Letters to the Editor, Monday, July 5, 2021: Pump some money into the Carrington pumphuse

I AM grateful that the management of the new Kingsley five-star hotel in King Street has decided to switch off the dreadful flashing coloured lights surrounding the upper reaches of the building. At least now it is only in the daytime that it looks like a flying saucer has lobbed on top of it.

Why did the architect decide to do away with the classic British Brutalism facade and cover it with pale epoxy?

Rather than the warm patina of the council's famous mid 1970s roundhouse, it now looks like it needs a good dose of sunshine. I suppose the old saying applies, "At least when you are in the building you don't have to look at it." We don't seem to have had a good run of new buildings at Civic over the last few years, and now the refurbished City Hall looks like it has a skin complaint.

At least we can admire NESCA House beside Christie Place and the lovely Cultural Centre across Civic Park. Please don't mention the Tax Office.

IN reply to Steve Barnett (Short Takes, 28/6), I remember the days when my mother would attend the butchers' every day for meat. There were no trays, he would go to the freezer room and bring out a side of meat and throw it on the wooden block and cut off what you required, and then wrap in white paper.

The only problems in those days was that she would go back the next day as there was no freezing of meat and complain how tough the meat was. He would always reply to her that it must have been the way you cooked it. I didn't see any bamboo scaffolding in the shop; it might have been modernised in my day. You also had to be careful with the butchers that had big thumbs.

I MERELY ask how we will buy our meat supplies in supermarkets without plastic wrapping/packaging? Before the advent of supermarkets as we know them today, we purchased our meat from the local butcher, and it was duly wrapped in butchers' paper, with the butcher wandering around on a bed of sawdust. Will supermarkets be able to display their meat, unpacked and in a display case as they do in their delicatessen sections, and then have an attendant staff member hand wrap the selected goods in butchers' paper? Even the delicatessen sections place the goods in a plastic bag before wrapping and pricing.

Local butchers also place the selected meats in small plastic bags, and then often place these bags in a larger plastic bag for carrying away. I have not observed any butchers' paper in my local butcher shop. Disposal of plastic waste is an issue, and many retail goods are shrink wrapped in plastic, including the ever popular toilet rolls. Most of our current shopping bags are plastic, and they do not last forever. Talk is wonderful. Implementation needs explanation.

I TOTALLY agree with John Hewson ("When things are not what claimed to be", Opinion 25/6), with regard to Scott Morrison and his 'salesman' attitude. We have a nickname for Scott Morrison; a shy and sensitive used car salesman, and we take anything he says with a pinch of salt. To him everything in Australia is 'the best in the world'. Australia is and always has been slow in catching up with the world.

As for the vaccinations, I have family and friends in several countries throughout the world (UK, Canada, USA and France). None have experienced the misinformation and slowness that has occurred here. Originally, we were told anyone over 60 should not have AstraZeneca, but now, they are the only ones that should have it.

Scott Morrison is also too slow to act on climate change. The UK started to go smokeless 50 years ago. I was employed in a section that was involved in this change. Homes could have electricity, gas or smokeless fuel. Mill and factory chimneys now no longer pump smoke out, and most have disappeared. You would be surprised to see the number of house roofs that now have solar panels installed, especially in the north that was reported to be always raining. It can also be noticed how clean the air is now, in what was once foggy London.

With the so-called free trade agreement and China putting tariffs on everything, why not put tariffs on the Chinese products flooding our markets? Practically everything for purchase these days is made in China, and it is not what I consider to be quality. Cars, clothing, footwear, material and even knitting wool are all substandard to what they used to be. We should go back to producing our own. My biggest disappointment was the MG vehicles; for years I have often wished to own one, and when I saw them being advertised at a price that was affordable, I was all for replacing our old car for one. Then I found out it was made in China.

I WAS surprised, to say the least, to see someone with Dr Diana Day's academic background omit human activity from factors linked to levels of atmospheric carbon (Letters, 28/6). I was equally surprised to read that "we can't swing our civilisation green, not yet." If not now, when?

This is not the time for complacency. We don't "really need coal", and we don't need new coal-fired power stations. We need to wean ourselves off coal, and we need to do it urgently. We know how to do it, and we know why we must do it.

As stubbornly as some resist, this actually means changing things now, not at some hazy point in the future. Not only hard infrastructure, but also the symbolic buttressing of the fossil fuel industry - the "soft" diplomacy by which those interests maintain their legitimacy in our society. As I see it, the appointment of someone like Mark Vaile to the chancellorship of a university is squarely in that category, as is the sponsorship of high-profile sporting teams by coal companies. That doesn't cancel culture. It builds one that offers a better future.

SHORT TAKES

THE article Robert Dillon wrote in Saturday's edition was, in my mind, absolutely brilliant and spot on as far as the current situation stands with State of Origin eligibility. The mention of a third team, consisting of players from the island nations including New Zealand and called the team Oceania would definitely broaden and enhance the current concept of the game as shown in his article. If the NRL was to at least consider this suggestion, it would go a long way to ensure the long term future of the state of origin series, as clearly define the borders.

DR Diana Day's recent letter (Letters, 28/6), included the comment about Newcastle University's "geology excellence". I suggest she read the 2020 Herald story that stated "the University of Newcastle has been questioned over its proposal to scrap the geology major from its bachelor of science degree course" (Herald, 16/7/2020). The late Beryl Nashar, foundation Newcastle professor of geology and first female science dean at an Australian university, would have turned in her grave.

PETER Devey (Letters, 30/6), has conveniently set up a straw man with his hypothetical "Chinese- influenced solar panel manufacturer". I'm sure the university would be happy to consider a suitably-qualified head of a solar energy concern, but not if he had strong links to China. Or perhaps he believes that all those evil climate and alternative energy scientists are working in cahoots with the Chinese government to try to destroy our coal industry?

I WISH people would give the Prime Minister a break on the COVID issues. He made the announcement. We are at the head of the queue, we will all be vaccinated by, I can't remember what date but it must be getting close. The PM makes announcements, that's his job. If anybody thought he would make sure it was achieved, they haven't been watching. He has made announcements since he was made Prime Minister by his party. Delivery is a job for others.

I NOTE the advertisement in June 25's edition that advised that the University of Newcastle supports a net-zero emissions target by 2025. If from 2025 we only use energy provided by renewables, I believe this is when the doomsday will arrive. The ad, if correct, tells us that energy we get from hydro is 12 per cent and from wind and solar is 2 per cent. I can't imagine that by 2025 renewable energy will be enough to provide us with the power we require.

SO China has just celebrated 100 years of communist rule. As I understand it, communism rejects capitalism and seeks fair share for all through obedience to the party. But I notice that next to the USA, China has the highest number of millionaires in the world. So, what went wrong?

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