Comment

Letters to the Editor

Happy couples in unions once banned

SMH Letters

It is not same-sex marriage that "cleaves our society to pieces", but the intrusion of outdated and irrelevant church dogma into our secular lives.

Fracking decision is the states' to make

SMH Letters

The notion that the Commonwealth Grants Commission might penalise NSW and Victoria for not allowing fracking for gas extraction is utterly undemocratic and, dare I say it, un-Australian.

Adoption option

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Are the lovely Margaret Wyatt, 80, and her husband adopting ("Housing affordability: growing divide between haves and have-nost", September 24) I am happy to fill out an application form!

WestConnex ads a turn up the wrong road

SMH Letters

For a project that promises to "bring Sydney closer together", WestConnex seems to be causing more than its fair share of division and controversy.

Government has role in caring for the elderly

SMH Letters

Once again aged care is in the spotlight with an elderly dementia resident suffering a painful death. Each time I read of the horrific incidents I wonder how many more such incidents are going unnoticed as some residents in aged care facilities don't have family or friends visiting. People expect deaths but so many occur prematurely. The Minister for Aged Care, Ken Wyatt, said we should be asking questions when selecting a facility for a family member. I say we should all be asking the minister some questions about what this government is going to do to improve the care to our elderly folk. Improving staffing ratios would be a good start and better wages for staff who are doing a very demanding job. Once again the bulk of these aged care workers  are women, similar to the early childhood sector where wages are also low. At least with early childhood they have much improved staffing ratios now, either 1:4 or 1:5 I believe.  Jennifer Creighton Modanville East

Waste of spaces

SMH Letters

Parks - let's put a block of units on every one of 'em. And the zoo, that's a lot of land not properly utilised.

Misguided beliefs add up to hefty costs

SMH Letters

Where in the world would anyone close a heavy transport link without costing an adequate replacement, then spend $200,000 trying to discover who had leaked details to a long-suffering travelling public?

Let the law reflect commitment of all couples

SMH Letters

As a solicitor, I worked at the Inner City Legal Centre on "gay night" every week for some years in the '90s. A man in his late 50s came to talk about the parents of his late partner of 25 years. They had disowned him after his "decision" to be gay but turned up, some time after he died, to reclaim his body, to have it exhumed and taken back to New Zealand, a situation if equality of marriage had been in place, would never have occurred.

Marriage is not everyone's choice

SMH Letters

Three cheers for Caroline Norma putting politics back into lesbianism ("Why fight for marriage when it's hurt so many?", September 11). I read her column with relief after reading of Malcolm Turnbull's advocacy for marriage as the basis of our society. Domestic violence, gender inequality, and the prevalence of abuse in the family, and the prevalence of divorce, have surely raised questions about that position? However I did think Norma's statement - "We should remember why we became lesbians in the first place" - was deeply contentious  one. It will upset many, particularly those who have not experienced their sexuality as a choice, and have had to fight so hard to explain to those who condemn their difference, that they were born gay. We are a diverse community, not just a gay or straight dichotomy. And marriage is not everyone's choice. Anne McDonald Summer Hill

Having your say raises a multitude of issues

SMH Letters

I am very concerned about the readiness of the Australian Bureau of Statistics to issue letters about the same-sex marriage postal survey beginning tomorrow.  If it is relying on electoral roll information supplied by the Australian Electoral Commission,  as was evident during the local government elections, the rolls are far from up to date. A great many young people who had enrolled or updated their information throughout August, had not had this information updated as at polling on Saturday. I feel many letters will not be received by these electors and they will be disenfranchised. These people must ensure their opportunity to record their opinion is not denied to them.

A helping voice

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A whole raft of charities that specialise in a given field should have the freedom to speak into the political sphere from their expertise.

Finkel Review delay could cost lives

SMH Letters

Successive federal governments have played politics with national energy policy, resulting in increased electricity prices, and a high chance of blackouts this summer.

Ideology behind asset sales huge failure

SMH Letters

Our governments sold all our electricity assets and created an artificial "market" based on the patently false premise that the "market" would deliver better and cheaper energy.