PLEASE, people, we aren't in a computer game where we can hit reset and get ourselves out of drowning by not driving through flood water. Someone, please finance educational adverts to show why we don't try driving through floodwater, or heading for bushfires to see what's happening. These things used to be common knowledge, but that now has to be taught to the current generations because undo saves them dying so often in games that I believe a second chance at life seems so commonplace. It isn't.
Lynette Begg, East Maitland
End to distrust can help find a fix
OKAY Margaret Smith (Short Takes, 20/3), as they say, "enough is enough". Men like Dave, Ray and Tony (Opinion, Herald, 19/3) are annoyed, disturbed and shocked at the message on the t-shirt at last Monday's march. Me, I'm just angry, like the wearer wants me to be. So can you please enlighten us as to what we don't understand when we know that any sort of violence against women is abhorrent and the perpetrators need to face the full force of the law, even stricter than it is now.
We know that women don't feel safe on the street, but do you realise men often feel like criminals when women pass them and either look down, look away or look at us as though we are going to attack them? We need to find a way to end this distrust. We see slogans like "bad things happen when good men do nothing" but how do you think demonising all men with signs like "Men, own your guilt" and "hold men accountable" and ageist, sexist and racist messaging is going to help us educate young men to treat women with respect? Attempting to drive a wedge between the sexes is not the way to encourage us to join your discussion. Perhaps a sign like "men, we need your help" might be preferable.
Greg Hunt, Newcastle West
Sexism transcends political divide
MAC Maguire (Short Takes, 19/3), there is no dispute Liberal MP Nicolle Flint was harassed, bullied and sexually vilified during the 2019 federal election.
It is also fact that Ms Flint believes the vast majority of the harassment came from one of two sources; GetUp! and the unions. Also fact is Labor is joined at the hip by the union movement and Bill Shorten via the unions helped set up GetUp!. So regardless of your spin it appears the Labor Party is involved; be it directly or indirectly. While I understand in your view the Labor Party walk on water and do no wrong, how do you explain the 30 or so ex Labor staffers who have come out to complain of sexual harassment in the federal party? I believe you disrespect Ms Flint because she is not a Labor person, which compounds the problem.
Personally, I care not a bit which side of the political spectrum you come from nor what someone's religious beliefs are, nor the sexual orientation. Sexism, harassment or bullying of women or those who identify as women is wrong. Come to think of it, regardless of gender, race, religion, skin colour or how you identify bullying, harassment or sexual vilification is just wrong.
Andrew Hirst, Beresfield
Give life to line beyond coal's end
NOW that it seems that the last mine on the South Maitland railway will close permanently, what is going to happen to the railway? Will it fade into history like so many other colliery lines in the Hunter region? I don't believe it should. The South Maitland line once carried passengers and freight. I'm not the only one who believes the line should be carrying passengers again. As I have said before; Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter Valley need a good transport network if the current traffic problems are to be solved. When I was driving the coal trains that ran to Austar I noticed the platforms from the former railway stations were mostly still in place. The one exception was Cessnock. While it's true a lot of money would need to be spent bringing the line up to the required standard, the towns and communities along the line could benefit from improved public transport. The people of the Hunter need better public transport than we are seeing at present. Too many opportunities have been missed with the loss of other rail corridors. We can't afford to let this opportunity pass.
Peter Sansom, Kahibah
Support important after threat
I AGREE with Keith Parsons regarding the public voice meeting bomb threat (Letters, 20/3). Threatening behaviour by anyone is abhorrent, and I hope soon after the threat occurred Cr Duncan could voice her feelings of fear to the council and that she was able to seek appropriate professional advice as soon as practicable. If Cr Duncan remains feeling unsafe, and worried, this can be improved with counselling and regular workplace evacuation practices.
King Edward Park headland should be for all people to enjoy in its natural beauty, so let us now return the focus on the main issue, King Edward Park. If we could go there once a week for a walk and enjoy the fresh air and natural beauty of the place, we will all benefit.
Catherine Whelan, Newcastle
Don't take meeting matter lightly
I WISH to reply to Keith Parsons (Letters, 20/3). Mr Parsons, perhaps your fury should be directed at the person responsible for making the bomb threat to council and not a woman, Cr Carol Duncan, who was terrified at the time that she and others could be blown up. Bomb threats are death threats of course. The person responsible should have been prosecuted, in my opinion.
Mary Stronach, Newcastle
Housing bubble can't be a crisis
I AM surprised that John Hewson is close to the money on this housing bubble problem ('Threat of housing bubble cannot be ignored', Opinion 19/3). For a number of years I have been saying that the economy is not running well because the measures used are so strongly in the hands of those who defrauded the Australian population of billions - that is the financial markets.
The housing market is seeing a resurgence in rising house prices and this is applauded by most commentators and yet there is a flip side to this. Affordable housing is gone, low or zero deposits means mortgage debt is at least as great or greater than the purchase price, interest rates are historically low, pandemic supports are ending, potentially cutting incomes and jobs.
Manufacturing is still not supported by the government as overseas producers are chosen over local producers putting pressure on jobs being retained in these industries, household debt is rising sharply, while rental accommodation is becoming increasingly unaffordable.
All this is not good. but the banks and the financial institutions that gave us the fraudulent finances of the past many years are at it again trying to make money at our expense and the government either does not understand or does not care. We need a new direction of a responsible financial and economic path that neither the Labor or it seems the Liberal party knows at this stage.
The last financial crisis was the result of the fraudulent housing financial market of the USA. We do not need to repeat it at all.
Milton Caine, Birmingham Gardens
SHORT TAKES
HARD game Knights, great result ('Flying high', Newcastle Herald 20/3). Thanks.
Bill Slicer, Tighes Hill
IS anyone considering the poor taxpayer? We pay Christian Porter while he fights the ABC. We pay the ABC to fight Christian Porter. No wonder taxpayers complain.
John Butler, Windella
FEDERAL politicians have the best employers in Australia; the taxpayers. Every year they get a pay rise no matter what. The prime minister receives over half a million dollars a year which is more than the president of the USA gets. Yet led by Morrison and his Liberal party, they are attacking the ordinary workers of their basic pay rights, and the workers have to sit back and watch it happen ('Casual job definition survives gutted industrial relations bill', Herald 19/3). This stinks to high heaven. And the workers... it just shows how the workers are treated by this government. What a disgrace.
Andy McFadden, Warners Bay
PEOPLE bought and moved into the CBD and waterfront, based on assurances of a quiet life. That didn't eventuate so there were calls to quieten or remove the noise-makers. Carl Stevenson (Letters, 15/3) suggests moving the entertainment precinct out of the CBD/residential area, and now Adz Carter from Newcastle (Short Takes, 20/3) criticises Carl because it is out of town, which is not supportive of his own neighbours, and very confusing to the rest of us.
Doug Hoepper, Garden Suburb
IN response to Margaret Smith (Short Takes, 20/3); what you my friend don't seem to understand is that tarring all men with the same brush is not helping, but only alienating a good percentage of people from your noble cause.
Matt Ophir, Charlestown
IT was great to listen to Ray Hadley last Friday broadcasting from Muswellbrook Race Club and talking about how obvious it is that the towns of the Upper Hunter would be ghost towns without the coal mining industry. He rightly said "no wonder Joel Fitzgibbon had been so vocal".
Brett Scott, Cessnock
I TRUST John Cooper had his tongue firmly in-cheek when complaining about his cold solar hot water (Short Takes, 19/3). Most such systems have an electric booster. Mine is manual and I found on Thursday that the water was indeed running warm, not hot. So I ran the booster for an hour while I did the washing-up, with my solar panels tipping in 350 watts or so even on the cloudy day. All good now. Oh, and John, you don't need hot water to wash your undies.
Michael Gormly, Islington
IN answer to John Cooper (Short Takes, 19/3): build more coal fired power stations; it's easy.
