I AGREE with the editorial ('Premier's carriage comment a downer', Opinion 28/8). Trains can be built locally.
We have a proud history of building trains in Newcastle, which dates from 1878 when Mr E.C. Merewether ordered the first locally built locomotive from Mr J.S. Rodgers, to haul coal from Glenrock to Newcastle.
This led to the establishment of railway manufacturing and repair within the Newcastle area. A. Goninan was established in 1899 and produced coal wagons, locomotives and trains that were recognised internationally. UGL continued this, supplying many of the locomotives you see today.
The local manufacture of locomotives for State Rail commenced in 1946 at the Cardiff Locomotive Workshops. These workshops were established in 1928, and maintained the NSW railways fleet from 1928 to 1994. This site is now utilised by Downer Rail and Progress Rail.
The manufacturing skills are available in Newcastle, and any economic analysis must take into account all of the benefits to the community, state and Commonwealth governments of manufacturing in Australia. Skills retention and development must be included in the economics, if we want to build a smart Australia.
Shane Blatchford, New Lambton
Ramp up efforts on the upgrade
WE all want the inner city bypass completed ('Bypass rejig cops flak for leaving out ramps', Newcastle Herald 31/8).
However, there is an old adage that says "if it can't be done properly, it should not be done at all". The latest improvements to the proposed design has enhanced the project positively, but the McCaffrey Road interchange has glaring omissions.
There is no on-ramp from McCaffrey to the bypass and no off-ramp from the bypass to McCaffrey. The reason? Only 100 vehicles per day have been estimated to use these interchange ramps.
I seriously question the data on which this conclusion has been based. My personal observation is this volume of traffic will be met within the first hour of operation of the new bypass. Traffic on Lookout Road is now choked, especially when the university is open.
The consequences of no ramps will be rat runs in 50km/h streets with existing speed humps, short cuts through the John Hunter Hospital road network and continued traffic choking on Lookout Road.
The next publication of "improvements to the proposed design" should include these two simple ramps at McCaffrey.
Alan White, New Lambton Heights
Don't bypass shot at faster buses
THERE is another reason, often overlooked, which makes deletion of a north-side McCaffrey Drive access on the motorway extension not satisfactory.
All local bus services now divert into and out of the John Hunter Hospital grounds on their current routes; a necessary but time-wasting diversion.
The McCaffrey Drive ramps would allow the routes to serve the hospital directly, in one end and out the other.
The main reason that residents shun Newcastle bus services is because they are indirect and slow. Any chance like this to speed them up must be taken. On a related matter, I applaud the arguments of Milton Caine (Letters, 1/9).
The extension will not under any circumstances result in a seamless motorway, but does Mr Caine really believe that the mandarins in Sydney would be prepared to pay to build a tunnel?
Geoff Hassall, Birmingham Gardens
Civil process may be anything but
DONALD Trump lambasted the mayor of Portland with tweets because the mayor criticised him, encouraging his supporters to invade Portland ("Mayor, Trump trade blame over violence", Herald 1/9).
While the United States is being crippled by COVID-19, with more than six million infections and almost 200,000 deaths, 31 million Americans are receiving income support because jobs have disappeared.
Louisiana and Texas are reeling from Hurricane Laura and, while black Americans are regularly being shot by police, President Trump devotes three hours to tweeting offensive messages to a city mayor, further energising his trigger-happy, white supremacist supporters.
If Trump wins the November election, he will see the win as endorsement of the division, racism and violence that he promotes. It can be safely assumed that more of the same, or worse, will be dished out over the next four years.
If he loses, it is quite likely that he will urge his supporters onto the streets to protest against an unjust or fraudulent result. If this happens, civil war in America is not out of the question.
John Ure, Mount Hutton
Venue change is on the right track
"MENTION motor racing and the local authorities seem to run for cover. But not where Supercars are involved. If Newcastle feels there is economic value in staging a major annual motor racing event, why not build a permanent circuit instead of tipping the available finance into a money-gobbling temporary circuit?"
These words do not come from Newcastle East residents. Rather, from an editorial written by motor racing enthusiast Jim Scaysbrook in Old Bike in 2017.
As the Newcastle and Gold Coast circuits are bypassed, the shortage of permanent motor racing circuits becomes even more apparent.
Existing permanent circuits are booked up 12 months ahead; so many motor racing enthusiasts must be shaking their heads, wondering why millions of dollars of public money have been poured into the Newcastle circuit, only available for motor racing a few days each year.
Post COVID, we have the opportunity to reset the approach to funding these events. It seems Circuit Italia ('Circuit 'has capacity' to host Supercars race', Herald 31/8) provides a win-win alternative.
Without the threat of the five-year option, all Novocastrians could get behind current plans to rehabilitate Foreshore Park without having to design improvements around Supercars' concrete footprint. Could our elected representatives please help move this project along?
Christine Everingham, Newcastle East
Count the cost in lives, not jobs
BRAD Hill (Short Takes, 1/9) believes "we are paying the largest financial penalty ... for a virus that has a high recovery rate, may I add, without a vaccine".
Seems like a good argument on the surface, since the current death rate is 2.5 per cent. So having a crack at achieving herd immunity sounds like a good idea right? Based on latest numbers, this is how that would likely turn out.
Herd immunity for COVID-19 is considered 60 per cent, or 15.2 million infections in Australia. The death rate means we accept at least 380,400 deaths.
Also, 14 per cent of patients require hospitalisation. That's 2.12 million of us if we let this thing go rampant.
We have 62,000 beds in the nation.
In addition, two per cent of patients (304,000) need intensive care but we only have 2378 beds nationwide. There are a certain percentage of survivors who acquire short or long term disabilities, and there is also the uncertainty of permanent immunisation which means this could be an ongoing cycle of death and misery.
The "financial penalty" might be difficult, but economies recover. Dead and permanently disabled people don't.
John Arnold, Anna Bay
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 TOTALLY agree with Steve Barnett's description (Short Takes, 1/9) of smoking as "idiotic" and Matt Ophir's call for its banning. Nearly every day I walk past my local bus stop and have to remind people smoking there that it's illegal, then stand by to receive a torrent of foul-mouthed abuse. It seems they are not only inconsiderate but extremely rude, obviously feeling guilty about knowing they are in the wrong.
Greg Hunt, Newcastle West
SANDY Buchanan (Short Takes, 1/9), who is "misquoting the facts"? You said (Short Takes, 26/8) many successful vaccines use "the same basic process". I said (Letters, 29/8) "the same basic process" is not used to produce all successful vaccines, drawing attention to ethical vaccines not derived from aborted foetuses. My letter did have one self-inflicted grammatical error, a double negative ("no one cannot prevent"). Criticism of that is not welcome, but deserved.
Peter Dolan, Lambton
SPRING is sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where the flowers is... Can anyone give me the last lines? (You'll have to be fairly mature!) Meanwhile I've written my own ... the sky is blue, the breeze is cool, thank God the kids are back at school.
Pat Scott, Arcadia Vale
THEY are trying to have the butcher gelded again, Mac old mate (Short Takes, 1/9). Subzero was a four-legged human. Do some research into Subbie's life. Post racing he brought joy and comfort to many elderly, sick and underprivileged with his gentle nature. He was nominated for Australian of the Year. By the way, my god's name is Bart.
Steve Barnett, Fingal Bay
MAC Maguire (Short Takes, 1/9) referring to Steve Barnett as a hypocrite would be like the pot calling the kettle black. I'm sure Mr Barnett has put the sword to the odd nag whether that being on the race track, the butchers block or the tin can version. RIP, Subzero.
Brad Hill, Singleton
REGARDING the Valentine pool (''Shame' if pool shut: mayor', Herald 26/8) Crs Langford and Cubis' comment that "other residents who don't use the pools will have to pay for the cost out of their rates." Ratepayers are currently responsible for the upkeep of five holiday parks in the Lake Macquarie area which I am positive that the vast majority of residents of Lake Macquarie would not use as much as the Valentine Pools complex. When was the last time you went and pitched a tent at Blacksmiths, Swansea, Belmont Pines or Wangi holiday parks, councillors, or the newly-acquired Sails Holiday Park also at Belmont?
Julia Drayton, Marks Point
THE POLL
HAVE you been forced to go into debt during the coronavirus pandemic?
