‘Build it and they will come’: Metro West must proceed regardless of cost blowouts

The recent news regarding the fate of the Sydney Metro West, along with other facets of the network’s construction, has left me feeling buyer’s remorse after giving NSW Labor my vote (“Rail charade betrays Labor heartland”, July 27).

Already, our obsession with driving is causing transit chaos – traffic jams, late and unreliable buses, excessive pollution caused by amassed idling cars. This is no way to organise a world-class city. To rid Sydney of this vital infrastructure is short-term thinking.

Yes, the costs have ballooned, but these are costs that will be absorbed over centuries, with a long future of extensive use. Does London regret building the underground? Or Paris their metro? How would London function if instead of organised mass transit, every Londoner was forced to hop in their car and dissect the M25 each day to go to work?

If Sydney wants to grow and prosper as a place to live, work, inspire, and attract, it must improve its flailing mass transit as soon as possible.

The modernists were unequivocally wrong; cars in cities are not the future. We must reverse this outdated philosophy that still haunts our city and throw all we can at building an extensive, robust, underground metro. Alexander L’Estrange, Rose Bay

More stations mean a slower journey from Parramatta to Sydney. A journey under 20 minutes was a prime justification for the new line. Metro lines should have more stations as they are not intended as cross metropolitan services - the Waratah trains can achieve nearly twice the speed (“If Sydney’s Metro West needs more stations, where would they go?“, July 27).

Faster Parramatta-Sydney services are better achieved by a traditional method - extra tracks in an existing corridor. In this case, extending the Central-Homebush fifth and sixth tracks to Granville means four tracks from St Marys to Central and the opportunity for an extra 10 express services each way between Parramatta and Central Station which is conveniently next to the new Sydney Metro platforms. There are many rail projects that will deliver far more development opportunity sooner than the Sydney Metro; they should be given priority. Peter Egan, Mosman

It is incorrect for your correspondent to claim that previous state Labor governments “did nothing” about building railways (Letters, July 27). Among others, they built the Chatswood to Epping line and the Leppington line - not to mention the eastern suburbs railway. No, they were not enough, but the only one built by the Coalition at that stage was the privatised Airport line which remains too expensive for most to use.

Before history is rewritten, let it also be noted that the Metro has inbuilt and unresolved planning failures - not the least of which is that Metro tunnels are slightly too narrow to accommodate double-decker trains. We are left with a permanent, two-tier rail system, which makes no sense and which complicates future plans. John MacKay, Asquith

Build it and they will come - after the NSW government extracts the necessary shortfall from all those businesses likely to gain financially from this nation building project. This can’t be allowed to stall. Simon Staines, Mudgee

I am old enough to recall the moth balling of the eastern suburbs rail line for decades. Funding was always the reason given. So what did we end up with? A rail to nowhere not to Bondi Beach. Proof is the thousands queued up at the Bondi Junction terminal to get to Bondi Beach. Likewise, the Waterloo station should have a station at Sydney University which was offering to pay for the stop. Gladys Berejiklian said no. Ronald Smith, Waterloo

Nauru revelations prove Dutton not fit for office

Peter Dutton gets an A grade for consistency, but a big F for humanity and empathy. Dr Chris Jones’ horrific accounts of trauma and distress among detainees in Nauru’s offshore processing centre (surely a gentle euphemism for something entirely different) under Dutton’s watch as home affairs minister are truly damning (“Nauru doctor: where did all the millions go?“, July 27). Dutton’s belief that “a single act of compassion” could endanger Australia unfortunately seems totally in keeping with his views and statements on the Voice today, and outrage seems the appropriate response in both cases. Kerrie Wehbe, Blacktown

I want to express my outrage at the state-sponsored cruelty at the heart of our governments’ (more than one) management of some asylum seekers as detailed in Home Truths. Part of this fury is directed at our inability to hold the responsible morally destitute public figures to account, a number of whom are serial offenders in the field of absence of common human decency. They continue to haunt the halls of Parliament House but unlike public servants we, the voting public and their employers, are unable to simply sack them. To paraphrase a well-known politician, they are lucky to live in a country where expression of public sentiment is a largely peaceful but impotent process. David MacKintosh, Berkeley Vale

I was dismayed and disgusted to read of the appalling treatment and withholding of appropriate medical care of asylum seekers, including young children, as a result of the former Coalition government’s inhumanity. Dutton’s comments make him unworthy to present himself as an alternative prime minister, or even a Member of Parliament representing the Australian people. Alan Marel, North Curl Curl

The Coalition’s love affair with lack of transparency and responsibility has filtered through to some of the departments it once oversaw. That the Home Affairs Department attempts to absolve itself of any responsibility for contractors and subcontractors it has employed is beyond belief. Imagine the turmoil in society and the family home should we all adopt this philosophy. Bob Cameron, Coffs Harbour

It seems that few of the MPs handed the job of running this country efficiently are completely incapable of even running a chook raffle. The rorting and waste of taxpayers’ money makes you want to cry. The billions of dollars lost on NDHS, billions on unfinished work contracts, billions on offshore detention. What else is there that I have missed that we haven’t heard about yet? What chance do we have of running an efficient defence force if the time comes that it’s required? Rae Masman, Church Point

Sleight of hand at Barangaroo

The softening up process for excessive development at Barangaroo has begun again ( “Barangaroo cut down to size by outcry, new plans revealed”, July 27). The process is well-tried and begins with a seemingly innocuous architectural rendering replete with many trees and relaxed pedestrians. What is not apparent is that only the lowest of the proposed buildings, at six storeys, is shown. The bulk of the proposal is at eight to 10 storeys, which effectively blocks out the harbour and foreshore views of the Langham hotel, recently voted one of the top 100 hotels in the world, and dramatically impacting the heritage and touristic qualities of the Millers Point and Observatory Hill precinct.
Again we see the financial gain of developers trumping good planning solutions. John McInerney, Millers Point

Looking at of the proposed new building at Barangaroo, I was glad to see the artist’s impression included a mini forest of trees in an attempt to hide its blocky blandness. On a recent visit to Amsterdam to wonder at the tulips, it was amazing to be able to admire the glorious old buildings lining the canals because the trees were bare of leaves at that time. The revised plans for Barangaroo are still devoid of any architectural beauty. Why can’t we lift our game and design and build something that doesn’t look like its made from a child’s wooden blocks. Lance Dover, Pretty Beach

Bleak future

With the beautiful Greek Islands burning, with Antarctic ice disappearing and with the prospect of more black summers and worse, can Australia please sell no more fossil fuels for the world to burn (“Plane crash kills two as blazes escalate”, July 27)? Nothing now is as compelling as global warming. Our children and their children should have a benign future to look forward to. A future which is disappearing faster than Antarctic ice. Penny Rosier, North Epping

Servant of the US

Bob Carr is spot-on (“What have you done for US lately?“, July 27). Since WWII, Australia has been a “deliriously loyal, entirely gullible US ally”. Over the years, many US-instigated, US-led, Australian-supported wars have been fought and lost. Despite this, more and more US military intelligence and hardware units have been stationed on our land. We have, indeed, become “just another US dependency like Guam or Puerto Rico”. We are little more than a US military staging post.

It is disappointing that our current Labor prime minister is living in the past. Apparently, he cannot see beyond the outdated idea of the USA as the Hollywood-style good guy in the white hat who rode in to save us in WWII. Evidence suggests that, since then, the USA has not been an entirely benign player on the world stage. Unfortunately, Julian Assange’s release will not fix the situation we find ourselves in. But it will, at least, be a “crumb off the table” of our master. Something, at least, to be thankful for. Pam Timms, Suffolk Park

In his excellent article Carr omits from his list of prime ministers who would possibly stand up to an American president one who actually did. Malcolm Turnbull stood up to Donald Trump over the refugee exchange deal Australia had previously made with Barack Obama. Tony Brownlow, Glebe

Training hazard

First Sam Kerr, now Mary Fowler (“Gustavsson defends Simon gamble as Fowler join Kerr on sidelines”, July 27). I think it’s best if the Matildas cancel all further training sessions. Jeremy Spinks, Baulkham Hills

Holiday blues

Having had jobs where school holidays were in high demand, requested years in advance and rostered on a yearly basis, I have another view of families taking children on holidays in school times (Letters, July 27). Think of any workplace that provides 24-hour services such as nurses and police. Then factor in people who want leave to care for kids who are on school holidays. You might get approved annual at the same time as school holidays about once every three years. Margaret Reid, Wollongong

If a child should be able to miss what is described as a few days’ schooling for a much-needed affordable family holiday, why can’t the teachers? Sue Martin, Clareville

Search for meaning

Searching for meaning is like searching for happiness - the search itself gets in the way of reaching that goal (Letters, July 27). Both actually come when you are busy doing other things, primarily helping your fellow earthlings. Andrew Taubman, Queens Park

The most useful thing for human wellbeing in the search for meaning, is to simply accept that there is none, and move on. Alynn Pratt, Grenfell

Vale, Sinead

Sinead O’Connor was the direct antithesis of a Barbie doll like Taylor Swift: she was sensual, sexy, passionate, charismatic and a sublime singer (“Troubled singer’s career defined by emotional hit Nothing Compares 2 U”, smh.com.au, July 27). She was a force of nature, like lightning and thunder; she sang barefoot, so she could channel Mother Earth. She was Paul Klee’s Angelus Novus, the angel of destiny. Like Dylan, she was steeped in the folk tradition (as she said, “In Ireland, we learn our history and our culture through music” ). She sang so she “could scream in public”; she was “the hero of a thousand faces”. She embodied the feminine principle, she was a warrior against the toxic masculinity of recent Western populism, against the patriarchy of corrupt institutions, against the misogyny of false gods. She is one now with the universe, like a comet or a shooting star. She is the eternal female. Michael Boylan, Glebe

Vale Sinead O’Connor, the Irish protest singer with the voice of an angel. Way ahead of her time in calling out church abuse, and vilified for it. The rage eventually wore you out. Eva Elbourne, Pennant Hills

Vale Sinead O’Connor. Nothing compares. Vicky Marquis, Glebe

Woman of letters

The praise for Joan Brown’s remarkable achievement is understandable. I can proudly say I mow the lawn and do some gardening for the “Living Legend of the Pen” up in Orange. Sadly, our friendship and this close insight into her erudite mind hasn’t assisted in my tally of letter’s publication (Letters, July 27). Peter Snowden, Orange

The great and prolific Herald letter writers Bill Carpenter and Ted Matulevicius were the favourite letter writers of Bob Hall (Letters, July 26). My father, the late Ken Knight (C8PhD), always wholeheartedly agreed they were also his such long-term favourites. Ken’s own Herald letters amounted to about 260. Although well short of Joan Brown’s fabulous 500 total, can anyone else match Ken’s published Herald letter period span of 64 years (Oct 1950 to Dec 2014)? Steve Knight, Normanhurst

I have had only a handful of letters published, but I can probably claim to be the only person to have had one published on the front page. It was about scandalous behaviour and mismanagement at a university college. Bruce Graham, Waitara

My reckoning is a modest 25 unpublished letters this year. But I have a letter of long ago whose words were quoted in debate in the NSW Parliament. Beat that! John Flint, St Leonards

The digital view

Online comment from one of the stories that attracted the most reader feedback yesterday on smh.com.au
Good politics, but the first home owner grant was flawed
From Jeepster: ″⁣A policy that was always going to inflate property prices. Governments knew it, but were intoxicated by it politically.″⁣

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