It is amazing the number of unoccupied houses that are spread around Port Lincoln.
Most appear to be SA Housing-owned dwellings, many of which have been boarded up and left awaiting renovating.
Having empty properties is directly fuelling the lack of available accommodation and pushing up the cost of rentals.
Considering the time it takes to build a new dwelling is approximately 18 months, one has to question why existing Housing Trust homes and units are often taking longer than a new build to be made available for those seeking a rental property.
In the meantime, many people have no option but to fall into the hands of investor properties, and are forced to sign up for ridiculously high rental payments.
Dennis Lightfoot, Lock
Be specific
Acknowledging, accepting and accommodating differences used to be an important and well-supported goal that would lead to the inclusivity of all.
Workplaces, educational sites and government departments were strongly encouraged to ensure that the established guidelines and procedures were adopted and followed.
‘Cherubs and fam, welcome to class’ (The Advertiser, October 1) reports on the current push to encourage teachers to use “non-gendered” and “gender inclusive” language in their classrooms.
For years, gender had been defined as “the male sex or the female sex” until social ideologists were integral in redefining it to also mean “one of a range of other identities that do not correspond to established ideas of male and female”.
Schools should be a place where a strong emphasis is placed on, and adequate instruction time is given to the basic skills of reading, writing and maths, rather than reducing this amount of time by introducing new and questionable theories and values-based programs – once the domain of parents, not bureaucrats or teachers.
Real education requires a tried, methodical and well-proven approach, rather than student learning being an experiment, to check the veracity of a new fad or trend.
Ian Macgowan, Ceduna
