I AM sad to read that John Church is not standing for re-election ("Church urges new faces to run for council", Newcastle Herald 31/7). He has performed a difficult task under extremely difficult circumstances. In my opinion he has taken personal slurs and intimidation during his term on council because he asked the hard questions.
He has always kept the ratepayers informed and he will be missed. Remembering the old saying from Don Chipp, he was there "to keep the bastards honest" and I believe the weight of the Labor-heavy council has been a very heavy one. Perhaps Dr Ross Kerridge will take up the challenge.
Denise Lindus Trummel, Newcastle
Councillor will be missed after poll
It's disappointing Cr John Church will not be seeking re-election ("Church urges new faces to run for council", Herald 31/7). He will be sorely missed by ratepayers that recognise the non-party independents on any council are there for their wards and constituents.
I thought Cr Church was correct in his opposition to many grossly over-budget, money-wasting projects such as the skate park adjacent to the beach blowing out to twice the original tender price ("Speed Wobble", Herald 31/7). In his opinion and also mine, it is built in the wrong place with possible future concrete cancer and also parking woes.
Cr Church also recently faced what I considered some muck-raking by the deputy lord mayor as to his 2018 independent fund-raising. In my opinion we ratepayers in Port Stephens are still smiling about the fact we did not become not part of this dysfunctional, money-wasting, party-political council during the forced council amalgamations era in NSW. I reckon our half a billion in cash and assets would have been wasted very quickly, with very little or no representation on Newcastle council.
Brian Watson-Will, Corlette
Bowled over at cost blowout on skate park
I BELIEVE our mayor and CEO need to go. The Newcastle beach skate park is in the wrong place and came in well above the original cost to ratepayers. That's in addition to over-budget projects including their shift to nice new offices. Remember, it was our mayor's casting vote that gave Novocastrians a 49 per cent rate rise.
Bruce Cook, Newcastle
Fine print is missing the mark
Newcastle's latest propaganda sheet, aka City News, follows the latest trend of using the smallest font possible to squeeze the maximum amount of content onto one double-sided sheet. Even that's bad enough for people with low vision, such as most older people. But Newcastle council completes the insult with dark print on a dark background in three sections. Can Newcastle council not spend some of our rates on five minutes of consultation with someone who knows anything at all about accessibility?
Rick Frost, Mallabula
October 7 attack started conflict
SO according to Julie Robinson ("Respect humanity on both sides", Letters, 31/7), the October 7 attack on innocent people at a music festival that resulted in numerous deaths and people still kidnapped to this day was made up by the media? And you think terrorists are human?
Matt Ophir, Charlestown
Humans can be inhuman too
JULIE Robinson ("Respect humanity on both sides", Letters, 31/7), Hamas may be human in a physical sense but they are certainly capable of inhuman things. As for your comment about reading history and unbiased reporting I think you should maybe practise what you preach.
Steve Feenan, Edgeworth
Ideology matters as well
JULIE Robinson ("Respect humanity on both sides", Letters, 31/7), the KKK are humans too, so are the Nazis. Should we excuse their behaviour under the same logic?
Steve Barnett, Fingal Bay
Cool jets on trumpeting hot days
ANNE O'Hara ("Gas approvals don't stack up", Letters, 30/7), should know that if July 21 was the hottest day ever recorded on earth it was only by 0.01 degree from the next hottest day; less than the error margin in measuring it. Death Valley is notorious as one of the hottest places on Earth, so a heat injury is not unexpected. The California forest fires have become worse over the years because of poor forest management. Gas is an essential fuel to run modern world economies and will remain so for many decades to come. If not happy with the ALP government on climate policy, ask what have they managed to change with the climate, if anything at all?
Peter Devey, Merewether
REX needs saving, but it's no buffet
Regional carrier Rex Airlines going into receivership is concerning not only for the people of the regions it served, but for hundreds of Rex Airlines employees. The reasons for the collapse occurring are varied, I believe not the least being its boards overreaching in the market and the internecine structure of the board itself.
The Rex situation poses some ideological problems for the LNP as well. Just how can the Coalition which has seen regulation in any format as being inhibited to free market principles or government involvement in "private enterprise ventures," as being socialism, deal with the Rex Airlines boondoggle? Well Nationals Party member Bridget Mc Kenzie has the solution: the Albanese Labor government put even more taxpayer money into Rex and then legislate regulation to protect it from Qantas and Virgin.
Being a Socialist I have no problem with the government being involved to ensure a regional air service continues to operate and serve the needs of the people. I do have a problem with taxpayer money being used to bail out private enterprise only to have the private enterprise entity upon being rescued, demand the government vacate the field.
Barry Swan, Balgownie
Kakadu uranium call wide of mark
What is our federal government thinking? To increase the size of the Kakadu National Park to include Australia's uranium deposits just doesn't make any sense, in my opinion. Do you know that this will make nuclear energy far more expensive?
I know politics can be brutal at times, but how low can you go? The billions of dollars in uranium export earnings would do far more for Indigenous affairs than banning uranium mining in a national park.
By all means expand the Kakadu National Park, but don't stop the uranium mining. Not just to please a minority, and not at the expense of the Australian economy. I reckon our economy is already in enough trouble without this expensive anti-nuclear plan.
I say, like the Voice, let the people decide our energy destiny.
It's our decision, not yours.
