Matt GoldingCredit:.
Not-so-great divide
Thank you Jon Faine (″Drowning in gobbledegook″, The Sunday Age, 8/1) for highlighting the discrimination divide that affects a significant proportion of the population. Many seniors can no longer do everyday things like pay a bill or receive home delivery of a newspaper if they don’t have an email address or credit card. This is not good enough for people who have, and continue to, contribute to our society.
Anne Brennan, Creswick
Not a new problem
Jon Faine’s thoughts on the difficulties that some face when trying to use technology-based services is not a new issue for many people. I can remember when I was in a Medicare office (when they existed) many years ago and a customer who was obviously suffering from the physical and cognitive ravages of old age was asked if she had a ″device″. She looked bewildered as many older folk must feel when they attempt to interact with services that should be making it easier for them to connect and receive support.
Peter Walker, Glenroy
Food for thought
Re your correspondent complaining of too many columnists writing obituaries about family members (14/1); these provide such rich food for thought and each story will inevitably resonate with many readers, providing potential comfort or an alternative way of reflecting on life.
I’d rather see a hundred of these any day than another ″news″ article about the endlessly dissatisfied royal offspring.
Fiona White, Alfredton
Giving pause to think
Waleed Aly’s piece on his dying mother-in-law (13/1) I found both moving and inspiring. It made me think of my own life and relationships. ″Making us think″ is surely a worthwhile goal for a newspaper.
It is a refreshing change from much of the current world news and gives us pause to think of what we are able to give back to our own community and family.
A newspaper like The Age surely has a wider brief than what your correspondent believes, that is, to limit content to ″news″ per se.
Peter Russo,
West Brunswick
The odd hot day
Remember when ″heatwave″ meant several days (or even a week) of very hot weather – over 30 degrees? Apparently, now just one hot day over 30 qualifies as a heatwave. On Saturday, 37 degrees was forecast, but Sunday 22. Monday will be 31 and Tuesday 37. The following three days the temperature will be 23, 22 and 26.
This is not a heatwave. It’s the odd hot day, which nowadays seems to be what constitutes Melbourne’s summer.
Elizabeth Sprigg, Glen Iris
Enigma unto himself
While trying to neither condemn nor defend George Pell, it seems to me from the varying comments since his death that no one truly understood him.
Jim Picot, Altona
Not affronting up
Where are the usual and expected expressions of confected outrage from Peter Dutton and Sussan Ley at the revelations of Dominic Perrottet? These regular expressions of affront surely can’t be reserved solely for members of the Labor party, can they?
Erica Grebler, Caulfield North
Myki my card
It’s unpopular to say this, but myki works well for me. My myki is registered and linked to my credit card, so I never have to worry about when I get on a bus or tram or train – top-up is automatic. Taking my grandsons on their public transport excursions is easy – they both have mykis. If the system is upgraded to read credit cards, some form of myki card would presumably still be required to allow for children without credit cards, and to ensure those on concession fares are only charged the concession rate. Seems it could become more complex rather than less.
And it is apparently easy to work out how to buy mykis if you are an international visitor.
Friends from the UK had no trouble having their mykis ready to use immediately after they arrived in Melbourne, having checked on the internet.
Louise Kloot, Doncaster
The recline of civilisation
Malcolm Knox (14/1) decries the collapse of those who actually read books. He ascribes valid reasons for this worrying phenomenon, but neglects the elephant in the room. Streaming, smart TV and YouTube means the average punter can get instant gratification for their entertainment needs. Just add a recliner and a remote.
Moray Byrne, Edithvale
Natural forces
For anyone who wants to build on the coast, it is a no-brainer to decide if coastal erosion may affect you. If there is nothing but sand below ground level – i.e. no solid foundation – then there is a good chance the sea will reclaim the sand at some time. If you are on a cliff that is not seriously solid rock, the it will be eroded in the future, that is why it is a cliff.
Don’t blame the council or the state government for your lack of due diligence for building in the wrong place.
Water is a powerful force that is difficult to manage where natural erosion persists. Just look at the map of Port Fairy in The Age (14/1); those curved features parallel to the coast are old sand dunes that could be reclaimed by the sea during any future extreme event.
Stuart Symonds, Quarry Hill
Bias against us
Usman Khawaja (14/1) asserts that the Australian selectors suffer from unconscious bias. We in Victoria have always realised that.
Paul Chivers, Box Hill North
All my friends are mates
Carolyn Webb (13/1) is yet to reach the age where you wonder where your memory went, especially when it comes to people’s names. When she reaches that stage she will find she has a lot of friends called Mate.
Bob Graham, Yarragon
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