Letters to the editor for Tuesday March 20 2018

I could imagine living in London during the Second World War as harrowing, or being involved in the Bali bombings. But having to walk an extra block to catch a bus? Really? He also quoted a school student who has to leave home at 5.30 each morning to get to school on time. Where is her school that it takes 3.5 hours to get there?

I asked several people this morning if they caught a bus to the rally. Not one did, even though a bus stop is just outside the park. One lady complained that the buses are “impossible” on a Sunday. This begs two questions. Why have a rally complaining about public transport on a Sunday when public transport has always been limited; secondly, why have an evening meeting in Belmont, which has always been a difficult suburb to access by public transport for most Newcastle people? 

I can't wait for the answers.

I WAS quite surprised to see the Shadow Minister for Transport Jodi McKay complaining that the Hunter would be receiving new carriages which had fixed seating.

In addition to Ms McKay, we also saw the Shadow Minister for the Hunter Kate Washington and Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison also complaining about the carriages on social media. What the Labor MPs have failed to realise was that during the 17 years of the last Labor state government the Hunter line had fixed seating in use on their trains. These were installed on the Endeavour Fleet back in 1994 and lasted until 2011.

To make the complaints from the ALP on Thursday even more comical was the fact that when we last had fixed seating on our carriages on the Hunter line, the local member at the time was no other than Jodi McKay, now Shadow Minister for Transport, who is raising these concerns. I find it odd that during her four years as the Member for Newcastle and Minister for the Hunter that not a word was raised about the fixed seating in the carriages along the Hunter line. 

Do you not think it would be more beneficial for the Hunter for our Labor MPs to focus on more serious issues instead of focusing on frivolous topics such as the direction of a seat?

I WISH non-qualified people would stop commenting on the power crisis and solutions to global warming. Being an architect, a politician, a power-industry worker, a coal miner or an engineer does not make their opinion worth listening to on this complex national subject.

Quoting excerpts from other, so-called “informed sources” is a practice which, in the future, is likely to make them look very foolish. Often their arguments are based on the very biased “facts” from so-called “creditable organisations”. 

At the rate of change in technology, who can say what will happen in 22 years’ time? In 1996, who would have predicted the huge developments that have occurred in mobile phones, the internet, computer memory storage, self-driving cars, the human DNA genome and drones – well, except for the creators of Dick Tracey and The Jetsons!

One reads so many conflicting opinions, all we get is confused. No wonder our politicians are so indecisive. Our future depends on our success in replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. Please, leave the decisions on how to do this to our scientific experts who can report their findings and make recommendations based on research, trials, observation and proof.

When someone does comment in the media, I believe they should include not only their credentials, but also any affiliated organisations they represent. My advice is that if you see an article on these topics, skip to the end. If the author is not an expert in this field, don’t waste your time. Just move on to the next article or the comics.

THE article about students preparing for the test to be able to attend a selective school (“Students aim high at goal”, Herald 10/3) was concerning. To prepare for some months for the selection surely defeats the whole purpose. I thought the idea was to find children of certain abilities, no matter where or what their situation, so they could achieve their academic potential. The requirement to have parents who could provide extra tuition to achieve the magic mark surely defeats the ideal where we would find potential 'changers' for Australia.

CLUB loyalties aside, the most entertaining and enjoyable NRL game so far had to be the Tigers playing Melbourne in Melbourne on Saturday. A narrow leader for most of the game, the Tigers played the second half a man short for 10 minutes with a penalty count of 9-1 against them and had to come from behind to snatch victory in the shadows of the post. They were cheered on enthusiastically by a supporter wearing a South Sydney jumper. Good stuff.  

WHAT are the risks of seismic testing off the coast of Newcastle? What are the risks of oil or gas extraction off the coast of Newcastle? Do we need whales or dolphins washed up on the beach to assess the harm? Do we need "fugitive" emissions of methane and globs of thick black oil on our beaches for a retrospective analysis? Perhaps the onus should be on the oil and gas industry, rather than the community, to establish no significant risk. We need to protect our children and grandchildren, and their heritage.

THE Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is creating a bit of a stir at the ASEAN summit, as well as bumping up the cost of security. I’m just wondering how Treasurer Scott Morrison is taking all this, as Hun Sen is the man that Scott gave $5.5 million to take two refugees when in a previous portfolio. It was his bid to farm out Australia’s responsibilities towards refugees.