These players were making no real effort to get back and defend their line against the opposition.

On Sunday, while watching the Sea Eagles and Eels game, when Parramatta was attacking Manly's line, Sea Eagles players were racing full-pace to get back and defend their line which, in my opinion, saved several tries from occurring.

If the Knights showed some more interest in defending their line than watching the play going away from them, then maybe, just maybe, they might be able to be a competitive side.

REGARDING the climate strike on Friday, can someone explain to me: Why are you taking the day off school and calling it a strike when it harms your education and provides no more attention or benefit than the various demonstrations that occur on the weekends?

For mine, I am all for taking action where action is needed, but I would never join a demonstration on a weekday when it can be done on a weekend because it just makes you look silly and does you more harm than good, degrading the perceived intelligence of the whole operation!

Or are there some students that just want the day off school rather than gaining the education that would assist them to be able to lobby successfully?

IN the wake of Labor's calamitous showing in the Upper Hunter by-election, you'd think Joel Fitzgibbon would be keeping a low profile.

After all, NSW Labor followed his prescription for success - full-throated support for coal - and it spectacularly backfired.

But no, he's doing the rounds, urging Labor to "wake up to itself". Waking up apparently still means backing fossil fuels and ignoring the need for a transition plan.

Mr Fitzgibbon says the result can be attributed in large part to Labor's failure to back the proposed federally-funded gas-fired power plant at Kurri - a project Gladys Berejiklian refused to help fund, and one almost universally panned in the sector.

He says voters are "suspicious" of Labor on coal. Many more are disillusioned.

Let's not forget this is a seat Labor has never won.

The eight-point fall in its primary vote appears to have come mainly from the loss of progressive voters, who moved to the independent Kirsty O'Connell, the only candidate advocating a move away from coal.

Labor does need to wake up - to the fact that, in the big scheme of things, it stands to lose far more than it gains by following Mr Fitzgibbon's advice.

There is no value in being a "Liberal-lite" party. Voters want a real choice and will ultimately respect conviction, purpose and credibility.

For Labor, blindly pursuing the coal vote is fool's gold.

AS NCC considers its euphemistically described stairway to heaven, I wonder if they have looked at anything but the veneer.

A considerable amount of earthwork will be needed to achieve anything like a workable stairway.

A great opportunity exists to make more of it. It could be the roof of a very-much-needed replacement parking station for the one that will be removed.

Or, if that is not politically correct for this council, how about the long looked for Maritime Museum.

Where is the vision of NCC or does it prefer to work on show projects rather than something of value to the city?

IN a remarkable reversal from their previous determined support of fossil fuels, the latest International Energy Agency (IEA) report states the economics of climate change has turned around and the future headache will be the risk of failure of petrostates with collapsing revenue streams.

The report includes the following conclusions.

They no longer see slashing emissions by adopting renewables as a cost, with both the IEA and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicting it will actually add an additional 0.4 per cent per year to GDP growth over the next decade.

Net zero does not cost jobs, it replaces 5 million jobs in coal, gas and oil with eight times that number in other new fields of employment.

Nor does it raise energy costs - it will drive a 23 per cent drop in average household bills for heating, cooling, electricity and car fuel by 2030 in advanced countries.

More importantly, it will enable millions of people in poorer economies to join the middle class, buy cars and enjoy Western living standards.

Net zero does not leave the world's poor behind, it saves them. It is the cheapest way to assist the 800 million people with no electricity, and the further 2.6 billion with no clean cooking option.

Hopefully it will also mark the beginning of the end for the climate change misinformation and outright lies spread by our political leaders and lead to their adoption of the Australian Energy Market Operator's comprehensive, well-developed plan for Australia to reach net zero well before 2050.

AFTER many hours of work, the committee of six women has managed to get the heated pools up and running again.

Such hard work is now paying off, and since we began reopening on January 11, we have had the roof in the 15 metre pool renewed and new filters fitted.

There's still much more to do, but we are working at it. We really value the support of our clients in using the facilities and keeping this much-loved complex going, since the first pool was built in 1965. Fifty-five years of voluntary service to the community.

I AGREE with Deanne Johnson (Letters, 20/5) and Kathy Gall (Letters, 21/5) - it is difficult for some of us to find a place to get a COVID vaccination.

The clinic I go to is on the list on the NSW government website as a place to get vaccinated, yet when contacted, every week since all of this started, we have been told they still have not been given the vaccine.

Yet there are other smaller clinics that are providing this service. I keep seeing comments on the TV that all those over 70 are now done, let's move on to people younger.

My husband and I are in our 70s and have to ring around to find where to go for a vaccination.

MY father-in-law, Zenon Helinski, has been a regular contributor to the Newcastle Herald Letters to the Editor section over many years. He was engaged in matters about the local community, sport, building and development, and politics. People would often say to me "oh, I saw Zenon's letter in the paper this week - his name would often stand out". He always had an opinion but at the same time he was also interested in and respected other people's opinions too. Zenon died very suddenly this week and I thought it was right to send one last letter on behalf of him! He will certainly be greatly missed in our family.

HOW about NSWRL lets U10 and U11 junior rugby league players enjoy the game they play. I wonder how many players from the Valentine Eleebana Junior Rugby League Football Club will leave the sport before the start of next season. NSWRL needs to address the behaviour both on and off the field of its senior players before disrupting the sport at a junior level.

MARIE-LISE Bouic from New Lambton asks how people will access the cathedral steps when "car drivers are discouraged" (Short Takes, 22/5). Catch a bus. The 13 runs every 15 minutes direct from Alma Road and it's usually empty.

THE experts around the world are saying once you have the COVID vaccine, your viral load will be too small to pass it on. Returning Australians and others who have had the jab and a COVID-free test prior to their flight should not have to do hotel quarantine for two weeks if we are going to open up to the world again.

THE front fences of Scone Public School and Scone High School are long, and on election day it was clear that candidates from political parties with substantial financial backing get to take up a disproportionate amount of space along these fences. Would the system be more fair if there were limits to this practice of over-representation of some parties? It seems money really does buy power - just saying.

THIS Upper Hunter election confirms that jobs today are more important to the electorate than our children's tomorrows.

TO show a sign of humanity as he heads towards an election, Mr Morrison could bring younger Australians home. Bringing half-filled planes back to Australia is a bad look. He wouldn't have to back down completely from his heartless border policy but instead show some Christian mercy.

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