I believe it's a pity that the councillor who is raising all the fuss doesn't have more important things to occupy his time. Hopefully the rest of the council won't waste their time on this nonsense. It's reminiscent of the nonsense that recently saw the change of name of Coon cheese. The cheese was named after the bloke who first produced it, Mr Coon. A quick look on the internet White Pages will show that there are a lot of people with that surname. Should they all change their name because this councillor and others find the word offensive?

SERVICE NSW - what a misnomer. I have just attended a Service NSW office for the purpose of obtaining an official birth certificate.

Upon filling out the application form I was told that on the payment of $60 the certificate will take about five weeks to arrive, or if I pay $88 for "priority" it will only take about three weeks. Then I was told that if I drove to Sydney and attended one of their offices there, I could obtain the certificate on the spot. I was gobsmacked. Is this the 21st century?

I note that, due to the wonders of computer technology, my $88 fee was taken from my account instantly and the receipt issued instantly. If the computer in Sydney can hand me the certificate on the spot, why can't the same computer electronically send the document to me locally?

I commend the Service NSW staff (Wallsend office) for their friendliness, helpfulness and courtesy, but what a system they have to work under. Surely they must be embarrassed about having to justify this anomaly. Service NSW is a misnomer, an oxymoron or both.

PRIME Minister Scott Morrison received his shot along with Chief Nursing Officer Allison McMillian and Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly on Sunday. They described it as a "curtain raiser" to the national rollout which started on Monday. Mr Morrison said that he wanted to demonstrate to the people coming in on Monday his confidence in the health and safety of this vaccination ('Shot at history', Herald 22/2).

Well, if this is the case, why did you have a shot of the Pfizer vaccine and not the AstraZeneca vaccine that you were only entitled to? As there has always been a question about the AstraZeneca vaccine, you should have demonstrated to the nation how strongly you and your so-called government thinks about this vaccine. Did you have your wife out the back, waiting to get her Pfizer vaccine jab?

As we wait in line for our turn to get our vaccination, I would like to know why the John Hunter Hospital was not supplied with the vaccines when the other hospitals in Sydney and other areas received their supply. I think it is political. We are a Labor town and we are classed as second-class citizens to the Liberal-held seats in the nation run by his truly, Mr Morrison.

JOHN Ure (Letters, 22/2) makes a good point about the need for a more balanced media environment in this country.

In the last few days, the entire front page of a major paper was devoted to a large photo of the prime minister, resplendent in green and gold shirt and Aussie flag face-mask, receiving his COVID vaccination, with the headline "V-DAY: One tiny jab for ScoMo...one giant leap for Aussies". Clearly, at least in my view, this was neither news nor journalism. I thought it was straight-out party-political propaganda. This isn't an isolated example. It is an almost daily occurrence, repeated over and over around the country in regional papers also owned by News.

Comparisons with the alleged "bias" of the ABC are facile. The truth, as I see it, is that the dominant player in the Australian media environment brazenly operates as a political organisation. And it is getting worse. I believe the government knows that no matter what it does, it will be protected.

This being so, Mr Morrison's win at the last election wasn't a "miracle", and his current high approval ratings are no cause for wonder. I believe it would be a miracle if it were otherwise.

I DON'T mean to stir up emotions, but having recently watched a game of footy between Australia's Indigenous stars and New Zealand's best Maori players, I ask if it would it be right to suggest a competition between non-indigenous stars would be seen as racist? I believe allowing only Indigenous people to participate in special sport is no way to bring the divide together, that it's actually encouraging racism. So why is it happening without question? Best of luck trying to explain to a child that mates he usually plays with have special games where he is not wanted. I reckon the sooner political correctness and racism stops being used in a way that creates confusion, the sooner everyone will be equal. Doesn't the recent change to our national anthem say we are one? Maybe we should show we are one.

I THINK Peter Devey is dreaming when he claims that the ABC presents no right-wing views (Letters, 23/2). He clearly does not follow the broadcaster, or he would be aware of content such as regular host Tom Switzer, CEO of right think-tank the Centre for Independent Studies, interviewing Gerard Henderson, who has long connections with the secretly funded far right IPA. Then there is former Liberal minister Amanda Vanstone, who has an hour each Monday. The self-disclosed lefty Phillip Adams has a regular stable of conservatives that he respectfully interviews. I recently heard a long interview with One Nation's Malcolm Roberts on ABC Newcastle, full of climate denialist claims, none of which would survive a fact-check to my knowledge.

I think the constant government attacks on individual journalists and funding cuts have led to habitual self-censoring within the ABC, with some brave exceptions such as Four Corners. You could argue there is too much emphasis on minorities and identity politics, but this taxpayer-funded platform has a duty to tell everyone's story, outside the narrow focus of most commercial media which exists mainly to flog more stuff to the mainstream, often disguised as news.

IT was almost invigorating to see the Newcastle Herald run with the front-page photograph of our first vaccine recipient, Jane Malysiak, seeming angry with the pain inflicted upon her by our Prime Minister ('Shot at history', Newcastle Herald 22/2). Sweet memories of the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate.

A VICTORIAN Royal Commission into a Crown could possibly lead to a court case "The Crown vs Crown".

BEFORE the start of the new parliamentary year the prime minister said he has drawn up a list of code of conduct rules for his ministers. Yet every time one of them breaks those rules and is in the spotlight of the media for doing so, he says he stands by them and does nothing about it. He must have had these so-called code of conduct rules drawn up by Rafferty.

IT seems my attempted sarcasm missed the mark with some. I totally agree with Col Page and others that the question asked of Minister Hunt was definitely warranted, whereas as his reply is the continual smoke screen this mob throws back when cornered on their carry on.

TRUST me, I am no ScoMo fan, but can someone please explain to me exactly why the Prime Minister of this country would or should need to know about an alleged crime that occurred in the middle of the night, in another area of Parliament House, two years ago? Surely this should have been a matter for Parliament House security and the police from the get-go? It distresses me and frustrates me that this issue is tying up hours of time in Question Time when there are in my opinion far more important issues of the national interest to be talking about (with all due respect to Ms Higgins).

PETER Devey raises some relevant points (Letters, 23/2). Journalists and newsreaders are supposed to report news not promulgate demagogism. This is akin to brainwashing the public. Have you seen Rowan Dean (so farcical it's comedic) and Paul Murray in action? ABC employing Sky and Murdoch media personnel is just my point. Thank you for agreeing. There is no "left" in Australia. I shall restate that the ABC is as objective as one could hope for and it's great to see your defence of it in your final analogy. Diversity of view is fine but let us keep it diverse, with "news" reported objectively.

I DON'T mind where people make love; so long as they don't do it in Parliament, or in front of children and frighten them. Prostitutes have more morals than some of our Australian politicians, in my opinion.