Denise Lindus Trummel's concerns about the impending arrival of the Groovin The Moo festival on the Newcastle Foreshore are misplaced ("Cost of Moo's move should be made clear", Letters, 18/1).
Denise will be pleased to know that there is no cost to ratepayers associated with the event being staged in Newcastle. Rather, all costs associated with the event will be borne by the festival organisers.
I can also assure Denise that the event was not stolen from Maitland as claimed. The festival organisers, citing a desire to take advantage of our stunning Foreshore Park and harbour views, as well as desire for access to better public transport and hotel accommodation, approached me last year to enquire about park availability in May 2024.
Lastly, the $1.6 million cost of the Newcastle 500 is not hidden. In fact it was first reported in the Newcastle Herald in December 2019, and has been reported more than a dozen times since.
Newcastle can look forward to more Foreshore Park event announcements, similar to Groovin the Moo, throughout the year.
Nick Kaiser, executive manager media engagement economy and corporate affairs at City of Newcastle
Terminal needs revamp
Domestic airfares are not in line, nor consistent with the needs of Australian travellers. Prices need to be drastically lowered and the latest upgrades to Newcastle Airport need a rethink.
When you book your expensive domestic flight, you are advised to be at this airport at least two hours before to departure. That's all well and good, except the check-in counters say otherwise.
Some don't open until one hour prior, and others one and a half hours before, leaving passengers in a section of the airport without adequate amenities, not even a coffee. The rush starts at security check-in.
The airlines also need to make it clear to prospective booking passengers that you will be charged excessively if your carry-on weight exceeds the weight restriction e.g 7 kilograms, but they forgot to tell you that it is the combined weight of your (backpack/small tow bag) and your hand luggage (shoulder bag, woman's purse, carry bag containing reading material, snacks (mind you, you can buy these on your flight if you sell your kidney).
So if Newcastle terminal is going to be the showcase and go-to destination/ departure centre for our region, it should get its design team down here to revamp some of their concepts.
Graeme Kime, Muswellbrook
Transport freedom for all
"Cyclists claim the lane" ("Cycling fetish hits motorists hard", Opinion, 5/1) should accompany another sign: "Cyclists: do not ride in car-door opening areas like the fake bike lanes in Newy that people have been persuaded to do for the past few decades".
We are now told that cyclists can ride in all the legal positions of the road.
The brainwashing and 24/7 advertising of the "car door death lanes" have made too many people wrongly think it is safe for a parked car, a cyclist in the door lane, and a car squeezing past the cyclist in the traffic lane to be the way of the world.
But the world's best practice in city transport encourages all forms of transport: walking, cycling, scooting, taking a bus and driving cars.
Freedom for all please, no discrimination.
We need to have great access for less-able people using cars, and emergency vehicles. We cannot get to the Sydney gridlock situation where ambulances get stuck in traffic.
Even the 2016 road rule change of one metre and 1.5 metre passing clearance has not been enough to counter bad driving.
Not many people realise they are allowed by law to change lanes when passing cyclists if safe to do so (road rules 144, 153, 129, 247, and 151 are not well understood).
No enforcement of the close passing rule means many motorists do not follow it.
I believe that City of Newcastle is trying to make up for mistakes made in the 1990s with fake bike lanes.
Urban sprawl and more car use is bankrupting our three levels of government with too much infrastructure costs.
Daniel Endicott, Islington
SHORT TAKES
Reported drop not reflected in power bill
I almost choked on my breakfast when I read the statement from Climate Energy Finance director Tim Buckley that wholesale prices were down 50 per cent on last year ("An open and shut case", Herald, 19/1). This makes me wonder when my retailer told me that on my last bill I was paying 57 per cent higher for my electricity than last year. I'll leave it up to the readers to come up with their own conclusions.
Tony Mansfield, Lambton
Ignore the catastrophists
John Arnold ("Ignore the deniers", Letters, 17/1), I don't think anyone denies the science behind climate change, it's been changing ever since the Big Bang. It's the catastrophists who are sending our kids to psychiatrists in droves who should be ignored.
Greg Hunt, Newcastle West
Dutton move impresses
I can't recall an Australian politician ever calling for a boycott on a major Australian retailer. Credit to Peter Dutton, he's finally come up with an original idea.
Mac Maguire, Charlestown
Simple tweak for unity
Regarding the argument over January 26 and Australia Day. Just put "unite" Australia Day. Problem solved.
Harold Kronholm, Cessnock
Bowen must like Bob
I tend to agree with Steve Barnett's opinion of Energy Minister Chris Bowen being like the Nullabor ("Flat-out uninspiring", Letters, 17/1). I also think Bowen is a Bob Dylan fan and really believes the answer is Blowin' in the Wind.
Col Parkins, Wallsend
Tennis, back and forth
Alan Kendall is spoiled for choice if he doesn't want to watch the tennis on TV ("Not a fan of Nine's tennis coverage", Letters, 17/1). He could go for a walk, talk to a friend, read a book, or just do nothing. Or he could watch one of the other four free-to-air stations like we did on Tuesday night. We picked up an excellent ABC documentary on world-famous Australian conductor Simone Young. Then we went back to the tennis.
Ray Dinneen, Newcastle
Sign-off a no-go
As a sometime contributor and a regular reader of the letters page, I will throw up if I again see someone sign off with "Go figure".
