On 28 February 2014 Dr Kong was the surgeon who skillfully operated on me to remove my nose, which had become compromised by an invasive squamous cell carcinoma due to overexposure to the dangerous ultraviolet radiation from sunlight.

It was a traumatic time for me, but made far easier by Dr Kong's ever-cheerful manner and excellent skills as a surgeon. On knowing of the necessity for the surgery, Dr Kong operated within days of the knowledge that the operation was urgent, reassuring me that all would be well. In the immediate years following the procedure he performed an annual and detailed inspection of the site to monitor my recovery.

Above all, Dr Kong carries the torch for humanity and tolerance amongst all those he meets. He shines by example. He is not just a skilled surgeon but an ambassador for humanity. That's his message for all of us.

PICTURES of hotel quarantine security guards asleep in the corridors gave me the inference that this was a major cause of the Victorian outbreak. I think it's understandable as the job would not be particularly engaging. Why not source people that are being forced to work from home, set them up with a desk and free wifi, perhaps even free food, in the corridor to keep an eye on movements?

Engagement in their work, which hopefully would keep them awake, and be there on the very odd occasion somebody tried to bend the rules. You probably wouldn't have to pay them any extra either.

SPEED limits have been reduced to 30km/h along Honeysuckle Drive, Wharf Road and Shortland Esplanade ('Foreshore roads go 30km/h', Herald 18/8).

This, along with the autonomous vehicle which locals call "the very slow no driver, no passenger bus to nowhere" will certainly slow traffic down. But what about the hoons that parade up and down Wharf Road, particularly on Saturday and Sunday afternoons with their souped-up cars, and get delight in showing off to others with the sounds of their bugle like, fire cracking exhausts?

It would be great if the traffic police patrolled this area on these days with both radar and decibel counters in order to try and control these hoons. Let's hope the reduction in speed limits work, but unfortunately this is only half of the problem.

I was very interested to read about the Newcastle Herald having evidence or material highlighting the safety issues in the construction sector in our city ('No safety in numbers', Herald 24/6).

Please put it out there for all to see. We must keep our industry above board. Our industry has far too many accidents and unfortunately some deaths. With all of the unit developments and other major projects underway, every site has a program to meet. It's all good at the start of a project but towards the end I believe safety is the first thing to disappear on site. Work safely and do a wonderful job.

With the majority of builders in Newcastle being not from Newcastle, in my opinion we see a disdain towards Newcastle based subcontractors. Out of town construction companies employ subcontractors from other areas, mainly Sydney. Lately I have been aware of operators from the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Taree, Port Macquarie. How can this be possible?

My understanding is that many of these subcontractors truck their materials from Sydney, leaving local suppliers out of the loop. By bringing in their own people they can be keeping local tradesmen scratching for survival. How buoyant would our town be if all materials and most of the labour was sourced from Newcastle? Alas, this is nowhere near the case. These is just some of the injustices happening in this industry.

LOCK The Gate spokesperson Georgina Woods has every right to be concerned about the rehabilitation of BHP's Mt Arthur coal mine ('Big retreat', Herald 19/8) if the Herald's report on September 1 2012 of the hand-over a decade earlier of the former BHP steelworks site to the state government is a reliable guide.

The Herald reported: "An environmental deed that BHP Billiton and the state government refused to release under freedom of information shows taxpayers will pay the costs of any problems at the Newcastle steelworks site once BHP's initial payment of $100 million is gone"

The mistake BHP made in 2002 was to think its handover of the steelworks container terminal site to the public wouldn't come back to haunt them. The Labor state government took ownership of the site to block development of a container terminal.

IN London, Julian Assange is fighting to avoid being sent to the US to face 17 charges under the Espionage Act after the publication of thousands of classified US documents in 2010 and 2011. Campaigners are arguing Assange's extradition must be prevented as it would endanger the global freedom of the press.

In England this month, 169 lawyers and legal organisations petitioned the UK government to intervene. In July in England, dozens of organisations representing human rights and freedom of the press signed an open letter to the government calling for Assange's release from prison. He is serving a 50-week sentence for a breach of bail - 50 weeks. In June, more than 200 doctors from 33 countries signed a letter published in The Lancet, accusing UK and American officials of "intensifying Julian Assange's psychological torture". Assange's extradition hearing, originally set for May, was deferred because of the coronavirus lockdown and won't be heard at the Old Bailey until September.

MESSAGE to ORICA: To alleviate the problems of stockpile with chemical compounds ('Could it happen here?', Herald 5/8) would it not be appropriate to make a stockpile in the bottom of a disused pit hole? If it then explodes it can only deepen the big hole even further. Maybe it will uncover more riches at the bottom of the abyss left by the big mining companies.

NO-ONE likes a beer more than I do, but how can council justify allowing a microbrewery opposite Lingard Hospital ('Pet crematorium rejected', Newcastle Herald 19/8)? In my opinion parking alone should rule it out. During the day, it is virtually impossible to find a park now, so how this will play out for residents, existing businesses, and visitors to the hospital is beyond comprehension. Another awful decision by our council.

I AM just wondering what the many climate catastrophists who write to this page think when they see Warragamba Dam spilling over. It's the ridiculous predictions by the likes of Professor Tim Flannery who in 2007 said that our dams would never be full again, that leads to people distrusting the alarmist science.

MILTON Caine's letter (Letters, 15/8) listing his concerns for dangerous material safety storage can be, in my opinion, shortened to a list of one; human error.

DAVID Stuart (Short Takes, 17/8) thinks Gladys Berejiklian has been acting on the advice of the best medical people available in this state. Is this why she and her medical advisers have received the strong condemnation from the Ruby Princess Commission of Inquiry regarding their inaction and for which she has acknowledged blame by way of that lame apology she tendered to those who were "hurt" by the virus?

THIS year marks 150 years since the passing of Maria Ann Smith. She came from Surrey, England to Australia where she developed the beautiful green apple that has her name; Granny Smith. She is buried in Sydney.

REGARDING John Ure's piece on special religious classes (Letters 18/8), these classes are about saving people's soul that they may have everlasting life. That is a good investment. I put a proposal to a university. I would pay the university to do an experiment that would prove mediums do get correct information via inspired thought. The offer was turned down, even though the university had nothing to lose. So there are ways of demonstrating that there is more to life than the eye can see, and that religion has truth to it.

WHERE was Scott Hillard's faux concern for those vulnerable individuals deeply affected by the Morrison government's disgraceful robodebt fiasco (Letters, 15/8)? Nowhere to be seen.

GLEN Wilson (Short Takes, 18/8), the answer to your question is yes. I believe we are forced into this ridiculous situation with people losing everything for no real apparent reason. Shark attacks are nearly more common than a coronavirus death, that's how ridiculous it is in my opinion. Open the joint up, protect the elderly and let the chips fall where they fall.