NOBODY on the left side of politics would doubt the abilities, experience and ferociousness of Kristina Keneally, pictured. She would be a welcomed addition to the lower house front bench.
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My question is though, why is Labor shooting itself in the foot once again by creating an unnecessary factional war by trying to shoehorn her into the western Sydney seat of Fowler ('Labor faction fight in Kristina Keneally's move to NSW lower house seat of Fowler', Newcastle Herald 10/9)?
Surely with Joel Fitzgibbon stepping away at the next election ('Joel's time is up', Newcastle Herald 14/9) a seat like Hunter would welcome someone of Ms Keneally's aptitude and conviction? A simple solution, no?
Tony Bennett, Broke
No love lost for departing MP
AS a constituent of Joel Fitzgibbon, it was great news to hear that he won't be re-contesting the seat of Hunter at the next election. I believe he represents the worst aspects of the modern Labor Party, from his support of the fossil fuel industry to his backing of tax cuts for the rich. He won't be missed. In my opinion Mr Fitzgibbon represents the complete antithesis of what a modern progressive, social democratic party should stand for. Maybe he might like to join the right wingers in One Nation.
Peter C Jones, Rathmines
Vaccine divide may be inevitable
THE dearly and deeply felt emotions on both sides of the vaccine issue will never be resolved. I'm right, you're wrong and an inability to listen to each other's points of fact make this far too complex to decide for everyone. I mean anyone in government.
Thus the obvious solution is to allow the anti-vacc folk to be treated by those in sympathy with those views. Using clinics and hospital units staffed by those who agree to assist them with their health needs. Beaches and hotels designated for the unvaccinated, unmasked and allow them with great respect to take their own wellbeing on and wish them well. We do need to live in a society alongside each other, businesses who would like staff to be unvaccinated should post this and be ready for the trade or not of like minded people.
The time the general public becomes more concerned for outcomes is a weekend when a child is ill with appendicitis and no beds can be found, emergency is overloaded with a five hour wait while your child's fever burns and you panic, because of the influx of, dare I say it COVID cases. Then, sadly should the worst happen you blame the nurses and doctors.
Yes, let those health workers who choose to remain unvaccinated take primary care of unvaccinated citizens. Everyone gets what they want, or do they? Does anyone remember the days of other news? Sadness swells with the waves on overcrowded springtime beaches, in lockdown.
Lyn Rendle, Rankin Park
Failures pile up, but no pile-on
PETER Devey paints Scott Morrison as the victim of a "pile-on" about his Father's Day trip, (Letters, 14/9). I repeat what I asked (Letters, 10/9): if the trip was so reasonable and aboveboard, why did the prime minister try to conceal it? Why the deceit?
Within the rules his trip may have been, but it was a slap in the face for Australians forced to spend Father's Day separated from their families. Particularly when that situation has been caused, in large part, by Mr Morrison's own failures. The government's handling of the vaccine rollout has been a debacle. Documents released under FOI show that Pfizer first approached Australia in June 2020, but Health Minister Greg Hunt kept them waiting for weeks.
Mr Morrison himself didn't have time to call Pfizer, despite having time to make over 50 calls to secure Mathias Cormann's appointment as OECD Secretary-General.
This is to say nothing of the mixed messages, lack of coordination, shifting blame to others, and playing favourites.
There's nothing so spectacular as a pile-on to be seen here. Just a steadily growing and thoroughly unpleasant pile of failure, arrogance and dishonesty.
Michael Hinchey, New Lambton
Exception rankles, in rules or no
I DON'T normally bother to reply to critics of my letters. But I'm stirred to action by a missive on this morning's letters page, in which Peter Devey portrayed Mr Morrison as some sort of victim (Letters, 14/9).
He did this while wondering whether five of his fellow correspondents were Labor Party members (I'm not, by the way) participating in a pile-on about the issue of his family visit on Father's Day. Mr Morrison, he said, was entitled to visit his family in Sydney and we were called out for suggesting that he shouldn't have done it, and for casting aspersions on his credentials as a family man. I was impressed with Mr Devey's use of the necessity for "secure travel", and the example of footballers and their girlfriends flying into (quelle horreur) Queensland (which, in fact, several people including myself criticised severely elsewhere) to bolster his arguments, although I'm unsure just how relevant the US President flying in military aircraft is to the travel security situation in Australia. After all, we don't really have that many people in Australia who are prone to violence against politicians as an extension of the political discussion.
I don't object to people visiting their families. I objected to Mr Morrison using his position of privilege (which allows him to indeed go wherever he likes, whenever he likes), to do something that was denied to a lot of other fathers, who'd have looked forward to being with their families in Sydney, or the ACT, or wherever, on Father's Day, but couldn't; because they were subject to the rules of various state lockdowns. I thought it was a failure of leadership. I objected to him using a VIP aircraft for the trip; a very expensive way to get from Canberra to Sydney and back. I also objected to his claiming he got no special treatment. The whole exercise was special treatment.
Barney Ward, Edgeworth
Refs taking the shine off Knights
BILL Slicer's comment (Short Takes, 14/9) regarding poor refereeing in the Knights and Eels final bears greater scrutiny. Is the poor refereeing less than adequate competency or something else? Two unchecked mid-air tackles on Ponga, multiple unchecked shoulder charges, a classic on Frizell, and other unchecked head high shots might suggest something else. These offences have otherwise been strictly enforced throughout the season. Sometimes overzealously.
By comparison a "he hurt my leg" complaint from Ferguson and an on report ensued for a Knight forward. Exaggerated set restarts and seemingly having two offside definitions featured also.
The coup de grace for me was a knock on by Parramatta, at which point the game should have been stopped, resulting in a penalty try after scrappy play continued. Even the television commentary team were nonplussed by many decisions. Was the refereeing more a case of judicial disobedience? If so, why? I challenge the NRL to review the refereeing adequacy of Newcastle games throughout the year and perform factor analysis on a couple of referees in particular. A courageous performance, Newcastle Knights, against impossible odds.
Marvyn Smith, Heddon Greta
SHORT TAKES
THE moments that changed the world forever were not the events of 9/11, but rather the events that occurred 75 years ago. On that day the Americans dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and 100,000 innocent men, women and children died (plus their pets). Many of those people were vaporised. Mankind now had the ability to destroy itself. We have been making a big fuss over the nearly 3000 who died in the Twin Towers, which included Australians, but do we ever pause to remember that awful day when so many innocent souls perished in Japan?
Alan Kendall, Neath
I FIND it hard to believe that someone so expert on everything on this page like Carl Stevenson, (Letters, 13/9), could get it so wrong. The Liberal Party members of parliament are the only ones to choose and vote for their leader. The more democratic Labor chooses theirs first by a postal ballot by all party members, grass roots, from all over the country. Then a vote by the caucus, nothing more than the members of Parliament just like the Liberal Party. To win the Labor leadership you have to win both, which have equal weight.
Colin Fordham, Lambton
AUSTRALIA, it's time to open up which unfortunately means more positive COVID-19 because we are dealing with the infectious Delta variant. Unfortunately it means people who get COVID-19 will get very sick and have long term complications. Unfortunately it means people with underlying problems who might even be fully vaccinated will die. This COVID-19 Delta variant is here to stay, and I've just heard there are 19 variants in Africa, a continent that is only 3 per cent vaccinated. The end of this pandemic is far from over. We are at the crossroads and the future looks up in the air.
Peter Selmeci, Murrays Beach
HOW ironic Kristina Keneally being endorsed to the seat of Fowler. In my opinion her past smells worse than an off pork chop.
Mick Porter, Raymond Terrace
CARL Stevenson, (Letters, 13/9), suggests that unions should not be running the country. So do you think it's alright for the country to be controlled by a billionaire media magnate who doesn't even live here yet and still has a huge say in the majority of the decisions this government makes? The unions and ordinary working people are the only things the Labor party has. And these are the very people this government is trying to crush. While on their side they have someone who has every conservative leader around the world in the palm of his hand.
Barry Reed, Islington
IT'S a cushy life for some, who can decide when they feel the need to be accountable. I believe that sums up the obvious sentiment behind Gladys Berejiklian's current attitude to her job.