Another form of abuse happening right under our noses is in aged care facilities. Many of these facilities are cutting basic care needs continually to make bigger and bigger profits, which means residents are deprived of good quality food and nursing care.

Add to this ageism and elder abuse within some facilities and quickly they become unfit places for any human being, let alone those who have served their country, society and families well.

They say you can tell what a society is like by the way it treats its most vulnerable. More money from the government may help in certain areas but what is really needed is a change in attitude, one that shifts from a "use, abuse and discard" way of thinking to one that values, respects and cares for people, animals and the environment.

AS a 90-year-old member of our society I have followed the royal commission into aged care and even though this is only a preliminary report it confirms what everyone involved in aged care has known for years but the federal government has chosen to ignore in the hope that we will all die quicker if denied proper care.

This report is one of a long list of reports given to government that have been ignored.

It is a statistical fact that the number of Australians over 65 is going to increase dramatically in 10 years owing to the ageing of the baby boomers and by 2030 the aged will be nearly 40 per cent of the population. This government is more concerned in preserving its budget surplus than allowing us aged to die with care and dignity.

This interim report calls on the government to make the funds available to allow more people to be in care in their home and this really only needs a stroke of a pen and the funds could flow.

I know Joe Hockey once called us "leaners" on the budget and it appears this attitude still prevails in the Coalition but I hope this report makes the government realise we are all someone's mother or father and have made our contribution. I have often wondered if our politicians are so removed from the realities of life that they forget their parents may be subject to these horrors.

GIVEN the ongoing drought it seems more likely that Hunter Water will need to construct the desalination plant that has been proposed for Belmont.

Hunter Water's residential customers are presently consuming more than 107 kilolitres of water a day and the plant would produce 10 per cent of our needs.

Australian Water Association estimates the cost of supplying desalinated water varies from $1 to $4 per kilolitre meaning costs would increase but that's not the main problem. Building such high power demand infrastructure will further delay our transfer to a carbon-free economy and reduce the prospect of creating a hydrogen industry.

Our present water shortage is due not only to the drought but also to our rising population which has grown more than 58,000 in the last eight years, something our politicians would like to continue.

And even if we somehow get water security we will still be trying to live in a nation beset by climate extremes where food will become increasingly difficult to produce and expensive to buy. So much so that one of our nation's leading scientists, Professor Tim Flannery, has argued that because of climate change, Australia's carrying capacity will drop to as low as 12 million.

A WEEKEND drive saw me in Lithgow and then a little town called Tarana for lunch. In each place the thought occurred that neither had drawn any inspiration from Newcastle.

The outskirt of Lithgow has a tourist information centre with abundant parking for cars, caravans and campervans. The centre was roomy, with a big miner's lamp outside depicting the town's history.

Tarana was a crowded affair with thousands there for a huge market, many arriving aboard a monthly vintage train that was parked at the station in the centre of town, and the pub nearby was bursting at the seams.

If only they had looked at Newcastle first, to see how we did it.

LAWYERS want to decriminalise drugs ('Lawyers call for ice decriminalisation', Newcastle Herald, 1/11).

Upon arrival at work how many employers will want staff to undertake drug testing? How many workers will be stood down? How many will be sacked? If I'm travelling by any form of transport, taxi, bus, train or plane I will want the driver or pilot drug tested.

Was it Bertrand Russell who mentioned the harm done by good men? I think he had these lawyers in mind.

PETER Devey (Letters, 26/10) dismissed pumped hydro and lithium-ion as renewable energy projects because they only store energy and do not generate. But I think he misses the point. This is exactly what we need when the proportion of the energy mix coming from wind and solar is increasing and will continue to increase as it cheaper.

There is now an excess of energy generated at certain periods and storage can be used at these times to use the excess. At times of peak-demand the storage plus gas generation can make up any shortfall.

Other than emissions, the other big problem that coal power generation has is that it cannot be readily varied to match the demand conditions of the time.

There is a steady stream of letters in the paper supporting coal or questioning that man-made climate change is occurring and I wonder if their writers have a strong link to the fossil fuel industry. Unfortunately the hip pocket nerve can impact on what one believes or what one states.

I AGREE with Geoffrey Clark (Letters, 29/10). When I saw the Newcastle Hospital was being torn down for development the writing was on the wall for getting easy access to the beach by car. I have never been back to town since then. I drive from Mayfield to Redhead every summer. Pull right up at the amenities block and kiosk then a very short walk to the beach. Ease of parking, great amenities and kiosk, all for no cost. Lake Macquarie council a big thank you for a great experience.

NOW that the aged care report is out, would the government please explain what the Aged Care Minister has been doing?

EDDIE Niszczot (Short Takes, 1/11), states that manmade structures such as war memorials and cathedrals are more worthy of respect and protection from desecration than those created by Mother Nature such as Uluru - for tens of thousands of years, a place of spiritual and cultural significance to the Aboriginal custodians of the land. Think outside the box Eddie.

CLEARLY, global warming dangers (as warned by more than 180 scientific academies and societies) are threatening the future for thermal coal. Now coking met-coal is being replaced in Europe by a shift to green hydrogen technology called DRI (direct reduced iron). Time for the Hunter Valley to go green also.

NOW that Ivan Milat and Abu Baghdadi news is just about exhausted, Schapelle Corby and Kathleen Folbigg come out of the woodwork. Can't we have some good news about decent, law-abiding citizens?

HUNGRY Jacks is spending a lot of money advertising a salad sandwich. Will the Whopper shoppers take to it?

I AM bemused by the speed at which people drive in car parks. It's as if Coles was about to run out of bread. Don't these clowns realise that as soon as they get out of their cars they become pedestrians? If you can't control the urge to speed, have your groceries home delivered.

IN response to Ian King and Tony Cooper, thanks boys for your comments. Good to know someone appreciates my writing the truth about the LNP, but remember boys, you can not defend the indefensible.

IN reply to Wal Remington regarding Indigenous people climbing cathedrals: they are only bricks and mortar made by man, Uluru is a natural Aussie icon rock. No comparison mate.

I COULD be wrong, but didn't Hitler gas people from other countries who didn't have blue eyes, had disabilities, and had deformities as they were not perfect? Isn't sending children to another country because they are going to cost Australia money the same thing? Just because someone is different doesn't make them useless.

SURELY your editorial should read, 'Truncation of thought for Hunter transition', ('Train of thought for Hunter transition', Newcastle Herald, 1/11)? Newcastle bumped off the rail system, only possible as Sydney services slower than steam. Trains right to the coast axed. Priceless business, jobs, advantage lost. Transition? Nation's lead trunk corridor should have been developed.