Letters to the editor Saturday September 28 2019

Wholesale erosion of regional TAFE vocational courses and lower teaching staff expertise has resulted in a profound skills shortage in construction and technical fields especially.

In the 2018 state budget last June, the Berejiklian government vowed to fund 100,000 fee-free apprenticeships following the sharp decline in major skills over the past five years.

Prior to the scrapping of the secondary school Year 10 school certificate, many students acceded to a TAFE education where apprenticeship trades skills training presented a balance between theory and practical education. University, however, presented advanced theory, little opportunity for practical learning and more oppressive fees structures.

All students aren't blessed with forward academic skills, though false promotion and the lowering of ATAR entry means pupil inadequacies in the initial year became excessive and soul-destroying for some, with immaturity and inadequacy evident. It is not unknown for some TAFE diploma and some trade graduates to have ultimately attended university as mature, purposeful attendees successfully. Savvy career advisors and counsellors would be well attuned to school students' potential and proficiency levels.

The resurrection of TAFE and VET pathways away from that of primary university entry will surely be of greater benefit than that currently followed by some.

Bob Allen, Hawks Nest

A SPLIT ON CLIMATE COSTINGS

IN her highly emotional speech, Greta Thunberg said "we are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth". It was a message that will not resonate with politicians or anyone influenced by the man judged worthy of the top prize in economics William Nordhaus.

This gentleman was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics apparently because he argues against carbon emissions reduction. While not a climate denier he believes that global heating just doesn't hurt the world's economy that much. In his 2017 paper, just prior to his award, Nordhaus claimed that a 3°C change in average Earth temperature would only reduce global GDP by 2.1 per cent, and a soaring 6°C change would only slow GDP by 8.5 per cent.

Nordhaus considers these economic losses acceptable, concluding that climate action is unnecessary. For this, he won his profession's highest honour with what in my opinion could be best described as a suicide note for the world.

Don Owers, Dudley

INACTION HAS ERODED FAITH

THANK you, Newcastle Herald, for your support. Coastal erosion is an issue everywhere, but the erosion at Stockton is I believe caused solely by the actions (inactions) of the NSW government.

There were many ignored reports detailing the urgency of taking action. Seabed and current mapping repeatedly show Stockton break wall prevents sand re-nourishment of the beach. Nobbys receives the sand that would've deposited at Stockton.

Even with the break wall, Stockton was holding its own with occasional replenishment from the north until the late 1980s, when the state approved the entrance channel be doubled in width and depth. This caused the Stockton sandbank and seabed to slide into this man-made sinkhole, which is then dredged and dumped.

The Stockton seabed dropped three metres over 30 years. Combine a steeper seabed and lost sandbank and nothing remains to dissipate storm surges which hit the foreshore. Churned up, the remaining sand is then carried away. Every metre of seabed lost results in 50 metres of eroded foreshore. I believe this was all caused by state approvals and infrastructure, which the government sold for $1.75 billion and charges $20 million a year in fees.

What would happen if the threatened 300-metre section of Stockton is breached? The north arm flows directly out to sea. Kooragang, which houses Incitec Pivot, silos and the coal loaders, is exposed. With less flow, a south river-mouth sandbank will try and re-form. Every river-fronting suburb could be adversely affected.

We're not against the port, but urgently need the state government to just admit liability and fund sand re-nourishment and hard infrastructure to hold the sand at Stockton. This is a fight for all Newcastle.

Elizabeth Durbin, Stockton

LISTEN TO THE HOME TRUTHS

WHEN I was a lad we walked to school barefoot and the snow was this high (Letters, 24/9). I don't know a single young hopeful home owner not working and saving hard. Often they are watching prices rise more in a year than they can save, even before they pay rent.

Escaping Sydney after training in 1978, an older two-bedroom place in Lambton or Adamstown could be had for $18,000 to $20,000. Sure, it had the '50s kitchen and bathroom, but it wasn't a dump or much of a fixer-upper. Then again, I was only on $12,000 a year. The starting pay in my field is now about $65,000. An untouched since the 1940s two-bedder around the corner recently auctioned for $660,000. Do the maths.

We give incentives to people to buy their second, third and even fourth home, and they keep people out of ownership. First home buyers should get the same tax breaks.

Colin Fordham, Lambton

THE RECIPE HAS CHANGED

THE cost of providing 450 City of Newcastle staff a temporary kitchen where they can prepare meals and eat lunch is not $140,000 as reported on Wednesday ('Council cooking up a storm in $140,000 temporary kitchen', Herald, 25/9).

The cost of the temporary kitchen is $60,000, with the majority of the materials (bar the plumbing) and any new appliances to be re-used in the permanent kitchen to be constructed later in the year.

The Herald report details what was the proposed cost of the work by the contractor and what they nominated on the construction certificate. The work was re-scoped in August to the significantly lower figure of $60,000. As a further clarification to the Herald's story, the speculated cost of office furniture is included in the fit-out contract that was approved by the elected council in February this year.

Jeremy Bath, City of Newcastle CEO

LETTER OF THE WEEK

THE pen goes to Elizabeth Durbin for her letter on the Stockton erosion crisis.

SHARE YOUR OPINION

Email letters@newcastleherald.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.

WHAT a great speech by Greta Thunberg ('You are failing us: Thunberg to UN', Newcastle Herald 25/9), and it is already being compared to some of the iconic speeches that have passed the test of time. She's spot on when she says governments and big business are only concerned with profit upon profit year after year at the Earth's expense. The old saying of making hay while the sun shines will become an oxymoron soon if we don't change our way of thinking.

Neil Meyers, Warners Bay

I REALLY felt for that poor young girl, Greta Thunberg. Talk about exploitation.

David Davies, Blackalls Park

I WATCHED teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg address world leaders at the UN. I don't know if she needs an anger management course or an Oscar. Probably both.

Phill Payne, Gateshead

JUST wondering if credit has been given where credit is due. John Davies (Letters, 25/9) reminded us of the 1212 Children's Crusade. Or should credit for reminding go to Piers Akerman, who wrote about it in last Sunday's Sunday Telegraph (22/9)?

Colin Fordham, Lambton

TODAY I was walking along the foreshore in Newcastle when a cyclist rode past, nearly running into me. I sang out to him to ring his bell as a warning and he did a u turn ringing his bell as he came back towards me. We exchanged words and off he went. Why is it so hard for cyclists to ring their bell when passing pedestrians to warn them?

Helen Hunstone, Cardiff South

TONY Brown (Letters, 25/9): so we have areas of Newcastle where useless junkies can shoot up right in public view any time of the day or night, and yet we can't have responsible and respected businesses trading beyond a certain time of night? In my opinion your comment is flawed and lacks factual evidence. The only form of unfounded attack is coming from the likes of you.

Brad Hill, Singleton

APPARENTLY Joaquin Phoenix is spectacular in his portrayal of the Joker in his latest film. What a pity the makers of the film couldn't get hold of Brad Hill (Short Takes, 25/9). As a joker he is in a league of his own. His regular contributions to the Herald are truly hilarious. Unfortunately, though, both jokers are far more dangerous than funny.

John Croke, Maroubra

CONGRATULATIONS to Matt Lantry on his win ('Wild wests', Newcastle Herald 23/9). Wests may have lost Coach Lantry and a few senior players for next year, but they never lose their big cheque book.

Brett Scott, Cessnock

MAYBE the precious, hypocritical, anxious climate change kids ('Signs of the times', Herald 21/9) that have been brainwashed should read the story of Chicken Little. Just a thought.

Matt Ophir, Charlestown

OF course the fossilised remains of climate change acceptors would burn as a pollutant, Brad Hill (Short Takes, 25/9). That's what all fossil fuels do when you burn them - pollute.

Michael Hinchey, New Lambton