Sam Kerr shouldn't have said it, but let's move on

Really? That is the criminal offence worth tying up police and courts for however long (“Kerr’s alleged racist slur toward cop revealed in British tabloid”, smh.com.au, March 7). Yes, it was a stupid thing to say, even if the police officer’s parents were still not married. But every police officer, from Kings Cross to Harlem, shrugs off worse every day, particularly when dealing with people obviously “under the weather”. If she wasn’t a celebrity, everyone would just have moved on. As we should. There are more pressing things to worry about. Mark Sapsford, North Turramurra

sAM KerrrCredit: Richard Wainwright

I agree with Peter FitzSimons that Sam Kerr being charged with a criminal offence of using insulting, threatening or abusive words to a police officer is incomprehensible (“Curveball must cost Matildas captaincy for now”, March 7). We don’t know if the police officer in question had undertaken cultural awareness training, but if he had, and had taken on board lessons about the impact of intergenerational trauma caused by systemic racism, perhaps he wouldn’t have felt so “alarmed” or “distressed” at being called “a stupid white bastard” and would be able to put in context the comments made by a young woman whose Indian father regularly experienced racism. Kate Lumley, Hurlstone Park

Well, blow me down: a white cop. Who would have guessed? Like many I assumed the cop was black. What would be interesting is to know the race of the taxi driver and if this was a beat-up of an Indian woman who was honestly disputing a taxi fare and was fair game. Like many, I have had my run-ins with dishonest drivers who ramp up the fare when I’ve been distracted. Or is the cop an Arsenal or Manchester fan and recognised Kerr as a Chelsea star? Or did Sam have a brain cramp and lash out? Whatever the case, it never should have got this far. “Storm in a teacup” comes to mind. Michael Clarey, Merewether

Credit: Matt Golding

Here we all were, feeling dismayed and a bit sad that Kerr had blotted her copybook with a racial slur for which charges were laid. Now we find the charges relate to her alleged use of the words “stupid white bastard”. Seriously, is that all? It seems there’s more than one alleged stupid white bastard involved in this scenario, and they’re apparently employed by the office of the UK Crown prosecutor. Anne Ackroyd, Melba (ACT)

The incident happened a year ago and the four-day trial is set for a year’s time. I wonder if she wasn’t a high-profile sports person would this case have been brought on? Peter Hay, Islington

British constabulary must be made of fragile stuff these days if being called a “stupid white bastard” is enough to take someone to court. While no one deserves to be verbally abused in their job, this does seem ridiculous. Rhyan Andrews, Faulconbridge

Methinks the British bobby wasn’t a Chelsea supporter. Susan Wilson, Freshwater

Now that the nature of Kerr’s alleged abuse has been revealed, her reputation will be tarnished forever. Rather like Scott Morrison’s infamous Hawaiian snapshot, it is a mark that cannot be erased. Ross MacPherson, Seaforth

Interesting question from my 12-year-old grandson: “How can Donald Trump be nominated as a candidate for president of the USA when he is facing criminal charges, and Sam Kerr have to stand down as captain of the Matildas for a non-proven racial slur? It doesn’t seem right does it.” He does realise racism is unacceptable but doesn’t understand the huge disparity between the two, and it was very difficult to explain. Elizabeth Kroon, Randwick

The truth hurts.Credit: Matt Golding

Too late for nuclear to save us

Simon Holmes à Court tells us very simply and logically why nuclear-generated electricity is not a feasible option (“Nuclear power will hve its place, but not in our land of wind and sun and abundant energy”, March 7). Undoubtedly, the Coalition will find fault. But the message is clear: renewables are the way forward, nuclear energy is just too costly and too late. Perhaps the Luddites in the Coalition could have done more with dealing with climate change rather than annulling Julia Gillard’s vision in 2013. Perhaps then there may have been an appetite for nuclear power, but the taste has soured. My other conclusion is that many conservative people cannot imagine a world where nature’s natural forces can provide our energy needs. I think it is amazing, and our thanks must go to scientists who always seem to be the ones to keep us safe. John Rome, Mt Lawley (WA)

Nuclear is the last refuge of the climate change denialist. This latest offering from the right-wing culture wars against reality is simply swapping denial for delay. The rejection of the clear scientific evidence is still rampant in the Coalition and associated think tanks. This intentional nurturing of ignorance, rejection of facts and fostering a hatred of the educated elites will further drag mankind back to pre-Enlightenment days when superstition and magical thinking ruled society. It seems that many on the right of politics pine for a new Dark Age while pretending to be taking the advanced path of non-existent small modular nuclear reactors. Graeme Finn, Earlwood

Obviously, Coalition political strategists know something I don’t. In choosing product differentiation by supporting nuclear power, they run the risk of losing more votes than they could potentially achieve by neutralising the issue and accepting renewable energy as essential component of dealing with climate change. John Bailey, Canterbury

I’m sick of reading how global overheating will “affect our children and grandchildren”, implying not us. Nonsense! It will affect us. Very soon there will be days of dew points above 35 degrees, lethal for all (Letters, March 7). Lower dew points are lethal for people old enough to have grandchildren. Many will remember the record-breaking dew point of 26C in Sydney on 11 January. This record will be broken frequently in the near future.

Scientists are now admitting that they have underestimated the consequences of global overheating. Anodyne phrases such as “global warming” and “climate change” should be replaced by phrases that are consistent with the present climate emergency. How about “global overheating”, “climate emergency”, and “climate catastrophe”. Words are important. George Carrard, Oatley

Building up won’t work out

Apparently 43 per cent of voters support Minn’s “build up” housing strategy (“Most back Minns push for density in housing”, March 7). What long-term alternatives has he offered? Apart from the obvious questions of further congestion and adequate services and amenities, how long before “build up” is unsatisfactory for a growing population? And please do put a dollar figure on “affordable”. Marie Del Monte, Ashfield

“Build up, not out” may be a laudable goal, but good luck with implementing it. A prospective developer first needs to find a number of residents in adjoining properties who are willing to sell. Why would they, given the properties are well serviced and conveniently located? I imagine that only an offer too good to refuse could persuade them. Adding in the costs of demolition and construction will mean that the final cost of the new residences will put them squarely in the luxury category. Jan Macindoe, Forest Lodge

The Carlingford line, a heavy rail line which included a train station at Rosehill, was closed in January 2020. Not even five years later, the Minns government announces a plan to place a mini-city with 25,000 homes at Rosehill, serviced by light rail. This is what the state of New South Wales calls planning. Honestly, I can’t even … Tanya Harris-Roxas, Granville

Illustration: John ShakespeareCredit:

I have worked in civil construction in Camellia. Whenever we dug there we discovered huge boulders of rock asbestos, and we just buried it again. The location is totally unsuitable for housing and it’s not practicable to decontaminate the area – there’s too much rock asbestos buried underground. Phillip Powell, Bringelly

The Greens put a proposal forward to help solve the housing crisis (“Critics pour cold water on Greens’ $12b housing plan”, March 7). The Grattan Institute pooh-poohs it, Jim Chalmers criticises it and makes a political comment. We are never going to solve important problems in this country while no side is prepared to consider that someone else may have an idea that is worth building on. How about rather than just tearing it down, give them some credit for having a go and work collectively on the problem? Michael Jones, Birchgrove

Syllabus just the start

The rewriting of syllabuses was done, I thought, to make them more “readable”, less packed with jargon and technical language, and to scale knowledge and skills progressively and in stages that are more age appropriate and clearer (“Shift to knowledge before skills”, March 7).

The years 7-10 English syllabus seems to aim at developing the ability to read and write independently and engage a love for both, so that students will select and read more themselves, and write well both creatively and analytically. It is difficult to separate where the relationship between knowledge and skills begins, but they are not disparate or separate entities. To ask a rewriting of the syllabus to bring forth a leap in student results on international tests while not addressing the mammoth systemic crises in education is also a huge ask of teachers. Vanessa Tennent, Oatley

School ties

I proudly went to an all-girls’ selective public high school in the ’50s and ‘60s that is now co-ed and, among my fellow students, there is a strong bond that continues as we are ageing (“Beware grown-ups’ old school ties”, March 7). We gather annually to reminisce and discuss where life has led us as a result of our schooling. Ex-students from other years do the same. No one ever discusses the fact that it became co-ed, and I doubt we would have been too concerned about a change in uniform as we were encouraged to concentrate on our studies, not fashion.

The old boys and girls of private schools don’t have a monopoly on pride felt from attending their schools. We, the students of public school education, feel it too, whether it was a selective or comprehensive school. Judy Mitchell, Cabarita

Yes, we should “beware grown-ups who can’t let go of their sandstone private school”, and especially so when their protest placards are so beautifully printed at great expense. Peter Hull, Katoomba

Penny wise

Thank you, Penny Wong (“How our longest serving female cabinet minister made history”, March 7) – one of the few politicians who, when speaking, shows integrity, and with purpose to serve the nation, most of all, hardly ever babbles for the sake of fending off politics. We should be proud to have Penny Wong representing Australia globally as our foreign minister. Susan Chan, St Ives

Despite three factors that could play against her – her gender, her ethnicity and her sexuality – Penny Wong has not only broken a record but she has done it with infinite style and forbearance. Those opposite must draw in their breath when she sighs and assumes an expression of mild exasperation at their muddle-headedness before calmly countering their argument. Joan Brown, Orange

Misleading measure

The size of Australia’s economy, as measured by the GDP, is a poor measure of how well we are doing, yet it dominates news reports (“Economic growth spurt slows”, March 7). I believe that the measure is more than misleading; from social and environmental perspectives, it is harmful.

GDP accounts for only monetised goods and services. It ignores, for example, all unpaid work in the home, and thus reinforces a woeful undervaluation of traditional female jobs – a factor in the gender pay dispute. The relationship between GDP and the natural world is also problematic. The government’s State of the Environment Report finds that a principal cause of our biodiversity and climate crises is our expanding economy. In other words, GDP growth is driving environmental decline. In banks and tax offices GDP may be a useful tool, but in the outside world it is worse than useless. Ian Penrose, Kew (Vic)

Pay to play

The fact that music festival promoters had to pay an outlandish fee of $120,465 for the policing of a festival attended by 40,000 suggests the promoters have not joined the right boy’s club (“High police cost add hurdle for NSW music festivals”, March 7). State government funding of events is a game of mates. If you were racing V8s rather than promoting bands, these costs would be happily borne by all Australian state governments. For example, here in Newcastle the NSW government paid for all police and emergency services for the Supercars event. The claimed attendance for the three-day event each year, based solely on the promoter’s estimate, was over 150,000. The cost to taxpayers is commercial in confidence, of course. Christine Everingham, Newcastle East

Puzzle of crosswords

I prefer to leave a David Astle Friday cryptic crossword alone as it’s one of life’s little recurring mysteries and will not waste my time chasing solutions (Letters, March 7). Life is too complicated to add more mental gymnastics into the mix. His quick crossword is contentious enough. William Perry, Mount Keira

In desperation, I tried to consult with any crossword addicts who claim to regularly knock off DA’s grid. I booked a local phone booth. No one turned up. David Baird, Burradoo

Like many of your correspondents, I love doing the daily cryptic crossword, but I never even look at Friday’s Dastardly Awful crossword. Patty Dyson, Lane Cove North

For me, the greatest frustration with Astle’s crosswords is when I get the correct word with no idea as to how it relates to the clue. Colin Hill, Springwood

In the interest of balance on the Letters page, I write as someone who looks forward to DA’s crossword each Friday. I am sure there are plenty of others who find Friday’s puzzle the most enjoyable of the week. Those who believe DA means “Don’t Attempt” are missing out. Sandra Britton, Newtown

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