Wentworth Park closure a start: next, ban greyhound racing

Great news that NSW Labor will end greyhound racing at Wentworth Park and use the site for wider community purposes. Awful news that they will give the industry $10 million so that this cruel sport can continue elsewhere (“Wentworth Park to stay in public ownership”, December 9). One hundred and twenty-eight greyhounds died on the track in Australia in 2024 and 11,449 sustained injuries. Typically, racing greyhounds spend most of their lives in cage-like conditions, with more than 70 per cent “discarded” each year because they are not winning races. A fairer solution would be to grant that $10 million to the small, volunteer-run greyhound rescue organisations that are doing the heavy lifting when it comes to rehoming the vast numbers of greyhounds abandoned by the industry. Jan O’Leary, Springwood

I was with Chris Minns all the way on a revitalised Wentworth Park until his announcement of $10 million for the Greyhound Capital Grants Program. If the NSW government (of either persuasion) does not have the political fortitude to ban greyhound racing, why not just let it wither away from lack of funding? Lewis Kaplan, Birchgrove

Congratulations to the state government for listening to the community. But rather than give $10 million to the greyhound/gambling industry so it can spread its misery somewhere else, take the next step and ban it altogether. Richard Spencer, Glebe

Wells in firing line

Am I the only one to notice the curious timing of the increasingly frenzied attacks on Communications Minister Anika Wells (“Minister’s Comcar wait bill cost $1000″, December 9)? Just as the new restrictions on the use of social media by children under 16 come into force, we see growing outrage against the minister responsible. It is safe to assume that the social media giants would love to see this legislation fail in Australia, so that other countries will not follow our lead. One must remember their skill in the subtle manipulation of opinion, manipulation from which none of us, sadly, is immune, and their contempt for the authority of elected governments. Perhaps the reasoning is that if the minister is disgraced, so is the legislation. Letter writer Catheryn Sale sees the media pile-on as indicative of gender bias (Letters, December 9). Perhaps this is a factor, but I see the aggressive assault on her character as part of the social media giants’ defence strategy against any legislation that attempts to curb their power – and profits. Gaye McSweeney, Revesby

Who is behind the drip feed of stories about Wells’ use of expenses? Is it designed purely to cast shade on the government’s launch of its groundbreaking internet policy? If so, it seems to be working. Are we not better than this? David Brown, Double Bay

The latest news about Anika Wells’ use of government-funded transport comes as no surprise. I’d like to ask one obvious question. How does it happen? Too often we are confronted with reports of “dubious” travel arrangements, and this incident is just the latest example. If society was serious about this issue, all we’d need to do is mandate public reporting on the various government websites of who approved the expenditure, and confirm that it meets all the criteria that governs such expenditure. I’d bet behaviours would change very quickly. The issue is that most occupants of these positions view travel costs as an entitlement, rather than a business cost. I’d argue that travel allowances are generally a waste of tax dollars in this age of video conferencing and Zoom meetings. Bernard Stever, Richmond

There has been a lot of discussion about the cost of Anika Wells’ trip to New York, but whether it cost the country too much isn’t the important question. We should be asking why did she and her staffers go at all? If people in other countries are interested in our policy and legislation, then I suggest they should be the ones to do the travelling. That way we would earn some revenue from overseas, save the costs, and have both the minister and her staffers available in Australia for the tasks at hand. Jim Gummer, Junee

MPs spend a lot of time away from home, and having family join them occasionally makes sense. But flying the family in business class doesn’t pass the pub test. Or the frequent flyers lounge test. After all, the family member isn’t working. If I were being flown in to watch the Boxing Day Test or Melbourne Grand Prix, I’d be happy to sit in economy for a couple of hours. It’s time to change the rules. Andrew Moffat, North Sydney

With politicians away from home so much, it’s a worthy aim to try and spend as much time with their children as possible. But why can they not travel economy class like most of us? If they want to upgrade, they should pay the difference themselves.
Judith Campbell, Drummoyne

Correspondent Carol Hayes was making her point soundly about politicians’ entitlements until her final statement that federal ministers such as Anika Wells had jobs that are “secure and well paid” (Letters, December 9). What job could be less secure than a federal politician’s, who has to submit to the whim of the electorate every three years, or six for the Senate? And as for being well paid, I am sure most of our parliamentarians could earn at least the same amount or more in the private sector, where they would not be at the beck and call of the parliament, their party and country – 24/7. I believe most pollies earn their keep. Dale Bailey, St Leonards

Pub test fail

Has Sydney completely lost its mind (“State, councils at odds over late trading for suburban clubs, pubs”, December 8)? Do you think the owners of these pubs and clubs live next door to their own venues? Why should business profits take precedence over the rights of residents to enjoy peace and quiet in the early hours of work nights under the premise of community vibrancy? Can a community not be vibrant before midnight? Have any of them visited cosmopolitan cities like Paris that keep civilised hours and certainly don’t suffer from lack of vibrancy? Kudos to councils for trying to preserve some amenity for their ratepayers. And a big red mark to politicians who preference the hospitality industry over constituents. The suburban pubs and clubs who want even later night trading are simply cashing in on the vulnerability of gambling addicts. Alison Stewart, Riverview

Pubs are a business, and seemingly, quite a lucrative one at that. They make money through the sale of alcohol and the provision of gambling facilities. Extending the trading hours of the Hunters Hill Hotel is all about making more money and not, as explained by Gallaghers Hotels chief executive Patrick Gallagher, “simply about giving the community somewhere they could socialise at night”. While pubs can play a part in community life, whatever benefits they realise are merely serendipitous. I’m afraid I’m too cynical to see increased alcohol sales and gambling revenue as being synonymous with Mr Gallagher’s altruism. William Galton, Hurstville Grove

Contempt for ABC

I have read the full transcript of Donald Trump’s January 6 speech before the Capitol riots and compared it to the ABC’s edited version. I found nothing had been misrepresented (“Star ABC reporter’s Canberra corridor stand-off with Liberal critic”, December 9). Some repetitions were removed for brevity, but it was completely different from the case of the BBC. As a former journalist, Senator Sarah Henderson would know that, but bizarrely continues to push what is in effect a lie to continue the Murdoch media’s war on the ABC.
Graeme Finn, Campsie

The Coalition’s long-standing contempt for the ABC is well documented. Tony Abbott famously said the broadcaster had an obligation to “sing from the government’s hymn book” and that the ABC should not criticise or question government decisions. The ABC’s funding was cut and it was effectively removed from interactions with Coalition ministers for many years during the Abbott-Morrison era. The latest accusations of a lack of impartiality by Liberal senator Sarah Henderson are just a continuation of the Coalition’s battle with our public broadcaster. Cheryl Kay, Miranda

Children’s champion

As a first-hand witness of the devastating effects of child sexual abuse, may I extend my sincere thanks to Chief Inspector Peter Yeomans (“Top cop’s plea for alleged Sydney victims of notorious daycare paedophile”, December 9). His decades of determined protection of small, sad-faced victims and his passionate pursuit of their abusers deserves, at the very least, our warmest expressions of gratitude. Anna Roache, Granville

Equality for cyclists

Requiring under-18s to display government-issued licence plates if riding a high-powered e-bike, while not requiring adults riding for non-commercial purposes to do the same, amounts to the unfair targeting of young people (“Licence plates for under 18 e-bike riders in new Lib plan”, December 9). Rules to recognise and report poor riding behaviour should be in place for all cyclists. Turning 18 doesn’t mean a person magically starts riding responsibly. Jane Lieschke, Woonona

It was nearly 60 years ago that I wrote to transport minister Milton Morris suggesting a registration system for bicycles. His reply pointed out that it would be a very expensive, impractical exercise and hugely difficult to administer. In 2025, the legislative dog’s breakfast proposed by NSW Liberal leader Kellie Sloane should come to a similar conclusion. It seems to be aimed solely at e-bikes and ignores the fact that pedal cycles can exceed 50km/h. I dream of having safe roads and paths to cycle on but fear this nightmare of bureaucracy set to entangle all riders. Current legislation is enough to control the scourge of rogue riders, it just needs to be acted on. Bob Edgar, Moss Vale

Shifting the problem

After the likely expulsion of bullies from the privileged environment of their private schools, will a transfer be negotiated for them to a similar school, or will they be sent to a hapless government school that is compelled to enrol them (“Vicious hazing attack has no place in any school”, December 9)? Catherine Turner, Cremorne

Sudan in crisis

The article in Tuesday’s Herald describing the atrocities in Sudan, where more than a million people are starving and hundreds of thousands have been killed, reminds us of the many conflicts currently taking place around the world (“It’s not just Sudan. The same destructive forces are coming for other countries too”, December 9). Considering the death toll in Sudan is far higher than the tragic loss of life in Gaza, I cannot understand why there are no mass demonstrations here and around the world condemning the Sudanese government. Could it be because Israel is not involved (even though many Sudanese have found refuge there)? Steve Alperstein, Double Bay

Libs’ lost assets

Yes, the Liberal Party has deserted the truest of its champions, but not before its truest champions deserted the Liberal Party (Letters, December 9). Malcolm Fraser resigned his membership of the party after the election of Tony Abbott as leader, and was a critic of its policy direction for many years, as was Malcolm Turnbull. As for Ben Chifley, how dare George Brandis mock the man who showed Australia that even a humble train driver from Bathurst could be PM (“Liberals ignore, despise and knife their leaders – and drive their party over a cliff”, December 8)? He strived for wealth equality and introduced many important social welfare initiatives, such as unemployment and sickness benefits and pensions, and laid the grounds for the pharmaceutical benefits scheme and public housing construction. Jane Lawrence, Bathurst

After reading Ron Russell’s letter, I wonder if George Brandis took his expensive bookshelves with him when he vacated his parliamentary office (Letters, December 9). If he did, I’ll bet he has whole shelves chockers with dictionaries and thesauri to boost his extraordinary vocabulary. Duncan McRobert, Hawks Nest

Dredge the bay

Carina Hall outlines some of the problems with council plans to create a new swimming area at Iron Cove (Letters, December 9). As an old rower and bay walker, I have developed Howie’s Theorem to fix up the bay. Two things are obvious – swing moorings for yachts take up far too much space, and the water is very shallow south of Rodd Island. My theorem provides that the swing moorings be removed, and the bay be dredged south of Rodd Island so that even at low tide it’s a couple of metres deep. That will liberate a lot more space for rowers, sailors and maybe even swimmers. It shouldn’t cost too much, and will improve the utility of the bay immensely. Howard Robilliard, Rodd Point

Under their gaze

The recent article about whether Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, called her father after an operation is a throwback to the bad old days when everyone felt they had the right to micromanage women’s behaviour (“Dispute over Meghan’s claim she has contacted her estranged father after his leg amputation”, December 8), a time when a prominent woman’s facial expression or outfit was enough to stoke a massive pile-on. And yet, Andrew Windsor-Mountbatten’s association with alleged paedophiles and international despots has taken years to be noticed. We have been too busy wondering if Princess Anne is frumpy. Maryanne Maccarone, Seven Hills (Qld)

Nothing to add

My late friend Bruce and I loved to talk about the cricket. His Luxembourg-born wife couldn’t stand the game (“The passive-aggressive tactics that helped Australia smoke England out of the Ashes”, December 9). Reading the first line of your article – “Sometimes, the best thing to do in a cricket match is nothing” – made me smile as it reminded me of when Bruce’s wife complained that cricket was boring as “nothing happens”, and Bruce would reply “yes, but it’s the way nothing happens”. Clare Raffan, Campsie

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