To gain this accreditation residents must accept Supercars' ticket conditions, which state that motor-racing is a dangerous activity which may result in death or injury. What parent would willingly expose their family to these hazards while simply seeking to shelter in their own domicile? Clearly Mr Creek does not live in the race zone and does not share residents' experiences of losing their right to the enjoyment of a safe, tranquil home.

There is certainly a place for motor-racing in Australia, but in my opinion that place is not in a populous inner-city location.

PREDICTABLY, Mark Creek (Letters, 24/8) has jumped in again to defend Supercars. To be clear, residents have previously been told by Supercars that they could use alternative means of identification other than wristbands to access their own homes, yet Supercars has put out a flyer that says they must use wristbands.

Contrary to Mr Creek's statement, freedom of information has shown that Supercars do in fact count residents and free tickets in their attendance figures ('Race hits state target', Herald 3/7/18).

I'm sorry Mr Creek is frustrated. He might be more frustrated if he had to live in the area for the minimum 10-week bump-in, bump-out period instead of coming in for three days to enjoy his sport. I believe calling people whingers because they are opposed to big business taking over public land, destroying parkland and causing major disruption to ordinary people's lives is also a well documented tactic used by big business to deflect from the damage they do. It doesn't add to any rational discussion of what is happening in Newcastle, and in my opinion shows the lack of a real argument and says a lot about those who have to resort to it. When will the council reveal the complete costs to the Newcastle ratepayers of this event ('V8s race deed kept secret', Herald 9/6/18)? I'm not holding my breath.

AS a representative of all privileged white heterosexual males, I want to complain about columnist Paul Scott's attempt to denigrate our standing in society because we choose to "call a spade a spade" ('The lasting harm of calling a spade a spade', Opinion 26/8).

Simplistic, immature, offensive terms are the only weapon we have to give the impression that we are better than others. Using any intellect we might have and developing logical arguments to defend our biases seem above our capability and confidence. Simple slogans like 'stop the boats' and 'how good is 'straya?' tell it like it is for us. Next thing you know, lefties like Mr Scott will want to take away our time-honoured right to publicly abuse, offend and make fun of people with disabilities. Political correctness gone mad!

I'M not sure what all the fuss is about - I really enjoyed watching the Tigers game. Maybe give Wests some credit for playing so well instead of smashing the Knights for getting mauled. What happened to supporting your team no matter what. Typical Knights fans, from a happy Tigers fan.

FROM outside the Knights bubble we can only guess the feeling of the players, but I think player managers have a lot to answer for. Instead of encouraging their clients to hang in, enjoy and improve they seem more inclined to start these young blokes on a process of unhappiness, telling them they're hard done by, other clubs are interested, etc. In my opinion some player managers are only worried about their back pocket. I still can't believe Jesse Ramien was moved on so quickly. I'd love to know the full story there, because he seemed a good young prospect.

IT was alarming to see Lake Macquarie mayor Kay Fraser provide such a glowing endorsement of the plan to rezone much of the old Pasminco smelter site for housing ('Wonderful outcome from crossing the aisles', Opinion 24/8).

That it was promoted by a state government showing contempt for residents' health and financial liabilities ('It's time to fix this mess', Herald 24/8) should have sent alarm bells ringing in council. Lead is not biodegradable, there is no safe blood lead level and lead compounds are soluble in slightly acid water meaning burial of contaminated material can contaminate groundwater. I believe to describe it as an economic benefit ignores the findings of an Infrastructure Australia report which warned population growth leaves cities running out of water, losing tree cover, suburbs up to 6 degrees hotter, energy and water costs increasing, school and hospital shortages and increased air pollution. While it does provide some short-term employment, a housing estate creates a net demand for jobs that are increasingly difficult to find. Given the extreme weather conditions both here and around the world, shouldn't the council do a greenhouse audit on this plan?

JOHN Arnold says (Letters, 23/8) I should concentrate on the welfare of miners. He suggests we need to "give coal mining communities the economic support they'll need to make the transition,'' as if we don't already do that every day now.

The Hunter's economy grows more diverse each year. But our wealth is still underpinned by the coal industry and coal has spurred economic diversity by fuelling new and expanded service-industry market segments. While our overseas customers demand our relatively clean and efficient coal, we should continue to provide it. Further, a key strategy in reducing global emissions is to help large developing nations grow more modern and less polluting. To do so, they'll need our steaming and coking coal. Remember it takes around 200 tonnes of coking coal to make one wind turbine.

What is Mr Arnold's message to a 30-year-old coal miner with a wife, children and a weighty mortgage? If the answer is a different job and a 40 per cent pay cut, then it's the wrong message for our coal miners and the region's economy.

THANK you, Penelope Green, for your article ('Read all about it: Lyn delivers her big news', Newcastle Herald 26/8) on our local newsagent Lyn Lowe. I have only lived in the area for the past few years, but as a customer of the CBD Newsagency in the Hunter Street mall I can say she is a wonderful friendly and caring person who has worked long hours over the years. We locals will miss her greatly. Thank you Lyn for your service, and I wish you good health and a very happy retirement.

A QUESTION for City of Newcastle council: do we still have trucks that clean our streets and gutters as in street sweepers? If so, where are they? I haven't seen one in Waratah for a long, long time. Just another unhappy ratepayer.

FOR over 50 years I have followed rugby league closely in terms of reading the newspapers, namely the Newcastle Herald and the Daily Telegraph, and I am always fascinated by the number of leaks from clubs that the journalists write about every day. Most recently, what really happened in the demise of Nathan Brown appears to depend on which journalist's article you read and who you want to believe.

PETER Lewis's caricature of the late Tim Fischer's boots towering over the soul-searching images of two of his National Party successors (Opinion, 24/8) illustrates the stature of a man who stood tall on the Australian landscape. His legacy as a soldier, politician, diplomat and a family man of principle is something for this nation cherish with gratitude for a life well lived.

ROBERT Gibson (Short Takes 23/8) is on track. You don't need to plant in your yard; Warners Bay is much greener for the 110,000 trees and shrubs that Warners Bay Landcare has planted over the last 20 years.

I AM witnessing some behaviour in the backyard unfamiliar to me on this glorious Saturday. Petals that have fallen on the ground from my flowering tree are being buzzed on by a curious little bee. Is this a sign of climate change? Is this where the bees' food source soon come from, and henceforth ours, or was he just particularly hungry?

THE beginners' guide to scott-free polluting. Step one: Be a big business or government department. Step two: complete.