I am excited: Infrastructure Victoria, which is charged with being innovative and creative so that it can help Melbourne creep towards becoming a First World city, has proposed a rail link to Melbourne Airport – within the next 15 to 30years. Maybe some of Infrastructure Victoria's thinkers should visit Bangkok, Hong Kong, Oslo and countless other cities where ideas become plans and then actions. Yes, let us continue to strive towards First World infrastructure while vested interests harvest their crop at the airport – $29 to park for more than an hour (61 minutes). And if the rail link is built, it will "only" take 25 minutes to get to the airport.
Michael Clarebrough, Canterbury
Taking the number 59 tram to the airport
Michael Sewards, the director of SkyBus, is probably right when he says that its service will never be completely replaced (The Age, 17/10). There will always be people who can afford an expensive, polluting and road-choking way to travel to Melbourne Airport, including pickups and drop offs, door to door. However, the tens of thousands of SkyBus trips per year choke the already gridlocked Tullamarine Freeway. And governments continue to add extra lanes to the freeway (at public expense), even though they know it will not make any difference. The Tullamarine precinct is becoming an expensive car park and shopping centre with an airport attached.
The plan to build a rail link in 15 to 30 years is much too far away. Public transport is the only option. Extending the number 59 tramline to the airport would pay for itself in spades, even if it were only a temporary measure. Trams are flexible, iconic, fast and non-polluting. Once a tramline is established, it can be upgraded easily. This would take thousands of cars off the Tullamarine Freeway, and give Melbourne something which is both unique and effective.
John Pinniger, Fairfield
Simple ways to speed up our slow trams
There are far easier ways to speed up trams than giving them priority at Melbourne's busiest intersections (The Age, 17/10). Moving the myki readers out of entrances would mean people do not block doorways while they touch on (and off). There should also be a campaign to educate commuters that they do not have to touch off in zone one. The free tram should be extended to the University of Melbourne, and a shuttle tram should run between it and the Arts Centre. This would speed up the movement of trams and people in this busy corridor. Finally, put more trams onto the network during peak times. Currently, trams (already bursting at the seams) are held up while people try to cram onto them. This might not be such an issue if commuters knew another tram would come within minutes.
Paul Bugeja, Brunswick
An electric bus system in our outer suburbs
Those who oppose the building of a light rail in Canberra are right to do so. The population would be better served by an extensive electric bus system that takes advantage of recent advances in battery technology. This would allow these buses to run silently, without the need for the ugly infrastructure that accompanies trams and light rails. Melbourne, too, would be better served to follow suit in its outer regions. Electric buses may consume a little more energy than trams and light rail (due to the friction between the rubber tyres and bitumen), but this is offset by other advantages. Electric buses are quieter and less rigid than their fixed-rail counterparts, and able to negotiate vehicles blocking their path.
Phillip Schemnitz, architect, St Kilda
More trains and trams
Improving trams speeds at busy intersections will not improve their carrying capacity or reduce the wait between trams. This can be up to 20minutes at off-peak times on some lines. Building more apartments near tram and train lines in the hope of reducing road congestion and avoiding building new infrastructure is madness if it is not matched by more public transport. Given that the Andrews government is reaping extra money from the building of apartments (The Age, 14/10), it should double its meagre order of newtrams and trains.
Olivia Manor, Coburg
Is anyone listening?
Another article denigrating cyclists (Comment, 17/10). These only serve to promote a spurious us-and-them mentality ("See, even cyclists hate cyclists"), while ignoring the vulnerability of those who ride. Well, I am a motorist – and a cyclist – and I hate drivers who tailgate, fail to indicate, overtake when it is unsafe to do so, try to squeeze through spaces too small for their cars, ignore traffic signals and generally behave like drongos. I particularly hate it when I see them drive their cars at vulnerable road users. Does my saying this help change anything? I doubt it.
Mark Minchinton, West Footscray
Double standards
Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos has attacked Labor's choice of former union official Kimberley Kitching to replace Stephen Conroy in the Senate (The Age, 17/10). Is this the same Arthur Sinodinos who lost his memory – and broke the world record for saying "I don't recall" – under questioning at the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry? Glass houses.
Ian Maddison, Parkdale
Inbuilt disadvantage
We sympathise with Tony O'Connor's concerns about the Victorian government's abrupt changes to University High School's enrolment boundaries. However, we cannot agree entirely that entry to the school's gifted student program is "meritocratic" (Letters, 15/10).
Like magnet schools in the United States or grammar schools in Britain, the cohort in selective programs is not reflective of broader society and only serves to entrench disadvantage. Children who are unfortunate enough to be born into poorer families, yet who possess genuine giftedness and talent, are much less likely to be represented in these schools, as shown by numerous data. For a start, they do not have the means to afford expensive tutoring to prepare for the entry tests.
David Perry and Silvia Furfori, Eltham
Right to an education
One week we witness public grumbling about the performance of Australian students and schools in international comparisons such as PISA. The next, the Australian Council of Social Service (Sunday Age, 16/10) reports deepening poverty in our society. Given the direct and enduring relationship between socioeconomic division and educational achievement, I wonder when our political leaders will take notice of the bleeding obvious.
Tony Kruger, Fitzroy
Look after the children
In the city I meet homeless people with their pitiful pavement camps of mattresses, sleeping bags, "Claytons wardrobes", luggage and dogs. They are tidy and resourceful.
Our state government is keen on infrastructure: roads, public transport, hospitals, schools. Victoria works because of the other "infrastructure": people who are educated, work and are socially involved. I am at a loss to imagine how the government will keep our "people infrastructure" safe while kids are getting poorer. In the short term, it can find adequate funds for agencies to work on the homelessness epidemic. Journalists, citizens and politicians must keep up the pressure to ensure children will not grow up in poverty and graduate to a homeless future. Look after the children now, their problems are our future.
Liz Gallois, St Kilda
Food for thought
The cost of renting a house in bayside suburbs is approximately $1000 to $1200 a week (The Age, 17/10). The Newstart Allowance is approximately $275 per week. I'm just saying.
Moira Burke, St Kilda
Yeah, yeah, yeah
No, Garry Linnell, the Beatles are not "the most overrated product of the past half century" (Age Online, 15/10). Grandchildren and their grandparents are still enjoying their songs and music. It is not a Baby Boomer thing. Symphony orchestras play their work and there is at least one ballet with their tunes. If you do not enjoy the Beatles, fine, but ask yourself this: Will people still be reading, and loving, your work in 50years' time?
Sue Bursztynski, Elwood
The white fraudsters
Remember ABC Childcare, the pink batts scheme and shonky vocational training schemes? Now another government-funded scheme has been ripped off by unscrupulous and clever people ("Childcare fraud team overwhelmed", 15/10). Where there is easy money to be made, people will go for it.
I suggest we sufficiently resource departments to do their job properly. We should also employ "white hackers" – or, more precisely, "white fraudsters" – to examine funding projects in their planning stages and work out how they can be exploited. Those holes then can be plugged. Like white hackers in the computer security sector, reformed fraudsters who are paid appropriately would save those billions of dollars of our taxes.
Allan Havelock, Surrey Hills
The right to privacy
Like Wendy Squires (Comment, 17/10), I am not crazy about Michelle Bridges. Like her, I am not into unworkable exercise routines or humiliating people with weight problems (The Biggest Loser). However, I believe Ms Bridges has the right to privacy and freedom from harassment.
Yes, she is a public figure and yes, she uses her profile to make money, like most public figures. Squires seems to find this outrageous, which makes me wonder where she has been living. She also seems to think that being the wrong kind of celebrity means Ms Bridges has signed a waiver form on human rights.
Floyd Kermode, Preston
Danger in the far right
Nick O'Malley's excellent article ("Donald Trump's true believers ride the conspiracy train", 16/10) describes how the Republican Party's strategy of pandering to the far right and opposing every initiative put forward by the Democrat administration has led to a breakdown in trust of politicians and opened the way for Mr Trump to take the stage.
There is a lesson in this for our governments. If the Coalition continues to pander to its far right (which represents a very small proportion of Australians), it runs the risk of opening the gates to more extremist, populist politicians. We also run the risk of greater division within society, less tolerance, less sense of "a fair go", and poorer economic and social outcomes on all measures. It will then indeed be "poor fellow, my country".
Catherine Rossiter, Royalla, NSW
Sexist and outdated
It was disappointing to read Linda Pearce's description of the non-effort of Nick Kyrgios in his Shanghai Masters loss as "patting a serve over the net in best midweek ladies' style" (Sport, 15/10). This only perpetuates sexist views regarding female sport and does a disservice to efforts to eradicate such outdated ideas.
Peter Younger, Sandringham
Warped priorities
Surely it is time Malcolm Turnbull split Josh Frydenberg's portfolio and gave the environment portion to someone who is interested in it. Since Mr Frydenberg became Environment and Energy Minister, he seems to have only talked about coal and resources, rather than what he will do to save forests or near-extinct animals.
Lorraine Bates, Surrey Hills
Great council scam
It is time to end preferential voting for council elections as too many stooges are put in by candidates to pass on their preferences. This has scam written all over it.
Margaret Abernethy, Diggers Rest
Independent review
Once again the Saudis are implicated in deadly bombings in Yemen (World, 17/10). Since March 2016, Saudi-led airstrikes have injured and killed many civilians. As with the attacks on hospitals, there will be much blaming of wrong intelligence and no independent investigation. The US says it will conduct a review of its support for the Saudi led-coalition. However, a genuine outcome seems unlikely given that the US sold $US33billion worth of weapons to its Gulf allies last year. Our government should push at the UN for an independent investigation of this latest "apparent war crime".
Margaret Beavis,Medical Association for Prevention of War, Carlton
Sorry, you've lost me
I like Dylan, but two years ago we saw him at the Palais Theatre. All he did was new stuff, not one old classic. Never again, Bob.
Stephen Bickell, Mount Evelyn
AND ANOTHER THING
Politics
Peter Martin (13/10), not a word about the effect on climate change all that coal will produce.
Mike Puleston, Brunswick
How ironic that Arthur Sinodinos passes judgment on Kimberley Kitching's Senate nomination.
Peter McNamara, Canterbury
Will the new assets test apply to MPs? If not, why not? If it does, will they vote themselves recompense?
Keith Beman, Woodend
It appears that MP Steve Iron's electorate has no boundaries.
Les Anderson, Woodend
Red cards should be issued to senators who act like bullies during an inquiry.
Kaye Jones, Nagambie
US election
I agree with Trump. There should be a drugs test before the next debate – and an intelligence test.
James Young, Mount Eliza
The US has a choice between an "all talk" or a Teflon president. Thank heavens for Turnbull and Shorten.
James Hearne, Eaglemont
If Barry Humphries reprised Les Patterson now, Americans would understand his humour.
Ken O'Brien, Parkdale
Furthermore
Megan Aumair is what violent criminals hope for: a magistrate who grants them bail (17/10).
Leonard King, Bundoora
Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize has dragged all the squares out of the woodwork. He is the greatest poet in the English language since Yeats.
Roger Dunscombe, Richmond
I would not deny Dylan his Nobel Prize, but Irving Berlin must be spinning in his grave.
Elizabeth Chipman, Seaford
We have a real life Avenger – Emma Peel at Sydney University (17/10).
David Mitchell, Moe