Newcastle Herald letters to the editor, Friday, May 22, 2020: Supercars 'worse' than COVID-19 lockdown

Some "East End abusers" just don't seem to get it. My personal experience is I am part-time carer of an elderly relative in the East End, so I have to visit a lot. I must therefore go through all the hurdles that residents do and it is not fun.

The current COVID-19 lockdown, which everyone seems to bemoan, has been going for eight weeks. The annual Supercars one goes for nine and the physical restrictions brought on those poor residents are far worse, in my opinion.

It starts as an inconvenience with road blockages and closures, but rapidly progresses to a maze-like fence city. The entire Foreshore Park is taken over including the children's playground, complete with security guards galore. There is hardly anywhere to park as clearways extend almost all the way to Darby Street.

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Cars are towed away at owner's expense, yet Supercars workers can park anywhere they want including disabled zones. Fences make it virtually impossible to get to Nobbys Beach and the break wall.

Because of all the above, most businesses actually suffer, then when the race itself is on you can't go outside unless you have gone out of your way to apply for a wristband. When it is all over the grass is dead for the summer.

The word "draconian" has been used by the media to describe the COVID-19 lockdown. If the COVID-19 lockdown is "draconian", then I actually can't think of a word for the Supercars one.

THE East End Residents Group is on the attack again via Facebook, all because some people choose to speak out against them in the Herald.

Posts like "At last one of the Supercars fanatics acknowledges the senseless loss of this event to the City of Newcastle (CoN). Has Mark Creek got a relative at the Herald as he adds less than nothing to the community discourse?"

Then a reprint of the Letters to the Editor with a whole host of comments that follow.

This is a common occurrence whenever someone does get a letter in the paper in support of the race. There are people in the East End that do like the race.

PORT Stephens residents have a right to be worried about an influx of tourists over the coming June long weekend (Herald, 21/5), as should every coastal town up to the Queensland border.

Testing for the virus is said to be the answer to COVID-19, the question is how many big city residents rushing to escape lockdown conditions have indeed been tested for the virus? If it is the same team that will not download the app and refuse the flu jab, every seaside town could have a virus problem from these "visitors". In surfing terminology, "look out for the second wave"

I HAVE been an avid reader of all papers for over 60 years, but I cannot believe the bias against Coalition governments that some Newcastle Herald readers have.

The past two elections were won by the Coalition, so some Herald subscribers should look at the reasons why this happened. Since then, both state and federal Labor have changed their leaders, but not their policies.

The governments have shown true strengths in the wake of the coronavirus. I am sure that if some of these readers' neighbour's cats had kittens, it would be the Prime Minister's fault.

MY ABC, our ABC, Australia's national broadcaster, is being eviscerated by the conservative Liberal/National Party coalition that is currently failing to act responsibly as our country's federal government.

The ultimate and obvious goal, the privatisation of our national broadcaster, will not sit well with most Australians, certainly not with any of my friends and associates.

At all times, but particularly in times of crisis, the ABC must be available to everybody, particularly in remote regions, and run at full strength. The ABC requires dedicated staffing levels and appropriate funding. As with SBS, a targeted lack of funding plus a diet of advertising will create even more anger. Smart, intelligent, caring citizens deserve and want better.

FIRST of all, congratulations to all involved in the recent court case regarding casual workers, particularly the CFMEU.

This verdict also highlights the unfairness of workplace policies that are allowed in this, the 21st century. It borders on slavery. These "labour hire" employees are taken advantage of in many industries, not just mining. In fact, in my industry they work in many instances more shifts than me or any other full-time employee in any roster cycle.

IN OTHER NEWS:

I agree with the AIG that the government should intervene, but must outlaw this type of employment. I would assume that the reason the cases were found in favour of the CFMEU was because these people are working full-time and as such deserve entitlements that we all, including our elected representatives, take for granted.

There should be a limit of casual employment, but they should be employed directly by the company using the labour, not creating another industry that just exploits workers. Now let's see if the Federal Government supports the majority or will bow to big business again.

THE issue that creates the real underlying problem of a container terminal at Newcastle is the privatisation of port facilities in the first place.

Whether it is by leasing or sale of a port they are never in the greater interest of the state or the nation in the long run.

Greg Cameron's letter (Treasurer's claim was 'incorrect', Letters, 20/5) is a part-look at the slip-slide that a government gets into when they make such deals.

China is currently imposing an 80 per cent import tax on some Australian products and it also has strong financial interests in Australian port facilities, including Newcastle. This does not run well at all as any trade war will affect the ports where it has an interest in. The Newcastle Port workers and potential workers have their jobs in jeopardy while this dispute is running its course.

As well any port development that would be in the interest of Australia and not China will have difficulty in proceeding.

Some things should be owned by the Government and never privatised. Bring it back to Australian Government ownership.

THE planning for the re-start to the NRL competition is well underway. That will please the fans as well as the players who have been forced to self-isolate for so many weeks. But looking to the future, has the NRL got a Plan B? The coronavirus is not defeated. There is the unfortunate prospect that a player will be tested positive - I dread the thought - will the team then have to end its season?

HANDS up who would rather watch Supercars race at Bathurst rather than the Newcastle slot car track - motion carried. Hands up all the drivers and teams who would rather race at Bathurst than Newcastle - motion carried. The race should never come back to Newcastle.

JUST to clarify the casuals' situation in coal mining. The government and mining companies can bleat all they like about entitlements being included in casual pay; they are still $30k-$40k behind permanent employees for exactly the same work.

APPARENTLY and unsurprisingly, Mark Creek (Short Takes, 20/5) doesn't know the difference between the "rules on word limit" for a letter to the editor and an opinion piece. Equally, I'm not surprised that he made no comment for and/or against this year's Supercars race cancellation. And no rebuttal of any of Dr Christine Everingham's op-ed piece arguments. And Lambton resident Ken Stead's (Short Takes, 20/5) criticisms of residents of the suburb of East End (the real one, not the development in Hunter Street Mall) went no deeper than playground name-calling like "whingers". Why not look for a site in or near Lambton?

THE proposal to spend $21 million of taxpayers money to pump sand onto Stockton Beach, knowing that it will wash back into the ocean, makes no sense. The cause of the sand loss needs to be fixed first. The construction of a reef seems to be the most practical proposal. Once built, pumping sand onto the beach would be a possibility.

NOW that the Supercars event has been postponed for a year can we please show respect to the local residents and refer to the suburb by its original name - the Dead End.

I SAW sound and camera crews out and about on the weekend at the local shopping complex and I asked them what they were doing. A producer informed me that they were making a series called "The Second Wave".

IF other states are being cautious don't bag them. If our state didn't let a cruise ship in we would be a lot better off.

WITH the LNP doing a mighty job of sabotaging our trade links with China, it's worthwhile remembering the mighty mind that established our over reliance on Chinese agricultural trade - the inimitable Mr Tony (onion man) Abbott!