Despite the trials and tribulations suffered by Newcastle Jets fans over many of the past A League seasons, two things have remained a constant; that they still have a loyal fan base if somewhat diminished in recent years and that the Newcastle Herald has tried to provide the club with extensive and positive coverage that must be the envy of most other clubs in the A League.
Having said that, the rubber now meets the road for the new owners who above all else must demand a winning culture from the staff and players.
We, as members, are not interested in five-year plans or the development of young players to be sold on.
We have the right to demand a winning team; a team that shows us the character and guts that reflects the honest and hard working people of the Hunter Valley.
The time has passed when we are willing to accept mediocrity and the excuses that have been trotted out in recent seasons.
Could I make a novel suggestion to the new owners? The way to get a return on their investment is to win and to win regularly. That winning culture can only be developed from the top and it is up to them to rev the engines to full throttle.
Eric Burns, Belmont
Keep the dream alive, Albo
EVERY young person's dream is to buy their own home, which brings a lot of community ownership to an area.
As we see the cost of living erode the middle class and the standard of living we see, affordability of a home or renting a place at the front of the queue is at the forefront of young people's minds.
While it is easy to offer criticism, surely a solution is to require banking institutions to provide low cost home loans for new home buyers.
The government guarantees banks. What they owe in return should be paid forward to the community's new homeowners.
Government could require banks to provide loans to new home buyers at 3 per cent below the prime rate for five years before moving to commercial rates. Banks might be provided tax relief for the subsidy.
The payoff? The building industry gets a push, tax revenue is generated from the infrastructure, and new jobs are created as we start letting people build their dream.
One condition might be to cap immigration to traditional numbers of around 170,000 a year instead of the student visas and other immigration going far beyond that, which I think is just crazy. Interest rate cuts won't save the government.
It is incumbent on any government to keep the dream alive to provide hope for those people and their families.
Time for leadership, Albo.
Grahame Danaher, Coal Point
Who gets to pick between beliefs?
JOHN Cooper ("Mural no basis for rejection", Letters 16/10), criticises the decision of Tanya Plibersek to reject the Blayney gold mine on the grounds of the proposed mine being located on sacred Aboriginal Dreaming land.
He defends this position by stating that the decision was based upon: "an unsubstantiated mythical story".
If unsubstantiated mythical stories are to be rejected as the basis for determining sacred sites, let's apply that fairly.
Christianity will not be able to claim sanctuary from development decisions based upon the unsubstantiated stories at the heart of its belief system: virgin birth, resurrection, the holy trinity, heaven, hell.
These are all part of the belief system of Christianity and they are equally as substantiated as are the dreaming stories of our First Nation peoples.
The same applies to the belief systems of others of the hundreds of belief systems that populate our planet.
This is not to deny a person's belief system, which is their right and privilege to make meaning of their lives.
To privilege one belief system over another would be to unilaterally assign a hierarchy to belief systems that by nature are unable to be empirically proven or substantiated.
That's clearly a nonsense proposition.
First Nations people have as much right to object to a development being approved on their sacred land as Christians would have to object to a development on the site of Christ Church Cathedral.
It reminds me of the story of a Christian believer having a discussion with an atheist:
Believer: What's it like being an Atheist?
Atheist: Do you believe in Zeus?
Believer: No. Of course not.
Atheist: It's like that.
Barney Langford, Whitebridge
Robbo is council's past, not future
PHIL Grainger ("Voters picked their lord mayor", Letters, 16/10), I found your letter supporting bringing back Allan Robinson amazing. Why would you want to do that?
You say he is a straight shooter, but I would argue he is actually more known for his company's convictions over illegal dumping, and what in my opinion amounts to a general inability to act to the standard expected of councillors.
He is also known for being rejected by independents such as John Church, who wanted nothing to do with him in the 2021 election.
The overriding factor you need to address is how can you bring back Allan Robinson to become a councillor when he was banned in 2023, by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, from becoming a councillor over his actions when he was in that office?
Glen Wilson, Cardiff
Labor blame in contrast to council vote
CHARLOTTE McCabe, I needed to read the article in the Newcastle Herald twice ("Greens target 'let-down' Labor voters", Herald, 16/10), because I didn't believe it at first. It was the announcement of her intention to enter federal politics as she believes the Labor Party has let voters down. That's after the Greens backed Labor at the recent local government election, giving them preferences in the council election. Then Cr McCabe voted with Labor to strip our new independent lord mayor of powers afforded to his Labor predecessor. The irony is not lost on me.
Denise Lindus Trummel, Newcastle
Driving home flaws in rail
QUESTION: What do you call a tram or train that doesn't run on rails?
Answer: A bus.
Q: How many buses can be purchased with the cost of a tram or train on rails?
A: A fleet.
Q: Why don't we have very fast trains?
A: We don't need them.
Q: Why don't we need them?
A: Refer to questions one and two.
Carl Stevenson, Dora Creek
'Yes' was architect of its demise
ONE year ago the majority of Australia voted 'no' to the Voice referendum. The 'yes' campaigners are still crying foul and claiming their loss on misinformation. It was not misinformation but the lack of coherent information that contributed to the failure of the Voice. The majority of Australians voted 'no' on the basis it divided our society on equal rights and race, and not because we do not care about the plight of sections of the Indigenous community.
John Cooper, Charlestown
Hostages key to peace process
JULIE Robinson ("Hostages not a priority", Letters, 14/10), disagrees that releasing all the Israeli hostages will bring peace. There will be no peace if they are not released, and it seems sure that Hamas will never release them. Israel is under assault on all fronts and Netanyahu is the one on a "murderous rampage"? Some people just don't get it.
Peter Dolan, Lambton
Correction
A STORY titled 'Greens, Labor have 'thumbed their nose at the citizens'' published in the Opinion section of the Newcastle Herald on Saturday, October 12, 2024 said the loss of the federal government grant promised for the art gallery occurred prior to Jeff McCloy's term as lord mayor. The announcement of the loss of the grant actually occurred during the first year of Mr McCloy's term as lord mayor. Mr McCloy said his comment referred to factors prior to his tenure that he believed contributed to the outcome. The Herald apologises for any confusion caused.
