LIVING in Cairns every winter has been an eye opener on how a much smaller city than Newcastle is building so much infrastructure with a city council that is in my opinion so much more progressive.
In nine years Cairns has built a new live theatre complex, outdoor amphitheatre, aquarium, international swim centre, international tennis centre and is now extending its conference centre with a $174 million investment. This has all been done in a city that was economically depressed with high unemployment and stagnant housing prices for a decade.
Cairns Council has totally re-landscaped the city centre, with new malls with quality paving and feature garden lighting. Even with COVID impacts Cairns still has vibrant city restaurants within their mall. Cairns Council built the world renowned lagoon swimming pool, pictured, on their landscaped waterfront area with so many more facilities for its residents to use in comparison to Newcastle's waterfront harbour foreshore area. Cairns' public transport is superior in that a bus to Cairns City from Palm Cove, a similar distance as Toronto to Newcastle, takes half the time.
Cairns' parks are impressive and their Botanical Gardens attract many residents, some daily and many tourists. By comparison a walk down Hunter Street, Newcastle is very depressing. Don't even look for the botanical gardens around there because the actual city centre has none.
I think our councillors need to open their eyes to see how a progressive city evolves and ask why is Newcastle not getting these types of infrastructures and start positive steps to remedy.
Darryl Stevenson, Coal Point
Questions aren't convictions
"IN my view Gladys has no charge to answer," declares your correspondent (Short Takes, 15/10). That may turn out to be the case, but the ICAC is certainly obliged to examine her.
In one taped recording of a telephone conversation between the former premier and her then-boyfriend, Daryl Maguire, who was the State member for Wagga Wagga at the time, Maguire tells her about a business deal with a Chinese-backed developer that would pay off some of his debts. Her response? "You don't need to tell me that bit." That alone, along with other as-yet undisclosed information that is likely known to the ICAC, requires investigation.
Yes, there is some sympathy for the former premier. But perspective is needed. Gladys Berejiklian is not some tragic, simpering Victorian heroine betrayed by her dastardly, deceitful lover. She is a strong, determined, highly intelligent woman who has broken through the glass ceiling to become premier of NSW. She above all must have known the high standards of integrity and probity demanded of her.
Even from the little that has already been made public through the hearings into Daryl Maguire's conduct, it is clear that the ICAC would be failing in its statutory duty if it did not examine the former premier's conduct.
John Ure, Mount Hutton
Emissions mission target is off
APART from NSW declaring the COVID pandemic over this week by opening up society, the other big news story that excited the media was Scott Morrison being pressured into attending the Glasgow Climate Conference. How bizarre can we get?
Mr Morrison represents a nation with a smidgen over 1 per cent of human emissions while Xi Jinping, the leader of the biggest emitter China with almost 30% of global emissions, is not attending the conference. Very little has been said about that by anyone. Why aren't the same activists that have attacked Scott Morrison attacking Xi Jinping? This in my opinion is the norm for green activists, attack the soft targets and ignore the real villains.
However, if Australia wants to make a contribution to reductions in carbon dioxide levels, I would suggest that laws are passed outlawing electric air conditioners, electric hot plates, electric heaters, electric clothes dryers, electric hot water services (they usually account by themselves for 20-35 per cent of the average power bill). In addition, the internet should be limited to a few hours a day as it uses hundreds of megawatts of power. That is before we outlaw cars with more than two litres' capacity and large four-wheel drives. I am sure after we do the above even the hardened green activists will be in the streets rioting like the anti-lockdown brigade we have seen recently.
We should reflect on what we want, the comforts of a modern society or a short harsh life like we had before the industrial revolution.
John Davies, Newcastle East
Numbers don't seem to add up
PETER Devey always writes letters that seem so well researched, but I believe when you scratch the surface the information he provides is misleading and deliberately slanted to supporting coal. He quotes two sources that say that there has been no global warming over the past seven years. The only way to come to that conclusion would be to take a year of abnormal heat as the starting year and one that was relatively cool compared to the prior years to flatten the trend. A five-year moving average that is commonly used tells a much different story.
I am unsure where he dug up the figure of just 3 per cent of global energy coming from renewable sources. For electricity the figure is now 26.2 per cent and expected to rise to 45 per cent by 2040. It is correct that renewables have to be replaced in time, but he conveniently forgets that energy from coal also needs replacement in time. He also fails to mention that new renewable energy production is considerably cheaper than energy from investment in new coal-fired stations and the only way they would be built if a government was silly enough to underwrite them.
Greta Thunberg may go "blah, blah, blah", but in my opinion so too does Mr Devey.
Lloyd Davies, Stockton
Money for nothing, ditch the fee
IT'S no secret that our new Premier is driven by economics, and I've no doubt that MPs from all over the state are knocking his door down seeking funding for their own local recovery project. I've got one that is expected to add $6 billion to the NSW gross domestic product by 2050, and it wouldn't cost the NSW government a cent: remove the clause in the port commitment deed that stops the Port of Newcastle from competing with Port Botany. This is right up Mr Perrottet's alley, so I look forward to a positive response to my letter.
Tim Crakanthorp MP, State Member for Newcastle
Coverage cracks many codes
PETER Rossetti (Short Takes, 15/10), the review of the Knights' year appeared on October 14. Thursday, the usual day for the Herald's full NRL run-down. There were also eight other sports featured that day including two full pages on football (soccer). On Saturday there were 11 sports featured.
Doug Hoepper, Garden Suburb
SHORT TAKES
ANOTHER thought-provoking letter from Peter Devey, ("Nobody inspects ICAC imposition", Letters, 16/10). Keep them coming Mr Devey, I know it can be dispiriting, frustrating and draining when you swim against the populist tide, but in my opinion this page needs thinkers like you.
Dave McTaggart, Edgeworth
THE Delta variant recently reached Tasmania, meaning that the NSW-born strain of COVID-19 has now officially infected every state and territory of Australia. Right there lies the legacy of Gladys Berejiklian.
Adz Carter, Newcastle
READING Ian Kirkwood's column, ("Kath Elliott's Code of Conduct complaints", Opinion 16/10) regarding council matters, my eyes stuck on the part where ratepayers were up for "$46,122 to investigate four complaints". Surely as ratepayers we are entitled to know how many complaints are out there. Why the secrecy and where exactly in the code is written ratepayers are not privy to see amounts spent on complaints?
Maria Pye, New Lambton
MERVYN Smith, (Short Takes, 16/10), mentions 'people who die due to the effects of climate change'. Can anyone enlighten me as to whether 'climate change' has been legally accepted as a cause of death on any death certificate which has been issued in Australia? Thank you.
Richard Devon, Fishing Point
MOST western governments seem to only think of the next few years and how to encourage votes. So how is it that a government can buy nuclear submarines for about 30 years in the future and for an unknown cost, or have I answered myself?
Vic Davies, Tighes Hill
IT looks like ScoMo has decided it's better to be seen doing nothing in Glasgow than it is to be seen doing nothing in Canberra.
Mac Maguire, Charlestown
PETER Devey, if there is no evidence anywhere that humans have changed the weather can you please explain for all of us the massive increase in temperatures since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
Dan Kirkpatrick, Karuah
IF Prime Minister Scott Morrison was serious on climate change action, he'd negotiate with Labor and put a bipartisan bill to parliament. Dancing to the National Party rabble indicates he's more concerned about wheeling and dealing to preserve his tatty Coalition.
Martin Frohlich, Adamstown Heights
IN reply to Bill Spicer, (Short Takes, 16/10), I can say with certainty that Tony Abbott travelled to Taiwan for work which has been allowable right through the COVID pandemic and even you could travel to Sydney for work if required.
Alan Hamilton, Hamilton East
PREMIER Dominic Perrottet's latest decision to open the state reminds of the Shrek movie when Lord Farquaad tells tournament participants "some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."
