Trolls be damned: sporting champions come in all shapes and sizes

Caitlan in my books is a champion.

As much as I dislike Manly, I loved 'Gorgeous' George Rose.

IN response to comments in the article ("What's in it for the Hunter", Newcastle Herald 15/5), I am extremely concerned that the proposed Fassifern-Hexham freight railway is still being prioritised as a transport solution for Newcastle.

The majority of freight trains that operate between Broadmeadow and Sydney are Brisbane to Melbourne or Brisbane to Adelaide trains, which will be rerouted via inland rail once it is completed.

There are also a handful of services that travel between Newcastle and Port Botany which won't be required to operate if the container port at Newcastle opens.

There are also a small number of coal trains that travel between Lithgow and Kooragang Island which will likely cease operation in the next decade.

That leaves a small handful of trains that would not sufficient enough to justify the construction cost of the railway. I would suggest that proponents for the new railway lean on the Queensland and Commonwealth governments, who are dragging their chain on the development of inland rail between North Star and Brisbane.

IN the budget the government is giving a rebate on electricity but will not deal with the problem of soaring electricity prices. Fixing the problem is better than a rebate.

When it comes to rent assistance; solving the housing problem is always the best plan. Rebates and rent assistance do little as the "market" will increase the charges to consume the financial injections. The high costs of both housing and electricity are the result of extremely poor historical government decisions.

Unravelling the actual costs of producing and distributing electricity due to the many subsidies and charges at the hand of the government is almost impossible.

Rents/housing prices are distorted by excessively high housing prices caused by very low deposits, first home grants, excessive stamp duties, huge influx of immigrants, and the huge volume of foreign owned housing that is left vacant.

Huge increases in housing insurance and their massive delays repairing damage so it can be occupied again. I removed an insurance company that did absolutely nothing to repair a fire damaged house for over eight months, so I can fix it.

Government must put its efforts to fix and not band-aid the economy - it is not that difficult to do!

THE Newcastle basketball stadium proposal for New Lambton soldiers on. A well-written comprehensive letter of explanation was sent to a local resident by two Labor councillors from Ward 3 about the process for the proposed basketball courts. In the correspondence the proposal was referred to as the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre. What is it? A Basketball Centre or a Centre For All Indoor Sports? That would really change the design of the build. How many associations and indoor sporting groups have these proponents approached?

If the council is now up to stage three of eight, what were the earlier ones?

Because NSW Basketball Association and Newcastle Council don't have all the capital, they can only build on Crown Land as the state government can hand over the land with the flick of a pen and at no charge. Newcastle council and Newcastle Basketball Association has only held one non-advertised meeting to my knowledge, and a few nervous presenters showed colourful imaginative slides of happy two-dimensional people and blobs for trees.

I believe the importance of this proposal requires more advertised public meetings in a hall with the proponents seated at a table, where residents and sporting organisations can ask questions in a respectful manner and receive honest answers.

YARRA Valley Grammar school in Victoria has followed the advice of Jan Phillip Trevillian (" Discipline lessons from a history of schooling, Letters, 6/5), and expelled two Year 11 students for misogynistic comments about fellow female students.

The most probable placement for these two boys will be their local public school. The Yarra principal claimed the actions of the boys were outside the values and the "DNA" of his school. They are also outside the values and DNA of public education but, as public schools - unlike private schools - don't get to choose who they enrol, it will be up to the public system to support the rehabilitation of these boys.

I would expect these boys developed their attitude to girls over many long years at Yarra Grammar and now the principal abrogates any responsibility and kicks the can down the road for public education to fix. Yarra Grammar is gifted broadly $11 million per year from taxpayers. The public system will be expected to support these boys with existing resources only.

Once again, the public system does all the heavy lifting in education without the necessary human and financial resources while private schools bathe in taxpayer largesse.

I TOO dream of a climate budget with lots of carrots boosting the roll out of clean energy across our continent ("Will this be Australia's first climate budget?", Newcastle Herald 14/5). The vision of industry, homes and vehicles powered by renewable energy as part of a sustainable Australia has immense appeal. When it comes to climate, however, any carrots need to be balanced by reining in fossil fuels. Neither Labor's "future gas strategy" nor the Coalition's nuclear delay strategy cut the mustard. To actually reap the rewards, as we roll out the good, we must wind back the bad.

REGARDING uni students protesting against partnerships with Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and at the risk of sounding like my elders, I weep that university students who are (within their rights) protesting against partnerships with certain companies cannot even spell correctly on their placards. Seriously, you couldn't even spell check on your devices before writing?

NICE to know the Greens presumably won't be flying on any Boeing aircraft in any shape or form after Greens MP Max Chandler Mather led anti-Boeing protests at Brisbane university.

WELL it looks like Peter Dutton's pledge to reveal his big plan for Australia's nuclear industry prior to the federal budget has failed to materialise. Crickets, zilch, nothing. Nil by mouth. Not exactly a great boost to your credibility from where I sit, Mr Dutton.