BE careful what you wish for. A faster train service to Sydney is on everyone's wish list, but is a 250km/h Very Fast Train (VFT) the best option?
VFTs must run straight and flat. A new corridor will be required, affecting thousands of homes and land-holdings, with many facing compulsory acquisition. Hundreds of hectares of bushland and National Parks will have to be cleared.
Fast trains will only stop at a few stations, as frequent stopping and starting prevent them from reaching their high speeds, so local travellers will still rely on the existing line. The cost of compulsory purchases for the corridor and the construction of new stations, tunnels and bridges will run into hundreds of billions.
The half-million people in the Lower Hunter, Lake Macquarie and Central Coast do not justify this level of investment nor provide the patronage to make the service viable. Oft-cited examples such as Tokyo-Osaka or Shanghai-Beijing have populations exceeding the whole of Australia, and they are heavily subsidised.
The money, time and promises spent on a VFT would be better invested in upgrading the existing corridor for trains to travel at speeds of 150km/h (common in the rest of the world), providing a 90-minute journey to Sydney. It is affordable, practical, and might actually happen, even if it doesn't make such an exciting media release. A not-so-slow train will still get us to an away Knights' or Jets' game, with time to enjoy the fabulous views along Brisbane Water and the Hawkesbury River.
Greg Giles, Hamilton South
Follow the lead of great cities
IAN Kirkwood, ("Our city's heart needs a kickstart", Herald, 1/1), is looking for life in the city centre, but not in the right places. His harking back to the old rail corridor arguments betrays a lack of appreciation for the changes that have actually transpired in this town.
"Our city's heart" is no longer Hunter Street, not because the government removed the rail line, but that they failed to activate it by retaining it as a transport corridor. The light rail would have been less of a white elephant had it been used to transform the corridor into a new thoroughfare and High Street between Hunter Street and Wharf Road, instead of stuffing the corridor full of obstructive developments. The centre is moving west, but getting "smeared" and diffused by lack of planning focus. Whichever streets and spaces are activated will become the new centres, but you can't have dozens of them in a town this size.
Finally, if he thinks activating a commercial centre means cramming ever more cars into it, he should be reminded that cars don't shop. People do. Improve our public and active transport (walking and cycling), and make streets safer and more inviting for them, and people will flock there. All of the great cities of the world are moving in that direction, not back to the past.
Sam Reich, Merewether
Light rail left us in slow lane
HATS off to Ian Kirkwood for his insightful opinion piece ("Our city's heart needs a kickstart", Herald, 1/1).
The light rail came at a cost of 280 parking spaces, and at an unknown cost over $600 million, as the light rail business plan, promised to be delivered since its inception, is still yet to surface. The tram line was approved by the state government, despite advice that the project's costs outweighed the benefits.
Now Novocastrians have indeed voted with their feet, frustrated at the slow speed of travel through the city, thus leading to the relocation of a number of Newcastle's iconic stores, such as Frontline Hobbies, Rice's Book Shop and Spotlight.
Years before this, the lockout laws caused the closure of a number of bars and other businesses, and now I feel the toy tram is another nail in the coffin of a once-lively city. It's amazing to me that people still praise the light rail, despite the low passenger numbers, and despite the entire undertaking appearing to be, in my opinion, an obvious cash grab.
Adz Carter, Newcastle
Bring back Paul Lobb
I WRITE following the reporting of the graceful response from our much-loved and respected newsman and newsreader Paul Lobb, following his widely-viewed shabby treatment by Channel Nine.
The much-loved and revered Murray Finlay and Des Hart would have been turning in their collective graves with the news of Paul's sacking. In my view, the crucial and particularly excruciating aspect to all this saga, is the loss we all share with Paul.
So many of us who have encountered Paul over the years - from his days on the road interviewing, reporting and bringing to us stories of our wonderful region - have been so grateful for his decency.
It perhaps deeply reflects all that we associate with being a true Novocastrian. I implore Channel Nine to bring Paul back as soon as he returns from his sabbatical. The weather may change, but this wind of change is neither warranted, nor desired by any of us. Such regard can never be fabricated, in an era where credibility in the news front has never been more important.
Dayne Steggles, Merewether
Much-needed money wasted
I WAS intrigued by the Prime Minister's comments on rapid antigen tests. Funnily, the money given in 2020-2021 to railway parking stations (where many were not required or were found to override council requests or requirements), Bridget Mackenzie's gun club grants and last month's grant to a "chook club" to "entice further public interest in poultry", and last week's announcement about the rejection of university research grants that may have provided the funds for those of greater risk in the community during this pandemic was discounted.
Read the Australian Auditor-General's reports during 2020 about the distribution of Commonwealth funding. A federal ICAC is obviously not required by the present government as even the Auditor-General can't shame the Cabinet with his reports.
Peter Trenbath, Warabrook
Lucky country, for some
What a great country we live in. We have a government who can't find the money to support the after-hours clinic for the sick, yet they can find $170m to support a gun club in a conservative electorate.
And to raise money to provide care for cancer sufferers, we have to rely on the generosity of people attending major sporting fixtures to provide that money.
So while the government eagerly rakes in the taxpayers' dollars, they rely on the same people to support a system they are responsible for. No wonder they can use millions of taxpayers' dollars on their pork barreling exercises trying to buy votes. And they call Australia the lucky country. And maybe it is if you are a politician.
Barry Reed, Islington
SHORT TAKES
IF you have anything that resembles a common cold, stay at home. No need to get tested, just do what we were all told to do during the 'flu' season. Stay at home and don't bring it to work. So unless your condition deteriorates with worse symptoms, at which stage you call an ambulance, just ride it out. Simple.
Tony Mansfield, Lambton
WELL it seems there are no free rapid antigen test kits from the government. It just confirms what most of us already knew ... ScoMo "couldn't give a RATs" about us.
Mac Maguire, Charlestown
I'VE become aware that the way we describe our city has changed in the past few years. I remember when Newcastle East was only east of Watt Street. I'm not sure where it starts now: Crown Street or anything east of Civic which is still the same. What was previously Newcastle West is now the CBD. Newcastle West started at Union Street, where the Post Office used to be. Who made these decisions?
Joan Lambert, Adamstown
WHATEVER you're on Albo, halve it! Newcastle to Sydney by train in an hour? And this person wants to run the country? Who would vote for this stupid idea? Not me. And with Chalmers, Keneally, Wong etc in Albanese's team, ScoMo should have an easy time in the May election.
Don Fraser, Belmont
SOME suggestions for Mr Albanese to become PM: stop talking about high-speed rail plus black-rimmed glasses and wide-brimmed hats don't suit you. Good luck.
Brian Rose, Adamstown
GOING by the results of the recent polling, there must be a lot of voters out there regretting that they never voted for Bill Shorten.
Dennis Petrovic, Rutherford
AFTER watching Tina Arena butcher an AC/DC song on the ABC on New Year's Eve I can't help but think that Bon Scott would have been turning in his grave. Seriously. She is sickly sweet. Surely we have better talent in Australia than someone who calls France home. Yuck.
Matt Ophir, Charlestown
TOTALLY agree, John Cooper, (Short Takes, 3/1), regarding Albo's fast train promise. Just another election gimmick. Remember Gillard's no carbon tax promise?
Ian King, Warners Bay
MESSAGEBOARD
THE Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Art Society Exhibition will be located at Charlestown Shopping Centre, 30 Pearson St, Charlestown, from Monday, January 31 until Sunday, February 13. Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm; Thursday 9am to 9pm; Saturday 9am to 5pm; and, Sunday 10am to 5pm. This is an exhibition of works by local members of the society all of which are original oils, watercolour, acrylic, pencil pastel and mixed media paintings. Come and have a browse. For further information, call 0404 893 855.
