I would just like to congratulate Zack Schofield on his great conviction and courage towards causes that really matter ('Activist says friends 'tasered, beaten', Newcastle Herald 23/5). At a time when too many Australians just want to sit on their hands and do nothing. People like him are the ones that make a difference in the world.
I can't believe the Newcastle activist and others on the flotilla got flown home again. Was that at taxpayer expense? Even a child knows not to make the same mistake twice. If they are not carrying a significant amount of aid, in my opinion they only make things worse. It seems to me that they put themselves in danger and then expect to be bailed out with no consequences.
Minister Pat Conroy, as one of the organisers and supporters of the people "clambering on top of your bloody office building", I am proud to hear you are supportive of us taking more constructive action in calling out your government's complicity in genocide through its support of Israel and continued weapons manufacturing ('Conroy blasts missile factory critics as plant takes shape', Newcastle Herald 20/5).
Should we treat your quotes as support for our friend Zack Schofield, who was illegally abducted by Israel on international waters in his efforts to deliver life saving food and medical aid to Palestinians? He sure is trying to do something constructive, and yet received not a single word of support from your government. We're more than open to any real suggestions you have for providing a transition for workers in our region away from destructive industries, I'm just sorry that it took you spitting the dummy to the Newcastle Herald to respond.
The decline in people being vaccinated (especially young children) against serious preventable diseases is most concerning. Thousands of dollars are spent on advertising by fast food companies and gambling organisations which is obviously very successful, or they wouldn't flourish as they do, and is far from beneficial to one's health or on one's pocket.
Maybe it would be in the interests of governments to direct funds to advertising the benefits of vaccinations or the unfortunate result of contracting any of the serious and easily transmissible diseases. Benefits not only for an individual, but for the whole population. This may be seen as costly, but I feel it would be money well spent considering the present recurrence of these diseases and the present decline in vaccinations.
Tonight, councillors will vote on a motion to apply to the Minister for Local Government for consent for a lease at the Ocean Baths for a food and drinks premises. We believe the council is jumping ahead of the approval process since the Hunter and Central Coast Regional Planning Panel (HCCRPP) has not yet assessed the DA and approval, and it may not even be given.
We'd argue seeking this consent will potentially influence the approval process, since the minister may as a result believe the public supports the development.
The public have been given very little information about this development, including its cost and questions of size, the roof terrace, the shortfall of change room and toilet facilities, the operating hours of the café, parking issues and the financial impact on local businesses. The Heritage Office is yet to make its submission to the panel. There may be even be amendments to the proposal.
The NSW Police have provided council with a report on issues related to a potential liquor licence, but this is not included in the documents on the DA tracker. The council is simply assuming a liquor licence will be granted which will help in the negotiation of a new lease.
It is too soon for this decision to be taken. We believe due process means consideration given to the outcry coming from the public.
Peter Rennie has correctly pointed out that a large proportion of the hospital staff were migrants ("Immigration's value on show", Letters, 21/5). It is hardly surprising since 32 per cent of our population were born overseas. What is of concern is that Australia, like much of the Western world, has become dependent on imported skills, including overseas trained doctors who now make up almost 30 per cent of our supply while overseas-trained nurses are 17 per cent of the total. The UN has repeatedly warned that recruitment of skilled people from developing nations is creating a brain drain and crippling their development. Some low-income countries lose up to 15 per cent of their skilled staff to developed nations, a situation that has damaged their healthcare and education systems leaving them more vulnerable to pandemics and exploitation by corporations.
Using overseas-trained doctors provides governments with massive capital savings by bypassing the high upfront cost of training domestic medical students, but it comes with some risk of accepting a person with questionable or even fake qualifications, a situation that has occurred with one who worked in Australia for 11 years before detection.
Regarding the Collins class submarines, there has been so much money wasted over the years trying to make these submarines something they were never going to be. It is time to give up. All they are good for is scrap metal.
I consider a recent contribution ("Betraying our grandchildren", Letters, 22/5), a bit severe, calling humans dumb because they question the role of renewable energy to fully power our electricity grid. I belive the countries that are maintaining or improving their national productivity, job creation, living standards and building a future for their grandchildren are those building new emission reduced coal fired power plants or emission free nuclear power plants. Those of us that blindly accept that renewables can run a power grid without a mix of 24/7 reliable sources like nuclear, coal or gas are at best naive or sadly ideological blinkered. Some people can be sincere in their convictions yet choose to disregard or fail to objectively research and/or analyze the practical outcomes of their convictions.
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