DARYLL Hadfield ('Live music moves to a new beat', Letters, 29/10), what I was talking about was society evolving due to more progressive standards and points of view.
Newcastle is a city, not a suburb, so I don't see why it should de-evolve and turn into something resembling a retirement village.
Yes, Newcastle is becoming more residential, and yes, more (new) residents are complaining about live music, but why?
Suburbs are synonymous with peace and quiet, but it's common knowledge that cities are anything but peaceful and quiet.
Again I ask, what were these new residents expecting?
Perhaps they should have thought about moving beforehand if they are now "being assaulted with noise".
There's a reason why places like Paris, London and Rome are romanticised so much, and it's not because they are dull or slow paced. (These cities, incidentally, also rely on their history, all while changing).
New York is known as the city that never sleeps, and I don't know anyone who wants Newcastle to become the city that never sings.
Regarding places changing their profile, if there was talk of high rise in front of Redhead beach, I bet you wouldn't be so eager for people to "get with the change".
Adz Carter, Newcastle
Nothing responsible about ER
IN John Arnold's letter to the editor on October 22, defending Extinction Rebellion, he makes a couple of points that have to be addressed.
First, he says government and fossil fuel industry has had too much influence over the media, well John, I asked in a previous letter, why hasn't Extinction Rebellion paid for media coverage themselves?
If you, and or ER, want media coverage, that question still remains, why won't you or ER pay for media coverage?
I suspect they don't have any intention of gaining a good amount of media coverage of climate change issues through paid advertising.
And without any evidence to the contrary, I have to assume they haven't even considered such as responsible action that has proven time and time again to get results.
I suspect it is because their first choice is to disrupt society with immature behaviour over any responsible behaviour.
And another take out is that without action on climate change society will collapse - this is something responsible activists already know - nothing new here.
But what is confusing is that ER actions show that their way of dealing with potential societal collapse is to contribute and accelerate that collapse through their irresponsible actions.
In the absence of any credible responses in the media from Extinction Rebellion or their supporters we have to ensure any responsible criminal behaviour from these societal thugs gets the full support of the criminal and civil courts.
Glen Wilson, Cardiff
Know when to turn off the tap
THE federal government has acknowledged that we have a housing crisis and is hoping that a massive house construction - up to a million new homes - will ease the problem.
Unfortunately they seem to have forgotten Kevin Rudd's message when he told us we couldn't meet his emission reduction targets because of population growth. Not surprising when you consider that even a modest two-bedroom house construction creates 80 tonnes of CO2e and that's not counting the far larger impact from all the infrastructure that is required.
Perhaps they should remember that when the bathtub is overflowing you turn off the tap rather than deal with the overflow.
Don Owers, Dudley
Dangerous game on defence
WE have recently had plenty of coverage in newsprint, and other media, of the possible danger that China poses to Pacific region democracies.
Because of the perceived threat China poses, Australia and the US have stepped up their military presence in northern Australia.
It is that build-up that gives me pause for thought and some concern when I read in the Herald of November 3, BAE's plans to expand the F-35 depot.
The expansion will "progressively meet maintenance demand from the nation's F-35 Lightning II fleet". A good win for the Hunter, or a bad result for the RAAF?
With the RAAF being almost on the outer when it comes to major maintenance of its aircraft, what will happen if we have to send all of our F-35s up north?
I would bet that if war should come, when asked to front up at Derby, Katherine, Darwin and far North Queensland, the civilian maintenance workers will turn down the opportunity for travel to more sunny climes.
Civilianising the ADF workforce saves money but is a dangerous game to play with our defence.
Mike Sargent, Wing Commander (Retired), Cootamundra
SHORT TAKES
THE proposed NSW land tax is another con job. A forever inflationary impost just like the federal GST, the cradle to the grave income tax paid whether employed or not. The only likely winners of a land tax being property developers. Stick with one-off stamp duty at the value of the time. One can only hope that the upper house vetoes yet another Trojan horse.
Marvyn Smith, Heddon Greta
WHAT an excellent editorial tackling climate change ("No, climate change is not an 'act of God'"). Highlighting the extreme weather tipping point we have reached is timely. And calling out the complacency of "successive governments" is necessary. We must accept the scientific truth that human activities are causing our planet to warm, and continue to warm, even as we seek to reduce our emissions. As citizens, now is the time to band together and demand that governments both implement urgent emissions reductions efforts and assist us to adapt to the changing climate. As climate scientist, Joelle Gergis, explains, this decade is "humanity's moment". Together we must implement solutions that ensure the safest, healthiest, most prosperous future for our children.
Amy Hiller, Kew
RECENT correspondents praising our netball team for their stance seem keen to link their decision to the climate. I believe the initial gripe was over comments made nearly 40 years ago. I didn't realise appalling views were hereditary. If so, most of us would be in trouble. I also believe Gina Rinehart's money came from her own pocket and not her company. She also helps many Indigenous causes in Western Australia. Privileged sportspeople need to be careful about biting the hand that feeds them. I'd much rather take notice of the views of respected Indigenous leaders like Warren Mundine and Jacinta Price than those of woke virtue signallers.
Greg Hunt, Newcastle West
CLIMATE Change is a global problem caused by global greenhouse gas emissions. Although Australia's contribution to these global greenhouse gas emissions is just 1 per cent, we should be doing our bit to address this global problem
Clive Jensen, Merewether
REGARDING the World Cup, where was all the indignity, when the event was held in Russia four years ago? Russia being such a bastion of human rights, not. I think there is more than a little Islamophobia, with all the criticisms about Qatar hosting the World Cup.
Daryl Frost, Eleebana
JOHN Cooper attempts to blame the illegal Robodebt scandal on Labor (Short Takes, 19/10). He omits to mention that Labor's original version used the algorithms only to alert human moderators to possible anomalies, not to act as judge, jury and executioner. That was the illegal bit, and it was the LNP's doing.
Michael Gormly, Islington
ON Melbourne Cup Day the Terrace lost a true character. RIP Mr G.
