I AGREE with Greg Hunt (Letters, 23/3) that a combative, us-and-them approach to resolving the problem of the appalling attitude and behaviour of many men towards women is not productive. There is no doubt that recent events, including the sudden realisation that not only can women not rely on the parliament to solve the problem but that parliament is part of the problem, has enraged many women to the point where they feel that they have to take to the streets and vent their anger.
This is understandable and probably inevitable. But if genuine, lasting action is to be taken it will require calm heads and a real willingness for men and women to work together. This will not be resolved quickly; men's sense of entitlement and superiority over women goes back millennia and it is only over the past several decades that many men have come to realise and accept that we really are all equal.
Efforts must start with children. A well-structured summit (not a talk-fest) with representatives of all sectors, especially schools, universities and the government agencies who regulate them, should come together to methodically work through the structure and stages of a broad-ranging education and awareness program to be delivered - and evaluated - at all levels of education, not just once but repeatedly throughout a child's education. And any such program must include engagement, through the education system, with parents. It is clear that many parents find difficulty in engaging with their children on issues such as consent and respect. It is critical that they are supported in playing their part. As for t-shirts, I'm not sure Mr Hunt's suggestion of "men, we need your help" would go over too well. How about non-gender-specific "We are in this together"?
John Ure, Mount Hutton
Let flood donations rain down
MUCH has been written about the summer of 2019 where bushfires swept through the whole of NSW, devastating vast areas and causing a lot of havoc to a lot of communities.
People all over the country were called on to help these people and everybody stood up and opened their hearts and their wallets for the cause charities throughout NSW were inundated with help and monies. Later it was found out many charities held back some of the donated funds ,saying this money will be used at a later date for any other disaster that comes our way. I even read a while ago that there is still money in the Newcastle Earthquake Fund.
So I say to the people through the land that run these so called charities to unlock the purse string and given back the money now to the flood-stricken people that are desperate for help. The monies were collected to help in these crippling floods, not to increase the bank balance. Come on, let the monies flow out now.
John Matthews, Belmont North
Limits of water storage are plain
GRAEME Kime (Letters, 24/3) asks where are all the dams. The answer can be found on the internet; as to the number, location and capacity for all states of Australia, at least for the dams under the control of a government agency, not small ones on private property. The summary for NSW is as follows: the number of dams (capacity more than 0.1 gigalitre) is 123. Their total capacity is 25,111 gigalitres. A gigalitre is equivalent to a million megalitres. The majority are located in eastern NSW, where suitable river valleys are found.
The problem is one of human perception. Not all dams are equal. When the word "dam" is uttered, some people will think of Warragamba Dam as the exemplar of a "real" dam. However such large dams, with a capacity of more than 1000 gigalitures, are uncommon. There are only nine in NSW. The rest are of progressively lesser capacity, down to my cut-off of 0.1 gigalitres.
The siting of dams involves cost/benefit, and consideration of the physical characteristics of the chosen site. There is another misperception that we could create the capacity in dams to capture most, if not all, the rain that falls over NSW in a typical year. The average rainfall over NSW in a typical year (non-drought) is 500 millimetres. This equates to 400,000 gigalitres, ignoring the fact that some places are much wetter and others much drier. If all the dams I referred to were bone dry (which of course never happens) they could capture/store 6.3 per cent of the yearly rainfall over NSW. If those same dams were already 75 per cent full they could capture about 1.6 per cent of the annual rainfall before reaching capacity.
Nature has the capability, in a big dump of water, to overwhelm our storage capacity by a factor of almost 100 times. That's not going to change in the near future. If the solution were as simple as a three-word mantra, build more dams, we might just as well demand that the existing dams be doubled in capacity. If only it were that simple. For residential living, building on flood plains should be an absolute no.
Mati Morel, Thornton
Damn coal, dams a better option
JOHN Hollingsworth unwittingly exposes a cognitive dissonance in denialist thought (Short Takes, 24/3). After his astounding revelation that solar panels did not produce much energy during the rain, he then spruiks the Tillegra Dam, if only it had hydro generation. Dams using pumped hydro work by storing the excess, free solar energy collected on sunny days, a long-term solution to intermittence. Also when it rains, the hydro energy is totally free because water does not need to be pumped to the top dam. The problem is our denialist government seems to like dams, but is also obsessed with new coal and gas generation. If they let go of that and proposed major pumped hydro in new dams, perhaps more dams would get built. We would have more water and lower emissions. Win-win.
Michael Gormly, Islington
Road is mapped out before us
TO answer your question Ken Stead (Short Takes, 25/3), our future energy supply will come from distributed resources spread across our wide country. Even when the sun isn't shining the wind still blows (for example, in Bass Strait) plus we will have hydro and lots of batteries.
The experts who manage our electricity resources have already mapped out the plans to coordinate our energy supply without any fossil fuel, they see it as not if but when, and a lot sooner than you may think. South Australia has no coal fired power stations and very little gas, and the cheapest electricity supply in Australia.
Bruce Graham, Warners Bay
THE POLL
DO you think Scott Morrison understands the concerns women have raised about sexism in Parliament?
Yes 21%, No 74%, Unsure 4%
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 in any form.
SHORT TAKES
STUPIDITY isn't a crime but we can curb stupidity sometimes. If people drive into water on the road and need to be rescued, send them the bill - whatever the cost. Legislation should be easy and exemptions can be made for genuine emergencies, such as if there was no other way to escape a greater danger. Also, police should be able to prosecute drivers who proceed on a closed road.
Doug Hoepper, Garden Suburb
WOULD it be possible for someone in authority to offer an explanation re the arrangements for services on ANZAC Day? If we cannot meet in a large group to remember those who served, but we can meet in very large groups to pay homage to the football gods, where is the logic? Personally I believe we have it all wrong. Please explain.
John Bradford, Beresfield
LAKE Macquarie councillor Adam Shultz says "every man and his dog" is entitled to the basic superannuation guarantee ("It's super news, but don't make us vote", NewcastleHerald, 22/3). My watchdog has worked on me for 15 years and has not received a cent. He is looking forward to a huge back payment.
Bruce Brown, Marks Point
JOHN Arnold, the British may have been the world's most powerful empire when Cook landed in Australia, so what do I have to feel guilty or sorry about? Nothing, as far as I'm concerned; I wasn't there. After a hard day's work paying my own way through life and supporting the less fortunate with my tax contribution I may smell like one of Cook's fearless sailors from the Endeavour, but I choose to carry on owing nobody an apology for something I did not do.
Steve Barnett, Fingal Bay
I DEPLORE all forms of violence, abuse, harassment or sexism Andrew Hirst (Letters 23/3), but I'm cynical as to why Nicolle Flint delivered her "I will not be lectured to..." (where have I heard that before?) valedictory speech twelve months before she's due to leave.
Mac Maguire, Charlestown
FLOOD, fire and famine are products of Mother Nature; often fierce and unpredictable. Now the powers to be want to put all our hope, trust and future into Mother Nature for power supply without a worthwhile back-up. The previous two weeks, with little if any substantial sunlight is I believe the very reason real back-up, not batteries, will always be a necessity. By all means build and use renewable energy, but not at the expense of removing power stations. Power stations can be kept in a state of standby, producing little if any carbon (if that is a problem), but don't ever remove their reliability. The need of a constant power supply is what drives our economy and our future. It can't be left to Mother Nature.
Carl Stevenson, Dora Creek
WEDNESDAY'S story ('Looking beyond the birds and bees', Herald 24/3) contained the quote "what do you call people who use apps as contraception? Mothers. Because they don't work". Most mothers are the most amazing people who can do many things at once. That quote just set the current movement back years.
