Religious lessons are a waste of valuable class time

Why, under NSW legislation, do public schools “have to accept religious groups’ desire to run special religious education (SRE) lessons” (“Anger over students left in limbo to accommodate religion classes”, November 12)? Parents can send kids to religious schools, teach them at home, take them to church: schools should have no obligation to inculcate religious beliefs. Do Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, pagan, humanism, etc. adherents ask and receive similar access? If the legislation is not overturned, then, at the very least, ensure religious classes are held out of school hours. And provide non-attendees with ethics classes, suitable for all religions and atheists and agnostics. Jennifer Fergus, CroydonThis has to stop. Now. Alynn Pratt, GrenfellTimes change, Minister Car. With students professing no religion being above 40 per cent, it is unbelievable that they are held hostage to lobby group pressure and must waste 80 minutes a fortnight of valuable educational time. Jill Stephenson, WoolwichThe place of religious education in public schools raises questions about time management.Joe ArmaoAre we really in the 21st century when religion is forced on students, and if they don’t participate, they twiddle their thumbs? If we are free to pick (or not pick) our religion as a society, why is it being forced on children at school? We are either a secular society or go back to the days when a Catholic couldn’t marry a Protestant. Neville Turbit, Russell LeaI have a solution for Newtown High School. Timetable special religious education for the last period on Friday afternoon – the period from hell in any high school. Viv Mackenzie, Port HackingAnother decade, another school and its students sitting idle during precious learning time, another education minister parroting the line about religious instruction being “an integral part of our education system since its inception”. Didn’t Chris Minns just table special legislation to bypass a High Court ruling of Australia? This shows it can be done – government has the power to change laws that have allowed the scripture farce to go on long enough. Our school results are flatlining and in some cases plummeting. There’s no more time to waste just because it’s what the churches want. Dorin Suciu, EleebanaEnd the e-bike menaceI read the disturbing article indicating police believe they are legally vulnerable when it comes to pursuing unsafe e-bike riders (“Parents ‘need to take charge’ in e-bike battle”, November 12). In their attempts at containment of the e-bike rage here in NSW, the minister will not make a call on the future of e-bikes until next year despite having an expert report since June. With Christmas approaching and as we read of more serious incidents involving kids on e-bikes, how on earth can John Graham justify his silence, or dare I say, tenure as transport minister! I have a pedal-assisted e-bike, a totally different machine to the throttle-driven fat bikes menacing us. It is the only e-bike that should be available to youngsters. I recently returned from Japan where we cycled, and in Tokyo we did not see one fat bike or any inconsiderate cycle behaviour among the countless pedal-assisted e-bikes in use by young mums, grannies and kids. How can it be so difficult to get on and call it here in NSW? A total abrogation of responsibility and common sense by our governors! Bruce Hall, AvalonEarlier this year, first responders and hospital staff likened injuries from e-bike riders to an epidemic.Chris HopkinsI would have thought the examples quoted by the Herald indicate an immediate need for the release of the report, but self-interest is always compelling at election time. Spare a thought for the accident victims and, of course, any motorist who becomes involved in an event involving an e-bike, in their many forms. D’Arcy Hardy, NarrabeenGiven that e-bikes are little different from mopeds and motorcycles, i.e. an engine on two wheels and are a known hazard, is there some reason why they do not need to be registered and the riders suitably qualified? Dave Horsfall, North GosfordPowering the futureEvery electric vehicle on the road reduces our reliance on imported fuel, and every home battery helps shave the evening peaks that drive up wholesale power prices. Both help to ease the cost of living. So why is the Albanese government considering cutting support for these clean, efficient technologies (“Labor mulls axe for EV and battery tax breaks”, November 12)? A better option sits in plain sight: a levy on gas exports. The Australia Institute estimates a 25 per cent levy would raise about $17 billion a year, and argues it would steer more gas into the local market, easing gas and electricity prices. Don’t axe the households doing the right thing; tax the gas giants. Isabelle Henry, Ascot Vale (Vic)Home battery systems are helping people to save a motza on energy bills. Peter RaeYour correspondent (Letters, November 12) and others calling for an end to coal and gas exports have the cart before the horse. The problem is one of demand. If we stop exporting coal and gas, we will not help to mitigate climate change effects. Instead, we will be making a gift to Brazil and Indonesia, who will take up the slack. The only approach that will work is demand reduction, subsidising the addition of green power to economies that do not have the capital to allow them to turn off their polluting generators. This might be achieved by an international climate fund administered by the United Nations and funded by a levy on pollution vendors. Alan Stanley, Upper CorindiDeath of the department storeSeems to me the downfall of David Jones is a wake-up call to do battle with the online shoppers (“Thousands of jobs to go as David Jones shuts stores”, November 12). Other stores must feel it too. The department stores have an opportunity to get their imaginations fired up, perhaps with room set aside for art, performances, exhibitions, visual displays, light shows, children’s choirs, whatever, to get people through the doors for an interesting experience. Start with Market Street. Australia, get behind this iconic store! Jill Power, NarrabeenHow to duck questionsAustralian cricketers who “participated” in the 2018 tour of South Africa may find themselves under pressure from all levels of the media, keen to discuss the cold case investigation of Sandpapergate (“Kha crash interview: Usman out after ducking TV bouncers”, November 12). An aggressive approach may see some players caught out by false shots. For those more tentative, slips of the tongue may be their downfall. Some will be expecting stealth and guile as the interviewers spin their questions but may be bamboozled by the straight question such as “did you lie”? The best approach may be to appeal for bad light by saying: “I am sorry but I am unable to comment at the moment as I would need to review what I may have written in my future book”! Tom Dolan, NarraweenaUsman Khawaja is interviewed on the ABC’s 7.30 program by Sarah Ferguson. Khawaja did not “fail” to answer the questions posed by Sarah Ferguson, he answered them in his own way. He is under no obligation to name names because that is how the question is posed. He stayed true to his own values, feelings, views and interpretation of events based on his own experiences. From other interviews with him, I am inspired to read his story of his life and its challenges. Jennifer Blackwell, Cremorne What is it about collective responsibility and consciousness that is so hard to understand? It seems to me that Usman Khawaja is not accusing individual Test players about what they knew or did not know about the infamous incident of ball tampering. Is it so hard to understand that that is the point? The responsibility lies with the collective and the culture of the squad as a whole. Blaming and scapegoating individuals misses the point and dodges a proper and more appropriate understanding of what happened. Antony Gleeson, Middle CoveDoes anyone know the whereabouts of the piece of sandpaper? Worth a few bob I should think, and what a tale it could tell. Richard Lynch, BelboraThe property market conundrumGet a grip! Together with the associated plans to limit negative gearing, this is exactly what the government set out to do in the May budget (“Loans tumble as tax tweaks hurt investors”, November 12): limiting investors getting in the way and giving young/new home buyers a chance to own their own home at lower home prices by way of putting a brake on ridiculous ever rising housing prices! It has been a lazy way for investors to make money, rather than using some initiative – researching and planning to make their investment work in more productive ways to the benefit of the community. Investing, for example, in the sharemarket through recognised investment vehicles or groups that invest in emerging technology is of much more benefit to Australia. Robert Dean, BowralInvestors have always had a choice. Housing no longer seems the obvious one.Monique WestermannLabor argued that its tax increases would boost housing supply by moving investors from existing properties to new ones. But with new loans falling 50 per cent for existing dwellings and 18.4 per cent for new builds, investors are deserting the entire property market. This will cause a massive drop in supply, with rents and prices set to rise sharply once the shell-shocked market eventually recovers. Labor somehow expected investors to bid against each other for new properties that they couldn’t later sell to other investors. The investors have voted with their feet and everyone is now going to suffer from a budget that’s been described as “a political and economic catastrophe”. William Lloyd, DenistoneIt might have seemed a kindness at the time to allow people with few assets to take out a mortgage with only a 5 per cent deposit, but anyone with a heart could see that the risks and stresses were going to be huge on low-income earners in such a volatile real estate and lending market. How upset these people must be, seeing the home they risked everything for diminishing in value. I hope they won’t blame the end of negative gearing, but instead lay the responsibility where it really lies – with the banks and the government of the day who exposed ordinary people to such extreme levels of risk. Penny Auburn, NewportWaiting on ‘action man’It’s worth remembering that Anthony Albanese was the right man at a time of political wrongs. The previous government, emboldened by the electorate’s lack of courage voting for a reformist government in 2019, had run roughshod over the glaring needs of a nation and, when it comes to climate change, the world. Putting forward a candidate of merit, with a touch of mediocrity, seemed the safest bet and one that paid off for Labor (“Albanese needs to reinvent himself as action man”, November 12). The electorate awaited its reward. It’s been slow in coming – financial support for the greening of the grid is slowly growing in momentum; budget adjustments addressing generational inequity, primarily in the housing market, should be seen as a win, but has been shaped to look like an own goal, leaving a very competent treasurer and potential leader teetering rather than towering. Labor still has time. I hate to think the shape we’d be in without its governance. I just wish the impact of the 2019 drubbing hadn’t played into its policies. Fortune favours the bold. Janet Argall, Hurlstone ParkAnthony Albanese speaks at the COP31 UN Climate Summit in Turkey on Wednesday.APIn his assessment of the PM, Shaun Carney correctly describes his understated demeanour and “nasal voice accessing a less than expansive vocabulary”. In fact, if a collection were attempted of wise, clever, insightful, profound statements or one-liners from the PM, or anything memorable, I fear it would be a difficult task. True, erudition might be overrated as a political gift, but articulate and insightful are surely necessary qualities for “cutting through” to a sceptical electorate who have lost faith in politics and politicians. Alan Russell, Unley (SA)Defining knee painAs a physiotherapist, I support the article regarding knee arthritis perspectives and interventions (“How weight training helped active mother avoid a knee replacement”, November 12). Another incredibly important aspect that was not discussed is the contemporaneous definition. There needs to be two labels applied to these joints – osteoarthritis only when the joint is painful, and osteoarthrosis otherwise, the “osis” describing the periods when the degenerated joint is pain-free. The change in labelling will probably change our mindset about these conditions and result in more appropriate interventions. David Kneeshaw, ConjolaTsk tsk tsk, QantasDee Madigan tells us executive bonuses contributed to the outsourcing of 850 Qantas jobs (“I can tell you why Qantas outsourced 850 jobs to India in two short words”, November 12). I have never understood why executives are paid bonuses for doing the job they are already being well paid to do. Tom Duley, BronteIllustration by Matt Golding That Qantas is “off-shoring” 850 jobs in a year it has made huge profits is reprehensible. The staff members who will lose their jobs are not the only losers here. Our economy will lose income taxes from these positions and income support or retraining costs will need to be paid. Companies such as Qantas, which send jobs overseas, should be made to pay a social tax that is equivalent to or greater than the loss of revenue and cost of supporting and/or retraining the sacked workers. Only then may the highly paid executives chasing bonuses act with a greater regard to the true cost of sending Australian jobs overseas. Margaret Allen, BexleyYes, Qantas management has bludgeoned its customer base by replacing 850 Australians’ jobs and many loyal to the company product have declared that era over. Presumably they will switch to other airlines. The one remaining strength of Qantas is its wonderful aircrew and ground staff. Their jobs depend on the loyalty some have just decried; and so, let’s continue to enjoy their care and not cause their livelihoods to be imperilled. Management can be replaced, after all. Andrew Cohen, GlebeWhile we are outsourcing Qantas jobs, can we outsource the CEO and board positions to India? Michael Hayen, Kingston Beach (Tas)The flying vindaloo? Yeah, nah. Dave Watts, AvalonThe last word(s) go to Skippy on The Flying Kangaroo: Tsk Tsk Tsk. George Manojlovic, MangertonI wonder how many of the 850 jobs that Qantas have decided to outsource were “work from home” positions? One of the risks of WFH is that it can be done remotely from anywhere, usually at lower cost. Dean Reeves, Surry HillsTo submit a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, email letters@smh.com.au. Click here for tips on how to submit letters.The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform. Sign up here.