Newcastle Herald Letters to the Editor: Monday, April 3, 2017

The research behind the ‘Girl’s, make your move’ campaign released in 2016 showed that young Australian females (between 12 and 19) are twice as likely as their male counterparts to be inactive. 

Anyone who’s been to high school won’t be surprised by this. In the first days of year 7 PE class, the 6 foot tall boys with facial hair jump in, followed by the rest of the boys and the handful of sporty girls. The remaining girls either do the minimum or get out of it. Ask the average person why these girls sit out and they’ll most likely say some variation of “boys like sport and girls don’t”. This is not the case; the research found the biggest barrier for young women wanting to participate was the fear of being judged or ridiculed. 

This fear has merit. As a female, you can expect at least some form of ridicule for participating in sport; I vividly remember a group of P-platers driving past one of my first games yelling “chicks’ soccer isn’t a sport” followed by raucous laughter. 

Those boys wouldn’t have given it a second thought, so why do I remember it seven years on? Because although these words may be meant as a joke, they represent a toxic attitude. It’s blocking girls from having a go and putting them off sport for life.

The notion that women and girls don’t belong on sporting fields presents itself in various forms and at all levels of the community. Spending a season playing for Merewether Carlton Rugby Club led me to discover new ways women could be reminded of this; the women’s score was never recorded on the scoreboard and the officials would begin packing up the ground when the women started. We were told not to be in the bar when the ‘veterans’ were there. 

The goal for our clubs should be to have multiple women’s grades, not a token team. We need strength in numbers so women won’t just be an add on to a club, but an integral part of it. Newcastle clubs need to not only make room for the next generation of girls but welcome them with open arms.

THE logic of replacing a decommissioned coal-fired power station with a state of the art coal-fired power station is a sound one given the Hunter enjoys hundreds of years’ worth of coal reserves and has much of the infrastructure in place (‘Region can’t turn back on power-supply security’, Herald, 31/3). Of course we all would prefer to see our electricity produce zero carbon emissions but the facts are that renewable technology is not at the point yet where it can be relied on 24 hours a day. The green lobby has been predicting batteries to replace coal since before my daughter was born. She just celebrated her 16th birthday.

If a country like Japan that has a well-earned reputation for innovation is investing in clean coal, then I’m OK with taxpayers’ dollars being spent on MPs enjoying a one-week trip there to see for themselves if the clean coal technology stacks up.

Politicians of all sides need to stop trying to find things to argue about and accept that until renewable technology is ready, we need to stick with coal. 

REGARDING Nathan Vass’ article ‘Region can’t turn its back on power-supply security’ (Herald, 31/3). I note that Nathan said a South Australian coal-fired power station shut down, and the reason for this is renewables produced electricity at a lower cost than the coal-fired power station.

I note Nathan said South Australia is going to spend $500 million on a power rescue plan. It is noted that South Australia is going to spend this because a privately-owned gas-fired power station did not start up when there was a power shortage, so South Australia is doing something about that. 

Renewable power, backed up by gas-fired power stations when they work, is cheaper than coal-fired power stations and South Australia is leading the way with this transition.

IS it possible for a party to have three different positions on a policy at one point in time? It certainly appeared that way in NSW Parliament in an attempt by the Greens to stop the light rail being built on Hunter Street. I think the ALP was in a total state of confusion. Newcastle MP Tim Crackanthorp is still flying the flag for returning heavy rail. Labor's leader, Luke Foley, says get on with light rail down Hunter Street. Yet his Upper House MLCs voted with the Greens to try and shift light rail over to the old corridor.

And these guys want to run the state? Weak, divided and no plans or vision for Newcastle let alone the Hunter or the state.

CONGRATULATIONS to senators who censored racial bigots. Section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act remains intact thanks to inspired senators who believe in a fair go for all.

The Coalition's best efforts to water down the Act have failed and they will label these insightful senators as 'obstructionists'. Mr Brandis must stop his huffing and puffing and start realising there's a multicultural society out there beyond Point Piper or Vaucluse. Instead of providing opportunities for Anglo Saxon bigots to vent their spleens, the Coalition should propose policies around the ideal of the fair go that made this country strong and proud.

REGARDING Ross Edmonds’ contribution referring to Mike Scanlon (Letters, 29/3). I agree. Mike's article 'Majestic Aussie' (Herald, 28/1) brought back some childhood memories for me which I then followed through. Mike said it is the positive comments that keep him going. Another interesting, though sad, regular piece is 'The Hunter Remembers - Centenary of World War I’ on a Wednesday and compiled by David Dial. Each article is a history in itself.