I have emailed Newcastle council regarding Queens Wharf. The fire was in 2020, but they told me there's still no decision on whether they will renovate or sell the building. It's yet another area that is not a good look for Newcastle. Why does it take so long, and how much is it costing taxpayers to have it left in this state?
Julieanne Jenkins, Wallsend
Opposition is more than a game
I THINK that Alissa Jones, City of Newcastle's executive director creative and community services, misses the point of community opposition to the conversion of the grassed playing fields Wallarah and Blackley ovals to an indoor basketball complex ("Many sport fields are under-used", Letters 12/4).
Sure, there may be infighting among soccer clubs about usage of fields, but what is at stake is the concreting of green community spaces. Most councillors on Newcastle council would have to be aware of the increasing threat towards 50-degree cities due to climate change.
Green spaces are a must to avoid/minimise this threat.
There was an argument put forward in these pages a few months ago, that part of the reasoning behind converting these fields to a basketball stadium was because of a particularly wet year a few years ago.
At the time, the fields couldn't be used, and the argument went that the fields were prone to flooding. If this is the case, then surely any structure built on these fields would suffer massive flood insurance costs.
Regarding sporting fields as assets just for playing organised games is a very narrow way of looking at how the community at a whole uses public ovals. A word that seems to have disappeared of late is "liveability"
John Gruszynski, New Lambton Heights
Yes to stadium, but no to location
IN response to the letter from Alissa Jones, City of Newcastle executive director creative and community services ("Many sport fields are under-used", Letters, 12/4): Ms Jones mentions that if the proposed Indoor sports stadium is approved for development on Wallarah and Blackley ovals a number of upgrades will occur at nearby sports grounds.
Given upgrades were done to Wallarah oval, including improved drainage and a new amenity block, only a few years ago, the question surely needs to be why here? Why destroy a facility in which money has been invested, just to spend more cash on upgrades elsewhere?
According to Andrew Cornwell, from Newcastle Junior cricket association, Wallarah oval is "one of the few grounds in Newcastle with change facilities suitable for female cricketers" ("Stadium proposal stumps cricketers", Newcastle Herald 23/3/23). So how is knocking down this relatively new amenity block, to build a new one somewhere else strategic decision making? Why spend money on something that is not broken?
Rather than making promises to warring sporting clubs of shiny new facilities, perhaps more energy could be put into researching a more appropriate location for a much-needed basketball stadium. We need a location that doesn't require demolishing a functional building, removing valuable green space from multiple users while increasing the risk of flooding and creating chaos on the roads and local streets. Yes to a new stadium, but no to this location.
Jacqui Rosewood, New Lambton
Key corridor's fate in the balance
AFTER six refusals and 21 years, the fate of the last bush and wildlife corridor between Wallsend and Minmi not zoned residential still hangs in the balance.
Just before last Christmas, councillors asked the state government not to proceed with the rezoning of 505 Minmi Road, Fletcher, with all councillors, except the Liberal Ward 4 councillor, voting yes. Last week, the state Labor government sided with the one Liberal councillor.
Council officers were instructed to put this rezoning on public exhibition by the end of this month or have this rezoning taken off them ('Threat to strip council planning powers', Herald 16/4), so we should have a decision by the state government reasonably soon. Total retention of this now unique bushland for the health and welfare of residents and our wildlife, or another developer's wallet exploding?
Brian Purdue, Maryland
Coal power relied on big subsidies too
PETER Devey ("Green subsidies won't last forever", Letters, 15/4) fibrillates about subsidies for clean green energy, but apparently forgets that our dirty coal generators were 100 per cent public funded. Mr Devey does not think renewables can do the job but history will prove him wrong.
Michael Gormly, Islington
One-eyed vision limits our view
MAC Maguire ("Compassion lacks in Gaza words", Letters 13/4) has a right to question whether Peter Dutton "sees only one side of everything". That would be terrible if true. His letter didn't mention the 1200 Israelis murdered on October 7 last year and the 120 or so kidnapped captives still kept by Hamas in Gaza. Is that seeing only one side?
Peter Devey, Merewether
Transition nothing to take lightly
JUDITH Hunter ("Concerns over gender laws", Letters, 15/4), implied that "anyone" could identify as another sex, so why would "anyone" want to change their sex? It is obviously something you would not lightly embark upon. I would imagine we're only talking about less than one per cent of the community, of which I guess 99 per cent would not be in competitive sports or join a women's group if they felt they could not fit in or compete as equals.
Darryl Stevenson, Coal Point
Nuclear push is about emissions
COLIN Rowlatt ("Nuclear plan burns up goodwill", Letters 15/4), because the Coalition cares about climate change is precisely why their plans include nuclear energy. It's 100 per cent emissions free and will be used along with wind and solar to firm up supply because, as most rational thinking people understand, renewables alone can't do the job of keeping the lights on 24/7.
Greg Hunt, Newcastle West
Habitat seems to be lost
REGARDING the land south of the highway between Hexham and Beresfield; where was the EPA when this wildlife habitat was destroyed by so-called development? It was teeming with bird colonies. Were these just ploughed under? What a tragedy.
Ennis Bailey, Mayfield
Sub-optimal outlook for AUKUS
ISRAEL has developed an Artificial Intelligence program called Lavender, to fight a smarter war and it makes me wonder how obsolete our AUKUS submarines will be when we take delivery in 40 years time.
