The problem with quoting data like this is that the information is just one factor in establishing cause and effect. When I was community safety co-ordinator at Newcastle council one of the first things I learned about domestic violene is that crime data isn't always objective.

At the time (in the early 2000s) it appeared that there had been a major upsurge in domestic violence. In discussions with my police colleagues it turns out that the incidence of dometic violence had not increased but, because of increasing media coverage, the incidence of reporting had increased - women felt more emboldened to report, and that they would be listened to when they did. This paralleled employment of specialist domestic violence officers in the police command whose role was to work with women to ensure they did not feel intimidated by the experience. The raw data said spike, but the police intelligence said the number of incidents were constant but there was greater incidence of reporting.

According to Mr Hillard, the data is black and white but according to research by Kara Bellow (2005) and Megan Haselschwerdt and Jennifer Hardesty (2016) among many others, there are numerous reasons why domestic violence is not reported in affluent communities and that it may very well be as prevalent in affluent suburbs as in lower socio-economic communities. The common element in domestic violence is male privilege. It is overwhelmingly a male problem, and if we're going to deal with that problem then we need to acknowledge this.

We men need to own the problem and speak out whenever we encounter domestic violence. It's not a case of virtue signalling. It's men taking responsibility. If there is any virtue inherent in acknowledging this, it's in signalling to the world that we men need to stand up and own the problem, not hide behind data.

THANK you, Carl Stevenson (Letters, 20/7) for bringing back some great memories of the 1950s and '60s and the influx of immigrants into our city and our lives.

I grew up in Maryville and our suburb became home to both the Greek and Italian communities. What a great childhood it was and we learned so much. My mother, rearing four children alone, welcomed them all into our home and we in turn attended their weddings, funerals and christenings and any celebration. We took care of their children sometimes and learned enough of their language to communicate and we loved that life and we learned so much.

They all blended. The Salvation Army helped with contacts and so much more and befriended them all. Thank God for the Salvos.

They were wonderful days. My mother became Mama Lindus to all and is still remembered in the Greek community today, as am I. A voice from across Newcastle Ocean Baths called to me last year, "Mama Lindus' daughter", and I answered hello with pride.

I would like to believe that the spirit and kindness shown to migrants then is still alive in Newcastle and that those coming into this country have a real intention to assimilate. In 2011 I married a man who did just that, as he was born in Austria and had entered Australia as an eight-year-old with his mum and dad. All three contributed much with their work ethic and cooking skills.

IT'S good to see some further sense in the world to recognise the problems we all have to deal with. But the relationship between history and equality are still a difficult transition for all of us. I was going to say most of us, but the reality is more than that.

My family fairly recently came from England, which had been invaded by more than a few different groups. History said that was good because it infused the strengths of each. Maybe the Romanovs would disagree with that. Realistically it seems to me that all this prejudice, sense of difference and fear will not be able to entirely disappear until we have removed the obvious barriers for all of us: country boundaries. Let's wait until the vaccine for that, though.

I ENDORSE Samuel Vijay Pierce's comments (Letters, 21/7) about not establishing an off-leash dog area in Lambton Park. I'm biased because I live near the park and I don't own a dog, but imagine the proposed off-leash area near the pool with its summer crowds and impossible parking.

Lambton Park is one of the city's most beautiful natural assets away from the beachfront. Would the council put an off-leash dog area in King Edward Park or on Merewether beach?

And another plea to council: don't succumb to the statue-toppling mob who now want to remove Captain Cook plaques from the Civic Park fountain ('Bye bye, captain', Herald 21/7). The signs which name the fountain after Captain Cook "commemorate the bicentenary of his discovery of the east coast of Australia." They say "his discovery", not "the discovery". Might that not let Cook off the hook? After all, in my opinion he was one of the greatest explorers ever.

THOSE of us who live, work or walk in the Hunter and Scott Street area will have noticed the enormous amount of weeds that are now growing in the narrow garden beds beside the light rail tracks in the middle of these streets. I decided last week to write to the Newcastle Council drawing this to their attention and asking if something could be done about them as they are an eyesore to locals and visitors. I got a lengthy reply saying it was not their responsibility and referred me to Keolis Downer.

I then made contact with Keolis, who said they would check it out and quickly replied to me saying it did not come into their area and that it was the responsibility of Transport NSW they referred me to a web site. Great, I'm now getting somewhere.

I again detailed the complaint including photos and asked if someone in their organisation could look into this and give it some attention as it was badly needed. Many times I have tried and all I get is an automated reply, saying: "sorry our feedback service is currently unavailable." I have tried but have been totally unsuccessful, so I ask: who will do the weeding?

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 SUPPORT Dan Kirkpatrick (Short Takes 21/7). Last year Alaska suffered massive wildfires with heavy smoke pollution. The temperature reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Anchorage on 4th July and many of the townsfolk fled to the Matanuska Glacier to cool off. Even the dogs took to the ice. The climate is definitely changing.

AS the current virus crisis deepens, and before it gets worse, our state and federal governments need to get together and pass legislation to ban mass gatherings and to introduce laws to invoke mandatory jail time for those who ignore the safety and well being of the population in general. No matter how appealing the cause or reason may be, it cannot be justified to demonstrate at the risk of catastrophic illness and death to others. Any sympathy that these causes had is diminished by the blatant disregard for others. I believe introducing mandatory punishment for this would stop these people being slapped on the wrist and let off by the left-leaning, weak judiciary.

UNFORTUNATELY David Rose did not read my letter regarding the film Planet of the Humans. I said it is a very interesting film, nothing more or less. I did not need a lecture.

PLEASE, Cr Mackenzie, as you are a Greens representative of Newcastle council, instead of working to remove brass plaques in Civic Park ('Bye bye, captain', Herald 21/7) can you put your energy into getting our green waste separated from our general garbage waste? My understanding is that the two types of waste get emptied into the same council garbage vehicle.

I FIND Newcastle Greens councillor John Mackenzie ('Bye bye, captain', Herald 21/7) offensive and believe that someone should remove him from council.

LET'S have a look at the plaques on memorials and statues across Australia while we are at it ('Bye bye, captain', Herald 21/7). Let's change all city town street names to Aboriginal names. This may placate the noisy minority of protesters. Let's also change all surnames we have so that we don't offend our forefathers' heritage. Since we don't have Maynards or Mackenzies in the Indigenous languages, perhaps we cannot offend them by dismissing these terms of reference to other cultural groups. Let's change it all and move on.

THE Lord certainly does move in mysterious ways. The early release on Tuesday of Father Vince Ryan (''How can abuser walk around with a collar', Herald 22/7) must feel like a real kick in the guts for all victims and their families along with good people like Peter Fox, Joanne McCarthy and many others who fought so long and hard to expose these "monsters'' and get them to trial in the first place. One can't help but wonder if it is the Lord or the law.