Postscript

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday October 11, 2008

DOWN they went - markets, rates and Kevin Rudd's credibility in Sydney. Once again, finance was the dominant topic, dovetailing neatly with the bumper rate cut. Close to 12 months after his ascension, the shiny new Prime Minister lost a bit more gloss with the revelation that the North-West Metro would win no federal funding because there were no votes in it. Not happy, Kevin.

The pall of gloom hanging over sharemarkets, not to mention Michelin restaurants favoured by merchant bankers, was our constant companion on the letters page. Barbara de Rome, of Alexandria, suggested we put all the bad financial news in a sealed section, just like the one in Cleo.

The heat was on Qantas and Geoff Dixon, whose popularity among letter writers is right up there with Sol Trujillo. The juxtaposition of Dixon's $12-million departure and another mid-air emergency was unfortunate and, whatever the cause of the plane's dive, raised the topic of engineers' pay rises and outsourced maintenance.

Other issues that got the dander up: ICAC's finding on Wollongong Council, Bill Henson, the Rail Corp merry-go-round and cheap water for big companies. There was sadness at the death of John O'Connor (known as Pal), who was homeless. Dorothy McRae-McMahon, of Rozelle, reminded us that there many others, just like him, still out there.

Miranda Harman Letters Co-editor

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home