I BROUGHT my father - who is one month shy of turning 100 years old - home from Belmont Hospital last Wednesday after a 10-day stay. It looks like his pole vaulting days are over, but thanks to the fabulously magnificent staff of this public hospital he may be around a little longer to receive his letter from the King.
Regarding reports of chronic under-funding of John Hunter Hospital, it seems to me that Belmont Hospital needs help too. The nursing staff are running on empty, with management having to make ridiculous decisions to try to save a few pennies.
A national emergency is occurring in our health system and if a blockhead like me can see it then it must be critical. Our last prime minister spent $100 billion on war weapons. I challenge you, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, to spend that amount on fair dinkum healthcare.
Investment in health saves lives and makes us a profit. War weapons waste money and lives. My World War II serviceman father would attest to that from first-hand knowledge.
Nigel Williams, Redhead
Profit over care
I WAS taken into care in 1931 by the sisters at St Patrick's Orphanage at Armidale following my mother's death. I read John Falzon's opinion piece with a great sorrow that the sisters who cared for me are not around to help care for the victims of the government-imposed suffering of those like me who now need care amongst the gross riches of this country.
Inspired by the example of the nuns of service to others, I and my fellow siblings have had a long life of working to ensure that the hardships of our early life were not repeated in our current society. As my family grew, I was active in my community to ensure the basics of a good life were available; homes for the family, schools for the kids and health services for the family and the aged.
Now that I am approaching my 94th year, I am witnessing another era where I may need care from the community, only to find that it is not available through the greed of those who have dominated our political and economic life for decades, as described by Mr Falzon.
In the 1930s, we suffered in concert with the majority of workers in the world but today those suffering in aged care facilities and the homeless on the street are there because the rich and powerful have decided that the growth of their wealth is more important than the common good of those who serve them.
We, as a nation, produce more than enough to ensure those suffering in our society should be cared for, but our suffering has been turned into a means of greater profit with the commodification of our basic needs of housing and aged care that the sisters at St Patrick's gave for free.
I am hoping the new Albanese government may start to reverse this gross inequality and we may see some of the spirit of care given by the sisters become policy again.
Frank Ward OAM, Shoal Bay
Ball in our court
THE two great enemies of our planet are greed and complacency. Greed makes people keep wanting more without being satisfied and complacency sits back saying 'don't bother me, it's not my problem'.
If we liken our planet to living in an exquisite mansion set on a pristine acreage, perhaps it would better help us concerning our individual responsibility.
Continually razing whole forests and trees would have a devastating effect on oxygen supplies, drainage, shade, cooling, ecological balance and beauty.
Digging up the land for buried treasure and spraying poisons willy-nilly would soon make the estate ugly and uninhabitable.
Discovering what harms should cause us to pause and work together to find safer, better outcomes.
The sceptic will always throw up excuses but the time for excuses and red herrings has gone. We are in dire days.
Planet Earth is our home and we are responsible to leave it no worse than it was when we were born and educating ourselves to find ways to help stop its degradation.
The message is for big multinationals, the myriad business opportunists and the rest of us. The ball is in our court.
Julie Robinson, Cardiff
Shaming misses the point
ACCORDING to Matt Ophir I'm a "climate change hypocrite" if I drive a car or have a phone (Short Takes, 15/10). When he reads this and discovers that I live in a cave on Birubi Point and only eat moss and lick moisture from the stone walls, he'll equally dismiss my opinion as one of a mad, lefty greenie with no experience of the real world.
Shaming climate change advocates because they are required to live with and use the technology of the day has become the go-to position of those who cannot now deny the reality of a changing climate. Matt is copying one of the latest tactics developed by the fossil fuel industry that is propagated by conservative media with financial interests in supporting fossil fuels, especially the Newscorp empire. Leonardo DiCaprio, Barack Obama and Prince Harry have been big-name victims of such attacks.
The aim is to get us all arguing and shaming each other over our individual contributions to climate damage while deflecting the attention from the big picture which is whole-planet systemic change - we can all do our individual bit, but the point is, all these things will not be enough without massive changes and we need governments to lead that.
John Arnold, Anna Bay
It's not hypocrisy
MATT Ophir trots out the tired denialist fallacy that anyone who understands the dangers of climate change is a hypocrite if they have a hot shower or own a phone (Short Takes, 15/10).
The fallacy is twofold: first, the idea that such people should effectively live naked in a cave eating passing insects is ridiculous. People have a right to promote change in the society they are born into, while living in it, and like me they probably slash their carbon footprint using things like solar hot water (which reduced my power consumption by 49 per cent). Second, Matt's argument assumes that none of our mod-cons can be produced using renewable energy. They already are to some extent, in some cases totally like Tesla's battery gigafactory. That's the objective. It's not hypocrisy.
Michael Gormly, Islington
All containers can be railed
THE compelling advantage of a container terminal at the Port of Newcastle ('Do we really want terminal', Letters, 17/10) is that every container that enters and leaves NSW can be railed. A rail freight line between the Port of Newcastle, Badgery's Creek and Port Kembla is paid for by railing all containers and general freight. The benefits of a rail-based container terminal apply to every region of NSW. Removing freight from the urban passenger rail network creates even more benefits.
Greg Cameron, Wamboin
SHORT TAKES
AMAZING win, Jets. Well done.
Bill Slicer, Tighes Hill
SO some of the Delany's neighbours are still opposing the proposal of extended trading hours ('Delany a step closer to extended trading', Herald, 15/10)? Need these neighbours be reminded yet again that the Delany was present before they were, and more specifically, has been present since 1924?
Adz Carter, Newcastle
HEY Steve Barnett (Short Takes, 17/10): on the wrestling idea, myself being about 5"7, I would definitely be the pick for Andre the Giant - hands down!
Mark Sheerin, Hamilton South
SORRY Dave, I've always agreed with your thoughts but you're on your own regarding whether mighty Knights fans would accept a Manly man as coach (Short Takes, 15/10).
Mick Porter, Raymond Terrace
CONGRATULATIONS on the Pope's View cartoon (Opinion, 15/10). Brilliant commentary that demonstrates that two cows appear to be smarter than a former deputy PM as well as a step ahead of Australia's fossil gas industry!
Fred Budden, Belmont
SEEING as Christine Everingham loves figures so much, here's one: Seventy-two per cent of Newcastle East is public land. It's ours, not yours.
Sam Rogers, Maitland
WITH the demand for more social housing, we need to address the fact that we have estates where crime, drugs, domestic violence and stabbings flourish. It's a community issue and it needs to be shared amongst the community.
Mark Sheerin, Hamilton South
CONGRATULATIONS to our new prime minister Mr Albanese and his government for doing a fantastic job in actually governing Australia. So much better than the disorganised bunch we have had for the last 10 years! And, by the way, no promises have been broken. A good government, however, will break promises if they are bad policies. Three cheers for the new government!
Colin Rowlatt, Merewether
NEIL Allen ('Are we sure wind farms won't fail whales', Letters, 15/10): so-called green clean renewable energy is destroying the environment. I bet the climate cult that brainwashes school kids doesn't educate them on lithium mining, rare Earth minerals and land clearance to build wind farms. It seems killing magnificent birds, poisoning rivers and clearing trees is swept under the carpet. Renewable energy has nothing to do with the environment. It's like any other business - profit at all costs, nothing to see here.
Steve Barnett, Fingal Bay
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