I HAD hoped the authorities would jail the people who allegedly defied isolation orders to attend Argyle House, rejecting advice from the health department ('Testing 'war zone' as Argyle patron fined', Newcastle Herald 17/12). I believe this alleged action has thrown the whole of Newcastle in disarray, costing people income and freedom while placing panic amongst the community. This latest outbreak has cost our business, The Queens Wharf Hotel, hundreds and thousands of dollars in cancellations and lost revenue but our expenses and rent remain.
We closed for two days for the protection of our staff and customers alike so we made sure no one was infected. Fortunately, we are trading again with a limited staff now we know we are totally safe and not at risk anymore. It has cost us a small fortune to check our staff daily with rapid antigen tests to ensure no one is positive, but at least we know we are COVID free. Given we also saw two Sydney women attend Newcastle at the beginning of the last outbreak, how long should we have to put up with this behavior without more serious consequence? Those women received a $4000 fine each ('Leniency in lockdown sentence', Herald 25/11). What a joke.
Stephen Smyth, Newcastle
Why is it different this time?
I JUST don't get it. Now, even at 80 years old, I count myself as very fortunate. By mere grace of my birth year, I missed all war service and my three university degrees were all free. When vaccines came out for polio, tuberculosis, etc I had them.
They were, as we say, "no brainers". Now we are reading about a small minority of whackos in effect holding our state to ransom, for indefensible reasons which must be either political or religious in origin (I can't think of anything else that regularly holds us back) and they're being allowed to roam unfettered amongst us. Frankly it's ridiculous. It's also disgraceful, and it's probably just plain dumb.
Donald Matthews, Fennell Bay
Some protections gone too soon
ADMITTEDLY NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has not been in the seat for that long, but I believe you would have to question his obsession with business and relaxing COVID restrictions. Sure, we all want people back at work and businesses back on track, however, why on earth would you relax the wearing of face masks? Also, why would you remove the need to QR code at many business types? If in fact we end up with tens of thousands of daily cases, how on earth can the tracking of people's movements be carried out with warnings sent to those testing positive?
As far as people getting back to work, this new variant is projected to escalate dramatically and logic would tell you that many people will fall ill and will not be able or, more to the point, should not attend work. Sort of defeats your theory, Mr Perrottet. Time will tell.
He apparently won't even take the obvious opposite advice expressed by his own state medical experts. That includes the advice I've heard over the last two years from worldwide medical professionals that mask wearing should be continued for some considerable time to come. Yes, we have to live with this virus but, medical decisions that in my opinion are politically motivated are just plain stupid and more importantly, potentially deadly. The jury is not in yet regarding Omicron and this is what we are being fed by our so-called leaders.
Garry Scow, Warners Bay
Boosters won't change efficacy
PHIL Payne, ("Any booster for health system's worth a shot", Letters, 16/12): mate, I reckon Blind Freddy can see that the COVID vaccine is not doing what a vaccine should; preventing people from getting COVID, particularly this new Omicron strain, which has been spread around the world through vaccinated travellers.
The recent outbreaks in Newcastle, Sydney and Melbourne have come out of pubs, nightclubs and a Sydney Harbour cruise where, at all of these venues, patrons had to be fully vaccinated. Pat Cummins was ordered into isolation because he was in a restaurant with a COVID positive person, and deemed to be a close contact. He has to be fully vaxxed to travel and play, and he hasn't even got it.
People on a plane from Newcastle were ordered into isolation in Brisbane because of a so-called close contact with a COVID positive passenger, similarly a flight from Brisbane to Townsville. How would you feel if you had booked a holiday or even just seeing family, you're fully vaxxed, and your plans are thrown up in the air? This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Borders have only just opened up. I'm sick of hearing these health gurus and politicians banging on about vaccination being the best form of defense against this virus, when it only provides partial immunity and hardly does anything to stop transmission.
I believe pharmaceutical companies that have made billions of dollars from this "vaccine", and the health gurus that are peddling it need to get serious, start being honest with people and go back to the drawing board. In my opinion we have to come up with a vaccine that works better so people who get it can be confident they won't be forced into isolation or have there plans torpedoed by authorities in the name of keeping people safe.
Good luck with your booster.
Steven Busch, Rathmines
No masking careless disposal
IT'S great that people are still adhering to the wearing of masks, but it's such a shame to notice that people ignore the rules when it comes to the disposal of masks. Many shopping centre car parks, streets and parks are littered with masks. Not only is this a littering problem, but it is also a health concern. Masks are going to be part of our future, like it or not, so we need to be respectful of our environment and the safety of others, especially our children, because they are the ones most likely to pick up these discarded masks. Do the right thing.
Graeme Kime, Cameron Park
Rider safety must be the priority
MAEVE Bannister, ("Posties to embrace safer delivery bid", Herald, 15/12): your report that postie bikes will be phased out, leaves a question.
With three-wheelers in danger of falling over on steeper verges, and as a consequence unsuitable in many situations, and of course there are more accidents on bikes as bike numbers are way more than trikes, I would love for you to chase up accident numbers with both bikes and trikes, and actually compare and report these.
Alas, I expect Australia Post will never expose these facts. My understanding is not even posties are allowed to know these facts, and as we already know, in theory trikes are capable of more deliveries. It's simply the bottom line, the mighty dollar. I hope it does not come even at the expense of a reduction in operator safety.
John Sylvester, Barnsley
SHORT TAKES
I AM totally dismayed at the treatment of Paul Lobb in his axing from NBN. He has been one of the very best newsreaders for many years and the nightly news on NBN will never be the same.
John Levett, Waratah
AS I watch TV analyses and read newspaper reports of our governments' pork-barrelling over recent days, I have become aware of just how strong in Australia the connection is with our British heritage. Thanks to the present federal government we are almost back, if not actually there, to the days in England of the Rotten Boroughs of the 19th century.
Brian Roach, Whitebridge
NEIL Meyers, (Short Takes, 15/12), says it's time Julian Assange was brought home. The Yanks have already indicated that any prison sentence they give him may be served in an Australian jail. What a terrifying prospect that could be for him! He might have to share a cell with the Obeids.
Bruce Brown, Marks Point
WHY is anyone surprised about the cuts to our GP Access After Hours services? The whole point of the federal and state governments both classifying the second biggest city in New South Wales as "regional" is so they can pull stunts like this and pretend we're a little country town. Remember Joyce telling us how happy we all were to go without our Pfizer shots when NSW Health redirected them to Sydney earlier this year?
Kath Heyne, Macquarie Hills
ALL this work in the inner city ('Supercars track roads relaid, again', Herald 16/12) and yet regular roads used by ratepayers day in day out including Princeton Avenue in Kotara/Adamstown Heights is continually a pothole nightmare.
Jeff Dean, Adamstown Heights
CHARLES Farley observed that if we rearrange the letters of omicron and delta we get "media control". Perhaps Mr Farley needs to lower his aim, because what appears to be a bullseye for conspiracy theories with his anagram is actually a miss - because when we rearrange the letters of omicron delta we also get "claimed on rot". Just saying.
Dr Barney Langford, Whitebridge
THANKS, Newcastle, for another three years of our council. Resurfacing the Supercars race track again at ratepayers' expense and not revealing how much it cost from us ratepayers. This, while there are suburban roads that could do with some repair.
Bruce Cook, Adamstown
WHAT is the world coming to? We have a journalist in Julian Assange who is just reporting the truth. The person who released this information to Julian has already been punished. It reminds of that classic movie where Jack Nicholson says " you can't handle the truth", and it seems to me that the American government obviously can't. People speak of freedom of speech, but apparently you can only get away with it if you're a person with Political power whether it's fake or not. It's about time Australia stood up for one of their own and brought him home.
