receive full vindication and compensation until these perpetrators are brought to justice. Rob Phillips, North Epping
It’s good news that the 440,000 robo-debt victims affected by the Coalition’s illegal welfare payment recovery plan have received a significant settlement. Not such good news is the ongoing delay and secrecy surrounding the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s handling of the issue. The robo-debt royal commission’s sealed section contains names of individuals referred for civil and criminal prosecution. Will the victims and the public ever see justice properly served and those responsible made answerable? Alison Stewart, Riverview
Scott Morrison was aware of the illegality of the scheme – where’s his penalty? How is it that he doesn’t have to assist the public purse in paying the $475 million? Let’s slug him for $500,000, and if he is reduced to penury, so be it; later comers will learn a sobering lesson. David Gordon, Cranebrook
Will Morrison and his Coalition cohort in this cruel and deliberate attack on the most vulnerable people in the community face us to defend this indefensible act of bastardry? If not, it will compound the misery of the victims and expose a weakness in our democratic system of government. Steal a TV and go to jail. Steal from the weak and get off free. Richard Hambly, Potts Point
Let’s not sweep this under the carpet. I ask Opposition Leader Sussan Ley to step up and acknowledge some fundamental wrongdoings and that her party must do better if it ever wants the public’s trust. Tim Schroder, Gordon
Reasons to march
Waleed Aly is right to remind us that there are multiple reasons why people marched last weekend (“Preaching to the convertible, on race”, September 5). Some were concerned that immigration would increase housing and infrastructure demands.
Others just want a white, Anglo-Saxon population for the country. We need to engage with those who are concerned about structural impacts and government services to explain that their view is only part of the bigger picture. It is much more complicated than just rising housing prices. Those who believe their gene pool is somehow superior, need to be told to go home. Their views do not align with our free and fair society. Neville Turbit, Russell Lea
Waleed Aly draws attention to the constructive attitude-change adage “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”. Our politicians might note. Paul Casey, Callala Bay
Counter-protesters chant at crowds arriving for an anti-immigration rally in Perth.Credit: 9News Perth
I wonder how many of Anthony Albanese’s “good people” are real Australians like the ones who coach their kid’s footy team, volunteer as lifesavers, are members of the SES or the RFS, do Meals on Wheels, provide community transport, participate in riding for the disabled, or any of the thousands of activities where people help others? Rob Siebert, Skennars Head
Waleed Aly believes the only option for Albanese to improve national cohesion is to minimise the nexus of ideological alignment between neo-Nazi participation in last weekend’s March for Australia and that of other participants. But irrespective of whether most participants knew of this nexus, Aly still maintains that despite any moral gains to be made in establishing a connection, “it loses in social accuracy”.
Yet while many people are indeed deeply concerned about the impact of immigration on housing affordability, employment opportunities and a collective sense of national identity, it does not always end there.History teaches that such concerns can position us on a slippery moral slope, where demonising those of differing skin colour or religious faith leads to “good people” of all persuasions committing the unimaginable. Vincent Zankin, Rivett (ACT)
I suggest to Waleed Aly that anybody who identifies as a Nazi, neo- or otherwise, is unlikely to be looking for an off-ramp. They have sold their soul. Mark Porter, New Lambton
EV does it
Like your commentator, I have an EV and rooftop solar (“EV road tax a pothole for Chalmers”, September 5). I’d be happy to pay a tax on my road usage because my vehicle would still be extremely economical to drive. Using rooftop solar from my garage charger costs me literally nothing, and road trips using charging stations work out at about half the cost of petrol. Some hotels/motels, even vineyards, allow free charging, so the parsimonious EV driver can take advantage of that as well.
No wonder we look smug as we drive past servos where gas-guzzlers take on board their expensive pollutants. Philip Bell, Bronte
How a vehicle is powered is really irrelevant when it comes to damage to the road surface. EV owners should pay some kind of road tax. They, too, contribute to the wear and tear on our roads, therefore it is only fair they pay for their upkeep, too. Wear and tear on the roads has to do with the mass of the vehicle, tyres, the number of axles and how it is driven, not how it is fuelled. Bad weather that causes water to collect on the roads is another factor. If EV owners want good roads for their vehicles then they, too, must pay up. Augusta Monro, Dural
Uniform thinking
Yes, uniforms may create a new way of thinking about what we wear, and why (“Do they stifle individuality or embody school spirit? Why uniforms may have had their day”, smh.com.au, September 5). However, for poor families, uniforms are a lifesaver. For students who do not have a large range of clothes in their wardrobe, having a school uniform removes the comparisons between students about who is wearing what today. Such students can just deal with being at school, getting on with their lessons and not having to cope with feelings of not fitting in because of what they are (or are not) wearing. Well-off will always cope whether they wear a uniform or not but other students need every little help they can get. Mia David, Wollongong
Minns’ gun rights invite danger
While many may not have agreed with John Howard on many fronts (‴Dog of a policy’: Shooters’ bill divides NSW Coalition”, September 5), the one great thing he did for Australia was to stand up to members of his own party, and those of the Nationals in particular, to introduce our wonderful gun laws. That Chris Minns is trying to weasel a favourable outcome by granting favours to the gun lobby, cheered along by their gun-obsessed mates in the US, shows a lack of fibre and a willingness to let in the thin edge of the hunting-in-schools wedge. Thoughts and prayers, anyone? Donald Hawes, Peel
About 5 per cent of Australian adults own guns. Most of the 95 per cent who don’t own guns want to live without worrying about whether there are guns readily available in their communities. The 95 per cent want strict limits enforced on who can own guns, the types of guns, where and when they can be used, secure storage et cetera. We don’t want our state and national parks turned into hunting playgrounds that put innocent people at risk. We don’t want laws that seemingly encourage more people to own more guns. The 95 per cent don’t want gun control to be loosened for a phoney, crazy argument about a nonsensical right to hunt. If feral animals need to be hunted, then let’s create a properly run scheme of specially licensed, trained and regulated staff and contractors. Steven Lee, Faulconbridge
Feral pigs caught on camera at a property near Tamworth.
Why aren’t our defence forces engaged in eradicating vermin, rather than leaving this vital task to enthusiastic amateurs or expensive contractors. There are about 28,500 infantry troops in the army. Presumably they are well-trained in bushcraft and the use of armaments such as automatic rifles. Together with helicopters and off-road vehicles, it seems it would be very realistic live firing training to send teams of infantry soldiers – in conjunction with experts in animal behaviour and habitat – into the bush and farmlands to track down and exterminate feral pigs, horses, foxes, dogs and cats. Martyn Yeomans, Sapphire Beach
Perhaps the most disingenuous term used in the discussion about revised gun laws is the description of the shooters as “hunters”. There is no comparison between what shooters do and how ancient humans hunted. Shooters slaughter and the motivation has nothing to do with subsistence. Laughingly, they refer to themselves as recreational shooters: recreation for them and misery for the unfortunate and defenceless animals which they decimate simply to sate their appetite for killing. Trevor Somerville, Illawong
Rebirth complications
Some sad news about the wonderful “Theatre Bar at the End of the Wharf” being replaced by a “reborn” restaurant (“Theatre company revisits golden dining era at wharf”, September 5). Before this unfortunate transformation, I have held successful functions at the wharf, enjoyed many birthday celebrations and loads of casual catch-ups – and never a problem making a booking. Apparently, there is a rich vein of 50 to 60-year-olds and up who want a proper meal before or after the theatre and who struggle with the long walk down the wharf if they don’t have a reservation. What nonsense. I am a long time STC subscriber, I am certainly in that demographic, but I won’t be going to this new restaurant. Perhaps I and many other theatregoers are missing that “rich” vein. Janice McLeod, Gymea
Does Sydney really need another pricey dinner place? The bar at the end of Wharf 4 and next to the STC does a good job offering smaller plates, a good drinks selection and views, for appropriate prices. There are quite a few other more formal places close by so it is hardly in an area of shortage. I guess the operators know more about business than I do, but I doubt I will add a hefty bill for more food than I want just before sitting still for a few hours, and on top of ticket prices and transport. We have enjoyed the bar over the years and will miss it, but our money was obviously not enough for the survival in that form. Pity. Tony Sullivan, Adamstown Heights
Hands on physio
Thank you to your correspondent (Letters, September 5). As a physio in the fitness and health field, I’ve been lamenting the loss of my profession to the sports area.
Training to become a physio has become a “hands off” training degree. If a person needs to see a physio for treatment these days, the client usually ends up with an exercise program to take home and follow, which of course, is rarely adhered to. When I trained in the early eighties, we trainees were taught manual therapy techniques, hands on, manipulating and then soothing the muscles, giving relief to the majority of our patients (as they were then called). The “manual” in today’s treatment techniques has largely disappeared. There are a handful of us left and some working in the aged care sector, where our intervention is significant and rewarding, but I doubt there is much training for this sector any more. Dorothy Gliksman, Cedar Brush Creek
Yes, we are keeping humans alive for longer, but the quality of lives as we grow older appears to have less importance. More physiotherapists in aged care facilities are needed, and more thought should be given to exercising as we age. Result: happier and healthier older Australians. Philippa Reiss, Port Macquarie
High rise solution
If the government wants to quickly start increasing the population in the Woollahra area (Letters, September 5), why not start with a few high rises over the Waverley bus depot. Quite cheap as it owns the land. Keith Masnick, Woollahra
One way that residents of suburbs like Woollahra could protect their suburb from development would be for them to lobby the government to pass a law prohibiting owners and future owners from selling their property to developers. Frederick Rainger, Goulburn
Postscript
The big subject on the letters pages this week was, not surprisingly, last weekend’s anti-immigration rallies and the arguments (many) that followed.
Should the marches have been allowed in the first place? The general view was that, yes, Australians expect the right to protest, good or bad, and such marches or rallies should always be allowed.
Then there was the argument about whether migrants are needed here. Definitely a big yes to that, people from migrant families (ie: anyone who isn’t Indigenous, as was much pointed out) wrote in defence of migrants, new and historical, and pointed out how the economy would falter without them.
This was followed by the question of is it racist to ask for a reduction in migrants or a more detailed long-term plan for migration? There was a definite divide in answers to this, between Yes, it is racist and you know it, hang your heads in shame, and No, it is only sensible.
The last big question was whether a neo-Nazi is any different from a 20th century Nazi? Letters writers thought not and recommend using just “Nazi”.
Also much discussed was housing, especially regarding the rebuilding of Woollahra to fill in any awkward spaces, such as parks, et cetera, with multi-storey blocks of units.
Most letter writers (many of them not from Woollahra) are against this.
Dan Andrews, erstwhile premier of Victoria, caused many letters by going to China and then being seen in the company of a basket of international deplorables. Opinion was divided. Either Andrews was being used to make the Chinese regime look friendly, or he was an astute politician hoping to build markets for Victorian products. There were no half measures.
At the end of the week came news that people who suffered from robo-debt would be compensated, although at great expense to the taxpayer. The compensation was roundly approved of but there were many inquiries about the possibility of extracting some of the money from those responsible for the scheme.
Harriet Veitch, Acting letters editor
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