MICHAEL Hinchey (Letters, 3/4) is a good example of the problem of the person versus the people. As an individual, Mr Hinchey sounds like a lovely man. He just wants to go for a walk in a popular bushland park, and he would surely follow all the proper rules. Now imagine we photocopy Mr Hinchey 100 times. Now a hundred Hincheys want to go and enjoy a walk in a popular park. This is what has famously happened on Bondi Beach, and at Merewether on the weekend ('Busy at Bathers Way', Newcastle Herald 13/4). The message is pretty simple: we can beat this virus, but we all need to stay home.
Franklin White, Belmont
NOT FINE TO WALK THIS WAY
PLEASE close Bathers Way. How can it be okay for thousands of idiots to walk shoulder to shoulder on Bathers Way ('Busy at Bathers Way', Herald 13/4) and yet four mates playing cricket in their Victorian backyard reportedly copped heavy fines?
Why have authorities not closed Bathers Way? Is this about popularity, as this is an election year for our council? Leaders have asked the idiots to stay home and they have ignored them. Close the Bathers Way now, as they put us all at risk.
Denise Lindus Trummel, Mayfield
DON'T SHIP OFF VULNERABLE
I AM ashamed to be an Australian.
The words "we are in this together" seem to be continually spoken from our representatives without much care for what this really means. As an Australian, I would like to think that if I was stuck overseas right now, that the country I was in would support me just as they would their own, and the reality is this is the case as many countries across the globe are helping foreigners. But here in Australia? Not so much.
From a young age, it was always drilled into me that when times get tough, you support people no matter what. As an Australian, when times get tough, we should be more caring, more helpful, more understanding. It hasn't been the display from our governments in my opinion. Many cruise ships lingered off the shores of NSW, and of course some off other shores across Australia. Our federal and state governments told them to leave. In media conferences, we saw our politicians becoming defensive when speaking about this issue. I believe becoming defensive shows their insecurity in handling this, and I get it. We haven't seen this kind of pandemic before. However, professionalism and empathy need to be at the forefront. You need to accept input, advice and listen to others.
Now I am not saying to let everyone get off them, and it needs to be done strategically. However, I believe our government needed to allow them to dock or anchor closer to shore for safety reasons.
We as Australians should be thinking of ourselves and others. Remember, "we are in this together". Put yourself in their shoes and imagine having to be on the other side of the world working away from your family during this crisis and being told to go out to sea and good luck.
Our Prime Minister keeps saying that the Australian lifestyle is changing, but right now it seems our values are changing. I think we are becoming the opposite of what we say is Australian. No matter who you are, or where you are from, I am in this with you, because we are in this together.
Bradley Burns, Cardiff
INROADS TO INNOVATION
SO we have been encouraged to work from home and shop locally or have food delivered with the current epidemic.
From 1827, my husband's English ancestor was indentured by the AA company as its saddler. He first worked and lived with four children in a one-room home in what is now Tahlee. When the company moved to Stroud, his family of eight children lived in a house with a separate saddlery shop down the front on the main street.
Before 1954 we had ice, fresh bread, milk, fruit and vegetables delivered by courtesy of the Co-Op Store while my brother or I walked two blocks to the butcher.
My son, living in Sydney's northern beaches, needs to travel to work to the eastern suburbs every day. It now takes half an hour instead of one and a half hours.
Maybe we could consider fast-tracking ideas that could solve traffic problems, like an increase in quick public transport to regional towns. If more people worked from home on a regular basis we'd need smaller city offices, removing the necessity of building more buildings and taking traffic off the roads. We need futuristic ideas from our creative Aussies like Dr John Bradfield and his backers, who designed and built a 10-lane bridge in the 1930s.
Elaine Street, Merewether
A NEW PLAYING FIELD
PETER Fitzsimmons (Sydney Morning Herald, 4/4) suggests "that sport will change forever". It pleases me immensely to hear somebody of his calibre asking "what will our games look like, after the plague?" His answer is that no-one has a clue.
He has taken a sensible, serious approach to why and how most elite sports people have been paid beyond their worth. He also predicts "there will be no justification for living high off the hog again". This is just one aspect, which can clearly be evaluated.
A young lady when interviewed near a closed beach, complained the restrictions were too severe as people need to exercise and they should be able to continue to do so. To take a quip from Fitzy's article, this young lady needs to be reminded that "when we resume after this rude interruption, sport will be less bloated on its own success while perhaps also being more treasured than ever because so many of us realise how much we miss it now that it's gone."
The greatest challenge of the future will be changing the mindset of those who haven't known serious adversity as young people and have lived in this wonderful country (which has been pillaged by big corporations) and now have to pay the price.
Pat Garnet, Wickham
THE BILL IS COVERED
MANY of my friends have asked how we will pay for this huge coronavirus bill of almost $200 billion.
Under current circumstances it will be very easy according to a modern money theory. Because Reserve Bank interest rates are at about 0.5 per cent, and could possibly drop to 0.25 per cent next month, and the inflation rate is about 1.5 per cent, and with a capital injection of $200 billion (most of which will be e-money) I would expect inflation to rise to about three per cent.
That rate of inflation will take care of the repayments, and after 45 years without a single payment the government's debt is paid off. There will be foreign exchange rate issues and trade issues as well, but kick start the Australian manufacturing again and we are in business by ourselves.
I believe the implications of this include funding a public housing expansion and the potential to buy back utilities.
Milton Caine, Birmingham Gardens
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
DEPUTY Premier John Barilaro states that rugby league is central to New South Wales and we need it back. I know that I am in the minority, but rugby league is of no interest to me. In fact, I am pleased that there are no games: there are more interesting programs on radio and TV to replace them. What is central to me and everyone I know is the health and welfare of all citizens. This means that we must do everything possible to defeat COVID-19. Compared with the sacrifices that so many have made, the loss of any game is of little consequence.
Joan Lambert. Adamstown
LET us hope that funding can be found for a permanent Catalina display at Rathmines ('Keeping the cat', Weekender 11/4). I remember well as a child our family holidays at Kilaben Bay, when the big "birds" would take off and land quite close to our boat when out fishing. Please preserve what is an important part of Lake Macquarie's history.
Eric Roach, Croudace Bay
WE seemed to cope very well without going to church this Easter ('Staying, praying at home', Newcastle Herald 10/4). Maybe it's time our religious leaders realised the faithful hold up the true values of Christianity. I believe the clergy had their chance to represent us and they failed.
John Butler, Windella Downs
THERE have been some positive to COVID-19, one of which is the cleaner air due to the lockdown. The speed of infection has forced politicians to confront the realities of exponential growth. Politicians have been able to ignore the slower exponential growth of our population, which I believe is a very dangerous approach. Population is a major factor in producing pandemics. It is human erosion of wild spaces that has exposed us to the animals that harbour diseases, while our higher density living has increased the ease of its transmission.
Don Owers, Dudley
THE federal Department of Health has nominated people in detention facilities as one of several groups of people in Australia at risk of serious infection from COVID-19. The majority of closed immigration detention facilities are currently overcrowded, with up to 436 people plus revolving staff in one facility making social distancing impossible. As COVID-19 is a public health concern for all people in our nation, I implore the federal government to release those who have a cleared security risk into the community as this virus is escalating. I am very concerned COVID-19 would become an epidemic in that overcrowded, enclosed environment which would put pressure on and overwhelm our state capital hospitals and health services. There still remains no valid reason why these innocent people have not been released, as there is available accommodation and full support within our communities.
Jill Horton, Port Macquarie
SO, George Pell had his conviction for sexually abuse of a child quashed on appeal ('Pell wins his freedom', Herald 8/4) and Gary Jubelin was convicted for protecting them ('Jubelin fined for illegal Tyrrell recording', Herald 10/4).
