I WAS booked onto Qantas flight QF135 from Brisbane to Christchurch for Sunday 15th March, arriving into Christchurch at 00:35 on March 16, 35 minutes after the New Zealand government's mandatory 14-day self-isolation declaration came into effect. I am self-employed and I was going for business.
To get to Brisbane from Newcastle, I had a reservation on Jetstar and whilst I was staying in Christchurch, I had three nights of accommodation booked and prepaid.
All in all, a fraction over $2000 in expenditure will never to be returned as the declaration by New Zealand came less than 24 hours before my scheduled departure, and therefore the airline cancellation policies were null and void.
While I understand that this situation is not anyone's fault and that governments and companies are, whilst acting in a reactive way, largely making decisions motivated by the best interests of the people, the enormous frustration of spending literally hours on hold to the airlines simply wasn't (and isn't) acceptable. It took me over two hours on Saturday night to get through to Qantas and more than four hours with Jetstar until I eventually gave up.
Highlighting my own little micro-economic impact in this pandemic rams home the bigger picture, and it will be interesting who comes out of this at the other end and what long term impacts it will have on industry as a whole.
Antony Bennett, Bar Beach
DON'T CHOOSE CASUALLY
IF you are a casual employee and are sailing financially close to the wind you could face a difficult decision if you happen to contract a mild sore throat and cough with a temperature and chills. You may decide to ride it out so to speak rather than seek medical help in case you have coronavirus.
A positive diagnosis puts you on a path of enforced 14 day home quarantine which is enforced by police checks. You can of course access the Centrelink sick benefit which is grossly inadequate and embroiled in a myriad of red tape or you can say nothing and present for work dosed with analgesics. This dilemma can be removed if the Federal Government offered to pay in full your normal casual wages whilst you are in quarantine. The amount can be verified by presenting to Centrelink a statutory declaration from your employer.
Dallas Bellamy, West Wallsend
YES, IT REALLY MATTERS
BRAD Hill (Short Takes, 12/3) flippantly asked " does anyone really care whether there were sports grants or not, or a document changed by whoever?". He then presents what I consider a false equivalence, comparing the alleged malfeasance of persons in high public office with what he calls "ridiculous Green ideology" and "climate change loonies".
Mr Hill's letter appears to be nothing more than a crude and vulgar attempt to baselessly besmirch those who don't share his ideological perspective. He also asks, referring to the sports rorts and Angus Taylor's alleged doctoring of a public document, if it "affects your daily life".
I respectfully urge Mr Hill to appreciate the gravity of these allegations and further understand the ramifications. The sports rorts assertion involves the misappropriation of public money for personal gain by the prime minister's office. To my mind this is a most grievous transgression indeed. They are allegations suggesting falsification of a public document yet our own federal police appear in my opinion to have done nothing about ('AFP didn't interview Taylor over documents', Newcastle Herald 19/2).
The Australian Federal Police did, however, have resources to raid journalists critical of the current government. Taking these instances into account, I believe it appears that justice is not being served. Furthermore, this creates the impression to to me that the AFP, and by extension our judicial system, are inclined to display a leniency toward members of the Coalition. If this is the public's perception, it is grave and dangerous. That is far more serious than "Green ideology, climate change loonies or dunny roll" combined. These are matters of great concern to all, regardless of allegiance.
John Lawton, Belmont
NOT EVERY BARREL STUFFED
LAST Wednesday's story ('This is why we don't trust politicians, says pony club president', Herald 11/3) reported on the frustration of two sporting clubs at Goolwa and Coromandel Valley in South Australia after missing out on the $100 million federal sports grants program. This was in spite of both clubs clearly qualifying on the 74-point threshold set for grant approval. It has often been inferred or even bluntly claimed that the government distributed grants to favour Liberal or marginal seats. Really?
Well, consider this: both Goolwa and Coromandel Valley are in the federal seat of Mayo. Mayo used to be a Liberal seat until 2016, but is now held by Rebekha Sharkie of the Centre Alliance Party. The Liberals want it back; it's a marginal seat. So why didn't they preferentially give grant money to the sports clubs in Goolwa and Coromandel Valley, to pork-barrel Mayo, before the last election? I believe this contradicts the narrative run by the ALP and many in the media. Are the sports rorts a beat-up?
Peter Devey, Merewether
OUR GREED IS NOT GOOD
THAT champion of unchecked capitalism, former British PM Margaret Thatcher, once stated "there's no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families.....and people must look after themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves."
John Howard claimed Margaret Thatcher was his "guiding light". Tony Abbott considered Howard his "mentor" and Scott Morrison said he "looks to the advice and instruction and example set by John Howard". Unchecked capitalism is a pseudonym for self-interest.
The selfish stockpiling seen in Australia due to the corona virus is simply the subtle, decades-long social engineering of the conservative side of political ideology coming to fruition in our society. In my opinion the Murdoch press has been a powerful enabler and the long term, conservative political goal of greed is good has replaced a fair go.
John Arnold, Anna Bay
LEADING FROM THE FRONT
HOW refreshing to see the state premiers and Prime Minister Scott Morrison co-operating and doing their best to work out ways to tackle the coronavirus crisis. This is government as it should be, and we all should be grateful. We are all in this together and it is not a time for complaining or sniping. We can all contribute if we follow the advice and keep up to date. All the premiers performed extremely well, but I feel a special mention should go to Daniel Andrews for his measured approach and refrain from political point scoring, just as he did during the bushfire crisis.
Sandy Buchanan, Largs
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
THE elderly and disabled having to get to supermarkets at 7am for their much needed specialised shopping hour, who suggested that one? In a caring, fair-go society like Australia we should be leaving them enough stock to shop at 10am. Next we'll have ScoMo telling us that 499 people all together aren't enough to spread coronavirus. Oh, hang on...
Ian Osborne, Belmont
TALK about pie in the sky stuff ('Hospital line best case for extension', Newcastle Herald 14/3). The chance of any extension to Newcastle rail in my lifetime is zilch unless the local voters change our federal and state seats to swinging ones. If that happens, we may even get some long overdue improvement to the Newcastle/Sydney rail service.
John Scott, Kahibah
WHEN I ran a successful business a few years ago I never received any assistance from the government or anybody else. Where do these businesses get the idea that the government should pay their way? NRL, General Motors, coal mines; they all want hand-outs at the taxpayers' expense. Get with it, conduct your business properly and you won't need assistance.
Gary Charlton, Raymond Terrace
WHEN will the investors and shopping centre management groups understand that, as the community pays their dues, high price rentals in centres now will send many of their store operators bankrupt unless they are given assistance? Rental reduction may give many the space to survive. Ignorance and greed is no excuse.
John Houston, Mayfield
IN response to Margaret Neal (Short Takes, 17/3), I haven't shopped at Coles since they starting keeping the farmers money from the milk. Most people are not like myself, though, and have very short memories or are just nonchalant about it all unfortunately.
Amy Matzanke, Sandgate
I AM a Knights fan, but not a club member. In this terrible time of concern ('Knights agree that the NRL show must go on', Herald 17/3), I have decided to actually join and pay to attend games. I prefer and still will watch on TV. To me, now is the time for us to give back to the club and not cancel memberships but increase them so we can survive for when the good times return. Go the Knights.
Tony Buxton, Argenton
WONDERFUL results, Knights and Jets ('Newcastle's fans left with mixed emotions', Herald 16/3). Two weekends in a row!
Bill Slicer, Tighes Hill
IN the ancient world it would be called a plague caused by a displeased God. Thankfully due to science now we know better. But with the Pope praying for an end to the coronavirus outburst you'd think we are back in the Middle Ages. In this modern world do we need this kind of superstition?
Neville Aubrey, Wallsend
JOHN Keen (Short Takes, 14/3) even though I laughed out loud, you should be reprimanded for plagiarism. Just pray Mark Zuckerberg doesn't find out where your text came from.
