THE trial hiring of e-bikes around Lake Macquarie has failed. Maybe Beam or the responsible operator could have tracked, recharged and re-located bikes faster than they have done. But they didn't. The e-scooters trial should be aborted. E-scooters will face similar and probably more problems (E-bike trial hammered, Newcastle Herald 14/12). However, Lake Macquarie City Council should take heart. It is not the council's fault. Now they know that the city's residents are not ready for e-bikes or e-scooters. There are too many irresponsible vandals, bike-chuckers, and complaining members of the public.
In other places, such as London, e-bike hire has gone gangbusters. Not for recreation, but for everyday use including commuting and shopping. In these places public transport is expensive, roads are gridlocked and traffic moves slowly. The hired e-bikes are not generally used on shared pedestrian-push bike paths. This is because there are too many pedestrians on these paths that slow the e-bike riders. Instead e-bikes and scooters are used on roads. This means that more riders are cleaned up by motor vehicles, but there are fewer e-bike-pedestrian accidents. Furthermore, residents in these places have a more responsible attitude and are OK with e-bikes.
Geoff Black, Caves Beach
Valuer General's role is defined
We would like to respond to the Newcastle Herald's recent article on compulsory acquisitions for the Singleton Bypass project ('Highway Robbery', Herald 15/12) to clarify the role of the Valuer General in the process. If an agreement on compensation cannot be reached between the acquiring authority and landowner, the Valuer General is required to make a determination of compensation.
The Valuer General is responsible for ensuring an independent, fair and transparent process and that all landowners get fair compensation in accordance with the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991. A qualified and independent valuer inspects the property and considers all information provided by the landowner and the acquiring authority, including valuation reports as well as independent reports as needed. Landowners are encouraged to provide information, ask questions and raise any concerns.
The independent valuer must consider a range of things including the market value of the land/property on the acquisition date, any special value to the landowner, any loss due to severance or disturbance, and any disadvantage caused from relocation.
The expert independent valuation is peer reviewed by between 2 to 5 certified practicing valuers depending on the valuation complexity to ensure the determination has been rigorously reviewed.
A preliminary valuation is then made and provided to the landowner and acquiring authority who are given an opportunity to make submissions if they believe there are any errors of fact, prior to a final determination being issued.
If a landholder is not satisfied with the Valuer General's final determination, they can lodge an objection with the Land and Environment Court. Court proceedings are between the landholder and the acquiring authority. Further information on the process is available on the Valuer General NSW website.
Stewart McLachlan, Valuer General NSW executive director
Tough love may be way for kids
I BELIEVE the justice system needs a complete overhaul, as at the moment it seems juveniles rule the streets. As someone who grew up in the 1960s there was a respect or perhaps fear of police, however today police are treated by some juveniles with total contempt and are constantly abused and baited to retaliate. If this occurs, the officer concerned usually is the one facing charges. The first thing that I think should be taken into consideration is these cretins are experienced liars. The system is broken and failing; just ask those teachers who are leaving in droves. What is the answer? bring in a law which stops the large number of youth from congregating together for no reason late at night? There was a problem in the late '60s with youth gangs, particularly in the Ryde area, which was stopped by a police unit called the 21st Division. Perhaps tough love is needed today. Look at the age of current offenders today and compare it with the sixties. Disgraceful.
Alan Metcalf, Newcastle
There's a weight of evidence
PETER Devey, ("Don't plan to fail", Letters, 15/12), do you see any difference between bank accounts earning zero interest and three per cent? Doesn't that "extra" three percent mean a lot to a retiree living on that income, and won't the steady increase in warming gases above the level that gave us our lovely Goldilocks zone eventually make a big difference? (Well, spoiler alert; the answer is already available. Carbon dioxide levels are already 47 percent higher than a couple of hundred years ago. Methane, an even stronger greenhouse gas, has more than doubled.)
And doesn't the fact that water vapour is also a greenhouse gas, but one which humans cannot directly control, other than by keeping temperatures down, worry you? Isn't it yet another reason for reining in our CO2 and methane "lifestyle" emissions?
Finally, it's clear you enjoy your science and accept that there is such a thing as "global atmospheric dynamics". Doesn't the fact that 100 per cent of the research scientists responsible for 11,602 2019 peer-reviewed articles on "climate change" and "global warming" reckon we are responsible for warming our planet persuade you that there might be something to their theory? And doesn't the precautionary principle demand that we assume that they are right?
Lesley Walker, Northcote
Judge by his actions, not his words
MANY letter writers have been making critical comments about Donald Trump of late, such as Michael Hinchey (Letters 6/12) and Michael Gormly (Letters 2/12, 12/12). Mr Gormly's indirect swipe at Trump regarding Hunter Biden's laptop in the hands of the FBI since 2020, without any action taken, was misdirected. The FBI have operated independent of Trump, in spite of his attempts to control them, ever since he was elected. For example, the FBI ran the Russian collusion accusation against Trump for years before it was finally thrown out of court for lack of evidence.
Readers should look past Trump's confrontational personality to see his record. Some of his achievements included cutting US unemployment to a 50-year low; more Americans in jobs than ever in history; lowest Black, Asian and Latino American unemployment ever; highest women workforce participation rate ever; 4.1 per cent GDP growth/year (GDP has trended down under Biden); ended the ISIS incursion in Iraq and Syria; three new peace accords between Israel and neighbouring Arab states, and improved border security. Under Biden the Mexican border has become much more porous. There are plenty of reasons to be critical of Trump's personality and attitude but certainly his record as US President in one term would class him as one of the better performing presidents in 50 years.
Peter Devey, Merewether
SHORT TAKES
OLLIE Baldwin has been grossly wronged, ("School apologises to Ollie", Newcastle Herald 15/12).This lad completed his primary education at Arise Christian College, a school which purports to cater for students with intellectual disabilities, but was not invited to attend the school's graduation ceremony despite his mother's inquiries. Maitland Christian School has blamed the school "being in its infancy" and "we are still refining (our) practices and are sorry". A hollow apology, in my opinion, but maybe that's the inherent cynicism in me.
Bill Snow, Stockton
Apart from the human misery it caused, the travesty of Robodebt is not to be found so much in the detail through which the royal commission is now trawling, as in the attitudes which made the scheme possible. Attitudes personified in Scott Morrison's nitpicking, evasive and combative evidence. Any invitation the Commission offered him to recognise the impact of the scheme on its victims was met with arrogant disinterest. The human cost was reduced to a transactional detail. He's not alone. A deep seated ambivalence, if not animus towards people on social security payments took root in the Liberal Party during the Howard years, and now runs deep.
Michael Hinchey, New Lambton
After lionising Elon Musk despite his massive Twitter errors, Greg Hunt still rabbits on about Hunter Biden's laptop, (Short Takes, 13/22). But neither Greg nor his fellow denialists have answered the question I asked recently in these pages: As the FBI have had the laptop since 2020, during Trump's presidency, why have no indictments been issued? Here's another: Does your obsession with this old rabbit-hole mean you have nothing new to offer in your defence of America's most famous liar? The man who said COVID would 'just disappear, like magic' and when it didn't, suggested that injecting bleach was a good idea? I'm not criticising his non-existent morals, just his credibility, and by inference that of his supporters. He is losing on every front, yesterday's man. Time to move on, folks.
Michael Gormly, Islington
It's getting close to Christmas and the end of another year. It's always enlightening to read the etters and Short Takes page. With a lot of new correspondents this year, I can usually guess who has written a piece in the first paragraph. Geoff Black, John Ure, Carl Stevenson and Peter Dolan to name a few, but there's a couple that are getting harder to pick. Adz Carter and Tony Morley for instance, Steve Barnett and Don Fraser. Merry Christmas everyone.
Neil Meyers, Warners Bay
THREE couples went to the Billy Joel concert from different destinations on return tickets with three airlines. Two flights were cancelled and baggage was lost on another. All airlines seriously need to lift their game.
