There are alternatives to taking passive recreation land from the current and future citizens of Newcastle. If the $50,000 spent on "temporary" basketball courts is an indication of government thought, why is there so much money spent at Glendale and as close as Broadmeadow? There appears to be little sustainable thought for this move. Voters need to take to their parties the conviction that on this occasion, passive recreation needs to be considered.

I HAVE just finished reading a great little book called Mayfield Girl, written by a Novocastrian and her son over many years. It's the true story of Jean Sharp and is subtitled a memoir of Newcastle and country NSW.

Jean grew up in the shadow of the steelworks and her life spanned from BHP Newcastle's very beginning to nearly its closure in 1999. Her story recalls the major events of the 20th century and many country towns are mentioned. It was published with the assistance of Jean's son Stephen, a filmmaker, and many notes and pages left by Jean after her death.

Stephen recalls that her notes were written on scraps of paper, backs of envelopes and old writing pads over twenty years between the years 1974 and 1994. It was written in dribs and drabs and pieced together patiently by her son and is a great read especially for anyone seeking some history of early Newcastle.

For young people it will show what real poverty was and how it became possible for Jean to grow through these times and to educate herself and better herself.

It is my belief that the most important thing that we can leave behind is words, and as we age we become walking history books. I would encourage older Australians to set down their thoughts and history for others to read and enjoy. I would also encourage everyone to read Jean's book.

BOTH Peter Gogarty ('White men: it is time to own it and act on it', Opinion, 4/7) and John Ure (Letters, 10/7) refer to the concept of white privilege.

Like the Black Lives Matter movement, it is an American import. The term was coined by black civil rights activist William Du Bois in the 1930s, but only popularised by an American feminist academic, Peggy McIntosh, in 1989.

Of course, white privilege hasn't always applied to everyone. It was no benefit to the Roma people, for example, or sometimes even Catholics. Might it not really mean "majority privilege", because it hardly applies in, say, China?

For some, white privilege is itself a racist term given it targets an entire ethnic group with a collective crime, regardless of individual guilt or innocence.

In my opinion it's true that every success story, whether large or small, isn't always told by skin colour, or sex. Many things determine privilege such as physical attractiveness, intelligence, being born in a Western liberal democracy like Australia, being raised by loving parents in a stable family, getting an education and more.

I WANT to congratulate Sam Mella and her colleagues at Beyond Zero Emissions for shining the light towards a bright future of high employment by modernising our industry through decarbonisation (Herald, 7/7). The Beyond Zero Emissions Million Jobs Plan is our Beveridge moment. In 1942, as the war in Europe drew to a close, William Beveridge challenged Britain to pivot away from the five giant evils of squalor, ignorance, idleness, want, and disease and towards better health through the National Health Service, retirement benefits for old age, support for the unemployed, vastly expanded public housing, and free and universal secondary education.

Today we need such a pivot as the world faces the five new giant evils of global warming, inequality, energy poverty, water poverty, and education poverty.

The Beyond Zero Emissions Million Jobs Plan gives us the way forward to leave a real legacy for our grandchildren; a legacy of global warming under control of full employment and a stable future. We are lucky to have Sam and the group's volunteers giving their time and energy for our future.

THE ability of the Port of Newcastle to handle imported Chinese-made trains for us ('From ship to rail: new trains arrive in port', Herald 9/7) is great. However, although Chinese made products are apparently cheaper, it raises the moral question of sending the billion taxpayer dollars to pay for them to a one-party, authoritarian state that annexed the South China Sea (ignoring world legal opinion), imprisons Uigar people in re-education camps and destroys their culture, militarily occupies Tibet and puts penalties on Australian exports of foodstuff.

Why aren't the trains built here, contributing to employment, skills development, taxes from the company and workers and providing security in doing that for our own country? The total economic benefit needs to be looked at, not just the "it's cheaper to make it in China" philosophy.

GRAEME Kime (Letters, 9/7) need not have concerns in regards to what Victorian government officials are doing to help those under lock-down in public housing towers. Undoubtedly those who may contract the virus or have contracted the virus will get the best care. The following is directly from Premier Dan Andrews page: "Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, social workers and psychologists are all on site. The health of every single resident is being taken care of - and those with complex health needs are getting tailored care and support."

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

AS the global COVID-19 avalanche swamps more countries, its denialists find ever more tangential arguments. Scott Hillard (Letters, 10/7) now agrees the fallout may be worse than the 'flu but only because of the "heavy-handed" government response. Perhaps he would like to visit Ecuador, where coffins and bodies have littered the city streets while hospitals and morgues are overwhelmed. Mr Hillard, for your information, the 'flu does not do that.

IT seems most likely an extension of liquor trading hours in our city is a fait accompli. Time will tell if the Novocastrian imbibed have learned from the unacceptable previous behaviours under lax laws. Much to their angst, inner city dwellers were forced to endure the brunt of this and will be hoping it will not return. The people I feel most sorry for are our own police and, of course, our paramedics, who will have to bear the brunt of any violence if it recurs.

A LAND tax to replace stamp duty is being kicked around, possibly to see how or if it will be accepted. The suggested removal of stamp duty is nothing new, first mentioned as a sweetener to accept the GST, but unfortunately was left to the discretion of state governments and so it remained. I believe the only fair way to replace stamp duty is to increase the GST by an amount that will cover the loss of income. Considering everyone benefits from taxation, why should those who strive to own be penalised and pay for those who don't?

WHAT a kick in the guts to Aussie workers past and present, the unloading of trains from China. How can politicians go past our workforce? Yes the cost may have been less, but the flow on effects to our economy and workforce negate that. It would be more beneficial, economically and psychologically to have our people working, rather than be on the dole. Politicians need to deal with our problems. Don't take the easy way out and build China's economy, support ours. This pandemic has shown how much we rely on other countries for supplies. Let's make Australia a great manufacturing country again. The government should set an example and buy Australian first.

I AGREE, John Ure (Letters, 9/7). Scott Hillard's comparison of influenza and COVID is simplistic. To gain a better understanding of the issue, we need only ask two questions: what would COVID incidence and mortality look like but for the extraordinary measures taken against it in this country, and what would the same statistics for influenza look like every year if it too was subject to the same measures? For something of an answer to the first, look no further than Trump's America and Brazil. The answer to the second has recently been provided by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners: in May this year there were only 208 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza nationwide, compared to 30,567 for the same time last year. But even if - all other things being equal - the "burden" of influenza was still in fact "greater" than COVID, so what?