THERE is no need for the Australian government to purchase China Merchants' 50 per cent ownership of the Port of Newcastle.
The industry super funds that own 80 per cent of Port Botany and Port Kembla can join the industry super funds that own 50 per cent of Newcastle by buying out China Merchants' interest in Newcastle. Port Botany can become the new sub base by the Australian government purchasing the Botany and Kembla leases. These funds can be used to build a container terminal at the Port of Newcastle and contribute towards the cost of building a dedicated rail freight line linking Newcastle, Badgerys Creek and Port Kembla.
Regional economic development requires direct rail access to a container port, which is impossible at Port Botany. All containers can be railed between strategically located intermodal terminals throughout NSW and the Port of Newcastle. Container trucking at Port Botany will be eliminated. All metropolitan rail freight capacity can be used to increase passenger rail services to easily recover the cost of purchasing the Botany/Kembla leases.
Greg Cameron, Wamboin
Threat to our very existence
THE federal election campaign is in full swing; hot topics such as border protection, employment rates, and Medicare being highlighted and lobbied around. But have both major parties forgotten about the existential threat that threatens our very existence? They may have conveniently forgotten about the catastrophic bushfires in 2019 and recent devastating floods in NSW and Queensland, but we have not. When will they bring forth their best climate policies and emissions reduction targets; clear and bold plans to safeguard Australians from future catastrophic climate disasters?
Ching Ang, Magill
Carbon dioxide's dirty name
THE climate change debate in Australia, previously described as global warming, makes continual reference to the fact that carbon dioxide is the main culprit, although greenhouse gasses also get a mention.
By the time I finished primary school in 1955 I was well aware that carbon dioxide was essential for plant life, and that in return for the carbon dioxide expelled by human breath, plant life supplied us with oxygen that enables us humans to stay alive. Now, since 'one plus one' has forever and a day equals two, have any scientists world wide evaluated the necessary balance between carbon dioxide uptake by plants and the amount of oxygen produced by plants that will enable both plant life and human life to continue in an orderly manner?
I believe that many forms of pollution are a threat to human health and animal life, nevertheless, pollution contaminants are not carbon dioxide. Earth is just a small dot in the stratosphere, and it is more than obvious that our proximity to the sun influences much of what happens with the earth's often erratic climate experiences. Nevertheless, without more accurate data, I think that blaming carbon dioxide for our climate woes is not justifiable.
Richard Devon, Fishing Point
Put taxpayers before profits
THERE are some fundamental issues related to the whole of the privatised mobile phone network and as well as that the privatised NBN network.
The decision to privatise the telecommunication system was an appalling decision in many ways as a private company would always serve the high volume customers the best and the rest would get the crumbs. Both the Labor Party and the Liberal Party went on a spree for the privatisation of former public utilities. It was always a race to who would do it first. Both sides claimed that the businesses when privatised would make saving to all their customers; this has never been true in any way. Now the Labor Party wants to inject some $5 million to improve the mobile phone signal in the Shortland electorate; as a taxi driver I know the many blackspots in the Newcastle/Lake Macquarie areas, and there are many of them all over the place. How many other electorates will such funds be promised to?
Since the system was privatised and the delivery of the service is faulty, so why should the taxpayers pay the private companies $5 million to fix their business, unless there is a debt to the companies or the government attains shares in the business - we as taxpayers must ask what is the logic of this injection of funds.
The privatised telecommunication businesses do make huge annual profits and yet the very toothless telecommunications ombudsman is unable or unwilling or has no legislative capacity to make sure the delivery of the service is at an acceptable standard. Surely the required upgrade must be funded from the profits of the private companies. Did we not learn from the annual injection of funds into the motor vehicle industries and into the steel industries that did not keep these businesses in Australia but saw the companies' increased profits march offshore with all those jobs lost to Australians.
Both the mobile phone and the NBN signals are way below the promised delivery and the companies are making huge profits, while the customers are paying more money for a substandard service right across the country.
In government hands, a good government would deliver full coverage even to the remote areas of Australia. There is technology capacity to deliver a high standard of telecommunication to all parts of Australia but selling the business has delivered a huge barrier to deliver the technology that we as Australians should have at our fingertips.
Stop propping up the profits of private businesses by grants or injection of funds that are not to be repaid to the taxpayers of this country.
Milton Caine, Birmingham Gardens
Common sense not a superpower
PETER Mullins, (Short Takes, 19/4), I'm so pleased that you are continually amazed by my vast knowledge on any subject.
You're probably not the only one, as at times, even I am amazed by my vast knowledge. I think you're right, perhaps I should have been consulted on the pandemic in the wake of Australia recovering from natural disasters (including the bushfires that Scott Morrison was warned about well in advance). Given that the government knew about COVID in December 2019, I would not have waited until March 2020 to take action. Instead, I would have accumulated necessary emergency equipment, undertaken a public education campaign, given money to research, not declined Pfizer's initial offer for vaccines, and ordered RATs when first advised. Oh, and I certainly would not have allowed all 2700 passengers of the Ruby Princess to disembark into Sydney without quarantining.
To me, none of this is a question of intellect and/or knowledge, but more an issue of common sense, something that I feel isn't common within the Morrison government.
Adz Carter, Newcastle
SHORT TAKES
HAS the world gone mad? Katherine Deves is being called unfit for office because she believes males shouldn't be allowed to compete against females in sport. Seriously? She should be made Prime Minister immediately. I could not agree more with her. If you are born a male there's not a chance in hell that you should be competing against females. Anyone that thinks that would be a fair and level playing field are delusional.
Matt Ophir, Charlestown
JENNY Iredale, I suggest the educated opinion you refer to, (Short Takes, 8/4) is based, most likely, on the ever popular pub test rather than any alleged educated opinion. I also believe you and all other Stockton residents should show the utmost concern with the parlous state of their once beautiful ocean front which is being rapidly eroded. As for paying extra rates I have yet to see any prediction issued by council. You seem to be rather jumping the gun on the matter.
Robert Tacon, Adamstown Heights
MICHAEL Hinchey reckons Scott Morrison doesn't know to tell the truth and never will, (Short Takes, 16/4). I doubt that Mr. Hinchey has any evidence of that and, if it were the case, The Prime Minister would have been found to have misled parliament long before this. Labor supporters used to say the same things about John Howard and now Anthony Albanese admits that he wants to be more like him.
David Stuart, New Lambton
BRYN Roberts, at least you didn't have to stand in a line for an hour to pay over the odds like tourists here due to hospitality workers leaving town because of the housing crisis. The rent stress test is about a third of income so you have to earn over $100,000 now to have any hope of renting in the Bay, if you can find a home that is, thanks to the Sydney invaders working from home.
Steve Barnett, Fingal Bay
WELL, I've heard it all now, a supermarket that offers carbon-neutral beef. I suppose it is another feel-good green initiative. I am fascinated to know how they calculate how many times a cow breaks wind and what is the total volume per day.
John Cooper, Charlestown
BILL Slicer, (Short Takes, 19/04), I cannot criticise the Knights on last Sunday's game. It seemed to me that the outcome was managed. Statistics don't lie. There did not look to be any obvious difference in discipline between the two teams yet the penalty count and discretionary six-again all went one way. Some obvious rules of the game were ignored, akin to judicial disobedience, much to the dismay of even non-partisan television commentators. A team cannot win under those circumstances.
Marvyn Smith, Heddon Greta
EACH day we are witnessing the murder, destruction and plight that is the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The invasion of a people who had a gutful of Russia years before; the invasion of a people who just want what we all want - a life of freedom. And the most dreadful thing of all that we are also witnessing is the criminal ineptness of the so-called United Nations. What a farce!
