Letters to the editor and short takes Friday April 30 2021

Yet shortly after the home season here they are, stranded in India, and seemingly with no concerns over recent injuries nor concerns about the likelihood of recurrences. With generous remuneration contracts in place, and injuries from wear and tear a reality, I cannot see how these cricketers can have a second job.

HAVING just read Geneieve Triemstra ('Racism against white people' does not exist, Opinion 27/4) I thought I would respond.

More than 470 Aboriginal deaths have occurred whilst in custody since 1991, according to collected data. My understanding is the number of non-Aboriginal deaths in custody over that same period is around 1950, or more. The Australian Institute of Criminology has been collecting data relating to deaths in custody, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, since 1991, and based on the data that Indigenous people make up almost 30 percent of people in custody in Australia, their death rate in custody, about 19 percent, is under-representative of their numbers. In reality, the death rate of non-Indigenous as a percentage of the population in custody is higher and rising, while at the same time the death rate for Indigenous people has been consistently declining, meaning you are more likely to die in custody if you are not Aboriginal. I believe it could be said that Aboriginal people are safer in custody than non-Indigenous inmates.

The definition of a death in custody is probably not known or understood by most people. It is quite broad and includes death by natural causes such as heart attack, stroke, cancer etc. Natural causes bring about the majority of deaths, and suicide. It also includes things like "a person who dies, or is fatally injured, in the process of police or prison officers attempting to detain that person", or "a person attempting to escape from prison, police custody or youth detention". This means situations like vehicle and foot pursuits where the police or prison officers are substantial distances from the person they are pursuing when something happens, like a car crash or a fall. That person is deemed in custody if they die as a result of the pursuit. If they get away from the police then they were not in custody and can't be charged with escape from lawful custody subsequently.

I don't believe that the death in custody rate is the major issue that needs to be dealt with as far as Indigenous Australians go.

HOME Affairs secretary Mike Puzzello believes that we should prepare for a war. The Morrison government has taken the bait and has promised extra funding to Defence.

In my opinion, future wars will not be fought with guns, planes and ships but instead will be in cyber-space. We have seen how commerce comes to a standstill when the internet goes down. Perhaps we should concentrate our efforts toward building Australia's own internal communication system. Instead of the World Wide Web, how about the Australian Wide Web? Would our cyber-space not be more secure if we, not multinational organisations, had control of our electronic communication system?

I don't believe that any nation wants armed conflict when there are other means available to cripple a perceived enemy. China is presently being particularly unfriendly towards Australia and my advice to our Prime Minister is to stop poking the bear. We don't need you to show how tough you are. Assume a lower profile and work on domestic issues, rather than trying to promote yourself on the global stage.

AMONGST the coverage of the recent modest changes to the late night economy bringing Newcastle and Hamilton into line with the rest of NSW after 13 years in the wilderness, there are some basic errors which need to be corrected.

Anti-violence campaigner Tony Brown has claimed decisions were made because of political donations. The fact of the matter is AHA NSW has not been permitted to make political donations to state or local politicians for more than a decade, a fact which has been well publicised. To suggest otherwise and to cast doubt not only on the integrity of the Association and its members, but also on local politicians on all sides of politics is wrong.

The real reason for the modest changes to the night life of the city is that the world is a different place from 2008. Newcastle is a different place and deserves the same rules as the rest of NSW. Everyone wins from a vibrant night time economy with the correct rules and regulations still in place to ensure everyone can safely enjoy a good night out.

The government has made a decision. It is now time for the community to work together to ensure everyone can safely enjoy what is a beautiful city, both day and night.

CATHERINE Graham (Letters, 26/4) please consider that the King Street Hotel is not just a nightclub, but a business as well. Like any business it is subject to change size depending on its success.

I do not accept any adults making complaints about any pub or club like Gary Heaney stating "what we did not know was that the size was going to double" (Short Takes, 26/4). I believe that such complaints are naive at best and definitely do not justify any attempt to stop such progress.

MATI Morel (Letters, 27/4), may have been unfair to Steven Busch, (Short Takes, 24/4), and even made some basic chemistry errors himself. When burning coal to generate energy, the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas is very definitely a byproduct. The main product is electricity. Mr Busch didn't go into the arguments Mr Morel went on with and didn't even mention carbon monoxide.

Why carbon monoxide? Mati Morel admitted that CO2 was beneficial at low amounts but was wrong to suggest it was toxic at elevated levels. Even at very high levels it isn't toxic, but may become a simple asphyxiant. That is, you would pass out from lack of oxygen. At 410ppm in the atmosphere CO2 is a long way short of being hazardous to anyone or anything. Try something like 30,000ppm CO2 before it becomes dangerous.

Mr Morel states that "In thermodynamics there is no free lunch". Try telling that to all those people promoting hydrogen gas as a fuel source. He should know from thermodynamics that it takes more energy to generate hydrogen gas than you could ever get back from burning it. Otherwise, hydrogen gas would be free lunch indeed.

TWO questions for the Upper Hunter election candidates are: (1) Do you support the government making it uneconomic to develop a container terminal at the Port of Newcastle by penalising container traffic above a minimal specific cap? (2) Do you support the government using public funds to pay NSW Ports Pty Ltd for container traffic above the minimal specific cap at the Port of Newcastle?

CURRENT media coverage of the COVID-19 crisis, especially in Delhi and India more broadly ('COVID chaos rises in India', Newcastle Herald 28/4), fails to report that air pollution in this mega city of 20 million is normally off the known scale, leaving most of its residents with compromised lungs. I think COVID, or even seasonal flu, tend to deflect criticism from the real crisis of air pollution.

WHY is it that athletes get Pfizer, while GPs at the health frontline get classified as 1B, the same as over 70's, and are only entitled to problematic AstraZeneca? Is our society devoid of real values?

DAVID Shoebridge MLC says every First Nation's death in custody is a result of racism ('Coroner to investigate death of prisoner', Herald 28/4). Seriously, my understanding is that one of the deaths was the result of a police pursuit and another had a medical episode in hospital. I don't know about you, Mr Shoebridge, but when I hear police/ambulance/fire engine sirens I pull over. Life is all about choices. I believe some people just make the wrong ones and want to blame everyone else.

JOANNE Jay (Letters 27/4): 50 people deciding what's best for Newy nightlife just about says it all, doesn't it? No pesky outsiders required.

HA ha, Steve Barnett (Short Takes, 28/4). Careful, some people might actually think you're serious.

JOHN Arnold (Short Takes, 27/11), in my experience Anzac services mention only the Christian God, revealed not imagined, but I respect the right of non-Christians to pray in their own way for their fallen. Would you tell the Turks that religion has no place in their commemorative ceremonies? I say the absolute horror of war is man's doing, not God's. And isn't the Christian story all about sacrifice?

CONCERNING multi dose vials, Srian de Silva (Short Takes, 28/4), a bigger concern than glove wearing is accidental contamination of the vial with blood or tissue fluid.