Elitist development proposal makes mockery of ‘affordable housing’

Committee for Sydney chief Eamon Waterford says plans to develop the area around the abandoned Woollahra train station will, “if we get the affordable housing part of this right”, ensure teachers, nurses and hospitality workers are no longer priced out of such exclusive suburbs (“Eastern suburbs to get new railway station, up to 10,000 new homes”, August 23). They will need a better plan than the NSW government’s in-fill housing policy, which is currently entertaining a developer’s proposal to demolish a Potts Point building comprising 80 studio apartments and replace it with just 34 two and three-bedroom pads (“The divisive plan to bulldoze 80 units to ‘make way for millionaires’“, August 24). While nine would be “affordable housing” (for 15 years only), the rest will no doubt be multimillion-dollar homes. That’s effectively a net loss of 71 existing, relatively affordable places for nurses and teachers and hospitality workers to live; enabled by a policy that’s purporting to address the housing crisis. Ross Duncan, Potts Point

One must wonder if the full implications of the state government’s new housing targets have been properly considered at a local level. It seems we are being given the numbers, but not the full picture. Let’s consider Woollahra. The directive to add 1900 new homes looks straightforward enough on a spreadsheet, yet a simple calculation shows this requires the construction of some 16 new apartment buildings, each 12 storeys high. One would hope that planners are picturing the real-world impact of such a significant change, not just fulfilling a quota. This pattern of top-down targets is repeated across the eastern suburbs. It seems a rather simplistic approach to just assign a number and assume the character, heritage and infrastructure of a community can simply absorb such rapid, large-scale development. Surely our suburbs deserve more than a numbers game. Thoughtful planning requires foresight, not just a calculator. It’s a conversation that needs to move beyond abstract targets and onto the tangible future of the communities we call home. Michael Cunningham, MacMasters Beach

It’s pleasing to see some common sense emerge in transport and city planning in Sydney. And while Sydneysiders may have “fallen in love” with the Metro, what we really need is an existing train network that really works. So small-scale adjustments on what we already have, such as the Woollahra opportunity, are welcome. Let’s re-examine other sites where more stations could be added, like Lindfield West or Pennant Hills Rd (Metro Northwest). Leppington to Bradfield in the southwest. Or indeed extend that little stub of an eastern suburbs line all the way to Bondi Beach? Matthew Doherty, Camperdown

The government is to be commended on its plan to resurrect Woollahra station. However, the accompanying development must provide homes solely for essential workers, young families and those in need of social housing. We do not need more designer apartments for wealthy downsizers in the eastern suburbs. Ross Penglase, Queens Park

Party before nation

Peter Hartcher’s article (“Different ambitions, same aims”, August 23) shows intergenerational equity to be the predominant concern of most participants at last week’s economic roundtable. Yet Albanese’s focus is apparently completely different; he is concerned primarily with the long-term future of the Labor Party. Has he completely missed the reasons for the decline in first preference votes for the main parties? His oh-so-narrow interpretation of the national interest does not augur well for the Labor Party, or for the country. Penny Ransby Smith, Lane Cove

So Anthony Albanese is reluctant to make big or sudden change beyond his election platform because he wants to entrench Labor in power over the long term. That sounds to me like putting the party’s interest ahead of the national interest, which is what got us into the mess we’re facing. Martin Mansfield, Baulkham Hills

Peter Hartcher and a few other writers have made similar points about the generational wealth gap, but uneven wealth distribution isn’t just between old and young – it’s the growing disparity between rich and poor families. Children of the wealthy are likely to do very well. Children of the poor, if they are lucky, may climb out of poverty but are more likely to end up like their parents. We’ve perpetuated the class system from England, except there it’s traditionally by birth whereas here it’s determined by which school you attend (usually expensive private) which is where you make the connections and set yourself up for the future. Look at the tax system, by all means, but ensure the spending of tax collected goes to underfunded public schools, which will ultimately result in a more equal distribution of opportunity and wealth. Janet Cook, Waverton

With some of the dust settled from last week’s roundtable, the real challenge now for the government and other stakeholders is to find answers for arguably the most important issue to emerge from the three days – intergenerational equity. Looked at in another way – tax reform across the spectrum. It won’t be easy but it needs to happen. Big targets are easier to shoot at than small ones. Anthony Albanese doesn’t have to adopt Whitlam’s mantra of 50 years ago – crash through or crash – but he does have to address the obvious structural inequalities in our tax system that favour those who are older, those who are wealthy and those who have access to tax minimisation schemes, which entrench societal inequity. To avoid those challenges is to say to tomorrow’s generation “it was just too hard so we gave up”. Grahame Riethmuller, Redbank

States of denial

Denis Edleston suggests the best productivity boost would be finally rid of inefficiency and duplication by getting rid of state governments (Letters, 21 August). My old man, a staunch Country Party then Liberal voter all his life, tasked me with that very mission. Sorry, Dad – I failed, so I have tasked my sons with the same, but I suspect they will also fail. My grandson, with typical youthful curiosity, asked why we have states, right after asking why we have wars, so I was in a lofty but somewhat cynical mindset when I explained about colonies and the tyranny of distance and correspondence by sailing ship and so on. “But we have the internet now,” he said, with a look of bewildered puzzlement. Perhaps his generation will finally perform the task. Dick Clarke, Elanora Heights

Solar panel folly

Now that the government has come up with the brilliant idea to encourage people to buy EVs by imposing a road user tax, they should now turn their attention to that other huge drain on the public purse – homeowners with solar panels. Not only are these freeloaders avoiding paying GST on their electricity bills by generating their own electricity, they shamefacedly accept government subsidies to do so. Taxing EV drivers makes just as much sense as taxing solar panel users. Richard Grant, St Leonards

Powerless to realise

Can there be a better example of the incompetence of the Coalition when it comes to energy policy than Liberal deputy leader Ted O’Brien’s statement that “the problem to solve is how do we get the cheapest electricity that we can” (“Littleproud doubles down on nuclear power, explains Coalition split to party faithful”, August 23)? Not only have studies by the competent and independent CSIRO shown that nuclear power is substantially more expensive than renewables, and can’t be delivered for at least 15 years, but the devastating effects of climate change and the associated direct and indirect costs borne by the whole community continue to be ignored. Despite the unpopularity of nuclear power revealed in countrywide polling, O’Brien still thinks that nuclear energy is the best option for Australia. Stephen Foster, Glebe

False profits

Your correspondent Robert Hosking (Letters, August 23) provides an example of a common fallacy. Replacing workers with robots might improve profitability, but it improves productivity only if those workers find other jobs. Productivity is measured by the size of the workforce, which includes those in jobs and those looking for jobs. David Havyatt, Corrimal

Kids under pressure

Your photo of a young girl crying tears of joy and relief at getting into her chosen selective school said it all (“Tears of fear then relief as Sriaradhya makes selective cut”, August 23). After years of pushing, coaching and cramming, failure was clearly unthinkable, but she made it. And this was a just primary school exam. This child now faces six years of high school and perhaps many more at university, competing against other elite students who may well have been pushed just as hard. Excelling is going to become far more challenging. And what of the 13,000 students who didn’t get in? Are they, too, weeping in the bathroom or complaining bitterly about the unfair process of this year’s exams? One would hope some at least can shrug their shoulders, go outside and throw a ball with their friends. Placing so much pressure on youngsters can’t be the best way to encourage them to learn. Hard work and ambition are excellent attributes, but focusing only on exam success doesn’t leave much room to just be a little kid. Merona Martin, Meroo Meadow

How is it that an 11-year-old can feel so desperate to get into a selective school that her parents spent thousands of dollars over the years on tutoring? The article implies this situation is replicated in many homes in Sydney. How much of an asset it would be to our public school system if these children were part of the mix. They would lift the general standard of these schools and benefit themselves by having the burden of constant study lifted and by mixing with a wider network of other children. Their families would surely find the money they saved by not paying for tuition could be used for something that is less divisive and produces less pressure. Phasing out selective schools would be a good start. Gay Shanahan, Glenbrook

I have witnessed many students crying after finding out they didn’t get into a selective high school (SHS). If successful, a student can still perform badly in a SHS. If they are not at the top of the class, they feel like failures. Those same students could perhaps achieve better results in one of the many excellent comprehensive local high schools in NSW, even come top of the class. I’ve seen many a stressed, tired and unhappy student who has attended coaching clinics three times a week for the sole purpose of getting into a SHS. The Department of Education needs to abolish this system. Pam Montgomery, Pretty Beach

Compliments are in order, but I felt sorry for Sriaradhya, who cried with relief after waiting nearly two years to be accepted into a selective school. Words such as “agonising”, “her heart sank”, “marred by controversy”, “significant failures” and “frantic crowds” seem bizarre to me when referring to fifth-graders. Is it necessary to put such extreme pressure of children? Michele Thomas, Mollymook Beach

Gilead rising

Julia Baird’s article on US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and “Pastor” Doug Wilson is chilling (“Gilead rising: In Trump’s America, misogyny has found a powerful toehold”, August 23). In Margaret Atwood’s brilliant novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, there are few details of how part of America became the fascist state of Gilead, in which women were totally subservient to men in the most appalling ways. Reading of Hegseth’s acceptance of Wilson’s extreme misogyny, and watching Trump’s decrees violently breach human rights, we can see Gilead rising in America today. Rob Phillips, North Epping

So the “loony right” in the US is thinking of taking votes away from women? Let them try. With 50 per cent of voters women, that stupid and backward proposal is doomed to fail. Pasquale Vartuli, Wahroonga

Unsurprising, to the max

Unsurprisingly, Ghislaine Maxwell saw nothing inappropriate, especially regarding Donald Trump and Prince Andrew’s behaviour, and says Trump was always a “gentleman” (“Ghislaine Maxwell labelled Trump a gentleman”, August 23). Equally unsurprisingly, she has been transferred from a Florida prison to a minimum security facility in Texas. A pardon is surely just around the corner. In what other “democratic” country and in what century would this be OK? Meanwhile, anyone speaking out, like John Bolton, gets an FBI investigation. Unbelievable. Rowan Godwin, Rozelle

Shaky ground

As Benjamin Netanyahu’s support base at home and abroad crumbles, his desperation has become palpable (Postscript, August 23). He is lashing out at other world leaders in a vain attempt to silence them and deflect from his alleged war crimes. He lacks integrity, ethics and morality, but argues that Anthony Albanese’s record is tarnished and accuses him of being a weak politician. That’s rich. Netanyahu claims that a call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire, but I doubt anything could do more to inflame antisemitism than his own inhumanity. Graham Lum, North Rocks

Israel has a proportional electoral system in which PM Netanyahu’s party Likud gained a two-member majority in late 2022. In the 120-member Knesset (Parliament) there are no less than 13 parties. Likud formed a Coalition with six other parties to take 64 of the 120 seats. There have been additions and withdrawals after an “emergency wartime” government was formed in October 2023, and it is quite possible, even likely, that this coalition won’t last until the next general election, scheduled for October 2026. Israelis increasingly are opposing their government’s actions in Gaza and its call for reservists. Klaas Woldring, Nambucca Heads

Entrenched greed

It’s only a few years since Rio Tinto destroyed Juukan Gorge, to international criticism. Now Rio Tinto’s CEO and his BHP counterpart appear to be aiming for an encore (“We’ve got the minerals and we’re here to help, Rudd tells US”, August 21). Their controversial proposal to build a giant copper mine in Arizona on sacred, actively utilised Native American territory, is opposed by the San Carlos Apache tribe on religious, cultural and environmental grounds. Greed trumps ethics, again. Colleen Riga, Potts Point

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