HAVING grown up in Gosford, my memory quickly recalled that this is not the first time a council on the Central Coast has been placed in the hands of an administrator ('Council suspension to 'reinstill trust': MP', Newcastle Herald 31/10).
In August 1960, public meetings throughout the Gosford Shire asked the Minister for Local Government to appoint an administrator and hold a full and open enquiry into Shire affairs. Councillors were subsequently removed from office and an administrator, Mr H. W. Dane (pictured), was appointed on 22 September 1961.
An election to appoint a new council was held in December 1965. In the issue of the paper of the day Mr C. J. Staples, who had been in local government for more than 20 years including terms as the president of both Erina (Gosford's predecessor) and Woy Woy shires, wrote (inter alia): "Since the appointment of Mr Dane as administrator, the ratepayers have witnessed a period of real progress, fair apportionment of rates money in the various localities without log-rolling or undue favouritism, careful consideration backed by well qualified officers' reports on all matter raised by ratepayers".
Mr Dane left his mark on the then shire with the existing Holden Street (running alongside then Grahame Park, now Central Coast Stadium) being extended to Masons Parade and renamed Dane Drive in his honour.
Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook
Rock and hard place for koalas
HANSON Australia, has met all the regulatory requirements for the expansion of its stone quarry at Brandy Hill ('Rocked', Herald 28/10). Dr Ryan Witt, a Newcastle University environmental scientist, is watching carefully to see if Hanson Australia also cultivates a "social licence" for its plan ('Good koala outcome is no Ley down misere', Opinion 31/10).
Hanson's plan involves the creation of a koala corridor into an expanded habitat. It sounds like a win-win all around for "stakeholders". Unfortunately, the koala, the principle stakeholder, and the iconic animal representing Australia around the world, has not been consulted.
As its habitat is inexorably destroyed from bushfires associated with global warming and from land clearing, the koala is seriously threatened with extinction. Destroying one of the last pockets of koala habitat on the east coast, can only accelerate the koala's extinction.
Geoff Black, Caves Beach
Planning should create divide
IT is all very well to remind us that many venues were in existence before the council approved hundreds of new units (Letters, 3/11). The problem in Newcastle West is about to be doubled by a proposed expansion of the King Street Hotel nightclub.
Can you imagine up to 1300 rowdy and potentially abusive people on the road at 3am in an area where there are over 300 units ,a motel, a fast food restaurant and a major intersection. And this is all within 100 meters?
Here are the council's choices: stop increasing inner city venues or stop approving unit developments. After all, where does the rate money come from? To merely inform purchasers of the locations of pubs, bars, and nightclubs before buying is not a get out of jail card. It is poor planning.
Narelle Heaney, Newcastle West
Marsupial not always so cuddly
MANY correspondents have been getting quite emotional or even hysterical about the plight of koalas since Environment Minister Sussan Ley approved the Brandy Hill rock quarry expansion ('Rocked', Herald 28/10). Dr Ryan Witt wrote a lengthy opinion piece on Saturday ('Good koala outcome is no Ley down misère', Herald 31/10 on this very question.
His first paragraph referred only to "social license" and his second to the "international community". No scientific details were in the opinion piece, and only a social argument was made. In the same paper, a nice picture of Ron Land of Port Stephens Koalas at the Brandy Hill site quoting koalas need breeding programs, which showed scrubby trees I believe unsuited to koala feeding. People want that preserved for koalas?
An academic interviewed on ABC radio late in the week admitted that he had not visited the Brandy Hill site. He used "modelling" in his criticism of Minister Ley's acceptance of a koala expert's report that dismissed the Brandy Hill site as a koala habitat. The koala expert had visited and surveyed the site.
In a personal experience, I removed a fully grown angry male koala with stiff coarse fur, grunting and groaning from the highway at Breeza to safely off-road. Not the soft cuddly toy some people think koalas are. With no food trees around, they can travel long distances. There is considerable doubt about the actual numbers of koalas in this country. In my opinion clearing land encourages new fresh growth that koalas like. Their ability to rapidly breed to high numbers - witness Kangaroo Island - means science rather than emotional kindness is more important for their welfare.
Peter Devey, Merewether
Fires not the only threat to habitat
DURING the devastating fires of the summer of 2019/2020 there was national and international concern about our wildlife, in particular the koalas. These animals cannot run, they cannot fly and they cannot burrow. All they can do is climb higher in their trees and burn to death.
Reportedly 5000 in NSW alone died in the fires. A great deal of money was donated to help save the koalas who survived. Now what do we see? Ongoing tree-felling and expansion of a quarry in koala habitat sanctioned by the federal and state governments ('Rocked', Herald 28/10).
I would like to know what is happening to the report to the NSW government from the committee tasked to look into koalas and their habitat? There were 42 recommendations, none of which suggested destroying habitat would be helpful if we want to save these much-loved animals.
Olga Parkes, New Lambton
Universal register must be priority
IT seems increasingly obvious that we need a simple contact tracing system and register that everyone can use when they venture out to restaurants, clubs, cafes and gyms.
With all the hype and silence since the COVIDsafe app, which cost us millions for no value, why can't these government specialists that look to our safe future come up with a simple login system for all venues and not rely on rip-off marketing mafia? If any venue can't accurately identify all their patrons under these circumstances, they don't deserve to open.
I am astounded at how slack forward thinking is and I'm really worried for the koalas too. If we can't handle a flu, how do we manage climate change?
Vic Davis, Tighes Hill
SHARE YOUR OPINION
Email letters@newcastleherald.com.au or send a text message to 0427 154 176 (include name and suburb). Letters should be fewer than 200 words. Short Takes should be fewer than 50 words. Correspondence may be edited and reproduced in any form.
SHORT TAKES
RUTH Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the American Supreme Court, recently died. She challenged the American constitution that discriminated against women. I have been concerned with the number of men who have become redundant to make way for women, but I can see that women and men deserve equal rights.
George Paris, Rathmines
ONE Nation did badly in the Queensland election.Too many fish and chip shop closures may have knocked Pauline off the campaign trail.
John Butler, Windella Downs
WITH Labor winning the Queensland election the Liberal whinging, 'but' brigade will be out in force. They even bored us with their sour grapes when Labor won in New Zealand. But if it was a federal election? But this but that. Excuses. Expect more buts than a pre-COVID grand final crowd.
Colin Fordham, Lambton
IT was great to see a picture of Keiths Kitchen ('Moment of truth for our Keith's Kitchen', Topics 31/10). I am too young to remember Joe and Thora, but I went to the Pacific Street Shop every week in the mid-1970s and recall Isabella and Jim well. The sauce was brilliant and was brushed on the buns. Their t-bone steaks were also excellent.
Steve Fernie, Maryland
THE decision to extend a gravel pit into a koala populated bushland is very unwise. This is an appalling direction that both the state and federal Government have ventured on and any claim that a new corridor will be created for the koalas is of little comfort to the dwindling koala population. We must in all we do leave sufficient and adequate space for the free movement and enjoyment of all our native animals. I am appalled with the way we have just continued to reduce the space for so many of our native animals.
Milton Caine, Birmingham Gardens
THE truly great Winston Churchill said that to improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. Whilst I (begrudgingly at times) agree with Churchill, it's my contention that at least 85 per cent of us will go back to living, working and travelling/commuting, in at least 85 per cent of the ways we did before Victoria's so very avoidable and horrendous Daniel Andrews inflicted coronavirus lockdown. Why? Because man is a social animal! Don't believe me? Then just look at the worldwide flocking to Sunday markets, as observed over four decades of world travel.
Howard Hutchins, Chirnside Park
THE POLL
IS the new option for Nelson Bay Road's upgrade good news or a sign of more delays?
