Short-term rental loophole gives hustlers a green light

Airbnb has been all but banned in New York City thanks to stringent city laws aimed at addressing housing affordability and rental price increases (“So simple a six-year-old could do it: The 22-year-old cashing in on Airbnb loophole”, October 30). In contrast, Sydney uses a regulatory approach to accommodate, no pun, income opportunities for those fortunate enough to own homes. While a homeless couple recently moved into the bin room of my building, up the road the wealthy are making $500 a night on properties in their portfolios. Welcome to the hustle culture of Sydney. Shayne Chester, Waterloo

Jessica McSweeney’s article on Airbnb nicely sums up the rental issues facing Sydney residents. And the minister for better regulation and fair trading has the wrong end of the stick – building more visitor accommodation is not the best way to reduce demand for short-term rentals. Why invest in visitor accommodation when a loophole allows displacement of long-term tenants for short-term renting? Eric Hamilton, Millers Point

Women’s rights

Here we go again. Male legislators opposed to late-term abortions are trying to limit the rights of women unfortunate enough to require this dire procedure (“MPs ignite fight over stillbirth law”, October 30). As the Herald’s article states, less than 1 per cent of terminations happen after 20 weeks. Why are these legislators so concerned with women’s rights? No woman would take having a late-term abortion lightly. As the article adds, they typically happen for medical reasons. The argument that people who don’t wish to be parents shouldn’t have paid medical leave is spurious. How can one sweepingly state that all such circumstances are wrong? This is serious overreach and puts the government between women and doctors. Reasons including illness during pregnancy requiring urgent treatment, reproductive coercion or long waiting times for appointments in regional areas have to be taken into account. Let’s not put arbitrary limits on women’s rights. Larry Woldenberg, Forest Lodge

Economic reality

After reading Lucy Carroll’s article it became clear that nothing has changed since I studied HSC economics in the 1970s (“This HSC subject has an image problem. Chantal knows what could fix it”, October 30). I was one of only three young women who took the highest level of study in the subject, which was considered to be “dating death”. When the results were released all the girls received solid marks and exceeded those of most of their male cohort. Linda Page, Baulkham Hills

Long referred to by commentators as the “dismal science”, economics’ image problem is unfair. I’ve long argued that high school economics should focus less on abstract mathematics and more on real-world economic and political issues. A rebrand to “How the World Works”, backed by a curriculum reflecting that scope, would be a step in the right direction. Year 10 students could grapple with domestic and international politics, or even draft a hypothetical national budget. Economics may not immediately excite teenagers, but as they start forming their own views of the world, its relevance and appeal grows. John Kempler, Rose Bay

Out of proportion

The Gaza Health Ministry reports that recent Israeli airstrikes killed 104 Gazans, including 46 children, in response to an attack by Palestinian militants that killed one soldier (“Gaza ceasefire is back on, Israel says, after new strikes kill more than 100”, October 30). The same military was responsible for killing 67,000 Gazans in response to the brutal murder of 1200 Israelis by Hamas-led militants on October 7, 2023. Any killing of innocents is to be deplored, however, am I the only one who thinks Israel’s reaction in no way represents a “proportionate response” – a principle of international humanitarian law and just war theory? Michael Healy, Raworth

Reports that more than 150,000 people have been killed in Sudan, with reports of ethnic cleansing, rape and torture, are highly disturbing (“Bloodied sands expose massacre of thousands after besieged city falls”, October 30). I’m just wondering, where are the protesters concerned about human rights violations? Why are there no marches across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, or outside synagogues? Victor Ziegler, Maroubra

Whose God do you look to when you seek to justify starvation and mass slaughter? Watching Gaza’s devastation, many people have appealed to religion or history to rationalise what cannot be defended. Some cite historical suffering to excuse new atrocities, as if pain sanctifies more pain.
In Peter Beinart’s powerful 2025 book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, he observes that sacred texts and memories of persecution have been weaponised to legitimise the destruction of another people. It is not only certain Jewish voices doing this. Many non-Jewish politicians have invoked faith and moral duty while supporting policies that have starved children and flattened homes. If your faith demands silence in the face of injustice, or obedience to cruelty, perhaps it is not God you are following but power cloaked in holiness. If your God blesses hunger and rubble, then your prayers rise only to human authority, not to heaven. Terry Hansen, Wisconsin (USA)

Climate clowns

As Hurricane Melissa devastates Jamaica, climate scientists warn that “the planet’s vital signs are flashing red” (“Hurtling towards climate chaos’: Feedback loops are accelerating global heating”, October 30). A recent report in The Lancet reveals how rising heat is killing a person every minute. Meanwhile, climate-change denialists like Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce seem to enjoy making a sport out of mocking climate change and climate targets (“Net zero by 2050 is ‘just ideology’: Morrison”, October 30). Can we please ignore these clowns and support politicians like Liberal Senator Andrew McLachlan, who crossed the floor to support Senator David Pocock’s sensible and important “Duty of Care” bill. Of course decision-makers should be considering the health and well-being of children when making decisions that could worsen climate change. We’re in a climate emergency and this is common sense. Amy Hiller, Kew (Vic)

As the strongest-ever storm in the nation’s history leaves Jamaica, exacerbated by rising carbon emissions according to every credible scientist on Earth, the weakest-ever leader in our nation’s history reaffirms how he attained that status with a nonsensical prognostication that net zero by 2050 is “just ideology”. When will climate deniers and their cultish cheerleaders in the Murdoch media accept that lying about observable reality doesn’t alter observable reality, or that net zero delusions have net zero relevance to thinking Australians? Or is it simply that in an echo chamber of empty vessels, nobody can hear you scream? Chris Roylance, Paddington (Qld)

T-shirt matters

As noted by Michael Dwyer, the confected woke attack on Anthony Albanese’s T-shirt comes from the party most likely to complain about anything they regard as woke (“Then they came for our T-shirts … but why stop at Joy Division, Sussan Ley?” October 30). This seems to be the current state of play – attack everything regardless how trivial and eventually some mud will stick. I suspect, however, that most Australians are sick of that style of politics. Neil Reckord, Gordon (ACT)

The opposition leader criticises the prime minister for his Joy Division T-shirt and its Nazi connotations, but how many of her Coalition colleagues wear outfits by Hugo Boss? Boss, a German company, provided the military uniforms for the Nazis and Gestapo before and during World War II. Does Sussan Ley worry this might also upset the Jewish community? Mark Berg, Caringbah South

Thank you, Michael Dwyer, for reminding us that rock T-shirts are “provocative, ironic, often dark, often purposefully dark”. I just wish Albo had a T-shirt featuring Shane MacGowan of the Pogues. It might encourage him to include dental in Medicare. Joy Heads, Wollstonecraft

It’s not the T-shirt I object to PM, but your taste in music. Now if you had been wearing a Joan Sutherland or Pavarotti T-shirt, I would have been better pleased. Coral Button, North Epping

The fuss about Albo’s Joy Division T-shirt is missing the important question – why didn’t he wear the T-shirt for Closer, Joy Division’s second album. It’s a better T-shirt (and a better album, in my opinion). Ian Hobson, Springfield

Trouble in Tassie

According to the Herald’s Shane Wright, Tasmania’s finances are in an “utter mess” (“Tasmania’s economy is going south”, October 30). The state’s growing debt is unsustainable and without help from the mainland, Tasmania could end up defaulting. In this context, the premier of Tasmania is hellbent on building a multibillion-dollar stadium at the behest of the AFL, and against the advice of numerous experts. Tasmania’s economic and social situation is dire. There is an urgent need for the federal government to intervene to ensure major decisions involving major federal funding, such as the stadium, are made in the best interests of not only Tasmanians, but also mainlanders, who may end up paying off our debt. Bronwyn Scott, Lucaston (Tas)

After Richard Flanagan’s article exposing the craziness of a new, very expensive, unwanted (except by AFL honchos) and inappropriately situated stadium (“A footy club meant to unite Tasmanians is bitterly dividing them”, October 30), and Shane Wright’s article exposing the state’s dire financial situation, the proponents of this development should give it up. Jill Stephenson, Woolwich

In the dark on solar

In response to the Herald’s article about solar panels (“You’re putting too much solar on the roof”, October 29), I must point out that I recently replaced my hot water system and thought I was doing the responsible thing by changing from gas to electricity. How wrong I was. Our energy bill has increased substantially and I find that the cheaper off-peak rate is not during the day, when we have excess solar power, but at night via coal-fired generation. Our energy system is certainly in a mess. Ian Costley, Belrose

Heritage worth saving

Oh dear, Michael Koziol – how I gambolled around my inner west home’s kitchen and pumped the air with glee when I read the headline of your article (“Trump’s ballroom blitz is turning me into a NIMBY”, October 30). Michael Koziol a NIMBY? Well, no, not really. Yes, Michael, wanton destruction in the name of development is depressing. And one person’s (or Nation’s) White House is another person’s old house. Like you, Michael, I’m not really a NIMBY but I do value the heritage of my area, and I don’t want its wanton destruction on my watch. Perhaps, like the White House, our homes and communities are, for us, “as heritage as heritage gets”. Barbara McKellar, Dulwich Hill

A sunny change

As the old saying goes: “All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward”, but the flip-side is that complaints can be turned into opportunities (“BOM needs a reboot over website storm”, October 30). Marketing 101 teaches us that unhappy customers who feel their feedback was listened to and acted upon can become loyal advocates for the business. Steve Ngeow, Chatswood

Hearing all the fuss about the revised BoM website, I decided to give it a test run (“Ministers haul in BOM chief for grilling over $4.1m website fiasco”, October 30). Unlike so many others, I was impressed. Not only could I select the suburb where I sail without a care (Sans Souci), it was easy to find the wind direction, the wind speed in knots and state of the tides. And the rain picture using the combined radars meant I no longer have to spend time switching between sites and radars to see the overall state of the current situation. I love it. Robert Hosking, Paddington

I still have access to the “old” BoM website, which is functioning fine and easy to use. Just don’t upgrade. Or will the old one be inaccessible soon? Vicki Zvargulis, Corrimal

Incorrect net result

The death of a young whale caught in shark nets is truly regrettable, but it shouldn’t be used as an opportunity to repeat the incorrect claims that the nets are ineffective (Letters, October 30). The statistical evidence that NSW nets have protected human life for 87 years is irrefutable, and replicated in Queensland and South Africa. If people want to put the protection of sea creatures above human safety, that is their right. It is not okay, however, to claim that the nets don’t protect human life. They clearly do. Graeme Stewart, Avalon Beach

Slow on speed

Let’s hope that the new NSW bike laws include long-overdue legislation for the protection of pedestrians on footpaths. Recently, it was reported that a Sydney man was fatally injured when he stepped out of his door into the path of an e-bike. It has reached the point where elderly people forego their daily walk for fear of being struck down by a speeding bike. Politicians must know that existing laws are being broken with impunity. Tough measures are working overseas, including on-the-spot confiscation and destruction of e-bikes and scooters. Similar measures are urgently needed in NSW. Ava Hubble, Pyrmont

Not so sweet

Celebration of Halloween by children on Friday does not faze me. Any children ringing my doorbell will be welcomed and offered a treat, including portions of fruit, segments of celery, carrot or capsicum, and even biscuits and cheese. But strictly no lollies. I am deeply concerned at the amount of sugar consumed by children today and the negative impacts on their health. I am determined not to send them the wrong sugar “message”. Rod Watson, East Brighton (Vic)

For art’s sake

In an increasingly cashless economy, I often wonder how buskers collect money, or if they make any (“Battle over busking that has blown up George Street”, October 30). Angie Miller, Bondi Junction

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