Barangaroo row towers over city
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday February 27, 2010
Barangaroo row towers over city Comment on the Barangaroo proposal has so far focused on its aesthetics. I suggest the state officials responsible for Barangaroo should link final approval for the site to getting three tangible assets for Sydney: a new symphonic concert hall to enable the Opera House to reclaim its putative role; a lyric theatre suitable for large musicals; and a tramway along Hickson Road.Too much to ask? This is a multibillion-dollar development. We are talking long term. Where are the negotiators?Peter Olive CoogeeWhy a hotel? Why not a theatre, concert hall, or educational campus? Or anything that meets the needs of Sydneysiders rather than tourists? Darling Harbour has several large hotels. Give us something to draw in residents and workers. Give Barangaroo back to the people of Sydney, not wealthy tourists who can afford to stay in exclamation marks.Alacoque Dash UltimoA world-renowned architect agrees to build a new building in Barangaroo and all we can do is whinge. A rule breaker! Too high! It sticks out into the harbour! (So does the Opera House.) It's time to grow up and accept a novel and exciting addition to our city. If London can accept what looks like a bicycle wheel in its front yard, surely it's no great stretch for us to have an exclamation mark in ours.Gordon Stevenson Surry HillsWe applaud the Herald's somewhat changed position on Barangaroo in articles on February 24 and 25. It is encouraging to see reporting of different views rather than extraordinary statements without resorting to fact.However, it is unfortunate you chose to make a very poor-quality attempt to construct your own version of images of the design of a world-respected architect ("Critics and backers face off over Barangaroo tower", February 25). It is unbelievably rude and incredibly arrogant.The debate about Barangaroo should be balanced and based on accurate information. We will continue to provide that at www.barangaroo.com and at the Barangaroo Display on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the Old Ports Building, Millers Point.John Tabart Chief executive, Barangaroo Delivery Authority, The RocksMark Twain coined the famous exhortation: "Buy land, they're not making it any more." Clever as he was, he clearly never anticipated how things are now done here in the Emerald City.Harvey Sanders PaddingtonIs it still too soon to admit to liking Blues Point Tower?Diana Finch BlackheathAlready numberedI am confused about the fuss over the national implementation of student numbers ("A question of identity", February 26). Doesn't the Herald realise such a system already exists in NSW? Primary students enrolling are given an Enrolment Registration Number, which tracks academic progress and any change in schools. Student numbers are important in the impartial marking of the year 10 certificate and the HSC, and are used by all tertiary institutions.Zoe Tweedale KotaraEfficiency profitsa private affairIn defending the private sector in health insurance, Wally McColl (Letters, February 26) puts his finger on one of its main faults. "Efficiency" in health insurance means maximising profits by minimising expenses, and in health care the main expense is providing care for the insured. In the US, health insurance companies try hard to limit expenditure, even if it means their clients receive worse care.Where the process is health care, I would much rather trust my welfare to an organisation whose focus is on "process for the sake of process", than one interested mainly in "efficiency".John Croker WoononaIf it is true the public sector does not seek efficiency and improvement but is concerned with process for the sake of process, it is high time we privatised the tax department, the armed forces, police, ASIO and jails.Privatised bodies such as the Commonwealth Bank, the Macquarie Bank-owned airports and Telstra will continue to be highly efficient and inventive in separating customers from hard-earned incomes, and continue to present highly inflated bonuses to their executives.Henk Verhoeven Beacon HillSecret life of usRichard Ackland is frustrated that alleged ASIO surveillance of John Wilson has not been confirmed or denied ("Secrecy is a denial of our rights", February 26), but I must abide by that longstanding practice in relation to anyone who may be the subject of security interest.The rationale for this approach is explained succinctly in the report on the Australian Secret Intelligence Service by Gordon Samuels and Michael Codd (1995): "... to confirm an accurate allegation would convert mere assumption into official fact, while to deny an untruthful allegation would imply confirmation of any subsequent allegation which is not denied".Ian Carnell Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security,Barton (ACT)Doctor in house?The only people who should use the title "doctor" are those who hold a degree at doctorate level ("Medicos fight to keep 'doctor' to themselves", February 26). Health professionals who hold only a bachelor's and/or master's degree should not assume a title relating to a higher degree. Health professionals who have no degree should not pretend they do have one by assuming the title. No one should be fighting over "doctor"; it is for those who have earned it through tertiary study.Judith O'Brien Seven HillsSome people may use the title doctor out of context. I never do. When people discover I am a doctor, I just tell them, "Yes, but not the type that helps people."Greg Smith Balcatta
© 2010 Sydney Morning Herald
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