Newcastle Herald Letters to the Editor: Saturday, September 21, 2019

As you may be aware, there are recent reports regarding a NSW Country team and their end of season shirts. Photos of these shirts, taken at Williamtown airport, show two male players wearing shirts with the logo "Rape and pillage tour 2019". This is not OK. The T-shirts have been attributed to a club at Old Bar (which on Friday said it did not sanction the shirts).

Over many years I have come to the conclusion that rape culture is a deeply ingrained part of rugby league. One to which lip service is paid but real change has not been affected. Rape culture is called that for a reason. It's the environment in which sexual violence is accepted and perpetuated. It appears that this group has elevated rape culture to another level - as an accepted and celebrated team slogan. This is not OK.

This is the reason why I stopped following 'my' team (the Knights). This is the reason why I stopped watching every Origin. This is the reason I stopped participating in work footy tipping comps.

This is also the reason my two sons don't play rugby league. A bit sad as their grandfather played at a reasonably high level, but it's the choice their father and I made for them, based purely on the culture and particularly treatment of women within the sport. They play soccer.

I see sports clubs holding many events for domestic violence awareness and related issues. Those events don't matter when teams celebrate the end of the year by commissioning shirts which proudly celebrate rape.

I'm not going to tell you your job - I'm assuming you have that well covered. I am going to tell you that I'm not the least bit surprised that a rugby leage team has a slogan of "Rape and pillage".

The choice I make is to make sure that my family is not a 'rugby league family'. This is not how I thought it would be, but after 20 years and no change, it's where we're at. Perhaps in another 20 years there will actually be real change and the next generation will be able to make a different decision. I genuinely wish you the best of luck in guiding your organisation there. I suspect you're going to need it.

Simonne Pengelly, Cooks Hill

Dry days from past

I AM 75 years old. My first job was with the Hunter District Water Board in 1961 (now Hunter Water) when I was 16.

The first water restrictions that I experienced in my time with the water board were in 1963. At that time the Hunter Region was experiencing full drought conditions. Some six years later in or about 1969 a second less-severe drought was experienced and water restrictions were once again imposed. Then in 1984 some 25 years later a third more intense drought was experienced where yet again water restrictions were imposed.

This brings us to 2019 and the imposition of yet more water restrictions.

As your readers will no doubt see from the above, there has been a history of drought and water restriction over the last 75 years - nothing has changed - we still had bushfires - we still had quite severe floods - we had day-time temperatures reaching 110 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit for days and weeks on end - we have experienced severe cold weather in this region, I can remember back in 1954 when I was 10 years old, it snowed on Christmas Day in Cessnock.

During these last 75 years it would appear that we have raised several generations of pessimistic, whinging and misled children. The seasons have changed, yes. Oh, and by the way, whatever happened to the big black hole in the ozone layer?

Neil Fletcher, West Wallsend

In favour of faceless

STEPHEN Galilee's response to the Independent Planning Commission's Bylong mine decision appears to me to be an impulsive dummy spit ('Mine plan sunk', Newcastle Herald, 19/9). But perhaps, if he takes the time to consider it calmly, he may agree being an independent, faceless commission has some real benefits.

Its members usually cover a wider range of relevant knowledge and skills than our politicians. Their jobs and income are not subject to the three-year election process and, by being faceless, they are less available to aggressive lobbying by, and funding from, powerful organisations with vested interests. Consequently they can take a longer term, and more objective, view of the issues. And, perhaps most importantly, they are more likely to also consider those who are too young to vote, and likely to benefit most from this decision.

Richard Mallaby, Wangi Wangi

Festival of naysayers

AFTER reading the Topics article 'Redhead, snags, mangos and wine' (Herald, 19/9), I was instantly struck with another festival idea for Newcastle. How's this sound? 'The Festival of Naysayers', where one can come to Newcastle and criticise, object and oppose anything they want. I can see many groups amassing in Newcastle for the event.

Picture it now, Newcastle putting on the most splendorous day, perfect blue skies, moderate temps, clear blue water, smells of coffee and first class meals punctuating the air.

But, the light rail is late, there are too many cars, the weather is too hot, there are too many people in the city, and the whinging goes on. I reckon the City of Newcastle has to be in for a good chance of holding the next festival.

Adam Walton, Toronto

Don't dam the farmers

THE Minister for Water, David Littleproud, having grown up in rural Queensland should know better than to believe his own rhetoric. Building more dams may work in the long run but it does little or nothing for the immediate issue of drought relief for those who need it now.

New dams can take thousands of acres of habitat for our native species, in some cases flood grazing land and can even impact on entire communities (flooding of the old town of Jindabyne).

Dams are useless if there is no rain to fill them. There are areas in the west of NSW and Queensland where some school-age children have never seen rain.

If millions can be spent on desalination facilities to supplement Sydney's water supply, why can't similar systems be used to top up existing water catchments?

For the cost of our politicians' luxury entitlements or just a portion of top executives' bonuses, desalination plants could be built along the coast and the water piped inland. If given priority these might be completed before some of these people see rain. Make our politicians live the life of a farmer who is selling stock to pay the banks, can't pay their fuel bills and are struggling to put food on their tables and see how they like it.

William Hardes, Warners Bay

Letter of the week

The Herald pen goes to Simonne Pengelly for her letter about rugby league.

SHARE YOUR OPINION

Email letters@theherald.com.au or send a text message to 0427 154 176 (include name and suburb). Letters should be fewer than 200 words. Short Takes should be fewer than 50 words. Correspondence may be edited and reproduced in any form.

SHORT TAKES

MAYBE Sam Burgess you and your brothers could return home to England and play rugby league for peanuts if you don't like our system. I am sure there are a number of young Aussie boys who are working hard and would love to take the cash you are making.

Kerry Redman, Waratah

I WAS in Los Angeles on holidays in 1979 watching television when a news flash appeared on the screen. My attention immediately was diverted because the announcer mentioned a riot in Newcastle. Being very cynical I didn't realise most Americans didn't know that Newcastle even existed. I soon found out that they did.

Daphne Hughes, Kahibah

WELL I hope all the climate alarmists are proud to read a report that says "psychologists are treating a wave of children as young as 10 who are paralysed by climate-change fear-mongering". Congratulations.

Greg Hunt, Newcastle West

THE news that the massive Bylong Valley coalmine in NSW was blocked due to its impact on climate will be greeted with joy tempered by the fact that, unlike Germany, we do not have any manufacturing industry capable of absorbing displaced miners ('Mine plan sunk', Newcastle Herald, 19/9). I suspect this was a deliberate policy of governments designed to make Australia the quarry for the world and leaving us without the technology to take advantage of a world without fossil energy. Now that policy has come back to bite us because one of the biggest employers, the housing and construction industry, is responsible for 25 per cent of our greenhouse emissions.

Don Owers, Dudley

THE Big Stick legislation is coming before parliament. Designed to lower power bills, I think the Big Stick will reduce investment and business confidence. In another short-sighted plan Mr Morrison wants to stifle the black economy. Conservatives are saying that taking away cash payments is draconian and will hurt small business. Finally, if you're stuck overseas because of delays or illness, expect Mr Morrison to suspend your pension indefinitely. We can't thank you enough Mr Morrison. You really are the hero of the hard right.

John Butler, Windella Downs

READING that water usage costs will rise by $300 by 2024 ('Water bills could rise by 10 per cent', Herald, 18/9), yet they want to erect eight-storey high rises at the corner of Darby Street and a boarding house on Beaumont Street. I really think there are more higher-priority issues in our area that require immediate attention i.e. PFAS-affected properties, Stockton beach erosion, Boolaroo property lead contamination, the recycling problems, water shortages and what to do with old BHP site (cruise ship terminal sounds good, eh). The council and local government need to help Newcastle. I must be sounding like a broken record by now because I'm telling readers who already know these issues, being radical is fine but only if the people in power are made aware and do something about resolving issues not giving false ambiguous promises.

Graeme Kime, Cameron Park