Money before education – why the school selection system is unfair

In a “fair go” nation, the central questions about the selective high school admission process would be about genuine equity of opportunity (Letters, August 30). The same should be asked about selection for medical school admission.

The fact that entire coaching industries have been spawned by competition for entry to these elite opportunities raises questions. Where is the evidence that some children whose families cannot afford coaching through childhood don’t have the innate but submerged ability to qualify for accelerated privileged learning? Also, where is the evidence that skewed opportunities towards those of greater means is producing significant national versus personal outcomes?

These questions apply to medical school selection by external entry exams, which has also generated an expensive coaching industry. If coaching colleges are “the big winners” in “selection” for elite education opportunities, this isn’t the hallmark of a clever country. Robyn Dalziell, Kellyville

Sadly, our education system has deteriorated into one based on money rather than education: the huge discrepancy in funding provided to private schools rather than public ones; the exploitation of international students by the government and universities and the exploitation of parents by coaching colleges promising the opportunity to get children into a selective school. Our education system needs a huge revamp. Abolish private schools, selective schools and coaching colleges. Introduce an equal playing field of excellent schools for everyone where social classes and varying cultures and religions mix, and base entry to universities on merit rather than the ability to pay an exorbitant fee. Of course it will never happen. As usual, we will bumble along trying to stem faults with Band-Aids while the education of our country’s children gets progressively worse. Heather Johnson, West Pennant Hills

Why selective schools? Caringbah is a case study. In the 1950s, 60s and early 70s, the suburb was a nappy valley and two high schools were built opposite each other. By the 80s, the secondary school population was starting to decline and both schools were left with excess capacity. The solution was to convert one school to an academically selective institution and the other to a sports high school. Students travel from far and wide to attend both schools and presumably everyone is satisfied with the outcomes. Vivienne Mackenzie, Port Hacking

Friday’s tranche of letters strongly supports the disbandment of “selective” high schools. I’m wondering if this should include scrapping selective sports and performing arts schools as well, or is it only the academically gifted kids who are to be targeted? Ross MacPherson, Seaforth

We rejoice in the success of our Olympians, whose performance is the result of a highly selective process, usually from a young age. Australian companies and individuals must also compete against the best from other countries. The espoused benefits of not having selective schools would come at considerable national cost. Michael Britt, Macmasters Beach

I was pleased that in the recent NSW budget estimates inquiry, questions were asked of ministers about antisemitism in public schools. Most would be shocked at the level of antisemitism Jewish children are currently experiencing at public schools across metropolitan Sydney. The idea that because schools are a place of learning and expression it is somehow OK to tolerate some antisemitism while the war continues is irresponsible and lacks all common sense and maturity. Schools should be the safest of environments for all students, without compromise or caveats. Tomas Lopata, St Ives

Gender a census sidetrack

The justification for making the census funded by taxpayers and its completion compulsory with penalties if you don’t, is that it improves the planning and provision of government and other services to the community (Letters, August 30).

Questions like household numbers compared to the size of the premises and the household income, and the number of people with disabilities or who speak other languages, and how many kids you have who are coming up to preschool or school age fit with that task. Identifying gender diversity and preference doesn’t. Questions on that subject would be being asked for a purely political purpose. They are outside the remit of a taxpayer-funded and compulsory census. It is mission creep to ask purely political questions.

The bigger the census questionnaire is, the more people resist filling it out by either giving deliberately wrong answers, or by not filling it out at all. And as a result at the same time, it becomes more expensive to enforce and process, so it becomes less accurate and less valuable. It is already a lot less accurate than we are led to believe, and this has to be corrected using an expensive, intensive smaller-scale post-census survey. If that is more accurate, why don’t we just use its results instead of wasting money on trying to ask everyone?

There are a whole lot of low-value questions already in the census that should be taken out. It should be a policy that every new question requires an old one to be removed to make room for it. Its accuracy and value and justification depends on it asking only those questions that have genuine planning benefit. Gordon Drennan, Burton (SA)

Let’s stop using the term “faith groups”. It’s a euphemism for religions and, in a few extreme cases, cults. I’m a gay atheist and my faith is in humanist values. I also had faith that Labor would stand up to pressure from some religious groups trying to keep LGBTQ people out of the census, but I’m fast realising that might just be misplaced hope. All Australians should be accurately counted in our census, no matter what our beliefs, and that’s why I want my “faith” recorded. Peter Campbell, Potts Point

I support the issue of sexuality being included in the census but if it is deemed to be too divisive, perhaps for balance, the divisive questions of religious and political affiliation, nationality, education, age and gender should also be excluded. After all, they’ve been used to stoke much divisiveness and negativity in debates and opinion pieces over the years. It would be a sparse census indeed. If we are going to gather information, it should be as informative as possible.
Merilyn McClung, Forestville

I sympathise with members of the LGBTQ community who feel unfairly represented by the census. It’s the same for us atheists whose only recourse is tick “no religion” as the correct qualification is unavailable. David Farrell, Erskineville

The PM has backflipped on the sexuality census question. A single question to tick if you identify as LGBTQI sounds simple enough but will the Ls be happy to be included with the Ts and the As with the Is? Where will it all end? Ross MacPherson, Seaforth

Act of desperation

Mano Yogalingam has made the ultimate sacrifice in his despair at this country’s policy on the visa status of refugees (“Asylum seeker dies after burning himself in protest”, August 30). It is also the ultimate wake-up call to the federal government and opposition. No more playing political games: show some decency towards these people. Ian Adair, Hunters Hill

We use the term self-immolation to hide a gruesome reality. A 23-year-old man (presumably) poured petrol over himself, flicked a lighter and burned to death, horribly and in public. Will those flames be enough to melt the hard heart of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke? Christine McNeil, Ballina

The agonising and untimely death of 23-year-old Mano Yogalingam was totally avoidable. If only the Labor government had acted in the past two years. Like 8500 others, Mr Yogalingam had been seeking permanent residency for the past 12 years. He was so discouraged and desperate, he set himself alight to bring attention to this issue, which thousands have been demonstrating about. To the Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, I say, “what will it take?“. Marilyn Lebeter, Smiths Creek

(Love) letters to the editor

When I finish scanning the Letters pages, if I feel that it’s perfectly built with items of substance, of interest and also of the lightness of being, then it’s usually in the week that Pat Stringa signs off with the Postscript. Over my decades of letters, the Herald‘s support for the voices of the public has been unwavering and I’m sure that Pat has been central to that goal. She curates the daily avalanche of writers’ ideas with editorial precision, patience and integrity. The public is better off for the showcase of ideas and responses to news, which she and her team have presented. Our democracy is enhanced by her work in giving voice to anyone willing to put pen to paper, over their name, in a genuine spirit of constructive debate. Thank you, Pat Stringa! Barry Laing, Castle Cove

Over the years, when addressing my letters to the editor(s), I have often included in my salutation such adjectives as esteemed, valued, respected, even-handed, laudable, long-suffering and much-appreciated, always in deep sincerity. Pat Stringa has done us all a great service in her tenure as Leader of the Letters League. As moderator of this forum, she has upheld diversity, accuracy, robust debate, humour and honest opinion. So this missive comes with my grateful thanks and the assurance that, dear Pat, you will be missed. Meredith Williams, Baulkham Hills

You could say and write a thousand words or more about a departing letters editor of the calibre of Pat Stringa and it would not nearly be enough. Or you could just say thank you to a person whose judgment, insight, abundant discretion, wide-ranging knowledge, not only of the news of the day but of the personalities of the letter writers themselves, has amply contributed to the tradition and quality of a Herald page that’s acquired legendary status and become a pleasure to read by all, writers and non-writers included. Frederick Jansohn, Rose Bay

I always pity any poor letters editor thrust into reading the many missives that cross their desk on a daily basis. Pat Stringa has tolerated more than most as technology (and in particular phones) have made our letters more immediate, timely and more often than not, probably forgettable. She has still encouraged our passions and given opportunities to so many of us for a public voice, otherwise not available. I will always be grateful. I am hoping that Pat, too, can now continue her own passions and have fond memories of the many of us feeling so grateful for her efforts. Janice Creenaune, Austinmer

It is with sadness I hear Pat Stringa’s stewardship of the SMH letters pages is drawing to an end. She’s managed to always get a wonderful balance between frontline topical subjects, less topical but newsworthy subjects and fun! At the same time, she has encouraged engagement with regular letter writers, whose opinions brighten the day for many letter followers and create a sense of “belonging”, particularly for those who are infirm or housebound. I wish her well for the future. Katriona Herborn, Blackheath

When I think of Pat’s curatorship of the letters page over the years, one word comes straight to mind: fairness. Even when the mail bag runneth over with letters supporting a particular cause, there is always room for one with an opposing view. From somebody with different politics or marching to a different drum. That sense of equity and even-handedness has been the hallmark of her reign. Ross MacPherson, Seaforth

It would be remiss of me not to pay tribute to the correspondents’ friend Pat Stringa, who has concluded her role as the letters editor. A journalistic career spanning 40 years, 10 of which have been at this masthead, the past six at the Letters desk. Pat has seen thousands of contributions from both familiar names and those hoping to have their missives, and importantly, their name grace these pages. It is a task that requires a skill, deciding what should make it into print.
Thank you, Pat, for your contribution to your chosen vocation and for helping to reflect the pulse of the parish pump.
Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook

Dear Pat, thank you for your amazing stewardship of the Letters page. It is the first page I turn to. Not just hoping that my letter may have won you over, but to read the other letters and recognise familiar names of our cohort. You have given a voice to those who are not always heard and you have allowed balanced debate on topics of the day or random issues that affect many in their daily lives.

All the best for your future and any challenges you may set yourself. Your successor has big shoes to fill. You will be missed. Angie Miller, Bondi Junction

Who said we wanted change? Certainly not of the moniker, Pat Stringa, on the Postscript wrap-up of that week’s hits and misses. Letter writers, who can be short on skill, but not short enough in length, long to score the Stringa nod because she oversees a damned classy letters pages. Pat, as you put down your discerning pen, know that you will be missed. Rosemary O’Brien, Ashfield

We owe Pat Stringa a debt of gratitude for the consistent quality of the Letters page under her stewardship. Selecting suitable letters for publication out of the hundreds received every day must be a daunting task. The fact that many subscribers turn to the Letters page first is a tribute to the editor. Pat’s input and support was very much valued by the regular contributors. I wish Pat every success and happiness in her next venture. Graham Lum, North Rocks

Like many, my morning routine begins with feeding the pets, making coffee and picking up my copy of the Herald from the stoop. Over the years, stooping has become a little harder but my enjoyment, anger and amusement of the Herald remains as high as it ever was. My favourite page remains the Letters page, where sometimes I’ve enjoyed a run of successes and on other occasions joined many on the cutting room floor. Staff changes at the Herald will mean some familiar names will move on to unplanned retirement, so to all, thank you and good luck. John Bailey, Canterbury

I’m sad and a bit apprehensive at the retirement after 40 years of journalism of Pat Stringa, that wise and warm presence who has so long wrestled our letters, the lively, the illuminating and the disputatious, into a compelling whole, and who has also offered a cogent distillation of the epistolary zeitgeist. Will the new editor still value my favourite contributors? Will they mercifully pass over my less measured paroxysms in the same way, but still kindly read the next? Thank you, Pat. You’re a hard act to follow. Jennifer Briggs, Kilaben Bay

It’s the first page I turn to and it’s always great to see what Pat has to say when looking at the week’s letters at the end of the week. Great service to the reading public. We’ll miss you. Thank you. Alison Stewart, Waitara

We humble Letters correspondents always depend on an experienced and impartial person to separate the wheat from the chaff of eloquence. So Pat Stringa has played the role of editor with distinction for a significant time. We salute her service and applaud the impartiality of her decisions. Even the unpublished must accord her appropriate appreciation. A warm tribute to her stewardship. Derrick Mason, Boorowa

A thousand thanks to you Pat Stringa, for your diligent, discerning edit of the Letters page over a very long time. I consider it a great privilege that you have chosen to publish some of my missives. You will be sorely missed, as will your weekly summary. Donna Wiemann, Balmain

It’s always been a pleasure sending letters to the Herald, as you know there is a reasonable chance they’ll be published, whatever view they might express. Well done, Pat Stringa, for your excellent and even-handed stewardship of the Letters pages. Ken Enderby, Concord

Like many regular letter writers, I have deep concerns about the state of our democracy. Most other countries are in deeper trouble it seems, but the shallowness of our media ownership and the often malign influence of social media are changing our political discussion in often unhelpful ways. Despite or because of all these complexities, the Letters page under Pat Stringa and her team has kept the discussion flowing. That’s no small thing at this most difficult time, for the media and for democracy, so thanks, Pat, for your commitment to strengthening our democratic society. Bon voyage. Colin Hesse, Nowra

Without wishing to be seen as if I am beating my own drum, I have been quite successful in having a fair amount of letters published in the Herald, to the point where a friend declared that I “must be sleeping with the Letters Editor”. My relationship with Pat Stringa has not involved anything like that, though I could theoretically kiss her backside for all her fair and thoughtful stewardship of these pages over the course of our liaison. Alicia Dawson, Balmain

What a loss for the readers, us letter-writers and the Herald. Pat is always professional and effective in vetting letters and the quality of journalism is second to none. I will miss her dearly. So, so sorry to see Pat going. Best wishes to Pat for her future endeavours. Mukul Desai, Hunters Hill

Thank you, Pat, for your editorship of the Letters pages. It can’t be easy choosing from the pile of emails that land in your inbox every day and as well, shortening them if necessary to fit the space, when the writer is convinced every word is essential. Joan Brown, Orange

As one of those regular letter-writers over the years, now and again you might get an email, not querying something you’ve written but wanting to pass on a message from another reader, which I’ve been quite grateful to receive as they have all been positive. But it’s the Postscript that is read religiously each Saturday for a summary of the previous week’s topic highlights but also there were touches of humour and more importantly hope that next week we could possibly have our letter published. This is what Pat was able to achieve, plus a sense of balance. It’s sad to have heard Pat is leaving, joining another previous letters editor, Helen Pitt. I congratulate them on their work over the years. Con Vaitsas, Ashbury

Thank you Pat for doing an excellent job keeping up interesting letters in a whole variety of subjects. I always turn to the Letters page first to read many varied points of view. We can all have strong views and be quite vociferous about them, so congratulations on keeping us in check. I wish you health and happiness for your future. Augusta Monro, Dural

Behind every great letter that hits the page there is an eagle-eyed editor who makes sense of our musings and on many occasions, our incoherent rants. Thank you for patiently shaping and sorting our missives given your overflowing intray. Far from a full stop, I’m sure your life post the Herald will be filled with good news on a daily basis. Many thanks!
Janet Argall, Dulwich Hill

Farewell to Pat, and wishing her all the very best for the future. I was delighted to once receive a call from her wanting to publish my letter but needing to check the meaning of the phrase “fundamental orifice” which she had never heard before. Alynn Pratt, Grenfell

I write to bury the Pat Stringa, not to praise her. The evil that a letters editor can do to a nice night’s epistolography by not publishing it, so it was with Stringa. Some noble regulars hath told us Stringa was an editor with a Capital E. If it were so, it is a grievous fault, for writers are an honourable mob. Stringa was magnificent, awesome, inspiring, always publishing … but some writers say not, and writers are an honourable mob, who hath sent many tortured missives for consideration to the page, and whose efforts did countless inboxes fill. Did Stringa publish any of this? She stirred imaginations instead, believing we were made of pithier, more eloquent stuff, but we have fled to brutish prose with easy laughs and nonsequiturs. And writers have lost their reason! My heart is in the letters page with Stringa, and I must pause till it come back to me. Peter Fyfe, Enmore

Countless times I have written a letter to the Herald which would be regarded as the greatest missive ever constructed. My disappointment at it not being published has always been tempered by the fact that another correspondent has expressed similar sentiments in a more intelligent, articulate and concise manner. Pat has always shown excellent judgment, and made me realise that my letters are indeed biblical: many are sent, but few are chosen. Go well Pat, and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Graham Fazio, Cootamundra

So sorry to hear of your departure as letters editor. I’m grateful for the number of my sometimes awful, cranky and hastily penned letters to the editor that you’ve published. I moved to Brisbane from northern NSW in 2020 but I still buy the Herald every day, as I have done for the past 50 or so years. I’m a rusted-on fan and wouldn’t be seen dead with a News Corpse publication. Thank you for your long service to the contributors to the Letters page. Christine Tiley, Albany Creek (Qld)

Many thanks for your efforts and contributions to our successful Letters page. We all appreciate this widely read and much-cherished addition to our newspaper. All the best for your future. John Amor, Mosman

How about Postscripts hosted by Pat Stringa? Pat with a few of those remarkable people from that most venerated and ancient order of “Editors of Letters”. Their history of influence and grave responsibility traces back to the 1400s, Gutenberg, the renaissance and the Age of Ideas.

Daily, across Australia, editors bear witness to our hopes, fears, injustices, suffering, indignation, eminently sensible observations, daft nonsense and sometimes joy. How wonderful it would be to hear their opinions and observations on our nation. Shine brightly, Pat. Ronald Elliott, Sandringham (Victoria)

Pat Stringa had the hardest job at the Herald. She had to sort the vintage wine from the party line. The pride of place from the waste of space. Every day she somehow managed to balance opinions, find the gem a letter-writer had dropped, taking too many words and pluck out the core. You set a high standard Pat, and we wish you well in the future. Perhaps we will see your name under a letter in years to come. Neville Turbit, Russell Lea

How do you say goodbye to someone who’s been a part of your life for so many years, but whom you’ve never met, wouldn’t recognise in the street, but would immediately be excited to hear if someone told you that “that is Pat Stringa”? As someone honoured to be one of her “regulars”, I’m now thinking about that person who over those many years has come to know not only my writing style, but a lot about me as a person, and which issues I’m passionate about, which ones worry me, which ones make me laugh. How to be both fair, and entertaining in selecting the ones that get up each day, and best reflect the issues of that day. And which are the issues and the comments that should make it into her weekly Postscript, always so entertaining and illuminating to read. With my best wishes to her and to all of her team. Anne Ring, Coogee

I must say I admired your balanced selection of topical and diverse letters, not to mention your choice of scribes. Thanks for including even me. Best wishes for the next chapter in your life. Edward Loong, Milsons Point

Thanks for all the good letters of mine you published and special thanks for all the bad ones you didn’t. Good luck!
Phil Bradshaw, Naremburn

A well-edited letters page gives space for a range of opinions on current social issues to be expressed, and the Herald‘s Letters page has certainly been edited well by Pat Stringa, providing the variety needed to provide informed and interesting views. All the best for her in her future.
Brenton McGeachie, Queanbeyan West

Pat, thank you for your dedication to the publication of so many diverse opinions and especially my nonsense. I wish you very well in whatever happens next. Tony Doyle, Fairy Meadow

There was a young lady named Stringa,

Who put our essays through the wringer,

With the letters then being thinner,

The resulting work was a winner. Peter Nash, Fairlight

Pat, thank you so much for your thoughtful and considerate custodianship of this venerable Sydney institution, the Herald Letters pages. Wherever you’re going now, I offer three snippets of advice: Enjoy the sunsets, smell the roses, play YouTube live videos of Edith Piaf at maximum volume, for they will soothe your soul. Steve Cornelius, Brookvale

I read that Noel Gallagher’s philosophy on writing lyrics was that he didn’t pay much attention to being lucid in meaning and he did best after a tipple. Pat, I wondered if you detected any similar tendencies in your daily editing chores? Whatever the material, as the overseer, you should take great comfort from what Letters brings. Well done, I wish you every success.
Brian Jones, Leura

I’m a Letters page junkie. It’s the section of the paper I never miss. I often wish I could meet the other regulars, but more often I wish I could meet Pat, the gatekeeper: the keeper of standards; the selector; the chooser of topics; the balancer; the holder of the red pen (she’d have her work cut out for her with that sentence).

I’ve written her many letters, and she knows my opinions and values well, which, given that we’re neither friends nor acquaintances, is a little odd. She’s a true professional and she knows her stuff. Like others, I’ve been on the receiving end of her red pen many times. She stops us, her correspondents, overdoing a topic or disgracing ourselves with libellous opinions, needless waffle, bad spelling or poor grammar, though some, like me, long for the moment we pass her stringent requirements without the need for her editing pen.

Hundreds of opinions of every variety flying into her inbox daily, all looking for space and hoping to impress her enough to get it. What a huge job she’s had and what a fabulous job she’s done creating a Letters section that is always lively, thought-provoking and fun. Prue Nelson, Cremorne Point

This Herald reader and Letters contributor sincerely apologises to Pat for the additional burden imposed on her as a consequence of his ongoing failure to improve his understanding and usage of commas, especially inverted commas. Single? Double? Does Pat have any hair left on her head? Apologies Pat, for any/all hair loss resulting from editing my contributions.
When reading the letters, I sometimes wonder who was in the letters editor’s chair for the edition I’m reading. An appearance of “So” (should it be ‘So’? ) as the first word in a sentence reminds me of Pat’s disdain for that usage. Finally, Pat’s occasional emails providing friendly feedback will be sorely missed. Please give Pat a friendly pat on her back when she departs the letters ed chair. Col Shephard, Yamba

Roads to nowhere

The roads into Sydney Airport and its drop-off zones are already at capacity, and they are often highly congested (“Long delays expected near new airport motorway”, August 30). So why did the NSW government spend $2.6 billion building an extension of the privately owned WestConnex toll road to the airport, knowing that this will encourage even more people to drive to it? The airport railway stations are operating well below capacity, largely because of the station access fee, currently $66 each way for a family of four. It would have cost less than $1 billion to abolish the station access fee until 2030 when ownership of the stations is transferred to the government.
Chris Standen, Erskineville

Growth is killing us

Politicians and those planning 5000-plus new homes in Gordon (and similar old suburbs) should know that the sewer pipes are totally inadequate for any additional pressure (“Largest number of railway hub houses in north”, August 30). Three major sewer leaks in Gordon’s Rocky Creek have been reported by me in the past eight months. Sewage ran for days into Middle Harbour because the system relies on the vigilance of residents. Economic growth artificially props up a slowing economy, but it is killing our country. We need zero population growth to save Australia and the planet for future life.
Anne Matheson, Gordon

Unity or extinction

The Wests Tigers have not enjoyed much success in recent years in the NRL, but this year they have improved and have given their fans some hope for the future (“We’ve lost faith in them. I believe the time has come to resurrect the Balmain Tigers’”, August 30). Just as things were starting to look on the up, we have more infighting initiated by one of the merger’s foundation clubs, Balmain. Originally a Balmain supporter but now a Wests Tigers member, I am sick and tired of this continual petty fighting at board level. Both the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs Magpies had no future in the NRL separately, but they did if they merged. If the Balmain side of the merger votes in favour of ending the merger and asks the NRL to choose one or the other, I fear the only decision the NRL will make is to kick both out of the competition as there are many new franchises wanting in. Grow up guys: what is done is done. Long live the Wests Tigers. Peter Miniutti, Ashbury

Much has changed in the Balmain area since 1999. Few parents encourage their children to play rugby league. Football dominates by a country mile and there are many other sports ahead of league. There would be no realistic local catchment area for a resurrected Tigers. Howard Charles, Glebe

Oh my pod

In my 70 years of living and surfing along Sydney’s northern beaches, I have seen orcas on only two occasions (“Rare orca pod spotted off Sydney’s northern beaches”, August 30). The first was in about 1964 off the tip of Long Reef; a pod of orcas surrounded some humpback whales and a battle royal commenced. After about an hour the orcas succeeded in cutting a juvenile whale free from its defenders and the water soon turned red. The second time was in about 1969, when a single orca broached just beyond the breakers at Long Reef Beach. I saw no sign of any others and that orca disappeared as quickly as it appeared. I’m now scanning the ocean in the hope of my third sighting. Don Wormald, Bilgola Plateau

Hopefully there wasn’t carnage on the humpback highway, but I guess that’s the order of things. Lisa Clarke, Watsons Bay

Orcas have always frequented Australia’s east coast. There is a whole museum dedicated to the Killers of Eden and the memory of the killer whales that herded humpbacks into Twofold Bay to be hunted by men in small boats. Whale watchers in Port Stephens have reported sightings of cows and calves inside the port and coincidental observations of killer whales offshore. There is research that shows humpback cows and calves tend to travel close to shore on their southern migration in order to seek refuge from orcas in bays and estuaries while adult males and non-breeding females ride the south-flowing East Australian Current further offshore. Cherylle Stone, Soldiers Point

Postscript

As many readers will know, there are changes afoot at the Herald. The company called for voluntary redundancies, and some of the paper’s stalwarts put their hands up.

One of those people is cartoonist and illustrator John Shakespeare, who has brightened our letters pages for many of the 39 years he has been working at the Herald. “I’ve been drawing letters cartoons since readers started complaining about Laurie Brereton’s proposed monorail in Sydney!” he told me. “I’ve always loved how it’s a page devoted to ‘the people’s opinions’. Whenever there’s a major event, I know there’ll be a swathe of letters waiting for me when I get to work, usually for and against. It’s a great gauge of public opinion, and I’ll miss illustrating it for you.”

Readers have been writing to former letters editor, journalist and Walkley award-winning author Helen Pitt since her first byline in 1982. “You’ve been like family,” she writes as she exits the Herald. “Especially those who sent Sydney Opera House stories for my book. Standby for another tome from me on Luna Park in 2025.”

After six years as letters editor, I will also be leaving the Herald. This year marks my 40th year in journalism, with the past decade at this masthead. Like my colleagues, I have lived and worked through a revolution in journalism. But the many changes brought about by the advent of technology have not changed the fundamental, and the best part, of the job: providing a space for people to have a voice. Your epistles have filled some of that space every day – you’ve entertained, challenged and informed readers, and me, with your carefully crafted missives. Thank you for also being part of the revolution by not only taking part in the conversation in print but also reading and commenting on letters online.

It’s been wonderful getting to know you via the letters pages, and such a privilege to have been part of this talented community. You’ve made my job so enjoyable over the years – we’ve had a lot of fun. Most importantly, thank you for trusting me with your words. I look forward to reading, from afar, more of your thoughtful, witty, intelligent missives (long or short, they are always great – although contributors know my preference!). Margot Saville and Harriet Veitch will be safely steering the “good ship SMH letters” through the intrepid waters of the daily news cycle. As always, brilliant scribes, keep writing!

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