They booked flights to Australia and gave notice to finish teaching in June 2020, only to find out two days before departure on July 6 their flight was cancelled. He has a job commitment to commence shortly and this is in jeopardy now. So, Mr Kime, people do what is necessary to enter the country legally to be together. It is a shame that you "don't care". I thought all Australians matter, here or abroad. Keep safe and please limit your travels to Cameron Park.

MAYBE it's time to come clean about the whole mask deal. Right from the start, the only logical reason I could put on the government/medical advice they were unnecessary was a need to save masks for the predicted medical needs. This was a fair call for the time of limited and competing resources, and with some lack of understanding of the virus and its progress.

But now, after what is happening in Melbourne? I think it is now very close to a travesty of Trump-like stupidity that debate continues over the value of wearing masks.

They are a reminder to us all, and they do reduce to some extent both ingress and egress of dodgy substances. In some cases this may save lives.

If wearing a mask depleted other aspects of our longevity I could understand, but to simply say they are of nil or limited value is I think to treat us all like the fool who does not - sorry, didn't like - to wear one in the USA. Maybe now he will start mumbling some sense...

TODAY there is a lot of debate about the need to increase Australia's levels of technically-trained people to remake manufacturing in our country. We should look to the Bob Menzies era and the Wyndham Scheme for a solution.

The scheme directed over 80,000 highly qualified students into university from 1962 at no cost to the students. This scheme was supported in addition by companies who ran cadet and traineeship schemes such as BHP and a large number of Newcastle businesses up to 1974 when Gough Whitlam destroyed the scheme.

I won a Commonwealth Scholarship in 1970 based on my 1969 HSC results. I joined the company Stewarts and Lloyds at Mayfield in 1970 and they indentured me as an apprentice. At night I went to University. I learned basic engineering skills and management skills during the day by working with tradesmen and iron workers, then advanced mathematics, engineering and science at night.

The result of this training was that it produced a group of young men who cooperated together and worked to build the business cooperatively. Even today, 50 years later, we still meet annually to celebrate the time together. That is how businesses are built: with commitment and drive by people who work together. I believe the politically correct government agencies know nothing of how to build an economy.

SCOTT Hillard (Short Takes, 6/7) continued to peddle the fantasy that COVID-19 "pales in comparison" to flu, and attempted to prove his point by citing Australia's current COVID-19 deaths compared to annual flu deaths. John Ure (Opinion, 9/7) helpfully pointed out that Australia's COVID-19 deaths have happened despite the most extensive and extraordinary nationwide preventive health measures ever undertaken in this country, measures which don't apply to the yearly transmission of flu.

I believe Mr Hillard is cherry-picking Australia's experience. How about a single US location? New York had 4749 deaths as a result of influenza and pneumonia in the whole year of 2018, according to the US Centers for Disease Control. They've had 32,305 deaths from COVID-19 so far, with no end in sight.

That's over 6.7 times as many deaths from COVID-19 compared to the flu, and this bug has only been active for six months there. Who knows what a year of it will bring? Death counts in numerous cities and areas around the world also vastly exceed yearly flu deaths after only six months.

Australia has been exceptionally lucky. We benefited from excellent policies from government and sensible actions by almost all everyday Aussies. But we are very obviously not typical of the effects of this disease. Suggesting it "pales in comparison" to the flu is inaccurate and dangerous.

FOR many years now I have read Scott Hillard's contributions. He and I have on many occasions crossed swords. However, there are a few bits of wisdom I would pass on to those who choose to respond to Mr Hillard's missives.

Firstly, while his politics take him somewhere to the right of Maggie Thatcher and Genghis Khan, he is no fool. I am of the opinion that Mr Hillard believes in an old adage: throw a grenade into the room and see what comes out. I am confident that he read the paper and has a wry smile as he reads the letters section. I believe his cherry-picking of statistics and other data is also legend. So if you disagree with Mr Hillard's viewpoint, I recommend you thoroughly research your argument before putting pen to paper. Just picture that wry smile.

THE royalties from minerals extracted from Australian soils belong to all citizens. Not every Australian has shared equally in the benefit of this wealth. Governments have used them for their own purposes, and the nation as a whole has progressed but citizens have not shared equally.

The royalties should form the base for a living wage for all. This could be in the form of a debit card in which the wage would be deposited every fortnight. There would be restrictions on its use: tt could not be cashed out; it could not be used for alcohol, tobacco, drugs and gambling; it would be adjusted for CPI changes. If it has not been used for six months, the funds would revert to the government. Funds on the card would be able to accumulate for larger than everyday purchases. Couples could combine amounts for similar purposes. Income from employment would be additional to this card and form the tax base. The royalty payment to the card would be used for accommodation in a public institution as a hospital or jail.

Such a card would eliminate poverty and homelessness, plus reduce domestic violence and much petty crime.

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.

I WATCHED the Knights game on TV and was not disappointed. I would like to see a couple of the big names get more involved. In the main the spectators were distancing appropriately, but in my opinion some groups were not. It would be a shame if this grouping results in putting us back in time, or even worse, COVID-19 infections.

PAUL Scott ('First rule of Newy fight club: keep it feudal', Opinion 13/7), you omitted another feud. It is and always will be Newcastle not Newy.

WELL, Adam O'Brien, it seems you have ruined some of Kalyn Ponga's game. In my opinion now all you have to do is have his head weighed, as he seems to land on it all the time. That said, they showed a bit of the old Newcastle against Parramatta, so well done. There's still a lot of work to do, but just maybe you could have something providing you get some good referees occasionally. Good luck with that.

MARVYN Smith (Short Takes, 9/7), I am surprised it took Don Fraser that long to come to the correct conclusion.

PETER Devey, as your point is inconsistent with the 30-year, extremely grave warning of the Rolls Royce Australian Academy of Science and CSIRO and like bodies worldwide, it has no weight. (Short Takes, 11/7). At the same time, the vast global eyes of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and David Attenborough have seen the changes warned of over that time. If it's happening faster, it's even worse. Such a warning is to be heeded.

MAY I suggest that before any budding climate activist submits a comment or opinion on the future of our planet due to climate change, either for or against, they take the opportunity to read former climate activist Michael Shellenberger's recently released book Apocalypse Never. He highlights a range of environmental issues and exposes misrepresentations by scientists, one-sided views by environmental organizations and companies guided by financial interests. I believe it gives one the opportunity to look at both sides of the climate debate.

IF the health department really think that they're going to get in contact with possible COVID spreaders via the sign-in sheets at pubs, they're going to be sadly disappointed. The pub sign-in method should, especially during the pandemic, align with club sign in procedures using licences or membership cards, and then they might have a chance to chase up COVID-infected people. It's a system that seems to work elsewhere.

PETER Devey (Short Takes, 11/7), a Sydney University report shows COVID-19 has led to the largest drop in heat-trapping gases in human history, a 4.6 per cent reduction in global emissions. The largest drops occurring over the most polluting countries. The last drop was during the GFC.