Letters
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday March 9, 2010
Prisoner advocatemeets art criteriaTrent Hotten's Archibald Prize entry has drawn the "I don't know much about art but I know a populist issue when I see one" fire of Kristina Keneally for its depiction of the prisoner advocate Brett Collins with the paedophile Dennis Ferguson standing behind him ("The Archibalds and the politicians' brush with dubious taste", March 6-7).The criteria for the Archibald Prize are that the portrait be of a man or woman distinguished in art, science, politics or letters.As a law graduate and long-time advocate of prisonersand their rights, Collins meets those criteria, if somewhat controversially.But I would like to know in which of these fields Schapelle Corby is distinguished.Robin Tennant-Wood Scullin (ACT)Safe sewageI cannot see why people have difficulty with the idea of recycling water ("Planner callsfor recycled sewage in water", March 8). Ultimately all water is recycled, like it or not.Matthew Moyes KillaraWomen moveforward then backIs the world turning upside down on International Women's Day or did I just hear that Tony Abbott is proposing the introduction of a six-month paid parental leave scheme ("Abbott's vow to pay new parents", smh.com.au, March 8)?It's good to see the opposition thinking more about policies that will advance women in the workplace, but if it is serious it needs to address the rest of its industrial relations policy to ensure we don't return to the bad days of Work Choices, when the pay gap between men and women increased.Angela Budai RosevilleIt is indeed time that the United Nations stepped up its efforts for the women of Burma ("UN must step up for the women of Burma", March 8).Forget for a moment that Aung San Suu Kyi is a politician with a claim to power and think of her as a woman who has been held in confinement for more than 14 years; a wife whose husband was refused a visa when he tried to see her before he died of cancer in 1999; and a mother who has not seen her sons in more than a decade.Whether it is International Women's Day or any other day, it is enough.Ted Keating Tallai (Qld)Crowding outElizabeth BayWhen I lived at the bottom of Ithaca Road in Elizabeth Bay in the mid-1970s there was precious little parking even for residents (Letters, March 8). The only undeveloped land was the park.How, then, do the proposers of the expansion of the marina plan to provide parking for customers and their guests? Clearly more information needs to be provided before that beautiful oasis in Sydney Harbour is ruined forever.Randi Svensen LeuraAn ideal leaderReading Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband yesterday morning, I came across this: "A man who can't talk morality twice a week to a large popular, immoral audience is quite over as a serious politician."Perhaps Tony Abbott is on the right track.Lisa Townsend MurwillumbahQueen Mary's wakeJust one statistic missing from your illustration of the Queen Mary 2 ("Laps of luxury", March 8): its carbon footprint.Debby Nicholls BalmainA flood of wordsI was amused to read of Anna Bligh's discourse about the floods in south-western Queensland, which she described as "a massive water event".One wonders what the next cyclone will be called.Geoff Trescott Tenambit
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