I am an older person who still wears a P2 mask in public indoor spaces, but am alarmed at the failure of most others to do so when COVID is on the rise again. It is known that mask-wearing is mainly effective if most people wear them in potentially high-transmission environments.
It seems that most have been lulled into a false sense of security by the abrogation of government responsibility. They have now dropped the ball on COVID, and our more vulnerable people have truly been hung out to dry.
That is not to mention the issue of long COVID, whose long-term effects on various organ systems are as yet unknown, and which can strike unpredictably.
That our political systems are in danger of losing touch with humane and egalitarian values was recently made clear by the royal commission exposing an extreme example - the shocking (known at the time to be illegal) policy of Robodebt, which was allowed to persecute the financially vulnerable over a number of years.
Was this just an aberration by an out-of-touch government on the way out?
But the signs are not good for a more pervasive deterioration in cultural values owing to the greed-is-good philosophy which is producing increasing social inequality and an indifference to the anonymous others who can conveniently be ignored by those monopolising the polity.
Kate Newton, Dudley
Is Mayfield next Newcastle West?
LIKE most Mayfield residents I was shocked to learn that the BP service station on Maitland Road is set to be bulldozed after a development application seeking to build shop-top housing was approved by Newcastle council on Wednesday night without any significant community consultation, to my knowledge ('Units approved for BP site', Newcastle Herald 17/11).
The council approved plans to build a six-storey building with a mix of apartments, commercial and parking spaces.
It's been reported that before the matter went to the council, there were a number of issues identified with the height and floor space ratio, but councillors unanimously agreed that the exceedance of height did not have any impacts on any neighbouring developments or Webb Park.
The council approved the development although it exceeded its own height restrictions.
Councillor Charlotte McCabe raised concerns with the lack of communal space, saying the developer is using Webb Park next door to justify that. Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes and her deputy Declan Clausen both agreed the project was in line with the Mayfield Renewal Strategy and would vastly improve the area.
What Mayfield Renewal Strategy? There is increased crime in Mayfield. But apparently we have a renewal strategy. In my opinion the council is treating Mayfield residents like mushrooms. The residents of Mayfield deserve more transparency than this council is offering. This council has built out Newcastle West and Wickham. Now they're coming for Mayfield.
Jo Mackenzie, Mayfield
Here's to a tireless volunteer
LAST Sunday I had the privilege of attending an event at Hamilton North Bowling Club. The event was the Christmas party for children with Type 1 Diabetes and put on by the Type1 Diabetes Foundation. All the children had a great time, plenty of food, games, met Santa and even had a magician.
The purpose of this letter is to recognise the great work done by a young woman by the name of Teresa Brauer who organised this event and has organised plenty of other activities in the last couple of years. She also does a lot of other work by organising sponsorship from Newcastle businesses who even in these tough times still find money for these kids.
Most people don't give a thought into how hideous a disease Type 1 Diabetes is. Children as young as 12 months are not immune from getting it. The amount of work done by the children's parents and carers to make sure they stay as healthy as possible is never ending. A lot of sleepless nights are involved, so a big shout out to Teresa and the volunteers who assist her to try and give the children a little ray of sunshine in their lives.
Lastly, to City of Newcastle who at the request of Teresa turned the Town Hall clock blue in recognition of Type 1 Diabetes, I say great work.
Melville Brauer, Gateshead
Transparency helps lift wages
ADAM Triggs poses a serious question ("Is pay transparency a good idea?", Opinion 17/11) but fails to engage the fundamental reason behind the private and confidential nature of remuneration . This employer tactic applies a brake to wage growth by preventing or at least limiting freedom of association, which is supposed to be a fundamental human right.
This brings to mind the daily argy bargy and problems expressed surrounding Australia's widely accepted as being "broken" industrial relations system. There is a simple fix. A return to centralised wage fixing. I would suggest all the way to CEO positions. There is nothing special about these people apart from a particular personality trait, in many cases.
Marvyn Smith, Heddon Greta
Dam higher walls, they're no fix
RAISING dam walls may be tempting, since it involves minimal cost but it is not a flood mitigation measure.
Dams are not designed to hold back the volume of water we are now receiving into our river systems from rain events which are ultimately caused by global warming. Floods will only worsen in future. Dams are designed for urban water supply and for irrigating crops
Since the early days of European settlement, townies have always built near rivers, preferably river junctions. Rivers were early transport routes before roads. They supplied water and disposed of treated sewage. Rivers were used for recreation. A river view was preferred over others.
But with rural settlement came the clearing of trees from river catchments. Trees increase infiltration since their roots go down a long way. When trees were cleared, surface and channelized runoff increased. This has resulted in higher and faster flood peaks, following a major rain event in the catchment. If flood victims today insist on re-building in flood-prone areas, given the projected height of future floods, they need to lift their buildings further off the ground and build higher levees. They can hasten runoff and flood subsidence by dredging, bank reinforcement, cutting new river channels and by building floodways. Taxpayer subsidies for this should be limited. Residents of cleared catchments should pay.
Although drawn to rivers for fish, water birds, swimming and recreation, the Aboriginal traditional owners of the land were never flooded out. When floods arrived, they just moved their temporary settlements further up the slope, and waited for the river to subside.
Geoff Black, Caves Beach
SHORT TAKES
PETER Parr, hats off to you and your staff. Jackson Hastings is a coup! Well done.
Mark Sheerin, Hamilton South
THE Herald reports of the damage at Foreshore Park as a result of housing the Van Gogh Alive exhibition on this site, ("Park blocked for repair", Newcastle Herald 17/11). Surely a better, less costly option would have been to present this exhibition, and any future similar events, in our remediated and underutilised City Hall? When the Foreshore Park is rectified, hopefully it will not suffer a similar fate when the Supercars event is staged again in 2023.
Richard Devon, Fishing Point
JOHN Grusynski (Letters 16/11) believes that Medibank should pay the ransom demanded by the hackers and then tighten security. My thoughts differ because paying a ransom to a bully only encourages them to continue the crime and continue demanding more and more ransom payments. Surely paying the ransom would not put an end to the hacking, it would have the opposite effect as I see it.
Ian King, Warners Bay
STOCKTON residents: campaign for ORICA to store the explosive up the valley in a disused big hole. If it detonated it would blow up, not out, and the miners would have it where it is being used. Just a thought.
John Bradford, Beresfield
I HAVE just received a message by text from Energy Australia asking me to read my meter if it is safe to or they will do an estimate from a distributor to send me my account. There is no flood, fire, earthquake or wild animals stopping their meter reader from accessing my meter and my accounts for energy have always been paid on time. I suppose they want to make bigger profits. I have found Energy Australia gas to be very aggressive marketing.
Ray Dean, Thornton
IT seems Adz Carter is an old drummer the way he bangs on about the music venues in Newcastle. With all his banging he deserves a break, and a long one at that.
John Cooper, Charlestown
IAN King, (Short Takes, 15/11), are people who move near a rail line entitled to train-free peace? Are people who move near open cut mines entitled to dust-free washing? What about those near an ambulance station; siren-free silence? If it's already there, I'm all out of straws to clutch. Why not take advantage of living near a live music venue and blast your own music?
Sam Rogers, Maitland
I DON'T deny global warming is happening, that's a no brainer, but is it all about carbon dioxide? I'd like to hear the Herald's resident global warming expert Michael Gormley's assessment of the effect aircraft pollution is having on the planet.
