As a former NSW Catholic primary school teacher who spent the last 11 years of his career managing a music resourcing budget capped at $500 – unadjusted from 2011 to 2022 despite rising costs – I am incensed to read that at least $160,000 from Catholic Schools NSW was allegedly funnelled into Liberal Party branch stacking (“What we learnt from week one of ICAC’s Operation Rosny”, August 2). While teachers are forced to account for every cent and stretch meagre resources, leadership seemingly operates with impunity. The Catholic Church must face the same financial accountability and transparency with government funds that it demands from its hard-working educators. Anthony Frazer, Camperdown

I almost choked on my morning coffee reading your editorial about Catholic schools (“Time for Catholics to be transparent about their use of other people’s money”, July 31). At first, I thought the editor must be mistaken. The millions of dollars channelled to Catholic schools are not required to “open their books” for the public gaze? As a public-school teacher for well over 40 years (and still going) I have to account for every rubber, pencil, book and kilometre travelled. Woe betide a public school or teacher that doesn’t “stack up”. As it is, up to 80 per cent of Catholic schools’ funds come from the public purse. It’s time the Catholic school system was incorporated into Department of Education. While we are at it, legislate that all politicians’ children attend public schools. Margaret Collins, Terrigal

So, in summary, a bunch of young, right-wing Christians seeks to deny the rights of certain fellow humans (“The secretive young men behind the Reformers”, August 1). They’re influenced by a man who opposed an initiative to reduce bullying of a significant number of school children. They’re funded in part by a shady land developer. They offer themselves as consultants and proclaim their mission to be a culture war. They call their gang The Reformers but insist they’re Liberals. Am I missing something, or is this old, gay atheist on the money? Peter Campbell, Potts Point

If we stay very still, we might be lucky enough to observe the secretive Reformers and Catholics in their natural habitat. There, on the shady, murky waters, we glimpse their preening rituals and displays of marvellous plumage. The two breeds seem so different but work co-operatively as they go about the business of attracting handouts from passers-by and protecting their patch from other species. When we peer below the surface, however, we see all the sneaky shoving and the bitter squabbling over crusts. But life in the swamp is about to change forever. There has been a new arrival; the Greater Swooping ICAC. Dave Watts, Avalon

United front

Pasquale Vartuli’s observations (Letters, August 2) were an interesting sequel to your article earlier in the week on the refusal of the Presbyterian Church to allow women to become elders (“Stained glass ceiling for this Christian church”, July 27). The Uniting Church was formed on June 22, 1977 by almost all members of the Congregational Church, the overwhelming majority of the Methodist Church and the more thoughtful members of the Presbyterian Church. It’s therefore not surprising that the Presbyterian Church is not moving forward in relation to their female members. As I noted, the more progressive members moved on 46 years ago to the Uniting Church. It’s probably time for the rest of them to catch up. Elsie Gelling Merimbula

Fix the fiscus

Peter Hartcher reminds us of the importance of reducing the national deficit (“It’s time to the PM to get fiscal”, August 1), while Caitlin Fitzsimmons makes the argument for a massive cut in fuel rebates for mining and resource companies (“Rewarding companies to do nothing is undermining Australia’s climate cuts”, August 1), which could be part of the solution Hartcher refers to. And if we also bring in the proposed 25 per cent tax for gas exports, a move that is widely supported across the community, then the task of reducing the national deficit will become significantly easier. If we are to have a country that has a chance of surviving and thriving through the coming years of climate disasters and international uncertainties, we must have governments that take the long view and are prepared to stand up to some of the corporate interests. Catherine Rossiter, Fadden (ACT)

Of course our national deficit is political, though it’s hardly all “baubles and charms”. We know most Australians support a real increase in taxes on our exports of fossil fuels and minerals to levels similar to that which have placed Norway among the wealthiest and happiest of nations. At the same time as undertaxing the resources sector, our governments continue to give them billions of dollars in fuel subsidies. If our government moved on those two issues alone our budget deficit could probably be fixed. Perhaps we could even increase spending on higher education, TAFE and university, that would both increase our skills level and end the massive debt and related disincentive for education that holds back those from less affluent backgrounds from improving their lives, and contributing to our nation as a whole. Colin Hesse, Nowra

The “pollution paradox” forces taxpayers to fund the continued use of fossil fuels. The government is actively undermining its own climate policy by providing $3.3 billion in fuel tax rebates to major polluters, which outweighs emissions penalties by a 22-to-1 ratio. It is not just bailing out a boat with a teaspoon while water is added by the bucketload, as Caitlin Fitzsimmons suggests, but more like trying to empty a flooded room with an eyedropper while the government pumps water in with a fire hose. This is beyond absurd, profoundly counterproductive and needs to be addressed now. Daniela Catalano, Haberfield

UN must act

After a flurry of excitement that lasted five minutes, the Donald Trump-inspired Board of Peace plan for peace in Gaza is in trouble (“Hamas to disarm under deal for Gaza to get new government”, August 2). Too much water has flowed under the bridge to expect Hamas and Israel to trust each other. The only hope for peace is for a UN-authorised force to move in and end the violence, enabling rebuilding. Gaza could be declared a UN protectorate. This force must not include the US because it is too closely linked to Israel. It will be a long and difficult process, but the present death and destruction must not be allowed to continue. Ian Adair, Hunters Hill

Medicine isn’t politics

After watching former US chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci facing a Senate committee accused of megalomania and invoking the Fifth Amendment over decisions he made during the COVID pandemic, it’s worth remembering that medicine isn’t politics (“The real takeaway from Fauci’s show trial is enduring rage”, July 31). A scientist can only tell you what the evidence supports at the time, and that advice shifts as the evidence does. That’s not deception, that’s the job working properly. Unfortunately, we’ve built a culture in which changing your mind in light of new evidence is regarded as proof that you had been lying all along. There’s real irony in a politician questioning a scientist’s judgment calls, when the reverse almost never happens. It’s easy to be angry about a lockdown in hindsight, especially if you didn’t lose anyone, but it’s much harder to have made that call, knowing people would suffer either way. Public health messaging isn’t undermined by rival experts, rather, it’s undermined by people who watched a podcast and decided that qualified them to add their opinions. The ones who pay for that arrogance aren’t the pundits, they’re the doctors and medical workers who kept showing up, exhausted, to look after the rest of us. Rani Sachdev, Cronulla

Doctor poaching

Correspondent Bruce Johnson argues that “We need immigration. How else do we put enough doctors and nurses into the regions?” (Letters, August 1). The truth is we actually need to train our own and use mechanisms such as university fee discounts to attract them to the regions. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke recently said half of Australia’s doctors and nurses were born overseas. Like other affluent countries, Australia recruits these professionals from countries which have paid for their training, “saving” Australia US$1.7 billion in the five years to 2023 alone. Thus, Australia maintains its ratio of 4.1 physicians per 1000 people for a population of 28 million. In contrast, South Sudan has no doctors and other poor countries have very few. The physicians they do train are often poached by the affluent West. The Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda are presently battling Ebola, with 0.2 physicians each per 1000 people for large populations. A strong medical system is a humanitarian imperative and the first global defence against pandemics. In short, poaching medical professionals is short-sighted, unethical and a false economy. Forewarned by the World Health Organisation (WHO) of a global shortage of 4.5 million nurses by 2030, Australia needs to be training more nurses, not relying on immigration. Barbara Chapman, South Yarra (Vic)

Petty politics

It was fascinating to read Bevan Shields’ article about the political shenanigans in Finley, and then to check the AEC tally in that town in the recent by-election (“How Ley crushed a nasty coup”, August 2) – a massive 35 per cent swing against the Liberal Party. Politicians need to understand that politics is not a game between internal factions, nor a game between different parties. It is the way that we voters decide who is to govern our country how we want it governed. It is a serious occupation that requires full attention and must not degenerate into petty power squabbles and ideological indulgences. The proof is in the numbers. Richard Prosser, Armidale

Picking on pensioners

Doing away with the rebate to pensioners for having private health insurance is one of the worst ideas to have come from a Labor government (“Labor ignored internal report revealing toll of scrapping Baby Boomer health rebate”, August 1). It has nothing to do with equity. Seniors do not have the capacity to increase their income that younger, fitter people may have. The impact on pensioners will be enormous as it will increase the fees well beyond what most are paying now. Many already struggle to keep up with fees and the cost of living on their limited incomes. It will force many to suffer for longer as they will have to rely on an already overloaded public health system. The benefits to the aged-care system are not enough to warrant stopping these rebates. If aged care is underfunded, which everyone seems to agree it is, then increase it, but not at the expense of those who may then be forced into that system quicker. This is definitely a case of older people being disadvantaged by poor budgeting. Augusta Monro, Dural

Puzzling policy

Australia urgently needs more electricity, yet conservatives hold a bizarre double standard on how to deliver it. The Coalition and One Nation fully back “combustion” energy derived from burning finite polluting fossil fuels and clean “electron” energy if generated by nuclear, but less so or not at all if it’s solar or wind. Even stranger is their stance on transmission lines. Those transporting electrons created by fossil or nuclear power are uncontroversial. But lines transporting renewable electrons “scar landscapes” and “divide communities.” To the Coalition and One Nation: please explain. In whose interest is it to thwart, delay, and sabotage the transmission of abundant, inexhaustible clean power when an urgent supply crisis is already on our doorstep? Carlo Ursida, Kensington (Vic)

IT merry-go-round

I wonder if Waleed Aly has ever had to deal with Telstra over wifi problems, as many of us do regularly (“From food apps to help lines, tech is being used to frustrate us”, August 1). With a great sense of irony it seems that Telstra prefers you to contact them online about these issues. So begins a not-so-merry-go-round that circles for days, with repeated requests for all the details and to perform at-home modem resets. Eventually, you end up in the corner of a room curled up in the foetal position madly tapping a link on your phone that purportedly accesses your case. It really is the most effective remedy for internet addiction. So good on your Telstra for practising tough love and making us all go cold turkey. John Mizon, Collaroy

No real test

At last, we have a reporter who tells us the truth about how much a medal in Glasgow is worth (“We dominated in Glasgow, but the Olympics are a different beast,” August 1). Listening to the sports results each morning, the reporters were gushing about how the Australia swimmers and other athletes thrashed the rest of the Commonwealth, without mentioning the poor quality of the opposition. The PanPacs swimming event in California later this month will give us an idea of how good the swimmers really are. Victorian premier Dan Andrews was right to cancel the games due to the exorbitant cost. It’s time for them to be cancelled permanently. I feel sorry for the citizens of Ahmedabad, India, who will have to forgo services to pay for the third-rate event in 2030. Robert Pallister, Punchbowl

The Commonwealth Games medal tally shows Australia well out in front with 128 altogether. Next is England with 80. To put this into Olympic Games perspective, Team GB will include England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland as well as the Channel Islands and other British dominions. If we add the total medals won by these countries the total for all the British territories would be 177, well ahead of Australia. On the other hand, we would win hands down if you look at the per capita ratio of participants. Well done, Aussies. Brian Collins, Cronulla

Ban spearfishing

How intelligent is the spearfisher who shot a cuttlefish off Coogee Beach (“Spearfisher’s haul shocks swimmers at Sydney beach”, August 1)? Did they forget that a serious shark attack occurred at the beach only a few weeks ago, and that spearfishing brings blood, and blood brings sharks? Spearfishers need to be protected from their own stupidity and the public needs to be protected from them. Spearfishing should not be allowed anywhere near popular beaches. Genevieve Milton, Dulwich Hill

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