I AM writing to you regarding the present problems for nurses and midwives. As our nation has an increasing percentage of older people, including myself at 93, who require care in a longer life than previous generations and our younger people have access to improved treatment due to the ever increasing expertise of the medical profession, it is necessary to have enough staff to cope with the situation. The current discontent is mainly due to lack of wages and working conditions, and the only way to attract new nurses and midwives is by altering the present situation to parity with other states.
John Maley, Warners Bay
Airport's claims don't fly with me
SO, it appears it is not only the airport directors' salaries that have been kept secret from ratepayers but the precarious financial position of the airport itself. As the Newcastle Herald pointed out ("Revealed: Newcastle Airport insolvency risk", Herald, 30/10), not even the elected councillors were told about the considerable financial challenges.
At no time during the congratulatory speeches about the airport's performance at the new council's recent meetings was it revealed that there had been no dividends paid to the council for four years, nor that the board was facing critical financial challenges.
In my opinion the board can hardly claim these statements misrepresent the truth of their financial position when it appears they have consistently failed to make more financial detail available to those bodies who will ultimately foot the bill.
Christine Everingham, Newcastle East
Buyer beware on new tech
I WOULD like to suggest that anyone thinking of buying an electric car should make sure they do their homework. I recently heard of a man who bought a new EV for $82,000. At the end of 12 months the insurance quote came in at a little over $7000 compared to $1100 last year. Upon shopping around other quotes were much the same. When asking why the premium was so high the answer was because EVs are now considered a fire hazard. So he decided to cut his losses and sell the car. Then came an even bigger shock, the best price he could get for it was $41,000, meaning a loss of 50 per cent in 12 months. How much would an EV be worth when the battery is nearing the end of its life?
Ian King, Warners Bay
Royally good spot for museum
I WATCHED the brilliant documentary Shipwrecked Newcastle about some of the shipwrecks around Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. It mentioned Newcastle doesn't have a Maritime Museum to showcase the thousands of artefacts from our history. Maybe the new-look council can investigate removing those unused and dilapidated Queens Wharf buildings and construct a purpose-built Maritime Museum on this site. What a great asset and perfect position. I realise this is a very simplistic view of what appears to be a seemingly complex situation. But surely it's worth a thought?
Paul Newey, New Lambton
CDC may not be worth the price
THE editorial "Lagging on issue of grave importance" (Opinion, 28/10) again (previously in May) promoted the need for an Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC) modelled on the US CDC. The CDC is a large expensive medical research institute with 10,000 employees. It again talked about the COVID pandemic as justification for our own CDC. The US CDC was found wanting in so many ways through the pandemic. It said nothing when loose-fitting masks were promoted as protection against infection when they weren't effective. They said nothing when ignorant politicians enforced compulsory wearing of masks. They said nothing when politicians enforced lockdowns. This was in spite of there being no epidemiological evidence to support lockdowns.
Strangely, they were even silent when new vaccines against COVID were rushed into service before any long-term testing was completed, the normal required practice for any new vaccine. The editorial stated we are the only OECD country without a CDC. But most of those OECD countries had higher COVID death and infection rates than we did. In light of that evidence, why should Australia pay for our own CDC?
Peter Devey, Merewether
Do wind farms need the subsidies?
THERE are on average 300 commercial wind farms already working, or planned, around Australia very soon, with an average of 50 turbines per farm. This will be 15,000 turbines requiring hundreds of industrial storage batteries, plus thousands of kilometres of high voltage wires, costing another trillion dollars. Apart from the cost, each turbine earns government subsidies. Thus, the rush to invest is not surprising, but concerning. I foresee a continual growth of solar and wind farms to supply a growing population that will be much more energy dependent.
All up, without allowing for growth and indexation, the total cost of this subsidy will balloon. For the love of money, who would gamble their money on the weather to power and drive an economy? The only thing reliable about the weather is you can rely on it to be unreliable. Much to my dismay, the future fund looks like gambling on the weather.
Carl Stevenson, Dora Creek
Short Takes
The childcare sector's fight for its survival
TO me it seems like the end of in-home childcare is near. I am sorry to all families who do need care so they can work or study. It's not for trying to keep our services open, it's just not affordable anymore. No financial help since 2018 was the killer for many.
Amanda Johnstone, Mayfield
Inflation sledge doesn't rate
I FIND it amazing that the LNP only finds fault with the current government with regards to inflation. Angus Fraser said recently that the rate was still too high under Labor but forgot to mention that under the LNP the Reserve Bank waited to raise interest rates, then said there will be no rises until 2024. Look at it now.
Greg Parrey, Rutherford
Board rates very generous
WOW! $80,000 to sit on the Newcastle Airport board. I would love to know what the hourly rate is, I would imagine way more than the average person. These councillors are already receiving payments, in some cases more than their constituents would ever earn. No cost of living crisis for them. Maybe donate it to the needy. PS. I'll sit on any board for that amount of money, even if it's got nails in it.
David Bennett, Nelson Bay
Queens Wharf's time is up
UNFORTUNATELY Queens Wharf passed its use by date some time ago. The wharf area was always badly designed. A small marina that boats can actually use effectively might be useful. And a small conference seminar centre would be perfect for that space. You notice I have used the word small to describe those facilities.
Colin Rowlatt, Merewether
State of disarray in NSW
I SUGGEST Greg Hunt ("Queensland made the right call at the polls", Letters, 31/10) have a holiday in Queensland. He will quickly discover that Newcastle lags well behind Brisbane, Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast with infrastructure resulting from a long reign of a Labor government. The opposite applies in NSW, with no intentions of any government putting world class infrastructure into Greater Newcastle.
Darryl Stevenson, Coal Point
Finding a safe home
NO, Julie Robinson ("Responsibility of past", Letters, 6/11), I was thinking rather of those men who sow their wild oats, impregnate women and don't want to be regular, decent lads by taking responsibility for a child they help create. Instead they lean on their girlfriends to get rid of "the problem". I'm sure all unmarried mothers would like a good home, and to be treated with kindness and respect. Many pro-lifers work towards this, mostly funded by donations and their own resources.
