Senators' spotlight on the true costs of negative gearing is a positive

Independents David Pocock and Jackie Lambie have suggested that future properties acquired using negative gearing should be limited to only one property.

Negative gearing should have been capped from the very beginning and the white elephant in the house regarding this issue has finally been highlighted.

I would suggest that almost all politicians from both sides of politics would have negatively geared properties and I believe that's the stumbling block to delivering a real change.

In my opinion, Pocock and Lambie should have gone further and asked for a cap on current properties. With all the extra properties coming onto the market, the housing crisis could be solved overnight rather than in years to come.

HAVING been involved in every boom and bust in the housing industry since 1959, I read with interest your recent article ("Housing crisis, it will only get worse", Newcastle Herald 24/4). I was hopeful that there may be some fresh ideas only to read the repeat of the usual litany of pleas for the governments to fund even greater subsidies to home buyers despite the fact that the current crisis was mainly the result of the Morrison government's massive subsidies post-pandemic, as reported by university studies.

Since 2000 it appears the control of the the supply of building lots has been in the hands of developers with massive land banks. This has seen the cost of home sites rise from being 10 to 15 per cent of the cost of a home to now 60 per cent.

When I retired to Nelson Bay in 1998 I purchased a 750 square metre lot for $8000. Now such a lot would sell for some $120,000. In Sydney's southwest land was being sold at $120 square metre and now it brings $1750 to $2000 per square metre .

While builders are going broke at record rates, developers are making record profits. Until government gets back into the land development business as they did in years gone by to make low-cost land available to first home buyers, it is in fact going to get worse. That's even though home ownership rates in the under 40 bracket are at depression year rates.

ANNE Manne's Crimes of the Cross, The Anglican Paedophile Network of Newcastle, It's Protectors and the Man Who Fought for Justice is difficult to read, and so it should be ("New book details Anglican church crimes and cover-up in Newcastle", Herald 15/4).

On the cover is a member of the clergy dressed in black wearing a dog collar with a cross around their neck.

Words that come to mind are shocking, obscene, heinous, wicked, evil and depravity, but they all fall short. I believe the churchmen involved in the local paedophile ring were prowling thieves and murderers of the mind, body, soul and spirit. They were wolves in sheep's clothing, and their victims innocent children, mainly boys.

There are too many who have a stubborn blind allegiance to various organisations, including Christian denominations and sporting associations. That is dangerous. The protection of children is paramount for there are people who present as upstanding decent citizens like coaches, teachers and leaders of churches who are opportunistic and manipulative in order to gain access to children.

My wife and I attended the Dawn French performance at the Civic Theatre last Saturday. This was a wonderful two-hour show from a very professional lady who has excelled in all forms of the arts, plays, television, film and pantomimes.

I'm sure all that attended appreciated her down to earth presentation as well as her rapport with the audience. The audience responded with a standing ovation at the end of her final performance.

However there was a downside. I'm sure all who attended expected some sort of reference to the Vicar of Dibley. Alas, no. Nothing.

We sat through the first half with no reference and were extremely hopeful that the second half would allude or include snippets from the TV series. Whether this was an oversight or, maybe if she did, then it would have been an infringement of copyright I do not know. However from that point of view it was disappointing.

If one goes to a Tom Jones concert, then one would expect that he would sing the songs that made him famous (and he does). No difference here.

IF this federal government were fair dinkum about helping those in crisis, they would instantly cut the government excise on fuel back from 49 cents to 22 cents for at least six months, just like the Liberals did when in power. All those costs of moving freight around, along with basic travel, are instantly halved. Unfortunately, their smoke-and-mirrors help with a minuscule Stage 3 tax break, which doesn't start until July 1, is supposed to be some silver bullet? Stop being conned.

I RECKON there's a bad smell regarding the investigation into City of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath's links to letter writer, Scott Neylon. How could any sort of conclusion be reached without going through the letters?

MY wife and I have lived in Newcastle for 20 years, and in all that time have campaigned for a better climate and environment outcome in the Hunter. We are members of Climate Action Newcastle (CAN) and other groups. All the scientific evidence we have seen demonstrates there is no need for nuclear electric power generation, because all renewables will be able to fill the gap of closing coal fired power stations. No workable plan exists to deal with leftover nuclear waste, and the cost and time delay in setting up nuclear power stations does not compare well with renewables.

MR Minns, while our wonderful doctors and nurses were saving the lives of the people affected by the Bondi Junction attack, you were charging them to park at the hospitals. Well done.

CARL Stevenson seems to think the feds are playing baseball ("Strikes stacking up for feds", Letters, 24/4). That's just not cricket.