comment, letters, editor, newcastle, herald

AT these worrying times of national and international crises, our federal government decides to distract our gaze with threats and further suffering on the most vulnerable and hard up members of our communities by inflicting drug testing on those receiving benefits. These are people who haven't the resources to live from week to week, subsisting on hand outs calculated decades ago when the cost of living was incomparable with today's costs. While many politicians and those with whom they associate have home ownership, government-funded accommodation when required and investment properties, the unemployed are struggling to have a roof over their heads. Are politicians deaf to the massive increases in property prices? Without the security of somewhere to affordably live, everything becomes insurmountable. The idea is humiliating. Will there be effective programs to help those who fail these tests? Better still, will all who pass these tests be provided with well paid jobs; not the low paid underemployment conditions which presently exist for many who according to government statisticians are "employed"? Politicians are laughingly claiming they would be happy to submit to these tests. Will they do so in a public location with perhaps an occasional demeaning body search thrown in for an extra giggle? Governments don't want us to think about the causes of increasing climate discrepancies, reducing resources, refugee numbers, a result in many cases of wars, many of which Australia has been a participant. Our "leaders" take no responsibility for any of these startling situations. Some of them whitewash or deny our part in these problems. How many of or politicians have PhDs in climate science? To my knowledge, none of them have appropriate degrees to have a say in this matter. Aren't many of them lawyers with the occasional chip shop owner thrown in? Nothing wrong with that, unless you're playing with our future on matters outside your field of education. Stop targeting poor people, focus on the big picture and do the job you're paid for. AS someone who grew up in the parched dry land of the Central West I have often thought how short sighted our politicians seem to be. In an interview on Landline, the Minister for Agriculture informed all sundry that we need to build more dams. If we take a careful insight to what this was to achieve I believe there are three problems. First climate change is real, that is obvious, so if the lack of rain continues as predicted how are these dams to be filled? Secondly the amount of irrigation licences will increase to help fund these dams and as it shows it will end up as it is presently a disaster. Thirdly Australia is a seven-eights semi arid land yet we continue to allow migration further adding to our woes. To imply we have run out of water to me is very strange considering the amount of water that surrounds us. It is called the ocean so what we need is investment to be able to find a solution to remove the salt in a manner which is economically viable. On a ridge on the Great Dividing Range there is a village called Capertee. As the crow flies it is about 200 kilometres to the coast in an easterly direction. To the west it is thousands of kilometres to the ocean. When it rains the water to the east runs eventually into the Hawkesbury catchment while the water to the west ends up in the Macquarie, thence the Murray Darling system. If the Colo river was to be dammed and supplied with desalinated water from the Hawkesbury Catchment it could easily be pumped to Capertee and then via gravity flow into the Murray Darling System. Too hard? Of course not, we just need the politicians, the majority city born and bred, to understand just how critical the situation is. If this drought continues and more to come then whoever is in parliament can kiss the budget goodbye. HERE'S a way for the state government to help the crippling drought situation and create employment at the same time whilst not upsetting the Greens. Yes, before the countryside around Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Maitland was swallowed up by over '55 retirement developments and look-alike housing, somebody should have realised that more water storage was required. Tillegra Dam should've been built for many reasons. Water storage and to stop the area from being mined are a few. That's a topic for a separate discussion. During a couple of trips inland and up the coast, I've noticed the older motels still use a central hot water system. The consequence of this is the hot water has to run for several minutes before the shower is used. At one motel at Glen Innes it took 10 minutes before any warm water started. This water waste especially in an inland town makes me cringe. How can the state government help? Instead of wasting money on think tanks, steering committees and task forces, start thinking about subsidies for these older accommodation facilities to update to instantaneous hot water systems. Maybe even make it mandatory to have these systems in new developments. Just a thought. OH Joanne, I read your Saturday column with such a sense of calm that there is at least one sane and sensible person left in the media, and this Saturday's was no exception ('Eye of the beholder', Weekender, 14/9). My dog knows that many highly-skilled jobs are at risk due to technological advance, but vocational jobs, chippies, sparkies, plumbers, hairdressers, chefs will always be needed. I, in fact, at 59, have just enrolled into TAFE doing a Cert IV in Training and the staff and support are fantastic. However, at $1850 I was stunned as to the cost. Sure, I hope that it will be money well spent and at my advanced years, I can afford it. If however, I was 25 years younger and seeking to advance myself, that's a lot of money. Vocational training needs to be viewed as equal to any university training and funded accordingly otherwise we will once again rue a missed opportunity. TO an overseas casual visitor to this country reading and listening to the media, they could be forgiven for thinking "what a great country this must be, the only problems they have is if a politician should be in parliament and gloating how well their economy is doing". I wonder if they will venture on their tours into the dust bowls that were once thriving towns. Where communities are now importing drinking water. Will they visit the dying towns on the banks of what was once a thriving river system? Never judge a country on what the politicians and media are talking about. I DON'T know what our pollies don't understand about this Bradfield scheme, it has been around for a long time. If it was in use now it would have helped a lot of farmers and our Great Barrier Reef. Could someone explain it to the government? If anyone sees our PM passing through, would they remind him he is our PM and would he stay for a few days and help solve some problems? MR Albanese says taking a big stick to power suppliers is childish but that big stick was used as a ploy to stop the Energy Guarantee seeing the light of day. That guarantee could have brought benefits to businesses and investors. Taking Mr Morrison's big stick to power suppliers is so simplistic. Bringing together all the stakeholders would take a plan, not a stupid big stick. Mr Morrison keeps raising our hopes and that's where it stops - just another hollow promise. NICK Stibbard (Letters, 14/9) bringing water from Queensland to western NSW would require our lazy Liberal government to get off their backside and the National Party to actually achieve something instead of always talking a good story. CONGRATULATIONS to Newcastle City Choir and director Leanne Sampson for a most enjoyable concert on Sunday at Adamstown Uniting Church. With items from 13th to 20th century it provided beautiful music and intellectual stimulation. It is a pity there was not a larger audience. More advertising? IN reply to Colin Geatches (Short Takes, 16/9): I am randomly drug tested at work regularly and welcome it. I'd do it every day if required. So why do you think people on welfare shouldn't be tested for an illegal substance? As they say: "If you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about." THE revelation there are churches that claim to convert homosexuals to heterosexuality should be classified with claims of exorcisms and miracle healings as dangerous ignorance. When as humans are we going to outgrow such superstitious nonsense? It is an embarrassment to our scientific age and causes a lot of psychological suffering. Religion at its worst has a lot to answer for. LES Field (Letters, 16/9), there's a much-overlooked enormous economic role for the intercity railway doing its job. Steam could do 168kms in two hours 55 years ago. Think Aussie can-do and CSIRO smarts. It's not about whether you use light rail. It's not intercity transport. Nor whether I can get a train at Cardiff. That's only two people. THE Sydney Symphony Orchestra will be live streamed to Maitland Library on Wednesday, September 18. Watch the Sydney Symphony and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy perform two Elgar masterpieces along with Vaughan Williams' magical Tallis Fantasia streamed live from the Sydney Opera House. The concert starts at 6.30pm. It is free but bookings are recommended. Visit maitlandlibrary.com.au.

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