The use of ill-conceived taxes that allows the wealthy to amass multiple properties as well as tightened lending policy that disqualifies many from obtaining enough mortgage capacity, has created a win-lose situation where the wealthy get the advantage and the workers watch their basic right to a home evaporate. The gap between the haves and the have-nots widens.

Mr Proust refers to housing as a human right, not a way to make money. But government taxation policy paves the opposite way, leaving home buyers at significant disadvantage to house investors. Along with the lowest interest rates in history, an advantage for the people who can borrow the most money, we have seen a significant property boom. Is it too late to ever get our first home buyers, workers and lower-income families back into their own homes, or even affordable rental homes? No. Definitely not. Radical policy changes are now needed at all three levels of government to restore balance, fair and equitable opportunity to home acquisition. Qualifying for a safe, appropriate and affordable home must not depend on wealth.

I NOTICED in the April edition of the Railway Digest that the results of a survey commissioned by the Australian Railway Association suggested more people currently living in Sydney would shift to regional cities like Newcastle or Wollongong if there was faster rail.

It was also said that faster rail would increase the potential for regional tourism and raise the chances of regional residents using rail for their daily commute. This was important as highways and roads leading into Sydney were fast reaching their capacity.

With faster rail more residents could move out of Sydney as their commute would be more flexible as faster rail would take about the same time as driving. About a third of the residents surveyed said they would consider moving to a regional city as COVID-19 had changed their work patterns permanently. Regional residents also supported faster rail with 84 per cent of respondents saying the region could become more attractive.

The article went on to say that existing rail lines need to be upgraded to achieve faster rail now. New fast rail lines need to be established in the next ten years and corridors need to be preserved for high speed rail. Considering the number of people expected to shift to the east end of the city, I think we will need more than the light rail. It may be a good time to consider some way of putting the train back into the city.

IAN King (Letters, 3/5) has a pretty short memory, he writes that people weren't disrespectful of Bill Shorten. I remember "Shifty Shorten'' being thrown around a bit, also large billboards with the same logo plastered across a large part of Australia. I also recall some very disrespectful, in fact nasty and rude, quotes about Julia Gillard when she was Prime Minister.

I also remember that the Abbott government set up a royal commission into unions, but with the clear aim at Bill Shorten in the "kill Bill" campaign the LNP were running at the time. The royal commission, run by a man with close ties to the Liberal Party, put Mr Shorten through the wringer, but could come up with nothing, and so as is the way with the current government a lot of taxpayer money was wasted.

I AM totally unsure and concerned about getting the AstraZeneca immunisation injection given there is so much uncertainty and conjecture. I'm over 70 and have had multiple medical issues in my lifetime, so much so that it throws doubt towards having this injection. I'm not an activist, and I believe that we should all be immunised, it's just that there are so many concerns over various medical reactions associated with individual manufactured vaccines. COVID-19 came into our world so quickly. These vaccines were also manufactured so quickly, without suitable testing. My question is, have we rushed in where fools fear to tread?

I asked if I could have the Pfizer jab, and the answer was no. So if I wait until there is more certainty and less medical concerns, will it be too late? Especially that there are more chances of contracting this virus if we continue to allow overseas travellers into our country. Maybe it's a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't. I'm going to wait, but that's my call not yours. I will get vaccinated, it's just a matter of my timing.

I BELIEVE the Newcastle Knights can holster their swords for 2021. Judging by Saturday's performance ('Knights desperate to find hunger pains cure', Herald 3/5) they have nothing to offer against the top five or anyone near the top eight. I went to the game on Saturday after their fair effort against the Panthers and what they dealt up was very ordinary, with 50 per cent of the ball they could only score one try.

Their reserve grade was no better, and it appears there are no players there that would push their way into first grade. These are not the only teams; the juniors Knights have fared no better. At the moment the Knights have more coaches than Kings Travel. Their recruiting is pretty poor; we have a halfback coming that in my opinion could not cut it at the Cowboys. It's a pity they did not spot young blokes like Walsh, who is really a class act.

PATHETIC, lacklustre, lazy and disinterested is the only summary. Who buys these players, or is it that we buy those who no one else wants? When are we ever going to compete? It's a lot of good having show ponies, but firstly we have to put on a show. All of the team, with no exceptions, should be put immediately on a performance-based contract and if they don't perform, they don't get paid. I can think of 30 blokes who would like a shot in their place, so why not give them a go and get rid of the apparent free loaders that we have now?

No wonder Adam O'Brien is going grey. I would hate it if he becomes the scapegoat because of these bludgers that we are fielding, knowing full well that they are going to get done again. Wake up Wests Group and Knights administrators before it becomes a national comic strip called Done like a Dinner. For the sake of the ever-dwindling fanbase, fix it or withdraw from the competition. At present these blokes are nothing but embarrassing.

IAN King (Letters 3/5) pleaded with the public to respect the prime minister and his government and be "open minded" as to how our country is being run. May I suggest that he reads the letter directly below his and then thinks about sexual abuse in Parliament, the Ruby Princess debacle, robodebt, the myriad of photo ops and the ongoing announcements without action. I could continue. Australia is still a lucky country, but this government and PM are not serving us well.

NOW the heavy industry companies have made their economic decisions the time is now to plan for the coastal areas to once again become pristine coastal areas. We also must remember not to allow the economic barons of the real estate industry to erode the affordable housing industry if there is any left. All levels of government regardless of which political parties should commit to the protection of our pristine coastline. No mining, no gas.

WELL said, Ian King (Letters 3/5).

I SUPPOSE a lot of people around the world would like to be living in either Australia or New Zealand at the present time, but Ian King (Letters, 3/5) may be expecting a little too much in his recent missive. Asking some of our staunch Labor and trade union supporters to be open-minded about the way this country is being run, might be a bridge too far.

THIS is a belated rant. Seeing thousands of people gathering at events (and I am one of them) but not gathering in the thousands for remembering the ANZACs that fought for better promise ('We salute you', Herald 26/4) unsettles me a bit. I hope I'm in the minority of this way of thinking.

PETER Devey (Letters, 3/5) must live in a different world to me. When we both do the same online search on worsening natural disasters due to global heating, he claims to find only entries from "activist groups or ill-informed charities". I find entries from Yale University, Scientific American, The Conversation, the IMF, Washington Post and other fact-checked sources. He then quotes work from the IPCC. I thought denialists mock the IPCC, but if he accepts its work he should also accept its summary for policymakers, which states the No. 2 Reason For Concern is "risks/impacts to human health, livelihoods, assets and ecosystems from extreme weather events such as heat waves, heavy rain, drought and associated wildfires, and coastal flooding." Lastly, Peter might also reflect on why the word "unprecedented" is used so frequently of late, applying to bushfires in Australia and California, floods in Bangladesh, glacial ice-melt and the strength and duration of hurricanes.