Rape response reminds us of the leadership we lack

It is indeed an effective form of coercive control when the prevailing Parliament House culture and behaviour of its male members in particular is such that as a woman, you know in fear that you must stay quiet after experiencing abuse, otherwise you will lose your job. – John Millard, Mullumbimby

It starts in school

Your article brought back disturbing memories (“Hundreds of students claim sexual assault”, February 20-21). It is now 30 years since I left Ascham. I can still feel upset and confused when I think about my high school interactions with the local Cranbrook boys. They really preyed on us. I realise now how vulnerable girls and young women are when treading that line between protecting themselves and enjoying natural desires and flattery. So much effort went into our academic performance. Where was the effort that went into teaching boys and girls how to interact with one another respectfully? It certainly didn’t come from Cranbrook. I can only hope the sense of entitlement, the everyday sexism and the gossip and rape will stop. – Anna Giles, Wagga Wagga

Natassia Chrysanthos’ article exposes the alleged sexual assault of hundreds of students from private girls’ schools by students from the private boys’ schools of Sydney. Meanwhile, former Liberal MP Julia Banks says the party to which she belonged has “an entrenched culture of anti-women” (“Unsafe House”, February 20-21). Why is no-one drawing the obvious line between the two? – Gary Stowe, Springwood

Preferential treatment? Early jab for PM

The Prime Minister is first in line for the COVID-19 vaccine, supposedly to set a good example, but he is demonstrating the arrogance of power (“Scott Morrison receives first dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine”, smh.com.au, February 21). By getting the first jab, he is receiving the limited supply of 95 per cent effective Pfizer vaccine. Had he not jumped the queue, he most likely would have been receiving the less effective AstraZeneca vaccine that his government sourced for the majority of us. I wonder how many more of the government elites are using their position to make sure they receive the Pfizer vaccine? For every government queue jumper, another higher risk citizen is denied the Pfizer vaccine. – Harry Melkonian, Vaucluse

I don’t need the PM to take his jab to demonstrate that this vaccine is safe and effective. I’d rather the time and energy for Mr Morrison’s publicity spectacle be put into vaccinating 10 or 20 other, more vulnerable front line workers, who hold the hoses, syringes, ambulance steering wheels and the hands of the dying. – Lyn Fletcher, Eastwood

Health Minister Greg Hunt says key leaders should be first in line to receive their COVID shot so they can show their confidence in the vaccination. Is there, however, an argument that captains should hold back, let all the passengers and crew off the ship and into the safety of lifeboats first before saving themselves? – Ross Duncan, Potts Point

Where do I go to put my name on the VIP early vaccination list that the PM is on? I have checked the health department government website and I can’t see one. If I said I was an influencer, maybe that would qualify me for the jab which I want as soon as possible. – Esther Scholem, Macquarie Park

Almost daily, I watch Italian news on SBS. One year after their first COVID-19 case, yesterday Italy had nearly 15,000 new infections. In Italy (and in many other advanced European countries) in spite of their leaders’ best efforts and an excellent health system, tens of thousands have died over the year including hundreds of doctors and nurses. Each time I hear their COVID-19 statistics I realise how fortunate I am to live in this great country. It is this realisation that compels me to write this declaration of gratitude to our health chiefs and workers and to our much-maligned political leaders for their wonderful and unstinting collaboration and leadership. To you I say, thanks a million. – Louis Andreatta, Abbotsford

With people jockeying for position in the queue for the vaccine, it seems the Morrison government has now turned us into a nation of jab-seekers and jab-keepers. – Jennifer Carter, Oyster Bay

State government tramples on history

What the state government is doing to Parramatta is both appalling and hypocritical (“If we let Willow Grove go, heritage is meaningless”, February 20-21). NSW’s history is being trampled and demolished. A sophisticated society progresses without destroying its valuable past. The list of history that has been destroyed or reduced in Parramatta under this government is too long to recite. Lip service is paid to the vital role a city centre in Parramatta will provide the state, yet as the second-largest city in Sydney children do not even have a swimming pool in which to learn to swim. – Monica Kelly, North Parramatta

Elizabeth Farrelly’s lament about Willow Grove and heritage loss in North Parramatta is yet another reminder that our government is happy to sacrifice the heritage values of what is probably Australia’s oldest urban precinct on the altar of progress. Current official plans for North Parramatta
show a forest of tower blocks spreading north from the river as far as Pennant Hills Road – and perhaps even beyond. Dozens of local heritage treasures will be impacted as will the approaches to the wonderful old Female Factory and colonial gaol. And to add acid to the wound, the official word will of course be that all these official plans have been prepared after proper public “exhibition” and “community consultation”. These ritualistic participatory charades continue. What a sad joke. As Farrelly says, “Nothing is safe”. So wake up Sydney. Your neighbourhood might be next. – Jim Colman, Lane Cove

Farrelly makes a good argument for preservation of the Willow Grove heritage site in Parramatta. She mentions the Powerhouse Chairman Peter Collins’ lack of a plan B. With an alternative site, how about the Camellia site close to Parramatta? Bought by the NSW government for an inflated $53 million last year and proximate to the Parramatta river, surely this would regenerate the zone as opposed to the prison facilities which have been proposed against the wishes of the local residents? – Emma Cotterill, Darlinghurst

On the same day that I heard that the Cabramatta home of Gough Whitlam had been purchased by a group wishing to retain just this small piece of our recent history (“Labor chiefs plan museum in Whitlam’s house”, February 20-21), I learnt that Willow Grove was to be moved from its site to allow the milk-crate Powerhouse Museum to be built. I learnt some time ago that our heritage listings meant nothing when the Sydney sandstones of the Education and Lands Departments were given up for sale and when some of the houses at the Rocks had their heritage covenant removed before sale. – Kathleen Chivers, Vincentia

Fake news and being played for fools

Mark Zuckerberg has proven that it is possible to selectively ban news articles from Australia’s Facebook pages. So, why isn’t it possible to ban blatant misinformation over vaccines and climate change as well? Seems to be a straightforward policy of promoting profits from increased web traffic that controversy produces versus taking a moral and socially responsible stance (“Facebook sorry for shutdown ‘mistakes’”, February 20-21). Kudos to the Morrison government for standing up to the tech giant. – Larry Woldenberg, Forest Lodge

The selective blindness and cynicism of Jason Wood and other Coalition MPs is breathtaking when they invoke “fake news” “market power” and “market failure” in the Facebook row. They claim the Australian liberal tradition bolsters markets, competition and free speech. These are the team that protect the Murdoch empire , decimate the ABC, encourage the prosecution of Julian Assange, legislate in favour of boards against shareholders and legislate to keep their border force activities from the public. Their confected outrage is simply their strategy of setting up a bogeyman. They can market themselves as standing up for real Australians in an upcoming election. And of course Murdoch’s minions will cheer them on. – Peter Hull, Hat Head

Life has just become a little bit simpler. If it’s on Facebook and looks like news you know it’s fake. – John Ziegler, Bellevue Hill

Morrison government cuts legs from watchdog

The federal government keeps getting caught rorting. It could either stop rorting or defund the watchdog that catches them at it (“Cuts mean government agencies will avoid scrutiny”, February 20-21). Guess which one it chooses? – Andy Salmons, North Ryde

This article should have been on the front page. It’s very important news we all need to know. – Janet Cadet, Ulladulla

Labor in name only

Why doesn’t Joel Fitzgibbon just join the Liberal Party and be done with it (Letters, February 20-21). – Tina Butler, Bilgola Plateau

People before pets

What curious values are illustrated by the comments in the dogfight over off-leash areas in Inner West parks (“Off-leash ban gets inner west dog walkers barking mad”, February 20-21). Not one mention of the deleterious impact that off-leash parks and beaches are having on the play spaces available to children in Sydney. Parks are set aside primarily for people, not pets. Get real please and accept leash controls, before Sydney’s kids become leashed to their house as the only safe play space. – Barry Laing, Castle Cove

Lofty heights and shameful lows

We are a strange species. On one hand we have the technical triumph of landing the Perseverance rover on Mars, and on the other, we turn a blind eye to the deaths of thousands of children in Yemen when we have the means to feed everyone on the planet and ensure their safety (“Perseverance pays off”, February 20-21). Can someone please explain that? – Gregory Don, Galston

Melting moments

Richard Glover’s lament that the home delivery soft drink trucks of his childhood always stopped outside a house that was not his (“A ding dong over home delivery”, February 20-21) reminded me of similar disappointments growing up on the north shore in the 1960s. Whenever we heard the jingle of Fur Elise from the Mr Whippy van, my father would say, “Oh, what a shame. They only play that music when they’ve run out of ice cream.” – Hilton Koppe, Lennox Head

Think before you ink

Regarding dermal artwork and ageing poorly (Letters, February 20-21), I always advised my children that a mermaid at 20 is a gargoyle at 70. – Cath Hunting, MacMasters Beach

To die for

Woy Woy is not just “God’s waiting room” Helen Simpson (Letters, February 20-21). According to Spike Milligan (whose mother lived there), it’s “the world’s only above-ground cemetery”. – Richard Mason, Newtown

The unsavoury blotch

On Saturday, my online dictionary’s word of the day was “snollygoster”: a clever, unscrupulous person. The accompanying illustrative quote, from a magazine of the University of North Carolina, November 1893, reads: “But the people will awaken, and all that will be left of the snollygoster will be an unsavoury blotch in the history of American politics.” Let’s hope so! – Max Edwards, Kanahooka

The digital view

Online comment from the story that attracted the most reader feedback yesterday on smh.com.au
“Aspiring Liberal candidates for Abbott’s former seat fight over climate credentials”
From grumpyom: The Liberal Party reconfirms that it is not ready to challenge Zali Steggall.