Benefits of working from home go beyond business

Employers who are unhappy about the Fair Work Commission’s decision on working from home should consider the huge benefits to society as a whole (“Commission’s WFH ruling goes way too far”, October 23). Apart from the money saved in fares, an important consideration is environmental. The amount of carbon released into the air by cars, trucks and buses will fall, as will wear and tear on the roads, leading to less maintenance. There will be fewer accidents, which will save lives and prevent serious injury. There will be more people in the suburbs during working hours, which will boost local trade. But perhaps the most important consideration of all is the improved mental health and productivity, as workers are not wasting valuable time commuting. Employers worried about lost productivity should take into account that staff often end up working some, if not all, the time they would have spent getting to and from the office. John Rome, Mt Lawley

As outlined in today’s editorial, the Fair Work Commission has gone too far with its latest ruling. Millions of workers (police, ambos, train drivers, teachers, doctors, etc) need to be at their place of work. Employers have every right to see employees “on the job”. Some flexibility can be negotiated regarding some work-at-home days for appropriate positions, but surely an employer has every right to also be treated fairly. Conditions of employment for any new position in the future should clearly state workplace expectations. Denis Suttling, Newport Beach

Housing solutions

I find it concerning that we’re concentrating so much of our development into these high-rise buildings (“Suburbs holding out in race to build homes”, October 23). The sliding image for Macquarie Park really shows what I mean: why are we building so tall, instead of rezoning those detached houses for medium density (townhouses, duplexes, two-story apartments)? The latter would give us more dwellings, be much easier on the eye, and more people would want to live in them. Plus, I’ve never heard of the “Opal Townhouses Crisis” or the “Mascot Low-Rise Collapse”. Theodore Brown, Wattle Grove

The reports about the housing shortage continue. In all of it, there is no evidence of state or federal governments stepping in to build homes. It is always about private developers somehow being incentivised to build more houses. They won’t – they like the profits created by keeping supply restricted. Our governments refuse to accept the Economics 101 law of supply and demand. Private builders will not build new housing that meets demand for housing below the price that provides builders with reasonable profits. If we want to house people in need and reduce price pressure at the market’s entry level then, quite simply, we need governments to build housing. We are a very wealthy country. Basic housing should a given. Steven Lee, Faulconbridge

David Barwell’s article has omitted to mention that planning applications for more than 3500 apartments have been lodged recently in Chatswood, on Sydney’s lower north shore. This includes more than 25 high-rise State Significant Development proposals, plus the 56-storey Landcom proposal for 1500 units on the Metro site on the corner of the Pacific Highway. Project viability is the major stumbling block for many of these projects. Unless developers are allowed to maximise the numbers of units on each site way beyond what is considered a reasonable density, very few of these projects will commence as they are not financially viable. The state government’s TOD initiative faces some major challenges unless unit prices escalate even further to achieve project viability. Ian Muir, Chatswood

Stolen thunder

Shaun Carney repeats the myth that Scott Morrison “stopped the boats” by implementing turnbacks in 2013 (“Albanese finally makes his own luck”, October 23). Not so. The prime reason the boats stopped was the Rudd government’s July 2013 announcement that anyone arriving by boat would never be settled in Australia. As a result of that announcement, boat arrivals fell dramatically from 48 in July to seven in December 2013, when Operation Sovereign Borders began. It was just immigration minister Morrison’s good luck to be in office at the right time to claim the credit for stopping the boats, but in fact it was primarily the work of the previous Labor government. Maurice Critchley, Mangrove Mountain

Drone on

Your correspondent Martyn Yeomans is correct when he says unmanned underwater drones could replace large, manned submarines within 10 years (Letters, October 23). Fortunately, Australia is currently building autonomous undersea vehicles called Ghost Sharks with US company Anduril as principal designer. Our commitment of $1.7 billion is tiny compared to the AUKUS subs, scheduled for delivery in 2032. The drones could be controlled by our sophisticated Harold E. Holt communications base in Exmouth, WA, run by our navy. The Chinese have developed and planted thousands of smart mines in their surrounding waters, which detect foreign ships and respond appropriately. Just one mine could sink a sub, with the tragic loss of all 150 crew. No doubt these type of mines will soon be worldwide. The funds for AUKUS would be much better spent on these underwater drones. Bill Johnstone, Blackheath

Ley’s acrobatics

It’s no surprise that Sussan Ley was all over the place about Kevin Rudd (“Ley stops pushing for Rudd’s removal after Trump run-in”, October 23). She has a track record of labelling anything and anyone that didn’t come from the Coalition as inept or inadequate. Not long ago, it was the extension of the stage 3 tax cuts that Ley immediately decried as irresponsible and promised to reverse, only to backtrack days later. Now it’s Kevin Rudd’s past comments about Donald Trump she has backflipped on. It would be a refreshing change if Ley and all of her colleagues stopped finding fault with everything outside their own orbit and had the decency to give credit where it’s due, without having to be shamed into it. Adrian Connelly, Springwood

Maths exams don’t add up

As an HSC marker 20 years ago, I approached the professor responsible for setting the mathematics exams (“Was this the hardest HSC maths exam in recent history?” October 23). I explained to him that much of the advanced paper was far too difficult for most students. I also commented that being paid per question was very easy for me, as the modal mark on the impossible questions was zero and the time for marking them was negligible. I was dismissed with the pathetic argument that making many questions impossible was needed for statistical purposes. Also ignored was the argument that many students’ final mathematical experience was a feeling of failure and a strong dislike for this wonderful subject. An inquiry into this situation is long overdue, and raw statistics on each question should be made available. Keith Hartmann, Bowral

Time flies differently

Sydney’s heatwave has also inflamed the restless buzz of rapacious flies – small but potent symbols of ecological imbalance (“Heat records tumble as furnace-like winds blast Sydney”, October 23). It serves to remind that extreme heat and fly infestations share a common driver: climate disruption. Severe heat spikes accelerates the life cycle of flies. The swarming nuisance serves as a reminder that pesky pests can react to stress not with collapse, but adaptation. The heat that exhausted Sydneysiders on Wednesday becomes fertile ground for other forms of life. Sydney’s spring heatwave should not just alarm us for its discomfort, but awaken us to deeper lessons: every degree of warming amplifies nature’s feedback loop. The flies are not invaders, they are messengers that remind us that severe weather events ripple through all layers of life, from humans to insects. Until we cool the air we share, the buzz will keep returning – louder each season in my experience as a yearly spring visitor to Sydney. Joseph Ting, Brisbane (Qld)

With all the dire warnings about a bad bushfire season this year, everyone needs to be extra vigilant. Already there have been fires in Tasmania and on the mainland, with no evidence of how they started. Arsonists will be out in force during the coming fire season, trying to satisfy their warped obsession. I implore the community: if you see something suspicious, report it immediately. Your quick thinking and community spirit could avert a disaster. Alan Leitch, Austins Ferry (Tas)

Prioritise nature

Labor appears to be using the long-overdue environmental law reform to wedge the Coalition and the Greens (“Labor to wield green laws as weapon against Coalition, Greens”, October 23). And media commentary is focused on the needs of industry. Are politicians and the media more concerned with party strategy and industry interests than with the urgent need to protect Australia’s natural environment? According to the Biodiversity Council, 75 per cent of Australians support stronger nature laws. When will we see environmental legislation that puts nature first, above politics, profits and posturing? Karen Lamb, Geelong (Vic)

Pain of dislocation

Solid research supports your correspondent’s condemnation of the “questionable and heartless” relocation of public housing tenants from Millers Point and the Sirius building (Letters, October 23). Such forced relocation ruptures vulnerable people’s sense of home, echoing other displacements, major losses and sources of trauma in their lives. The dissolution of their close community also has potentially serious consequences. Research by the UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) has found that the loss of socially valuable ties activates the same part of the brain as physical pain. Social pain can, thus, be as harmful and debilitating as physical suffering, and it is exacerbated by isolation. Social support is also a well-documented, vital factor in people’s ability to recover after severe trauma from war, natural disasters, family violence and/or other sources. Plus, when children have to change schools, there’s further stress and disruption to people’s lives. The relocated people may now be out of sight, but the abject failure of state governments to practise what they preach on mental health should not be overlooked. Barbara Chapman, South Yarra (Vic)

Breast practice

Thank you to your correspondent Ann Clydsdale for mentioning her experience that despite having had four children before the age of 26 and breastfeeding them, she nevertheless was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 58 (Letters, October 23). My mother, who also had three children and breastfed them, received the same diagnosis at an age when mammograms were considered unnecessary. The message here, and one which I give my patients, is to never be complacent and always be aware that despite the recent findings, women must be conscientious and have their annual mammogram and breast checks. Dorothy Gliksman, Cedar Brush Creek

Wise to be wary

I agree with D’Arcy Hardy, who is suspicious of Trump’s rare earths deal with Australia (Letters, October 23). Many years ago my wife’s uncle, a senior public servant in the old Department of Trade in Canberra, was involved in many high-level overseas trade negotiations. After he retired I asked him about the trade deals then under discussion. He casually remarked to me that “the Yanks never sign anything unless they know they’ve come out on top”. Anthony Albanese has done about as well as anyone could have when dealing with Donald Trump, but we shouldn’t kid ourselves about who will receive the greatest benefit in the long term. Steve Ellis, Hackett (ACT)

Pomp and pompousness

Given that the White House is recognised as a National Historic Landmark and is run by the National Park Service, how was Donald Trump allowed to order portions of the East Wing to be demolished and replaced with a $US200 million ballroom privately funded by Trump himself and major companies such as Google, Microsoft and Meta – all Trump-friendly software businesses (“Trump demolishes White House’s East Wing for new ballroom”, October 23)? Eric Palm, Gympie (Qld)

I’m completely at a loss to understand how someone who can’t even wave their hands in time with Village People songs, let alone dance, would demolish an entire wing of a historic building in order to put in a ballroom. Tony Doyle, Fairy Meadow

On the PM’s terms

No, John Campbell, it’s not that we are so pleased to have Albo liked by the “world’s most loathsome man” (Letters, October 23). It’s because we are delighted that he has not been a “lapdog”, and his trip to Washington was such a success. Go, Team Albo and Rudd. Judith Hall, Cabarita

Qantas leap

An airline named T-Rex may well not get off the ground (Letters, October 23). However, it turns out that our Flying Kangaroo has the honour of having a small dinosaur bearing its name thanks to palaeontologists Patricia Vickers-Rich and Tom Rich in 1999. In recognition of the contribution of the national carrier transporting the Great Russian Dinosaurs Exhibit (1993-1996) around Australia, Qantassaurus intrepidus flew into our prehistoric genus. Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook

Across the channel

The Louvre should look in the British Museum for those jewels, because so often when priceless artefacts are stolen, that is where they end up (“Louvre heist is a result of the world’s rush to gold”, October 23). Peter Fyfe, Enmore

Keeping it snappy

I read with interest about a lawyer specialising in canine attacks whose name is Stafford. Let’s hope he’s no bull terrier (“Rabbitohs player sued over dog attack”, October 23). Tony Terry, Toowoomba (Qld)

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