I WALKED past the excellent statue of Joy Cummings the other day and it made me think that we don't have many like this in Newcastle. Why? Greg Ray posted a nice story about James Fletcher, the miner's advocate, and his large statue. This got me motivated: we need more statues.
I ask you to think, as I did: who deserves a statue? Who are the people throughout our history that really changed Newcastle? If we love the way our city has developed, we should understand how it got this way. Statues tell that story. My start at a list is John Shortland, explorer, European discoverer; James Hannell, first mayor; John Brown, coal baron; Edward Moriarty, harbour engineer; Guillame Delprat, pioneer industrialist; Essington Lewis, industrialist.
If we start with the game changers, then other important names will follow. They could be installed beside the foreshore path from Nobbys to Carrington. But none of these seriously important people have a statue. Is it because we think no-one ever did anything really important, or because we don't like to recognise the efforts of our city builders? Most likely we've not spent time looking at statues and wondered what that person did to warrant a statue, so we just don't care. Will it ever be time for us to recognise our past?
Bob Cook, Newcastle
DON'T BUY PROPERTY PUSH
THE Berejiklian government is reportedly considering a $500 million spending spree on property. Why they would contemplate such an idea is open to question since at least one bank is forecasting a housing price drop of 30 per cent.
This would mean the government would be buying it at the top end of a falling market. It may, of course, be a gesture to prop up housing prices but their target, unsold apartments, are going to be in the so-called ghost towers which are the unwanted ones out of the 54,000 apartments built between 2018 and 2019.
A report by University of NSW's City Futures Research Centre found that 85 percent of strata title owners in NSW said there were defects in the construction of their building. Some defects like fire safety compliance and non-approved cladding will cost millions to rectify, so the developers will be very grateful for the government taking them off their hands and the taxpayer for footing the bill for the repair work.
Don Owers, Dudley
GREAT TO HEAR FOR VETERAN
IT was interesting to read about World War II veteran Alf Carpenter observing Anzac Day accompanied by a bugler playing The Last Post ('Alf's day to remember', Herald 27/4).
Despite the solemn occasion, I did manage a smile when I noticed that the bugler's name was Meredith Wilson, who probably comes from a musical family and was perhaps named after the famous composer, Meredith Wilson, who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway hit The Music Man, which was also a popular film in the 1960s.
It revolved around a smooth talking con man who tries to convince the people of River City to fund uniforms and musical instruments for a children's brass band, with the intention of then skipping out of town with their money.
All ends well in the story, but I do hope that Meredith's rendition on Anzac Day was a little easier on the ear than some of the unfortunate sounds of the tone-deaf kids in his namesake's musical extravaganza.
David Stuart, Merewether
FINES WERE A BLUNDER
NOW that the state government has given the all clear for two people and children to visit another home, I believe we can assume that social distancing is all but over. Gladys Berejiklian says that many are suffering psychologically because of being separated from loved ones.
If the government hadn't gone so hard and allowed people to get out of their homes and go for a drive there would be fewer stressed people now. The large fines for not coming up with a good reason for being outside has been another blunder, I think. Picking on some poor soul who is nowhere near another person and fining them because they could not come up with an approved reason for being outside has made many cynical. Now the federal government is placing its hope in an app. It sounds high tech and like boys' toys stuff to me, and I'm concerned it could well give a false sense of security. I believe the best method of slowing the spread is to keep on with social distancing, hand washing and testing.
Julie Robinson, Cardiff
TIMING WILL BE EVERYTHING
WHEN is it time to leave? The contradictions abound. You want to leave your house and have things go back to normal? You want to be able to go out for dinner with your friends, or even just have a party? You want to travel again, whether in Australia or overseas? You hear people complaining that things are locked down, but hear the same people complaining when the government starts opening things back up slowly.
You hear that we can't open our borders and go back to normal until there is a vaccine. But, you know, there may never be a vaccine, do we then just never go back to normal? Do we never open our borders?
You hear people support health officials when they say social distancing works and has been working. But you hear these same people complaining when health officials say children can go back to school.
Maybe we should just all stay in our homes forever, and the way in which we live now becomes normal. Future generations will never know that it was any different.
At any stage re-opening the nation can be tricky. There will always be risk no matter when. We may never get a vaccine, despite the amount of money and time invested, and we have a history of this. We simply can't stay in our house forever; not for us, not for our economy.
Bradley Burns, Cardiff
TRUST MUST BE EARNED
HERE'S why I will not get the new government app: I remember when the government promised there would never ever be a GST; I remember when we were told Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when the United Nations said they didn't, and subsequently we sent some of our best and bravest to be killed and wounded physically and mentally. I remember when banks convinced us to put our pays in the banks and all you would need to do is go to an ATM with your card to get cash or pay your bills without charge. What happened? The government sells the Commonwealth banks, branches close in country towns, sacking lots of staff, ATMs disappear and they overcharge customers so the CEO can get a million-dollar salary. Put my trust in the government? No way.
George Williams, West Wallsend
LETTER OF THE WEEK
THE pen goes to Michael Jameson, of New Lambton, for his letter about Anzac Day.
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
I BELIEVE the NRL and its media associates are surely without social conscience and any semblance of fair play when proposing a May 28 restart ('Warriors set to be based in the bush', Newcastle Herald 28/4). Most other sports abide by social distancing, many small businesses have laid off staff, hospitality and tourism are in hibernation. It is absurd that while ANZAC Day could not go ahead, the NRL can. One player getting COVID-19 will expose those on the money-go-round for crying game on.
Colin Fraser, Kearsley
IT is worth pointing out to the Herald, as well as generally, that the three NRL players attending a camping trip on the Mid North Coast were guilty of a criminal offence in breaching the public health order ('Premier blasts errant players', Herald 30/4). This order carries the weight of law and it is not a mere guideline as I thought the Herald report seemed to imply. It is a much more serious offence than breaching a guideline.
Daryll Hadfield, Redhead
DARYLL Hadfield (Letters, 28/4), surely you realise by now that the NRL paddle their own canoe and aren't in the same boat as most of the rest of us.
Bryn Roberts, New Lambton
MY early vote for letter of the week goes to Tuesday's lead letter (Letters, 28/4). Well said, Michael Jameson.
Laurie Bowman, Charlestown
I THOUGHT I would download the new COVIDsafe app, but when I searched for it the first four sites were either the ABC or The Guardian. Further down I had to read heaps of explanations before getting anywhere near a download app. Then I had trouble with the download. If problems occur with even a starting app and the ABC is involved, I have changed my mind.
John Hollingsworth, Hamilton
ONE of the bus stops in Glebe Road is constantly in a disgusting and unclean state. I would hate to have to wait for a bus with all the COVID-19 issues at present. The local residents will probably put the filth in their own bins tonight and they shouldn't have to. The council took the garbage bin that serviced this bus stop away some years ago. Why?
Graeme Gibson, Merewether
WOULDN'T it be the best, if our government were to grant all our essential service workers, especially our nurses and doctors, an extra two weeks of annual leave after this pandemic has subsided? They have well and truly earned every hour of it. Thank you one and all, you are our unsung heroes.
Graeme Kime, Cameron Park
FOLLOWING on the great story by Donna Page ('Bad break', Herald 25/4) about the need to slow the waves hitting Stockton, how about we scuttle a decommissioned Navy ship offshore, slow the waves, grow fishing and diving and create a safe harbour? HMAS Melbourne is ready to sink but Mordialloc wants it. The Tobruk is planned to join the Brisbane for the Sunshine Coast. The Adelaide is at Terrigal, the Swan and the Perth are off WA and the Hobart is off SA.
