The dead can’t speak; we will speak for them

Rapid test kits should be free

A negative RAT is required each time you visit a resident in aged care (“Race on for tests made in Australia”, January 21). Staff are overstretched and have little time for care other than the basics. Many activities are suspended to reduce the risk of infection. Seeing family members is vital for residents’ wellbeing but at $15 each RAT this is costly for regular visitors. Even if the government is unwilling to provide RATs free as a public health measure to the general population why can they not be made available to visitors to aged care? Expecting families to pay more than $100 per week to visit their loved one shows just how callous this government is. Judith Campbell, Drummoyne

It is not politicians who keep the wheels of our economy turning, it is the workers of all kinds – doctors, nurses, supermarket workers and millions of others (Letters, January 21). So why is the public being asked to pay for the RATs? The politicians are supposedly here to govern in the interests of all of us. How is it in our interests that they are not compelled to pay, but we are?Christine Helby, Forbes

I thought I was clever buying online antigen tests approved by the TGA. We are due to go to a wedding and need to have negative tests beforehand. Unlike other tests, this test requires a UV light to see the result. The pack included a UV flashlight and battery and after two battery changes I finally got the UV to work. That didn’t solve the problem, however, as after trying again with a new test nothing registered. The test material itself was a dud. I don’t know whether this means they have been sitting on a shelf for too long, or someone is flogging duds, or oversight of the whole process is lacking. Anyone want a hardly used UV flashlight? Gary Barnes, Mosman

When the next election is called will a near-infinite supply of RATs miraculously become available for free distribution? Warren Berkery, Henty

Raw deal for the young

Younger Australians have every reason to be disillusioned with this government’s performance (“Youthquake may rock the bases”, January 21). Gig economy and casual employment means many are underemployed, have little or no job security, have stagnant wages and have lost their penalty rates. University courses have been made more expensive, houses are unaffordable, and they were the last to be offered COVID-19 vaccinations, and by follow-on, booster shots. However, it is the Coalition’s continued infighting, inertia and lack of action in dealing with climate change that will most affect this generation and generations to come, and cost them most dearly. Alan Marel, North Curl Curl

Clarity needed on Novavax

Therapeutic Goods Administration head John Skerritt should decide on which evidence supports his belief that the Novavax protein vaccine will sway vaccine sceptics because it “gives them further choice”(“Hopes new vaccine will sway sceptics”, January 21).
How convincing is his comment that he’s received, “several hundred emails from people who specifically want Novavax”, followed by “I don’t know whether it’s 50,000 or 100,000 or a million” who want further choice?

If vaccine sceptics base their actions on their “choice” rights, and their faith in social media or religious superstition, why would they invest considerable effort in sourcing and evaluating robust evidence that the protein vaccine is better and more effective? Robyn Dalziell, Kellyville

Clowns on and off court an embarrassment

Like most Australians I was disappointed to see Nick Kyrgios lose (“Nick at night wows viewers but Medvedev takes the spotlight”, January 21). However, Daniil Medvedev played an excellent game and his behaviour was exemplary – unlike the response from the crowd. I was ashamed at the way Medvedev’s excellent win was greeted and would like to congratulate him on a great performance. Jill Pollock, Coogee

I am not a Nick Kyrgios fan – all this so-called showman ship turns me off, as well as his obnoxious supporters. So glad his short circus-like performance is over. Now for some real tennis.
Edward Lange, Ashfield

Kyrgios is obviously loveable. The crowd’s fiery favourite showman. Whatever the score, he always wins. Mary Julian, Glebe

As a life-long member of the curmudgeon tennis club I must take umbrage at Kyrgios’ comment that “tennis needs yelling and booing if it is to survive as a sport.” I find the continual grunting from players, the repetitively moronic “oi, oi, oi” chanting and the clownish arm waving behaviour to be little more than embarrassing. If tennis is to lose its popularity as a major sport, it will be because of the players who think they are entertainers rather than tennis players, and they treat the court more like a modern-day cock fighting ring. Bob Harris, Sawtell

More to life than results

Thank you, Verity Firth (“Intense focus on HSC results and ATAR must end”, January 21). My child has just completed the HSC and is not a high achiever. They don’t learn like mainstream people. They don’t do well in exams, so they didn’t do as well in their HSC as they wanted to. They can’t be tested like mainstream people. They’re one of Verity Firth’s jagged result people.

They have a phenomenal memory and can tell me things I said to them from 15 years ago. They absorb data automatically, continuously and process it to logical conclusions incredibly quickly. They’ll probably never be an eminent professor or a High Court judge. They’ll probably never be famous or (hopefully) infamous. They’ll probably never be a world beater but … they’re honest, they pay the correct amount of tax, they don’t complain about lockdowns, they’re mature, they’re a good person and they, and all those other HSC students who work hard but who are not high achievers, will be the backbone of society in years to come. I’m so proud of them. Name withheld

Faster emissions cuts

A key finding of the Resolve Political Monitor survey is that the fastest and largest emissions reduction target – the Greens policy of net zero by 2035 and 75 per cent by 2030 – is most preferred by Australian voters (“Labor has climate policy edge over Coalition, solid support for Greens”, January 21). This should give whoever wins the election the confidence to comply with the COP26 request for countries with weak targets to strengthen them by the end of 2022. Ray Peck, Hawthorn (Vic)

Crew pay the price

It appears Qantas has found itself with too much staff and too few passengers (“Why Qantas declared war on its cabin crew”, January 21). Who’d have thought that people weren’t willing to drop everything and jump on a plane in the middle of a world pandemic? Qantas’s much-touted re-opening appears to have been more the result of hubris and the desires of the marketing department, rather than sound advice from epidemiologists and psychologists. Now it appears the staff will pay the price for the poor decisions of management. Ironically, the $60 million wanted by several thousand cabin crew over four years represents a drop in the bucket when compared to the executive bonuses paid to a handful of managers over the same period pre-COVID. Trish Waites , Terrigal

Pay per comment

There’s something deliciously ironic about lefties having to pay for anti-Morrison comments on social media (“Albanese distances himself from TikTok cash claims”, January 21). William Lloyd, Denistone

Tennis racket

Spot on Abul Rizvi (“Was Djokovic saga really about strong borders?”, January 21). If, and that’s a mighty big if, the Morrison government really had concerns about the tennis player’s presence in Australia and his anti-vaccination views, the matter would not have had legs from the outset. It’s been a massive tennis racket with very few, and certainly not enough, strings attached. Col Shephard, Yamba

Boozy logic

Alcohol Beverages Australia expect us to believe that WHO’s evidence-based alcohol policies are flawed (“Booze lobby lashes out at WHO targets”, January 21). If alcohol and tobacco industries are genuinely concerned about the health of their customers, they would be supportive of medical experts, not trying to undermine them. These industries are motivated by profit and have no credibility when it comes to matters of health. They should stick to peddling their products and leave health to the experts. Health advice is found at the doctor’s office, not the pub. Graham Lum, North Rocks

Hear the Voice

Your correspondent supports a referendum on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander constitutional recognition to “take precedence over the republic” (Letters, January 21). We can and should do both, one after the other. The Voice proposal is very well advanced and should be implemented during the next term of parliament. The republic process is just restarting. Australia became a Federation under the British monarchy in 1901, ignoring any input from or involvement of our First Nations peoples. We must not repeat this infamy. The Voice will provide an ideal and structured way for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples to provide wise input at Commonwealth, state and local levels to any republic referendum enabling legislation. David Hind, Neutral Bay

Undiscovered talent

I churn out a few letters to this column and I sing Nessun dorma in the shower, but if “Scott Morrison is a statesman and an articulate leader” I’m a cross between Bill Shakespeare and Luciano Pavarotti (Letters, January 21). Steve Cornelius, Brookvale

Postscript

One of the highlights of my day when editing letters is seeing the cartoon drawn by John Shakespeare for our pages. It always cleverly illustrates correspondents’ feelings and brightens up the pages in one small but spot-on ’toon. John has been drawing letters cartoons since readers were protesting about the proposed Sydney monorail and it only takes him two or three hours to create an intricate and meaningful illustration.

He says there are days it can be “quite scary” when the deadline is approaching and he’s stuck for an

idea. “At this stage, a growing panic can enter the mix, and you can lose sight of what’s funny or not. Thankfully my wife is very good at vetting cartoons, so I’ll often seek her opinion when I’m struggling. Cartooning is great fun, but only when you’re funny.”

For those of you wondering what the secret is to coming up with a clever cartoon every day, here it is: “I divide the process into segments, each with a time limit. First I read the letters and work out what message I want to send, jotting down keywords on an A4 pad. Then I draw any visual elements that could link to the subject. From there it’s a matter of combining the two, recording every idea as it comes, hoping something will click. Often it’s just a light bulb moment when I’m doing something random like making coffee.”

Although John prefers letters that provide visual cues, he is much like the correspondents who fill our pages – he can rely on his abundant talent to consistently brighten up our days.

Thanks for your contributions this week and keep writing. Pat Stringa, Letters editor

• To submit a letter to The Sydney Morning Herald, email letters@smh.com.au. Click here for tips on how to submit letters.