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See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. We poor old Baby Boomers, we can’t get anything right. If we spend our money on cruises or travelling around Australia putting much needed money into rural economies we are selfishly spending the kids’ inheritance.
If we help our offspring with house purchases we are distorting the property market with the Bank of Mum and Dad and if we stay at home quietly watching old movies and gardening we are sad old wrinklies who should immediately downsize to a small box somewhere out of sight. April Baragwanath, Geelong They’re saving the economy, one bite at a time Instead of the constant subtle, and not so subtle, condemnation or criticism of Boomers for eating out (′′ Boomers dining out as others eat into savings ′′, 15/8), perhaps it could be considered that Boomers are saving small businesses from going bust by eating at restaurants or buying goods. In point of fact, we should praise Boomers who are trying to save the economy by knowingly spending when others cannot.
Don’t knock them for their small efforts. Robyn Westwood, Heidelberg Heights Political forces at root of inequality Born in the mid-1950s I guess that I’m tarred with the epithet ′′Boomer′′′. The headline ′′Boomers dining out as others eat into savings′′ is unhelpful language and only contributes to generational animosity.
I am not inclined to go to brunch or dine out, and the last time I travelled overseas was to attend my late father’s memorial service 14 years ago. What infuriates me the most is the refusal of governments (Labor and Liberal) to address the inequities and inequalities facing the bulk of Australian society. The wealth gap is increasing daily due to policies that benefit millionaires and billionaires.
David Legat, South Morang We worked hard for our money I’m a Baby Boomer. I graduated from a medical course at the end of 1968 and retired at the end of 2022. That’s a long innings in a difficult but satisfying job.
I went through difficult times, like when we were paying seventeen (yes, 17) per cent interest on a mortgage during Paul Keating’s ′′Recession-We-Had-To-Have′′. I’m now a self-funded retiree. My self-managed superannuation fund will just be adequate.
Like most doctors, I did a lot of pro bono unpaid stuff’ – which I do not regret. It came with the territory. Most of my retired medical colleagues are also self-funded and proud to be able to do so.
And they can do so because they worked hard. The vast majority of my peer group are not tax evaders, nor enriched at other people’s expense. They earned what they have now.
So, please stop bagging all Baby Boomers for enjoying a few ′′posh′′ meals or going on trips in our retirement. The money we spend on those luxuries is money we earned – not a cost on the community. Paul Nisselle, Middle Park Give kids a break Imagine if we applied the equivalent of a NAPLAN measure to children as they learn to walk, talk or catch a ball? Or to compare height and weight? Thankfully we don’t.
We accept different developmental stages, and expect continued growth. But in grade 3, NAPLAN compares a bunch of delightfully diverse young learners. Some are up to, even over, 12 months apart in age.
Of course results vary. Can you imagine how a child feels being labelled a failure? Now there is a push to measure and compare the same range of learners after just one year at school. NAPLAN is costly to administer.
Money would be better spent on books, librarians and support for kids with special needs. Susan Mahar, Fitzroy North Powerless in class In regard to the ongoing analysis of NAPLAN results, I question whether the extensive number of education experts proffering their views have ever stood in front of a year 8 class on a Friday afternoon and felt totally powerless. Peter Baddeley, Portland Stop fearmongering Peter Dutton is trying to get Australians to believe that acceptance of refugees from Palestine are a threat to our national security.
He says that acceptance of such refugees is not in Australia’s best interest. However, it is in the best interest of each person or family to escape the horrific war in Gaza and to be able to begin a new life free from terror. Get your priorities right Peter Dutton, stop the fearmongering and work towards the common good.
Julie Ottobre, Brunswick East Dutton is right It would be rare indeed that I would endorse anything that Peter Dutton has to say: he is often divisive and politically expedient in the matter of refugees. However in the instance of Palestinians fleeing Gaza, Dutton is correct. We should support the innocent victims of this terrible war.
But they must be thoroughly vetted before being admitted into Australia, because not only did the Palestinians vote Hamas into power, but a substantial number of them still support this terrorist organisation. For ASIO to suggest that those who show “rhetoric support” for Hamas are not a threat is naive and frankly a nonsense. Such people present a risk in terms of influencing and potentially radicalising vulnerable people in our country; and they must be kept out.
Ruja Varon, Malvern Heartbreaking reality And here was I quietly thinking that the very least we as a nation with advanced healthcare facilities could do (and get bipartisan support for) would be to fill a plane with gravely injured or ill children and get them out from Gaza, along with whoever remained of their immediate families. How wrong I was. Heartbreaking.
Dr John Davis, Wangaratta Labor’s dismal record At a visit to Lume for the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition recently I was attracted to this quote from Michelangelo: “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.′′ This Labor government epitomises that statement. Winning government is not easy and to waste the opportunity given to Labor in 2022 is so depressing.
People were ready for a government with boldness to start the process of ensuring the public education system gave all children the opportunity to succeed, to ensure our public health system continued to provide affordable health care, to ensure young families could achieve home ownership, to ensure our refugees were provided a pathway to become permanent members of our society. So much could have been started and that would have given people the confidence to provide Labor with the support to continue on such a path. But we have a timid government, lacking the boldness and courage to stand up to the vested interests in our society.
I am reminded of a quote from another famous speech – F.D. Roosevelt.
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.′′ Judy Kevill, Ringwood Refugee reality check Your heartwarming report on Wael Altannah and his family (“ Family who found safety say everyone is checked ”, 16/8) was a welcome and enlightening reality check on the procedures involved in accepting Palestinian refugees. The reality outlined is in sharp contrast to the attack by the Coalition on the validity of these processes and the implication that such people as Altannah and his family potentially represent a “threat to keeping us safe′′.
To have to traverse the tight identity and security checks of Israel, Egypt and then Australia should surely be enough reassurance that there are no issues with such families gaining temporary entry to Australia as people seeking asylum from a terrible war zone. The article also highlights the anomaly of granting these people tourist visas without Medicare and work rights. Regardless of the technicalities of visa categorisation, having a large group of people who effectively are asylum seekers resident in this country without rights to health care and the ability to work when they are motivated to do so makes very little public policy sense.
Peter Lynch, Hawthorn No free lunch Well done to columnist Geoff Lemon ( Comment , 15/8) on his views on sport and philanthropy. Unfortunately, some donors expect a lot in return for their sponsorship, including efforts to project a sanitised profile, while pushing their own agendas. Indeed, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Money should never be used to buy loyalty. A true philanthropist supports without any expectation of personal gain. Many work anonymously behind the scenes for the greater good.
Janet Thomas, Armadale Don’t generalise us I am a Baby Boomer and sometimes can afford to “eat out” – an apple as I use my walking sticks to traverse the local streets. Statistics can impose generalisations on any demographic group, and this is false and damaging. It is no longer regarded as acceptable to stereotype by ethnicity, gender, body shape, mental disability or religion.
So, ageism is now a weapon against people like me, which hurts deeply. Do not make us scapegoats for wrongs afflicting a proportion of the population not necessarily caused by us alone. Rosalind McIntosh, Camberwell Stop gambling ads .
. . If the AFL is so concerned about losing $120 million in revenue then it only has itself to blame.
Maybe it needs to rethink its financial advertising support base and look to other options for funding. The community wants gambling ads stopped. What doesn’t the government and sports bodies understand about that? Nathan Feld, Glen Iris .
. . and fast food ones .
. . Along with gambling ads, there should be no advertising of fast food ads during sports programs or, in fact, until after 10pm.
Any adult who wants to bet knows where to go and you’d have to be ′′blind Freddy′′ if you can’t find a fast food outlet. The amount of money wasted on these two industries causes untold damage to our society and no government seems brave enough to take a stand. Joan Johnson, Camberwell Improve bike lanes If a safe connected bike lane system existed in the CBD more people would cycle thus reducing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
Swanston Street is a major route for cyclists but is constantly blocked by delivery vans and trams. Similarly scooters would not choose to ride on footpaths if a safe and connected bike lane system existed. Kay Howden, Northcote Politics Perhaps Peter Dutton needs to be updated that Donald Trump is beginning to trail in US polls.
Joan Segrave, Healesville Peter Dutton calling Zali Steggall a zealot proves that irony is flourishing. Jane Edwards, Peterhead How many of us remember Peter Dutton’s call to admit White South Africans to our “civilised country”? Judy Kneale, Bendigo Peter Dutton: Australia’s Nigel Farage. Elizabeth Morris, Kennington We seem to have reached the moment when the only difference between Donald Trump and Peter Dutton is the hairstyle.
Brian Glass, Montrose The Democrats have treated Donald Trump most unfairly. He had his campaign strategy carefully laid out and they suddenly brought in a much younger, much smarter candidate. John Walsh, Watsonia Furthermore The ban of hire scooters is the irresponsible action of a few making it a misery for the responsible scooter riders who enjoyed the convenience of being able to hire them.
Doug Springall, Yarragon Your correspondent (Letters, 16/8) considers bike lanes a waste of taxpayers’ money. The $250 million a year tax loophole subsidising luxury mega utes should also be on his list. Jenny Smithers, Ashburton Recently I received this invitation from one of the major banks, “As a valued customer, you’re invited to attend The Big Scam Education Conversation”.
Silly me thought it was referring to the inequalities in Australian education funding. Kevin Brown, Moonlight Flat I find it hard to believe that some Australians think there is no racism in this country. Bryan Lewis, St Helena Finally In Olympic equestrian events, why is it that the passenger gets the medal and not the horse? Jim Lamborn, Doncaster.
