IN a previous letter to this page I lamented the failure of the 1967 referendum to split the State of NSW into two, the top half, north of the Hawkesbury River, to be the state of New England. Recent letters indicate that I am not alone in this.
The current government is trying to stop our port becoming a container terminal in favour of Sydney and Port Botany, after having received $1.75 billion from the sale of our port. Highways and traffic tunnels in Sydney are under constant construction, at enormous cost, yet our inner city bypass is still not finished. It is in its third and final stage after 20-something years since commencement. The much promised Tarro connection of the Pacific Highway to the M1 is still only a promise. I've lost count of the election promises on that one.
The eroded beach fronts of Northern Sydney have been repaired, yet ours are still eroding. The $13 million election promise of a cruise terminal has been reneged on, in favour of the the south coast. We even had to buy our own rescue helicopter and cancer unit by way of telethons. Need I go on?
The top half of the state, and in particular, Newcastle, has been a good milking cow for Sydney for too long, which gives some credence to the idea that we, as a separate state, would be economically viable. The idea of secession has been around since the 1920s. The time has never been more ripe.
Bill Snow, Stockton
Legacy is nothing versus lives
I DOUBT it really came as a surprise to anyone that Newcastle's lockdown was extended this past week. But what I believe to be truly shocking is the monumental way that the state government has mishandled this entire lockdown.
The general consensus amongst many appears to be that NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian made the decision to lockdown about seven weeks too late, and was more worried about protecting her legacy as a premier who keeps businesses open, rather than protecting the people. After what is being labelled as lockdown light or a Clayton's lockdown, Ms Berejiklian's first lockdown proved ineffective given the disaster that a large percentage of the state is dealing with now. The irony is that, despite Victorians being the first lab rats to be in the lockdown experiment, they fared better than us. However, since Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was so demonised for his decision, I think Ms Berejiklian was too scared of scrutiny to take proper steps to stop the spread. It seems she's too scared to even utter the word "lockdown" to this day, which is probably why she uses ambiguous terms such as "stay-at-home orders" instead.
Adz Carter, Newcastle
City transport plan can lead nation
HAVING lived in regional Victoria for 30 years, I agree with Peter Sansom that many locations in Australia are no longer well-serviced by public transport (Letters, 17/8). The M1248v map of NSW Railways, 1913, shows a state covered by rail and coach lines. Sadly, like Victoria, this network has been severely pruned. It is no longer possible to take a train all the way from Sydney to Bourke, for example. Transport is Australia's third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, with the highest rate of growth. Cars are responsible for roughly half of the transport emissions so taking internal combustion engines off the road has to be a high priority. Sadly, the federal government has no effective transport plan. There is no mention of public transport at all in its Technology Investment Roadmap, the paper to which it refers when emissions are discussed.
Similarly, its more recent Future Fuels Strategy has no incentives for ordinary Australians to purchase electric vehicles. It has been described as a "nothing" paper that has little effective action, merely "encouraging" businesses to switch to low-emission fleets. The Greater Newcastle Future Transport Plan on the other hand, does have a public transport focus but also plans for new technologies such as e-bikes and docking stations, electric buses and a regional electric vehicle charging network. Perhaps lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes could send Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor a copy.
Ray Peck, Hawthorn
School may have outgrown site
WE were alerted to the proposed redevelopment of the Park Campus of Newcastle Grammar School featured in the Newcastle Herald by a leaflet in the letterbox on Friday August 13, noting that the initial consultation opportunities closed on Sunday, August 15. This is not good enough in my opinion.
I live near the school and have quite a few concerns about this proposal, as I believe it appears to be a gross overdevelopment of a relatively small site. The current traffic and parking around that corner of Union Street is difficult and it is a busy thoroughfare at the best of times without becoming a feeder for increased exiting parental traffic in the morning peak hour. The school end of Corlette Street is narrow and frequently blocked by overly-large vehicles trying to park, pass or disembark children.
This project will take several years and so there will be the increase in traffic and parking from tradespeople mixing in with parents. That's just a couple of thoughts before you add the current student numbers to additional kids in a high-rise building that has to have outdoor space built into the roof as there won't be sufficient ground level playing areas. Perhaps the school would be better taking their $20 million and finding a new site that can be developed all in one go? There's no requirement that the school has to be where it is, as it is a private school and therefore not linked to geographical location for catchment of its pupils.
Jacki McKenna, Cooks Hill
Power to the PM on emissions
WHILE various leaders from the rest of the world have pledged a commitment to a net zero carbon emission no greater than the year 2005 by 2050, and our Prime Minister hasn't, I believe we should be proud of him. Considering the logistics involved, who can guarantee what will happen in 30 years' time, especially the UN who expect us to do as they say without question?
One would expect over the next 30 years our population would have doubled, and energy needs to have doubled, possibly tripled if road transport was to go full electric.
Apart from going nuclear energy, nothing else would be up to the job, or even come close that's carbon free. As for renewable energy, even now the International Energy Agency has forewarned that power from sunshine and wind over the last 30 years, has only provided around three per cent of the world's power supply.
Yes, here in Australia numbers up around 20 per cent have been achieved, but only during part of the average six-hour cycle the sun and wind are available. When placed in the 24 hour cycle it's only five per cent of the day. Considering these six hours will never increase, while power demand will always increase, why are we wasting precious time? An occasional five per cent will never replace the other 95 per cent.
Even if 20 per cent could power everything 24 hours a day, using batteries etc., which would be a huge, almost impossible, task there is still the 80 per cent missing that's needed for a growing population and expanding economy.
Carl Stevenson, Dora Creek
SHORT TAKES
WE in the Hunter have been ignored by Sydney which acts as though it is the centre of the universe. If only Gladys had taken Dan Andrews' handling of the Melbourne crises as the gold standard and put a ring of steel around Sydney and acted quickly and decisively to protect Regional NSW. Big business is paramount and the rest of the state of secondary concern.
Gail Hennessy, Rankin Park
I DO not know why the COVID testers bother going to the sewage works to test for COVID when they could do the same test by taking samples from the so-called 'drinking water' we are forced to consume in Wallsend. We are encouraged to drink lots of water to flush out the toxins from our bodies - so why are we now paying for water which is undrinkable? I cannot consume more than three mouthfuls without gagging. Our water smells and tastes like sewage. We have full dams of fresh water but Hunter Water expects us to pay for their recycling program and drink this filth they are drawing out of the Tomago sand beds - and how do we know PFAS has not leeched into these sand beds by now?
Malcolm Berry, Wallsend
MICHAEL Gormly, (Short Takes, 16/8) takes offence at my Short Take, (11/8), which was clearly aimed at climate change alarmists. He accuses me of "climate denialism". If I didn't believe climate change was real I wouldn't hesitate to say so, but the fact is I am a believer, I just happen to care a lot more about the effect on the mental health of our young, of the extremist language used by alarmists. Mr Gormley makes no attempt to answer Mr Shellenbergers mental health concerns, the only point raised in my Short Take, but instead attempts to rubbish the reputation of that man who has spent his life fighting for the underdog.
Dave McTaggart, Edgeworth
ALLEN Small, (Short Takes, 14/8), regarding Dane Gagai wearing a Queensland jumper under his Knights jumper; the only problem is it's going to be hard to find an old 'telephone box' to put on the sideline for him to change his jumpers.
Alan Harrison, Glendale
I AM a university lecturer at UON. I have tutored young Afghani refugees. They have been incredibly hardworking, humble, and friendly. I am devastated at the news about what has happened in Afghanistan. I am writing to ask you to cover this issue extensively so that the people of Newcastle know what is happening. In particular, please share information on how we can encourage the government to accept more refugees.I thank you for the work you currently do.
Natalia Soeters, Charlestown
SINCE when is opening Costco essential (''Follow the rules' at new Costco', NewcastleHerald 19/8)? Please.
