THE ongoing role of the Reserve Bank, setting interest rates principally to keep inflation under control, may need to be addressed. I believe this mission statement is outdated and unrealistic.
My economic knowledge may be faulty considering the changes in philosophy over the past 30 years but trickle-down economics has been proven not to work. The floating of the dollar was a means of reactively adjusting to varying worldwide trends. This was valid until other economies artificially inflated their monetary value.
Economies worldwide adjust to the gods of industry and commerce with perhaps the lesser deities of politics and media influence. These philosophies create the ongoing situation of the weak getting weaker, and the gap of haves and have-nots increasing exponentially.
Children look at adults with less hope for their future. Our systems are not sustainable for the majority of citizens, thus increased violence and crime. This bleak picture cannot be solved unless our whole society - greater and lesser deities, economic, political, commerce, industry and unions - learn to work together and support the rest.
Increasing interest rates give the majority of people less disposable income, flowing on to mainly smaller businesses. A healthy economy needs a population that can aspire and afford to live at least reasonably, if not well. The disasters worldwide, including wars, will pale as a distant memory should we not address the onslaught of the resulting famines. Our country is in extreme need of re-evaluating our greatest historical commodity, food production and agriculture.
Today our farmers are not able to plant crops due to last year's floods and uncertainty of workers for harvest. What are we doing? Figure it out soon. Gloom got to me; I listened to the news.
Lyn Rendle, Rankin Park
Convict labour due for a comeback
MANY employers are currently struggling in their efforts to secure sufficient workers. It seems that this is particularly so in agriculture, where crops need harvesting.
Just a thought - what about using crews of prisoners to fulfil the need? I'm sure that many prisoners would appreciate the opportunity to get out into the fields and the possibility of earning wages as well. A percentage of their wages could be deposited into a trust account which would be waiting for them upon release after serving their sentence. Naturally only trusted prisoners would be used and they would need to be adequately supervised. Unlike immigrant workers, they already have accommodation and they would not be required to go through the process of applying for visas.
Perhaps the solution to worker shortages lies within our nation and could be implemented in all states. After all, we have an abundance of jails throughout Australia.
Stan Keifer, Arakoon
Economics driving childcare shift
YOUR correspondent raises valid concerns about the value of childcare ("Why there are more important things than free childcare", Letters, 3/9). Yes, we may not yet know the long-term impacts of separating infants from their parents at a very young age. But we do know the long-term impacts of denying women the opportunity to engage in meaningful employment and to apply their intelligence to anything other than raising children.
For thousands of years women were, and in many countries still are, seen as subordinate to men. Their role was to raise the children and look after the home. Women were denied equal education opportunities, which led to denial of equal employment opportunities. That can still be seen in the paucity of women in senior executive positions, and the opposition and abuse that women suffer as they now attempt to enter traditional male roles such as trades.
This has no doubt contributed to the widespread misogyny and male entitlement that has led to horrifying levels of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Of course one solution is for all fathers to forgo their employment and become the primary carers for their children, but I really can't see that happening. In recent decades women have demanded their rightful place in society and in the workforce. That has coincided with (and perhaps driven) vastly improved lifestyles and expectations that also demand that both parents contribute to the family income. On the positive side, this can contribute to improvements in national well-being if the other negative aspects are addressed. As one commentator remarked after the recent summit: "(The gender issue is) no longer a social issue or some sort of indulgence but an urgent necessity for economic revival". Governments do have a part to play in providing affordable childcare, so long as the focus is on education and development of social skills, delivered by qualified educators, and not just so-called "child minding".
John Ure, Mount Hutton
What exactly are we waiting for?
DESPITE all the talk of net-zero, it was alarming to discover that Australia's emissions rose by 1.5 per cent in the year to March 2022 ("Data shows rise in Australian emissions", Newcastle Herald 31/8). Australia is not an isolated case. Earlier this year, the International Energy Agency reported that "global CO2 emissions rebounded to their highest level in history in 2021". Despite all the scientific warnings and extreme weather events like the Pakistan floods, we continue on our greedy, extractive, polluting pathway. What will it take? For me, it's optimism for a future with abundant renewable energy, clean air, healthy food, and thriving ecosystems for my children to enjoy. It's time we all held ourselves and our governments accountable.
Amy Hiller, Magill
Hydrogen shift won't be a gas
PETER McGrath (Letters 5/9) appears to defend the safety of hydrogen as a fuel. Hydrogen was identified as an element by Henry Cavendish in 1766, though produced by the famous chemist Robert Boyle as early as 1671,without identification.
True, it has been used for more than 100 years in chemical processes, but ask yourself - why it has never been used as a major fuel in 350 years?
It has been because the technical and safety problems of using hydrogen as a fuel on a large scale are huge. Using it in small quantities on site in chemical factories is a lot different to applying hydrogen to all our transport systems. There have been numerous reports of hydrogen explosions even though it is engineered to much tighter safety controls than natural gas or liquid fuels. Notice that the incidents are almost always explosions rather than fires. That's because hydrogen escaping into air readily forms an explosive mix rather than a flammable one.
Recently, in 2019, a hydrogen refuelling station exploded near Oslo, Norway. In 2020, a hydrogen fuel plant explosion at Longview, North Carolina severely damaged 60 homes. Why play around with this dangerous gas as a fuel when other safer, more easily stored/transported liquid fuels, gas, and coal are readily available?
Peter Devey, Merewether
I RECENTLY spent two weeks in Maitland Hospital. The care and expertise of the staff was amazing. These poor people were so short-staffed and overworked. Nurses were expected to work double night shifts then turn up again at 5pm. Many had to travel some distance to work, eat, sleep, and care for family in 8 hours. I witnessed tears of exhaustion, but the care was always first class. Mr Perrottet, it is time to bring in reasonable patient ratios to allow these angels a reasonable standard of life.
Jennifer Conroy, Telarah
THE Albanese government wants to water down the superannuation requirements for funds to publicly disclose donation and payments paid out by funds. The money in funds belongs to the members and they should be informed as to where their money is spent. Why does Labor want this change? Perhaps we should ask the unions.
John Cooper, Charlestown
ANOTHER record season for the Knights. The most losses at home ever. Well done Knights and thanks, from all your loyal fans who turn up despite your pathetic performances. We don't need another coach while Adam O'Brien is still helping break records. Can't wait for next season. Lol.
Bill Slicer, Tighes Hill
THE NRL is a joke. A home and away season when not everyone played each other twice? Ask the Tigers. The other one-liner is the idea there is enough player talent for another team. Good players won't go to get flogged every week.
Bruce Cook, Adamstown
IF a doctor is worried about falling asleep on their way to work, they should not be driving to help the sick.
Dave Wilson, Bar Beach
RAY Dinneen (Short Takes 6/9): always complaining about something. I would rather the ABC than some of the other news readers laughing hysterically about nothing.
Loretta Paolucci, Wallsend
OF course, public (social) transport is stubbornly low, a brake on progress, in the most motorised part of Australia. Then, a seam was put in by "truncation" savaging, of the nation's most important intercity rail link. For decades, rail infrastructure was allowed to languish. Journey times between Newcastle and Sydney are slower than the steam age. Now built on, the foreshore is no more open to throughput, than when trains went to a superlative destination, with Newcastle station, too boot, offering so much development. Through trains could still have stopped at the present interchange site.
Graeme Tychsen, Toronto
WELL after watching Four Corners on Monday night, in my opinion Alan Joyce's resignation is a priority. I believe he's singlehandedly destroying the famous Australian airline and its reputation.
