I REFER to Monday's front page ("Warehoused", Newcastle Herald 24/6), regarding the fitting out of a warehouse to accommodate paramedics. What is wrong with spending some of that money to bring the once busy Boolaroo station up to scratch?
The building is still there and was once a busy station serving the Northlakes and Westlakes areas of Lake Macquarie. I'm sure the cost of refurbishing this out would be minimal compared to the huge outlay to fit out a huge warehouse which, after the other stations have been built, will be handed back to the owners. Do a good job at Boolaroo and it will last forever. There must be others around similar to the situation at Boolaroo
Stan Spink, East Maitland
Muddled messages on vape safety
THE health minister has been jumping up and down about the supposed dangers of vaping, particularly to people's health, and now all of a sudden they will allow vapes to be sold in chemist shops? They can't be serious. Aren't chemists supposed to sell products that are good for your health? Why not tobacconists? Not to mention how the chemists must feel about it. Were they consulted?
Steven Busch, Rathmines
Council's stepped up on homes
WHAT is the City of Newcastle doing to address the homelessness issue, asks former Howard government senator John Tierney ("City organisations step up to fill widening gap in services", Opinion, 24/6).
Mr Tierney knows very well that the responsibility for that is well beyond the remit and responsibility of councils. He even points that out in his piece, while praising the recent Minns Labor government's budget commitment to boost social and affordable housing supply. It only takes a Google search to find the measures that Newcastle council is implementing in an attempt to plug gaps from years, even decades, of Liberal Party neglect at state and federal levels, where the responsibility for housing and homelessness lies.
The council's affordable housing levy scheme is paving the way for much more social and affordable housing across the city. In 2022, the council signed an historic deal with Land and Housing NSW to directly fund social housing projects at Wickham, Waratah West, and Wallsend. That's a first for a local council, and was born from the view that something had to be done. To date, no other NSW council has done this.
The insinuation that council's community development and parking staff are now somehow responsible for the plight of those experiencing homelessness in Newcastle is a low blow to those hard-working staff, who are all genuinely great people that care for our community and do their very best every day within the parameters of local government.
Creating a car park safe space for those sleeping rough and in their cars is not considered to be an ideal solution in anyone's world, especially not in the community development sector. Like it or not, the parking team's job in the CBD is to ensure timely turnover for local businesses while protecting amenity. In fact, it was only recently that the Herald dedicated significant space in the paper criticising the council for not taking stronger action against those sleeping in vans overnight at Camp Shortland and the surrounding areas along the coast.
Ultimately, the answer is more social and affordable housing, and fast tracking potential developments with more housing supply, like at Broadmeadow.
Oh, I also Googled the housing and homelessness policies of Mr Tierney's Liberal government. I couldn't find much, just this: In 2003, the former PM John Howard said "I don't get people stopping me in the street and saying, 'John you're outrageous, under your government the value of my house has increased'." That's aged well, hasn't it?
I look forward to the suite of housing policies that Mr Tierney's Liberal party puts forward at the September council election.
Matt Murray, Georgetown, former staffer for lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes
Discipline has gone missing
I AM still amazed when I read that 13 and 14-year-old children can allegedly drive well enough to be involved in police pursuits. Their skills must be better than those 17-year-old and 18-year-old drivers on the road.
I'm 80, and as I grew up I was shown the difference between right and wrong a lot. The local policeman wasn't averse to kicking us in the bum if we rocked roofs or made too much noise, then most times telling our dads. Our parents were able to give us a smack and the nuns and brothers didn't hold back. I was not the brightest little bugger, but I knew right from wrong from the time that I started school at age five. Trust me, any of these little buggers know right from wrong for sure. Theft is stealing someone's possessions. Arguing "we don't know that it is wrong to steal" is absolute rot. Fortunately I may not have much longer to hear about young louts.
Walter Remington, Mount Hutton
Snared whale should have had clear path
REGARDING the whale caught in shark nets off the Cowrie Hole ("Humpback thrashes for freedom after tangle with drum line", Newcastle Herald 22/6). It is incomprehensible that the nets are still in the water. It's mid winter, when no one is swimming, and the whales are migrating. Who is in charge of this? Haven't we done enough to these creatures? The contempt we human beings have for every other living thing on the planet is a sickness.
John McDonald, The Hill
East End coal site was best choice
JUST a few observations on the Zaara Street coal fired power station from back in the '50s and '60s: yes, it was in the East End before the NIMBYS arrived. Yes, it was the best available power source to keep the lights on back in the day. For those of you who want to blame those generations for destroying the planet, you need to have a good look at yourselves. We did what we thought was best. Now it's your turn, and you can bet your life that in a couple of generations if you stuff up it will be on you, not us.
Tony Morley, Waratah
Big-ticket items eat through cash
CAN you imagine the extra money that would have been on hand to fund power generation in this country if Albo did not have the Voice debacle and if the NDIS was run and operated correctly? It would be a staggering amount. Shorten and co. don't mention things like that when talking about the cost of nuclear power or savings. The money saved just on those two wasted items may have paid for a nuclear power station.
Greg Lowe, New Lambton
Combine sub and reactor waste
THERE seems to be a lot of understandable concern about where to store the waste from Mr Dutton's proposed nuclear power stations. There's a very simple answer: store it with the waste generated by the nuclear submarines, which will be in service about the same time. I understand that Stirling Naval Base in WA is a likely site.
Daryll Hadfield, Redhead
Dutton's indecisive on energy
IN a March 2023 interview, 'Plutonium Pete' stated "I don't support the establishment of big nuclear facilities at all; I'm opposed to it". Now, only 12 months later. it's the centrepiece of his political vision! As Pauline Hanson famously squawked, please explain.
