AS I enter my 91st year, we appear to be heading into another great depression. Being born on April 14, just a few months before the big crash of 1929, I welcomed my first great grandson last June and worry he is to follow my path in another depression.
My mother died in 1931 and my father had a complete health breakdown under the stress of it all. I was taken into care by St Patrick's Orphanage together with my older sister and brother. I recount this as I wonder if our present society has the institutions to handle the massive disruption predicted to follow this crisis. The huge surge in police calls to domestic violence is only the first evidence of what is down the road.
There were major changes led by the growth in the trade unions so that when WWII hit, the workforce was easily organised for war under conditions imposed by unions. As the Allies started to win the war, the Labor government started to plan for peace and how to resettle the mass of returning soldiers. In these plans the unions played a major part. As a result, my sister and brother went back to school and university. My beloved sister, Joan M Bielski AO, became a teacher and activist. My brother, Dr James Ward, became an obstetrician.
Over recent years the Coalition governments, under the guise of giving workers "greater flexibility", have made serious changes to work conditions that had not been exposed until this present epidemic. We now have an educated workforce with a very high number of graduates who have until now got by in the "GIG" economy but now realise they are completely exposed in an unregulated market.
As the millennials, who were already barred by the gig wages from home ownership, now realise, their future is in the unregulated hands of the bosses. I wonder if we'll see the social unrest of previous generations. The low rate of union membership is making employers aggressive in their representations on the current stimulus package.
Will I live out these times in a society similar to that into which I was born, or are the youth of today going to demand a fair share of the wealth and that the major companies also pay their fair share of tax? I hope the trade unions are reinvigorated by new membership and lead the workers back to the barricade.
Frank Ward OAM, Shoal Bay
SALUTE TO A HIGH FLYER
BRAVO, Joanne McCarthy. What a career. What a journalist. What a woman.
The Central Coast community is indebted to Joanne for her tireless work in exposing the facts surrounding Wyong Shire and Central Coast Council's various international and regional airport proposals and their associated $500 million Chinese theme park.
We were humbled a few years ago when Joanne made her first GIPA application for government information and attributed it to our example of utilising GIPA's to obtain information regarding the council's airport exploits. Joanne's retirement is a blow to journalism. Her irreplaceable ability and tenacity will be sorely missed.
Laurie and Jo Eyes, Wyong Creek
SHADES OF GREY BLUR LINES
THERE is so much that is unfair about this current lockdown.
Take the Muswellbrook couple sitting in their car near a grassy verge; the young man eating a kebab alone on a bench ('Massage parlour and man with kebab fined', Herald 3/4); the man riding his motorbike in Gateshead ('Rider had no good excuse: police', Herald 10/4). All have been fined because they couldn't come up with a legitimate excuse for being out and about.
These people were penalised for telling the truth while others were let off because they claimed to be going shopping for food or medication. And it seems you can get away with murder if you are wearing the latest exercise garb. There is talk about the legitimacy of these fines. I would suggest people get in touch with their local MPs.
Julie Robinson, Cardiff
LOOK PAST CORONA CRISIS
THE longer this coronavirus crisis continues, the more it becomes obvious to me that things will never be the same. Early indications see Australia and New Zealand recovering quicker than the rest of the world. We need to beat this virus and get on the front foot and prepare for the demand that will come. In the short term, I believe food production and the opening up of abattoirs for export will be needed. If Australia can produce enough food to feed 75 million people at the moment, I think we can produce a lot more. To achieve this, the government needs to put plans in place to get more water into the outback. Building dams will create hydroelectricity, employment and insurance for times of drought.
In the long term while this crisis continues, we'll all get used to breathing cleaner air. Electric transport will be in more demand and plans for fast trains between the capital cities needs to be revisited. In the meantime, happy self isolating.
Neil Meyers, Warners Bay
Blackbutt is not Bathers
IT seems to me Franklin White's analogy fails because it's based on a false equivalence (Letters, 14/4). On a beautiful, warm autumn day, Bondi Beach will always be extremely busy, as will Bathers Way. By comparison the walking trails in Blackbutt Reserve will still be extremely quiet. It's a completely different environment, attracting different people for different reasons. To give just one point of difference - many people walk Bathers Way to see and be seen; people go to the Blackbutt trails to exercise. We are still allowed to exercise.
Surely such important recreational facilities should be kept open unless there is actual evidence people cannot use them without breaking the rules. In fact, it appears that not only is council doing exactly that in relation to Bathers Way but also setting a high bar via Jeremy Bath's comments ('Free way', Herald 14/4). If the council is prepared to allow Bathers Way to remain open despite evidence of at least occasional breaches, why did it close the Blackbutt trails without such evidence?
The only answer seems to be a perception parts of Blackbutt are difficult to monitor. People haven't really been known to hold clandestine get-togethers there. What reason is there to think they will start now? Even 100 Michael Hincheys wouldn't do that.
Yes, the virus can be beaten with evidence-based, rational and sustainable measures. I think closing Blackbutt is a gross overreaction. If the council wants to protect public health, it should make sure there's soap in the public toilets, not completely close 182 hectares of bushland.
Michael Hinchey, New Lambton
THE DATA CAN OMIT DETAILS
TOO often our politicians and others rely upon raw COVID-19 statistics when attempting to draw comparisons with other nations, states or territories. They also concentrate on raw data when reporting the number of new cases.
These statistics would be much more useful if our leaders and media headlined important numbers on a per capita basis and the number of new reported cases per tests undertaken. Now is not the time to be lulled into a false sense of security.
Tony Brown, Newcastle
SHARE YOUR OPINION
Email letters@newcastleherald.com.au or send a text message to 0427 154 176 (include name and suburb). Letters should be fewer than 200 words. Short Takes should be fewer than 50 words. Correspondence may be edited and reproduced in any form.
SHORT TAKES
JOHN Bonnyman (Short Takes, 13/4) warns us that we are presently living in a police state and that it will stay that way under a Liberal government after the coronavirus problem has been resolved. Personally I think the actions of police in most cases are in response to the behaviour of some individual members of the community. If people believe that police officers are acting improperly there are plenty of avenues for them to complain or seek legal advice.
David Stuart, Merewether
WOULD Nick Politis be saying the premiership will be meaningless if a shortened 15 rounds is played ('Don't chicken out', Newcastle Herald 13/4) if his team had won both games they have played? How about each club plays every team once and works out semis, finals from there? Am I the only one in Australia that is over hearing about how the games must be played to lift everyone's spirits? Sorry, but I find the whole thing meaningless.
Meryl Pickles, Macquarie Hills
If the COVID-19 virus was spread by a crew member in the galley of the Ruby Princess, how safe are we with takeaway meals ?
Terence Chedzey, Glendale
FOXTEL and Channel Nine seem to run the NRL. I wish they ran lawn bowls; might get a game next month and a schooner.
Darren Sparks, North Lambton
IF we were "living in a police state" John Bonnyman, your contribution (Short Takes, 13/4) would not be printed. No, we have a government doing a bloody good job in a crisis no nation was prepared for. Our collective refusal to take our own responsibilities seriously has forced the government to implement restrictions many don't like, but the vast majority of us accept are necessary and are helping save lives.
Dave McTaggart, Edgeworth
CAN anyone tell me why the flame of remembrance in Civic Park has been out for the last three days and nothing has been done about it? It's shocking this close to Anzac Day.
Ken Stead, Lambton
I WOULD just like to say everyone that was walking on Bathers Way on Sunday is a complete and utter moron in my opinion. What part of stay at home don't you understand? You can get the same exercise by walking up and down your own street instead of going out and mixing with hundreds of people. If this keeps up I believe we will be in lockdown for many more months. Wake up, people, and stay home.
Graeme Bennett, Warners Bay
AFTER reading about and seeing the photo of people on the Bathers Way ('Free way', Herald 14/4) I've come to the conclusion that there's a lot of dumb people in Newcastle. What part of stay home don't they understand? I think it should be closed.
Gary Bruce, Swansea
SUNDAY: Bathers Way full of people. Monday: a rise in virus numbers in Newcastle. When will these people wake up and stay at home? Exercise in your own backyard.
