Letters

DECEMBER 21

Council mergers benefit big end of town

9:00 PM The Baird government's forced amalgamation of councils is a win only for the state government and for businesses who prefer to deal with a lesser number of entities ("Baird under fire", December 19-20). It will be a big loss for local communities. The era of truly independent councillors has now gone, since few will be able to fund the cost of campaigning in bigger electorates. Ratepayers will vote (reluctantly now) along party lines and not on local issues, and few will know who to contact to discuss their concerns.

DECEMBER 19

Corporate leeches merit shaming

The tax cheats who devise and execute dubious strategies should be publicly outed just as individuals rorters are.

DECEMBER 20

Shire shame

The continuing racist/non-racist action that continues to simmer under police escort is damaging not only to 'the Shire' by association, but to all Australians.

DECEMBER 18

Girls' HSC victory should be celebrated

I believe the article "Selective and private girls' schools lead the result scorecard" (December 17) has been misinterpreted.

DECEMBER 17

Morrison's road trip is giving us whiplash

A few years ago we were badgered to peer out the window and witness debt and deficit as far as the eye could see (Morrison wants to break it to us gently", December 16). Now we're being admonished not to ask if we're there yet. Coalition tactics are a bad road movie.

DECEMBER 16

Sceptics backflip to argue for inaction

I wonder how stupid climate change sceptics like Liberal Senator Chris Back think the rest of us are?

DECEMBER 15

Climate: The future begins with the people

It is up to the Australian people to keep our nation and our government accountable to the Paris accord ("Heat turned up on Malcolm Turnbull's domestic climate policies as world pledges to act", smh.com.au, December 14).

Scrap "flawed" Levine report and start again

I was the inspector of the Independent Commission Against Corruption from 2008 to 2013 before Megan Latham's appointment as commissioner.

DECEMBER 14

How cool: Australia cleaning up its act

A day to cheer, break open the champagne, a historic global climate deal with a goal to keep warming well below 2 degrees Celsius has been reached ("Countries strike grand deal to tackle climate change", smh.com.au, December 13).

DECEMBER 13

Rich men rules

The latest research shows that Australia's "rich" are continuing to get richer while the "middle" are getting poorer. Yet Scott Morrison's backers always want to slash penalty rates for working people ("Scott Morrison's department is urging him to tackle workplace relations reform", December 6).

DECEMBER 12

Ignorance meets the voice of reason

In his brilliant and lacerating response to Tony Abbott's comments on Islam, Waleed Aly lays bare the appallingly divisive politics behind the all-fighting theme ("Arch conservatives take a step backward" December 11). However, it may not be all bad news.

DECEMBER 11

Bishop's move to stay put brings confusion

I'm not sure why Bronwyn Bishop thinks seeking re-endorsement for the seat of Mackellar will enable her to deal with the threat of terrorism ("Bishop vows to stay and fight ISIS threat", December 10) but, if local Liberal Party branches "massively have the shits with her", I suspect she may be waging her heroic campaign as a private citizen, most likely from the battlements of her home in Newport.

December 10

Sniping from backbench is hardly noble

The Labor Party's election prospects aside, it seems clear that it is Abbott who "can't learn and hasn't changed" and that he is still in denial concerning his own disastrous prime ministership.

DECEMBER 9

Where was Turnbull's NBN innovation?

So Malcolm Turnbull wants to be known as the innovation prime minister ("The innovation express", December 8)? This seems at odds with his previous efforts in giving us a Clayton's NBN. Will the real Malcolm Turnbull please stand up?

DECEMBER 8

Elite private schools promote conformity

As a Ravenswood "old girl" I read about the courageous actions of Sarah Haynes with delighted surprise ("'Hurt and betrayed': school captain delivers memorable year-end speech"). The more things change the more they stay the same.

DECEMBER 7

Fiddling with figures while Earth burns

At last, I thought, Malcolm Turnbull's government has made a significant commitment to addressing global warming ("Turnbull's vow in doubt as Australia fails on emissions", December 5-6). However, true to its business heart, the Coalition has made sure that it gets more than it gives.

DECEMBER 5

Royal short shrift not unexpected

You know politicians are in trouble when they start believing their own rhetoric ("Malcolm: the cabinet, the coup and the Queen", December 4).

DECEMBER 6

Disability sham

It seems that the definition of a disability is about to be tested in court ("Law set to decide on gambling 'disability' ", November 29).

DECEMBER 4

Decisive action needed over Brough affair

We don't yet know all the facts of Mal Brough's involvement in the Peter Slipper case but it is looking murky ("Turnbull's first big test", December 3).

Cruise ship pollution claim exaggerated

To suggest cruise ship emissions are equivalent to the output of a "modest" coal-fired power station is absurd.

DECEMBER 3

Remembering Abbott's disasterous budget

When even Eric Abetz and Kevin Andrews objected to the harshness of the measure to make unemployed people under the age of 30 wait six months for unemployment benefits you would have thought Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey would have taken some notice.

DECEMBER 2

Without Credlin, Abbott is nothing

Peter Hartcher's report on Peta Credlin struck two worrying notes ("The Peta Principle", December 1).

DECEMBER 1

Build the Sydney Modern in city's west

The Botanic Garden and Domain complex is a precious central Sydney resource ("Keating v the Sydney Modern: the public must decide", November 30).

NOVEMBER 30

Put public housing back on the agenda

It is a mistake to suggest that if more areas in Sydney's inner west were to be rezoned for high-density residential housing, then this additional housing stock would result in more affordable rental accommodation ("The Walled City", November 28).

NOVEMBER 28

Untangle web to end violence

Ideological differences have always driven people to kill and the challenge of the 21st century is to redefine what it means to be human.

November 29

Property power

Who is actually running the state at the moment? Is it the Baird government or is it a group of property developers ("Museum's visitors up, defying minister's claims", November 22). Visitors at the Powerhouse Museum are up yet it has been earmarked for relocation. Why? It sits on prime land that is too tempting for any developer to pass up.

NOVEMBER 26

Turnbull is rash but he commands respect

The encomium of Elizabeth Farrelly for Malcolm Turnbull is not without merit ("Malcolm is here for the long haul", November 26).

NOVEMBER 26

Culture should rate second to open space

I agree with Paul Keating's comments, that expansion of the Art Gallery of NSW into the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Domain should be resisted ("Gallery plan shows a harbour snobbery", November 25). However, the alternative area he suggests for expansion over the Domain car park is also valuable open space.