Many of these homes could be reused in areas that have been devastated by bushfires. The houses could be used while a new building is being constructed, or the owners might wish to keep the premise as is.

I have witnessed the blatant waste of six perfectly good houses being demolished and going directly to landfill. One of these houses sold for over $1 million. It was a completely renovated, single storey weatherboard with brick piers, which would have made relocation an excellent option.

If we are serious about making change, then the construction industry is a good place to start. Solar panels, water retention, cross ventilation, outdoor clothes lines and good design principles are a must. It is too easy for developers to rape the land, overdevelop the site and have no conscience for the consequences of what they leave behind.

DURING a recent interview on NBN television regarding council's move to the new location, a question was asked of the lord mayor; to detail the total cost of the relocation along with the ongoing rent cost applicable to the new site.

The reply was that all councillors agreed that these costs would remain confidential to councillors as agreed by vote.

I believe this is unacceptable, to me and all ratepayers. The council is elected by the ratepayers to serve in our best interest, as is any business to its shareholders. In business, all expenditure (both outgoings and income) are declared to the shareholders on at least an annual basis.

We as ratepayers are the shareholders, and all revenue collected and expenditure should be made available and be subject to audit as is the case in any business.

Given what I consider the lack of attention afforded the suburbs (the majority shareholders) with regard to ongoing maintenance on roads and paving over the last six months or more while the majority of funds and council's focus has been on the City precinct, I believe we the shareholders should arrange for a vote of no confidence in council and seek to have an independent administrator appointed to ensure the majority of ratepayers' requirements are what is expected of council.

AS a life member of the ALP, I find myself in strong agreement with your correspondent John Beach (Letters, 12/10) that the new leased civic centre was a move in the wrong direction. When I joined the ALP so many years ago it was a cardinal rule that wherever possible it was policy that community assets would be built and owned by the community; local, state or federal.

We built the hospital, schools and so many assets that went on to serve the community's needs for tens of years after they were paid off by the public through taxes and fees.

In a period of abnormally low cost of borrowing, particular by governments, I believe it is not good policy to be using current taxes to pay for capital works when using bank loans with an interest rate below the cost of increasing building costs. As the council is reluctant to release the costs involved in this move, we can only assume that any public examination of it would further highlight that it was a bad deal for the community.

As the council had the funds coming from the sale of its vacated buildings, it is beyond me why they did not use these in conjunction with a very low interest bank loan to create a building that would be a council asset for the next 30 years.

Coalition governments state and federal are practising the same policy, and as a result the funds that should be going to provide real assistance to those in need are being used for major capital works.

I believe it should be ALP policy to build with low-interest loans and use the taxes to provide services to the disadvantaged and the community rather than follow the cruel policies of the Coalition.

YES, Matt Ophir (Short Takes, 12/10), no-one works as hard as climate change recalcitrants madly swimming against the onrushing tide of scientific evidence like manic salmon.

No doubt you'd also describe yourselves as "ordinary", "quiet" Australians; ordinary Australians at odds with 77 per cent of their compatriots, according to Australia Institute data from last month; quiet Australians who fill our opinion pages and air waves with bellicose, ignorant, sanctimonious claptrap.

There is no need for you to start that pro-coal / "anti-climate change" action group. Plenty exist already for you to join.

To name just a few, there's the Liberal Party, the National Party, the Minerals Council of Australia, News Limited, the Institute of Public Affairs, the Centre for Independent Studies and, if Joel Fitzgibbon gets his way, the Australian Labor Party ('Divisions in Labor on carbon emissions', Herald 11/10). .

JOEL Fitzgibbon and Angus Taylor have been talking about emission targets and climate change ('Divisions in Labor on carbon emissions', Herald 11/10).

Has anyone given thought to mining communities in the Hunter and around Australia? Some areas have been sorely hurt by the transition to renewables already.

The closure of the Hazelwood power plants was cynically seized on by the Coalition as a failure by Victorian Labor to protect mining communities.

Does Canberra actually have a transition plan in place?

Mining communities are being horribly shortchanged by governments making fodder from the suffering and uncertainty of mining communities.

I BELIEVE Tim Crakanthorp's call for additional taxpayer funding for the Jenny's Place resource centre ('Petition supports service', Herald 16/10) is a perfect test of readily-signalled virtue.

It's remarkably easy for anyone to pin a white ribbon onto their chest, or boast that they "don't hit women" as if it were something to be proud of rather than a basic expectation of a functional human being.

If everyone who has ever donned the ribbon of virtue, or made some shallow social media post about "respecting women" or so-called "toxic masculinity" put their hand into their wallet when it counted rather than enjoying a "White Ribbon Lunch" to celebrate not hitting women, I imagine Jenny's Place would be flush with cash.

I won't hold my breath.

PETER Ronne (Short Takes, 11/10), I think you would find the many people climbing Uluru were mostly tourists both international and local, anxious to strike another item off their bucket list before the climb shuts at the end of October. I also failed to see how the failure by immigrants to assimilate would lead them to undertake the dangerous pastime of climbing Uluru.

A WHOLE lot of money has been spent upgrading the footpaths either side of Hunter Street with a very pleasing result. I'm wondering if there is any left in the cookie jar to install a regular cleaning program. I'm also wondering if any council officer ever walks the renewed section and casts an eye upwards to check the many derelict verandah soffits, which take the gloss of the fine work under their feet? I'm pretty sure that the owners of the properties would claim building maintenance costs as part of tax returns, so maybe the council should insist the owners make good their properties.

GRAHAM Parker (Short Takes, 11/10) should consider us pensioners; we're the ones getting screwed, that's for sure. Cutting interest rates doesn't benefit all. It's time the Reserve Bank learned this.

NO, no, no Graham Duncan (Short Takes, 11/10) don't even joke about a beer ban. It's exactly the sort of absurd idea climate change extremists and alarmists would support. What next, a ban on the fabulous Asian cuisine? I'm sure 98 per cent of scientists would agree that climate change was not an issue before spicy Asian food and its associated flatulence became a part of the older white man's diet.

I HAVE long admired Joanne McCarthy's journalistic skills. The insight, intellect and wit she displays and the diversity of the topics she delves into, never ceases to impress me. However, I think she may be "on the slippery slope" if she couldn't understand how Google linked her search on "bananas" to articles about Donald Trump ('On the slippery slope', Weekender 12/10).

I HOPE our PM's trip to Fiji will solve our farmers' water problems.

REGARDING Newcastle's Monopoly ('Newcastle on the board', Herald 11/10), free parking should have been paid parking.

THIS week I've read how ratepayers agree with the move ('Nua says ratepayers on board with move', Herald 5/10) and that it's a stunning success (Herald 12/10). Sorry, not all think this, but I guess we aren't getting the whole luxury floor to ourselves.

REGARDING Graeme Kime (Short Takes, 11/10). I don't feel sorry for the Raiders; the Roosters won the game, played to the whistle and took their chances when presented. By the way, they are premiers for the next 12 months so get over it.