Newcastle Herald letters to the editor, Tuesday, June 2 2020: Keep our dogs out of our glorious Glenrock

But it seems an increasing number of dog owners are combining that with bushwalking or jogging in the Glenrock State Conservation Area where dogs are prohibited.

While I like to think the best of people, I find it hard to think this is a result of ignorance, considering the number of signs in the area detailing the ban on dogs and fines for taking them in.

Reading the literature, it's clear that leashed or not, the presence of these animals causes wildlife to leave conservation areas and interrupts their natural movements in the bush.

The old adage that pet ownership teaches responsibility seems to have little foundation, considering the entitlement and disregard for native wildlife on display in this situation.

There are plenty of places to take the family dog for a walk or run - why choose a conservation area?

I'M extremely proud of the incredibly gutsy effort of the Newcastle Knights on Sunday, overcoming so many obstacles to get a draw with Penrith.

Every player was great, but young Bradman Best foreshadowed a great career with two tries. He probably could have scored three but played the team game and passed to his winger who was too far forward, turning a good pass into a bad one.

Maybe officials will start calling some of the continuing plethora of forward passes soon.

THE chemical clean-out organised by Lake Macquarie council on Saturday was in my opinion a dismal failure.

I decided to take some chemicals for disposal at 2pm on Saturday. I arrived at the crossroads Glendale at approximately 2.07pm. At 2.20pm I was approximately 200 metres from the traffic lights that would allow me to turn into Frederick Street toward Glendale TAFE. After another 15 minutes I had not moved any further.

Vehicles coming from the Edgeworth area turning left into Frederick Street were blocking access to other vehicles. After approximately 35 minutes sitting in traffic I gave up and went home. Perhaps they can arrange a more accessible location next time.

EVERYONE is tonguing out for a cold draught beer, but to protect club bar staff I believe that as a duty of care, we can wait a few more weeks while everything during this pandemic settles down. Just buy bottled and canned beer across the bar rather than draught.

What we are unintentionally doing is exposing these people to higher risk to COVID-19 exposure, as well as the patrons because of the handling of glasses and the proper washing of these glasses.

Will there be perspex screens installed at the bars? And will all seats be thoroughly cleaned after each patron? Will bowlers drink water out of the same cooler using plastic cups or will bottled water be made available?

WATCHING Scott Morrison talking up his reincarnation of the Hawke/Kelty Accord caused me to ponder; 'How much more brass-necked can this joker get?'

Morrison's first task will be to prove his sincerity about creating a more equitable industrial relations system.

Then comes the task of convincing the Australian workforce that a leopard can actually change its spots. Then the really big one that "Accords" are actually good for the workforce.

The problem here for Morrison is that there will still be people out in the workforce who well remember the defects of the original Hawke/Kelty Accord.

That Accord was the "Judas Goat'' which eventually led organised labour into the trap of enterprise bargaining agreements (EBA's).

Most EBA's had the ever-present imperatives placed on the workforce negotiators of achieving "world's best practice" and "international competitiveness". To achieve both while improving the employers' bottom line eventually required an acceptance of a casualisation of the workforce.

Security of employment since the advent of the original Accord has been all downhill. An Accord LNP style will make the pain of the Hawke/Kelty Accord seem like a mild headache.

FEDERAL Energy Minister Angus Taylor wants to unnecessarily entrench fossil fuels into Australia's electricity future. Ignoring widespread advice to make our post-Covid recovery a low-carbon one, he appears intent on making it led by increasing use of gas.

Australian energy statistics show historical coal usage for electricity generation began to decline in 2006/07 as gas usage started to rise. Gas continued to rise until 2013/2014, when it plateaued due to the increasing availability of cheaper, cleaner renewable energy which began in 2008/09, exceeded gas use in 2019, and will continue to grow rapidly, further reducing the need for coal and gas.

Short term, we appear to need less gas, not more. He also ignores how much harder gas would make limiting our contribution to keeping global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

He hides this fact by including no emission reduction measures or targets in his Technology Roadmap. He also chooses to ignore the detailed integrated system plan (ISP) prepared by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) for the future of our main electricity grid that they manage.

The ISP demonstrates we can easily deliver a 90 per cent cut in emissions by 2040 using wind and solar renewables backed by battery and hydro energy storage, providing us with a cleaner, cheaper and safer long term future, with little gas required for electricity generation.

THE numbers are failing. We are quite fortunate that we have controlled the COVID-19 situation so far. It is now very difficult to gradually release the brakes while we try to glide smoothly down the hill.

I just can't understand why the statistics are becoming harder to find. Now I'm not a nerd for numbers but I do think, as we try to rise out of this morass, that having access to daily numbers of cases in our respective areas and states would help keep us alive to the situation. Surely any psychologist will tell us that we feel more in control when we can see the speedo? Or maybe I am a nerd.