Labor puts an end to noisy diplomacy
It’s a “gantry”. I know what “scaffolding” is (letter, October 14). “Scaffolding” was somehow introduced into education some time ago, but I didn’t fully understand it.
Years of school and college education did not prepare me to use it in my writing.For acronym madness, try teaching VET subjects. The glossary needed to describe the syllabus seemed longer than the syllabus itself. Somehow, teaching lost its KISS principle and went to jargon overload to confuse me. Tony Sullivan, Adamstown Heights
“Acquire Real Estate” Real Estate
Maybe Queensland has it right – just once (letter, 14 October) – Investors pay full stamp duty on property purchases, but 50% for those purchasing as primary residence. Permanently cheaper than land tax. John Loveridge, Tewentin (Qld)
Support the sales of private homes. I’m surprised not many people choose this option. The most important thing is to determine the value of real estate. This is something even the best realtors struggle with, and the rest is easy. Professional photography, floor plans, online advertising all under $2000 for him, appointment inspections, and Bob is an uncle. Richard Teinsch, Pottspoint
Realtors can earn up to $48,000 in commissions just by selling a $1.6 million property, but the ill-fated average scrapes just $1,500 in legal fees to make such a sale. Think of a real estate attorney. No wonder my agents sport the latest top-of-the-line expensive cars. Edward Ron, Milson’s Point
best of all hairy
What do you like about Death Hustler as a coach?But his hair is definitely second to noneTolboyevich calls for crisis meeting as Hustler resigns”, 14 October). Michael Des, Como West
ATO whistleblower was taxed too much for telling the truth
Without whistleblower protection, there is no hope of wiping out corruption and mismanagement (seeOn trial for bravely telling the truth”, 14 October). ATO employee Richard Boyle was vindicated, but his life was ruined financially and emotionally. Who wants to follow in his footsteps? We hope the new federal government understands the important service whistleblowers provide and rewards them rather than punishing them. Anne Matheson, Gordon
Kieran Pender’s article on Boyle makes it clear that there is something wrong with our law when someone is arrested and put on trial for telling the truth about government agencies abusing their power. Wrong person or entity is on trial. It has to be the Australian Taxation Service. Peter Nash, Fairlight
Boyle’s trial demonstrates an important principle: “Truth is truth, even if it is in the minority.” Give him more power. Chatswood, Steve Nyou
The last train is near
We retired to the upper reaches of the Blue Mountains some time ago (“Sydney died at 6.01 to Central, smh.com.au, 14 October), this issue is always at the forefront and center of our attention when interacting with family and friends living in the hustle and bustle of the world. The pandemic and weather are exacerbating the situation, but it feels like a third lurking factor is at play. Society is hollowed out by economic ideology, where public services are sacrificed at the altar of the ‘free market’. We are conditioned by user payments, efficiency dividends, outsourcing, offshoring, privatization, profit motives, etc., and we want everything but tax payments. The last train from Sydney is just around the corner. Brian Jones, Lula
I was also involved in a rail fiasco last week due to rain. What infuriated me was the repeated security announcement declaring an “operational problem”. No one admits they have a problem anymore? Why weren’t commuters politely paid even though they were told what was going on? Meredith Williams, Northmead
Oh Thomas Mitchell, I read your article. All I can say is boom tissue! Colleen Starkey, Mount Cora
embarrassing accusation
The Chinese ambassador to Australia was deliberately provocative and disingenuous in his comments on the AUKUS alliance (“China targets AUKUS”, 14 October). The alliance is not based on race, as the ambassador claims. It is based on a liberal democracy united against totalitarian regimes. China has proven hostile to Australia. Australia therefore needs to strengthen its military and diplomatic standing. Australia must demonstrate its readiness to defend its sovereignty. Dennis O’Brien, Orange
He is a worthy emissary from a great and powerful trading partner. Xiao is an experienced and highly intelligent diplomat who seeks to be quirky, even cocky, as a means of easing strained relations. However, he is not entirely in tune with the local zeitgeist. Accusing Australia of racism is frankly old hat. At the same time, do not mention China’s trade sanctions against us while we are successfully exporting COVID to the whole world.
We do not tend to be lectured by representatives of nations who zealously ignore the evidence of racism within their own borders. Margaret Johnston, Paddington
China appears to be exhibiting an almost Poutinesque level of delusion in the racist claims underlying AUKUS. Still, I think it’s even less relevant when it comes to grouping quads. Of course, China has not received any accusations of racism in its dealings with other countries. Wayne Duncombe, Lilyfield
political pickpocket
Polly Exposes Expenditure (″Hanson charges taxpayers for travel in defamation case“, Oct 14) is no fun at all. Frankly, it bothers me that our pockets are so easily plucked. But that fee allows for the extent to which lawmakers don’t have to reach into their own pockets for items the rest of us have to pay for ourselves. mosquito?
Don Firth, Woolley
starved for attention
If only there was a famine in the Horn of Africa (“the hungriest place on earth14 Oct.) said that if they received 1% of the media coverage that war-torn Ukraine is getting, they would be in the public consciousness and probably get more help. Unfortunately, we in the West attach more importance to people like us in Ukraine than to the millions of starving people in third world countries. Kon Weitzas, Ashbury
riding the current of the times
At least Tourism Australia didn’t kick Matilda, the giant winking kangaroo, out of the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games (letter, October 14). That said, let’s hope it doesn’t happen again at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. John Swanton, Coogee
Tourism Australia is right to focus its latest campaign on kangaroos. Kangaroos adorn military aircraft, ships and military vehicles. It turns out that in the remote parts of Africa, kangaroos are the only people who know about Australia. A kangaroo should be in the middle of our flag, perhaps the Aboriginal flag. Andrew Mackintosh, Cromer
Combustion with natural gas
Nationals leader David Littleproud can relax (“Methane pledge won’t burn Australian barbecue, Oct. 14) – Outdoor barbecues run on (bottled) propane or butane, not methane. The article points to methane’s potency as a much worse greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. If we don’t stop producing this “natural gas” we will all be barbecued. Hugh Barrett, Sanctuary Point
Are they coming to your barbecue? The biggest threat to barbecue is climate change. Graham Finn, Summer Hill
The contradictions in society are growing day by day. Farmers are now being blamed for methane gas as a contribution to climate change. How many of us who care for the planet will cancel proposed flights to vacation destinations? That makes a big contribution to climate change. Joanna Van Cool, Crow’s Nest
Global warming is caused by the release of previously trapped greenhouse gases, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation. The methane exhaled by cows is slowly broken down into carbon dioxide, and along with the methane exhaled by cows, humans and other animals, plants undergo photosynthesis to produce food for the same animals. Jeff Walker, Greaves
Postscript
Money in its many forms was a big topic on this week’s Letters page. Land tax vs. stamp tax, expediting fines as revenue increases, paying enough GPs to implement them, and debate over whether Australia needs or wants more immigration. exchanged, creating a need for more housing, schools, and roads.
Land tax was the biggest nuisance. Writers fail to understand the need for a land tax swap, resent the idea of paying for it forever, and see it as less of a boon to homebuyers than developers and investors flipping properties quickly. They were also deeply suspicious that the prime minister was trying to push the plan through parliament. I asked him if he was not accepted by the voters in the current state elections.
The speed debate began with news that the NSW government wants to restore warning signs in front of speed cameras. Most writers were bothered by this on the grounds that if they were speeding they were endangering everyone else in the community and therefore deserved to be fined. People wrote stories about being fined for speeding and they suffered. I felt that there was a better way to prevent accidents than to pull out.
The Anzac Bridge gantry idea received a lot of correspondence. With no one in favor, the Prime Minister’s decision to veto it was well received, and rather than wasting time on land taxes, it elicited ideas about other parts of Sydney that the Prime Minister should work on next. rice field.
Harriet Veitch, Deputy Letter Editor
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/labor-puts-an-end-to-loudhailer-diplomacy-20221014-p5bpqw.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_national_nsw Labor puts an end to noisy diplomacy