Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. TOTOTO It is surprising that Australia still does not have a proper solar panel recycling industry (“Solar panel recycling plan in limbo”, July 19). According to solar experts at UNSW Sydney, up to 95 per cent
It is surprising that Australia still does not have a proper solar panel recycling industry (“Solar panel recycling plan in limbo”, July 19). According to solar experts at UNSW Sydney, up to 95 per cent of panel materials can be recovered, including silicon and aluminium. The Productivity Commission estimates that reusing these materials could generate more than $7 billion in economic benefits. Letting those assets go to waste makes no sense. The broader recycling picture is equally worrying. Our national recovery rate stands at around 66 per cent, and only 12.5 per cent of plastics are ever recycled. Sweden manages to recycle 99 percent of its waste. A circular economy is possible. Will Environment Minister Murray Watt make waste management a priority? A proper recycling industry would allow Australia to turn waste into profit and ultimately compete for gold both on and off the field. Amy Hiller, Kew (Vic)
In the past, products were created and marketed with seemingly no thought to the end of their useful life. Only when waste accumulates and becomes an environmental and financial problem do governments begin to act, in what seems like a snail’s pace. This will remain the case unless we legislate that no new product can be placed on the Australian market until there is a mandatory product management plan to address it at the end of its useful life. Jill Robinson, Randwick
Education now ‘user pays’
Christopher Harris’ report on school enrollment trends reveals that “an analysis of last year’s HSC rankings found that, compared with 20 years earlier, the number of non-selective public schools among the state’s top performers fell by half between 2002 and 2024” (“Parents invest more than $4.5 billion in private and Catholic schools each year,” July 19). Is that a joke? If we move the best performing students from comprehensive schools to selective schools and at the same time move our most advantaged students to independent schools, what do we think will happen? Clearly, comprehensive public schools have little or no chance of being “high performing.” Indeed, one consequence of our divided education system is that some public schools are now “provided” schools, schools of last resort that serve only disadvantaged students with complex social and learning needs. As Harris points out, government policies have shifted costs from government to parents. Education has become more of a user-pays business rather than an essential service that offers equal opportunities to all, and you get only what you can afford. The days when education offered social mobility and an escape from intergenerational poverty are well and truly behind us. Irene Buckler, Glenwood
In Christopher Harris’ article on private education, Jack Buckley, senior economist at the e61 Institute, says, “I trust that parents are seeing something real that they value.” If I buy a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes for $3000 I’m pretty sure I’m looking at something real that I value, but are they 10 times better than a $300 pair? Probably not. Is it the best use of my money? Again, probably not. However, what I get is a shoe that makes me feel better and tells the world things about me that I value. I am someone. I recognize quality, style and class. I am successful. The same goes for private education. Parents believe they are giving their children a better quality education in the private system and they are also signaling to the world something about themselves and what they value. It fulfills in part because it is self-fulfilling. The more children and parents are removed from public education, the more money, talent and time are removed. Public schools are weakened and private schools are strengthened, and parents with means find it more difficult to choose the public system. The only reasonable solution, if a solution is desired, is to stop funding private schools and invest that money in public schools. When sending your children to one of the many excellent public schools announces to the world that you value education, your children, equality, and common sense, the tide will turn. Prue Nelson, Cremorne Point
Stirring the cauldron
Poor Neil Mitchell, defender of the indefensible, the sad, stale older men who trade in homophobia, sexism, misogyny and intolerance (“These Media ‘Witches’ Are Bullies,” July 19). Are you really arguing that Donald Trump’s views on fake news should be given any weight as an argument against the puerile, anti-intellectual nonsense that shock jocks spout? Is such algorithmic and performative indignation in any way useful in a modern social democracy? It probably just goes to show that a handful of feisty, socially conscious women can be a huge threat to the aforementioned sad, stale older men paradigm. Too close to home, Neil? Greg Farrell, Yattalunga
Neil Mitchell confuses responsibility with harassment. Advertisers allowed radio broadcasts of material that was denigrating to women and, at times, downright vile. The fact that many “witches” contacted those advertisers shows how strongly many of us felt about those broadcasts. Hardly intimidation, more a call for accountability. Linda Pettersson, Cremorne
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