In my opinion many of these children have probably grown up in a household that has books, been read to or taken to the library from infancy, and experienced other cultural activities. Despite this, private schools do not dominate the HSC results.

One must ask why.

Children attending selective high schools are also presumably advantaged. Many have been privately tutored. Their schools attract better teachers, in my opinion, and the students have been nurtured and challenged for six years. The fact that students from non-selective high schools featured among the top students demonstrates that the public system can and does produce good outcomes for bright children. The ones who miss out are the ordinary students in the non-selective high schools, which are chronically underfunded. Should the government wish to maximise the outcome of their funding, they will focus on this cohort. It benefits society and the economy that every child has the opportunity to reach their potential.

It seems to me that the government should provide more funding, especially physical resources and teacher training to these schools.

OKAY, so we've had an outbreak of COVID-19 in the Northern Beaches and now a lock down and border closures ('Not again', Herald 21/12). The origin for this outbreak is not known yet.

It must be said we have been a bit slack in hand sanitation and distancing and use of masks in areas where distancing is not possible. With all the new sanctions, we should get over this latest outbreak as long as we all do our bit, but I have recently noticed that here in Newcastle a lot of people have been behaving as if the pandemic is over.

It's not over, and won't be over until the end of 2021 even with the help of vaccination. We need to follow all guidelines and hope it goes away.

Influenza season is just around the corner. Hopefully with social distancing and no foreign people coming to our shores, it might be a mild season of flu. Fingers crossed.

THE Christmas timing of the Northern Beaches COVID-19 cluster ('Not again', Newcastle Herald 21/12) is unfortunate. Despite official advice to the contrary, I believe many infected people living in that area will not put off their holiday travel plans. They will visit elderly relatives all over Sydney. Many may head north to Port Stephens, where they will mix on beach fronts and in restaurants. A few people will head south to Victoria and take the infection with them. The virus could well be spread far and wide.

Brad Hazzard, NSW Health Minister, is anxious that the public don't play the "blame game" in respect of the latest COVID outbreak. I bet he is.

As I recall, in the case of the Ruby Princess debacle an government-run official enquiry did not ascribe personal blame. It just happened, apparently.

The current outbreak has in my opinion obviously been caused by lack of vigilance or complacency.

Given that the vaccine roll out is still several months away, we need to beef up our present quarantine procedures. We have 12 unused mainland immigration facilities, all away from major population centres. They should now be reopened as supervised quarantine stations.

There should be no exceptions to supervised quarantine within these facilities: no exemptions for returning wealthy businessmen, celebs, politicians or cardinals. If these people refuse to join the hoi polloi in these centres, then they should stay where they are.

IN response to Tommy Diamond (Letters, 21/12) about getting rid of unions; Mr Diamond, do you understand that every working condition that the Australian worker now works under were fought by unions and their members?

It took many years and many fights with employers to get the basic wage to grow with the consumer price index. This was done sometimes with the labour being removed from the work site because companies would not come to the table and negotiate.

I have worked in heavy industry and been a union member for 45 years and I can tell you that the figures that you throw around are totally false in most cases. We now fight for (if we are lucky) a wage increase of three per cent per year for four years.

Think about what wages your children or grandchildren are on these days and thank the union for giving them the right to earn a decent wage, because if you take unions away watch the wages and conditions decline.

AS most Australians look forward to a holiday season with family, we must not forget those who will be forced to spend Christmas Day separated from their loved ones.

Aboriginal people are more than 10 times as likely to be targeted by the so-called justice system and sent to prison compared to our non-Indigenous friends and neighbours.

Shockingly, this includes kids as young as 10. More of our mob are behind bars today than during the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

Yet the recommendations from that inquiry - like so many others - continue to gather dust. We continue to see tragic and senseless deaths in police watch-houses and prison cells. The Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT is currently representing families in nine separate coronial inquiries.

It's not because we don't have the solutions. It's because our governments don't have the political will to say loud and clear: #BlackLivesMatter here.

That's why we are asking you, the Australian community, to stand with us through the festive season and beyond. Black lives matter always, not only when we are in the headlines.

Please donate to the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT to help defend our people against a system that devalues and endangers our lives.

EACH year we see students with high scores in the HSC acknowledged and acclaimed. For those whose scores were not up to their expectations, take heart; in the 1958 Leaving Certificate I managed four Bs. That was not a good result for a student at a selective school. In the previous year my high school principal wanted me to leave school so that I would not ruin the next year's Leaving Certificate score for that school. Last year I was awarded a Ph.D. for my thesis on Edward Christopher Merewether of Newcastle. I am now more than ever convinced that HSC results do not always point to the future.

THE decisions Gladys makes in the run up to holidays will determine if she sinks or swims. It's just another number on the calendar, December 25. That fact shouldn't cloud the judgment when considering what action to take regarding restrictions on holiday travel to regional towns.

IT is staggering to find out that only one per cent of Australia's total jobs are employed in the fossil fuel industry. Judging from the way politicians harp on about the mining industry and their jobs, one cannot help but imagine a significantly larger percentage of the Australian population being employed in the sector. Surely assisting and supporting 11 mining communities to transition away from fossil-fuel jobs is very achievable. As it is, the thermal coal industry is already in terminal decline from lack of demand as the rest of the world surges ahead towards clean renewable energy. It is way past time that these communities get an honest answer about their job prospects and are supported as they transition from the dying fossil fuel industry to economically flourishing sectors.

I THINK the cricket selectors should have a talk to Labuschagne about his on field manners. I find it objectionable to have to watch him blowing bubbles out of his mouth with his gum. But I suppose it comes down to how you have been brought up.

I AM deeply concerned that the proposed relaxation of late night alcohol restrictions in pubs and clubs in Newcastle is short sighted and regressive. Having directly experienced the late night alcohol fuelled antisocial and aggressive behaviours of young adults in the Newcastle CBD pre-2008, I believe a relaxation of current alcohol restrictions poses far greater health and safety risks for the local community than the purported net benefit of increased business revenue.

MONDAY'S paper informs us ('Raid at Medowie reaps bumper crop', Newcastle Herald 21/12) of misfortune descending upon another ambitious farmer. One wonders why this operation wasn't registered, regulated, and providing tax revenue. Instead taxpayers' money and police resources were wasted harassing a primary producer who is providing a product the public obviously desires. This travesty occurs, once again, as a result of the gutlessness and stupidity of politicians. We deserve better.