The amount of people who protest about protests is staggering.
Do some really want a world of dispassionate, apathetic people who don't care about matters like racism, a polluted dying world or injustices like colonialism and women and children dying in large numbers in wars?
So Lidia Thorpe screamed out a few home truths in the presence of a king? Anyone would think she committed murder, ("Lidia Thorpe's blast said more about her than of King Charles", Newcastle Herald, 23/10).
What's the fuss? Having extreme wealth and privilege, Charles may need reminding in a loud way by a passionate woman that he has advantages that Indigenous Australians do not have.
It's a privilege to be able to protest in various ways but some governments and people would rather those rights be taken away. It seems there are those who would happily swap a democracy for a dictatorship.
Julie Robinson, Cardiff
Uni cuts could cost us all
I AM an ongoing staff member and alumni of the University of Newcastle, about to tick over into my 20th year of service. As a born and bred Novocastrian I have observed this institution at its best when it threw itself into retraining former steel workers after the closure of the BHP and the way it transforms lives through the Open Foundation program.
Now, I feel deep sadness at the way it is treating my casual colleagues who deliver essential teaching and professional services which benefit the entire community. If hundreds of these staff are no longer employed by the university what happens to the courses, degrees, and support for students? That's before thinking about the flow on effect to the community which will lose much needed income from those workers' incomes.
A quick back of the envelope calculation for 200 staff earning the median wage of $54980 would be a loss of $10,996,000 a year. Newcastle needs a strong university with highly qualified and experienced staff to teach our students. Losing these staff will have long term consequences and our community needs to demand better from our university.
Alison Hillier, Maryland
Abortion is a complex topic
PERHAPS you will permit an alternative point of view on abortion to that expressed by Jenna Price ("Stay vigilant because women's rights are still under threat", Opinion, 26/10)? Abortion is not just an issue of women's rights - it is also an issue of human babies rights. If people accept biology then the baby in a womb is a human baby. Is there to be no limit on taking away their life?
The situation is much more complex than the simplistic mantras which are so often used on either side. In my opinion the greatest threat to women's rights at the moment comes from those who are unable to define what a woman is.
David A. Robertson, Hamilton
Nuclear is too late to save the day
RECENT coverage exposes how unlikely the current LNP nuclear timeline of 2035 truly is. Australian Energy Regulator chair Clare Savage was quoted in a report telling a parliamentary inquiry hearing, "We cannot keep the current coal fleet running long enough for nuclear to be here". Most of the current coal fired power stations are expected to be closed within 10 years.
Savage believes that it would take 8-10 years to set up the rules to govern nuclear power before construction could begin. Construction could then take around 10 years according to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). That would mean that the earliest the first nuclear power plant could be on-line would be from about 2043 (2025 plus 18 years), not 2035 as the LNP claims.
Of course we could try and extend the life of our current coal fired power plants. However, this would be very expensive and inevitably increase power prices. Or we could play to our advantages of wind and sun power to replace the lost output from our fleet of coal fired power plants.
Ian Thomas, The Hill
Driver to blame for Greta bus crash
SO some survivors of the Greta bus crash are among those suing Transport for NSW over design failings off the roundabout as a cause of the accident. I wonder how many vehicles have traversed this roundabout since it was built, and how many have ended up on their side? A handful? Any?
That tells me that anyone driving to the conditions, which is what you are supposed to do, could negotiate it safely. I have driven through it dozens of times without the slightest problem.
I remember a case a few years ago where a woman who fell down some stairs at a football game at McDonald Jones stadium lost her case when the judge pointed out that thousands of other patrons at the venue managed to use the stairs without falling.
In my opinion the accident at Greta was caused solely by the bloody minded, reckless driving of the bus driver, but in this world if you jump on the compensation gravy train you will more than likely win. Taxpayers like me provide the government with a deep trough of funds that can be diverted from more worthy uses to cover the cost.
Jan Phillip Trevillian, Fennell Bay
Systemic woes leave system in sad state
I am a retired psychiatric nurse and clinical psychologist. As a psychiatric nurse I worked at Newcastle Psychiatric Centre (Watt Street) and for a short period at Royal Newcastle Hospital as part of my training. I feel sorry for both the staff and the patients at the Mater Mental Health Centre ("Lacking staff and lacking compassion", Newcastle Herald 26/10). I believe neither the architecture nor the culture are fit for their purpose. When you find the nurses behind glass walls (albeit for their own safety) you know there are systemic problems.
Mark Porter, New Lambton
BHP site may better fit basketball
HERE'S another idea for a new basketball complex in Newcastle: a small spot on the very large site of BHP's former steelworks. It would be unlikely to compromise further development of the site. Most attendees will come by car; some competitors will come by bus. Parking will not be a problem.
Karel Grezl, Charlestown
Public money must be accountable
Andy Ward ("Salary secrecy, or sticky beaking?", Letters 28/10), not the detail you requested however, here it is succinctly. It's simple. It's our money. We need to know how it's been spent.
Catherine Whelan, Newcastle
Justification due on all sides
ANDY Ward: why do you need to know why Christine Everingham needs to know about what someone's salary is? Can you please explain in a detailed letter, how it affects the population of Newcastle and you?
Jacqueline Furey, Newcastle East
Years in power have cost the grid
The power crisis happening at Broken Hill can in my opinion be defined in one word; privatization. Private companies' only interest is profit. Maintenance is too often a forgotten word if it interferes with the bottom line. The LNP sold off the electricity grid and I believe the ongoing crisis at Broken Hill can be laid squarely at their feet. They can also claim responsibility for what consumers are paying for electricity.
Darryl Tuckwell, Eleebana
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