In their normal life, apart from their selected sporting endeavours, I believe they are also at some disadvantage compared to those of us without disabilities. Mr Tierney mentions a swimmer with no arms; I observed such a competitor at the Sydney Paralympic Games, unbelievable.

Until Tokyo, I was not aware of cash rewards being paid to our medal winners. However, I believe that a further inequity has now been allowed to occur by our federal government giving matching payments to Paralympic medal winners. I contend that all of our Paralympians should be treated equally for their supreme efforts, and therefore the allocated prize money should be equally distributed between all of our competitors, not just the medal winners. They are all winners in my book.

AS a long-term ALP member and born and raised Hunter resident I am appalled that the ALP could parachute a candidate into the seat of Hunter without a pre-selection. This candidate joined the party in August 2021. How does being a sports person make the best politician?

I believe that the seat of Hunter should have a candidate who is a grassroots member of the ALP and who has the Hunter's best interests at heart. There should be a pre-selection for this seat as, for the past 25 years, there has not been one.

A HUNTER Valley sawmill is doing deals to export thousands of tonnes of wood chips from Newcastle Port ('Sweetman's biomass push', Herald, 8/9). Emerging renewables energy business Sweetman Renewables Limited hopes to export wood chip biomass and apparently signed a 20-year, $90 million supply contract with a Japanese conglomerate. This company has already signed a multi-million dollar agreement with CAC-H2 Private Limited from Singapore. This deal aims to establish Australia's first wood-fed hydrogen production plant and the country's largest green bio-hydrogen production eco-hub.

What will become of our flora/fauna and state forests? When did the people of NSW get to have a say about the use of our forests in this way, which will negatively impact so much of our natural heritage, especially after recent droughts and bushfires?

In my opinion, this plan is audacious and disgusting. Woodchip exports from Newcastle ended in 2013 after a long campaign to save north coast forests. It would be tragic if they were to restart wood chipping. While environmentalists and citizens are desperately protecting forests for koalas and gliders, these companies are busy suggesting new ways to mulch their habitat, export it, and burn it to make electricity.

The company is claiming that burning "biomass" is green. But how can it be if you are extracting volumes of trees including wildlife habitat from our forests and burning or mulching it?

SO Nick Minchin thinks the high cost of our submarines is all due to our obsession with providing local employment and perhaps nothing to do with a team of defense supply negotiators who seem to be hopelessly incompetent when bargaining for the F35 or the submarine?

Many of the problems with the Collins class sub were due to imported components which either failed or had compatibility problems. Swedes with their high wages can build all sorts of defence equipment because of the investment in technology that came with their manufacturing industry. We destroyed our industry, which at one time could design and manufacture cars that were exported around the world. We built ships of complexity and quality, our fast ferries still hold the world's speed record and we even built our own version of the Sabre fighter plane that was better than the US version. It was not our obsession with local employment that has driven the price of defense equipment, it's our obsession with "sticking to things we are good at" meaning of course digging holes, a policy that seems to have come from the mining industry.

AS I have often said in previous correspondence, the decisions and actions taken to allegedly revitalise Newcastle were some of the least logical decisions made and I have often wondered why. We were told that the railway was a barrier and it had to go. We were also told light rail would bring people back into the city.

If these statements were correct, the city would be booming and people would be everywhere like it was when I was growing up in the 1960s. I remember when Thursday night shopping began, Hunter Street was crowded. It's not like that now.

Before the closure of the railway, many of us who protested closure were put down and derided. We could see what was going to happen. Surely the decision makers both corporate and government could see what was going to happen as well.

So why did they do what they did? Some are saying that the real purpose of closure of the railway was to keep the working class out and make the city an enclave for the rich and infamous. The units in the new developments would be very expensive and unless you have money; lots of it, you won't be able to live there. At first I scoffed at this idea, but when I see what has happened I'm beginning to wonder. I'm surprised at the number of people I've spoken to who also believe this. In any case, whether this was intended or not, Newcastle is set to become an enclave for the rich and infamous whether we like it or not. The revitalisation we were promised was never going to happen.

MARK Dicker and Alexandra Mexon ('The heroes who treat COVID-19 patients', 'Life in the John Hunter COVID ward', Herald, 11/9) thank you for all you and your teams are doing. I must say, getting a vaccination is a lot harder than saying so, especially when you have had appointments cancelled due to vaccines being taken to Sydney for year 12 students or you have not been provided with booking codes. People are trying to get vaccinated but appointments are more than three months away, so they have to go on and try every day and get a sooner appointment. So sometimes it is not so easy.

IN answer to Carl Stevenson (Letters, 13/9) Gough Whitlam was the last Labor PM who wasn't either a union hack or a political apparatchik. He had a real job as a barrister after serving in the RAAF in World War II. Can anyone imagine the modern ALP pre-selecting someone like Gough now, or anyone who wasn't a union hack?

IN my view the issue with the Morrison father's day saga is not that he went but the fact that attempts were made to hide the fact. Rather than be up-front and admit he returned to Sydney to be with his family, the spin doctors gave the impression that a photo of the event was actually an earlier photo. Both sides of government seem to think that deception is fair game and if they can get away with it and score a few political points it is OK. However, the current Liberal-National coalition are gold medalists. Bring on a federal ICAC.

GOOD on you, Peter Devey (Letters, 14/9). You correctly point out the hypocrisy of the Labor supporters and their negative comments on anything and everything they can blame on the Prime Minister. It is quite astounding that some people have lost, or have never had, the capacity to analyse, recognise and give credit, where due, to what is best for the majority of Australians but instead only criticise based on their blinkered political views.

I HAVE to agree with Mr Parrey's comments regarding the Knights' loss to Parramatta (Short Takes, 14/9). Kaylyn Ponga looked nice, was classy in attack, created scoring opportunities, however the Knights need a fullback who can tackle.

AM I being too cynical for wondering if Joel has retired because he believes that he (and presumably any other pre-selected candidate) can't win at the next election?

DAVID Davies (Short Takes, 11/9) I don't recall any occasions where either Annastacia Palaszczuk or Mark McGowan have even suggested, let alone stated, that they've eliminated COVID from their respective states. I do however, recall Gladys Berejiklian stating that here in NSW, we have "exciting things to look forward to", and if she actually thinks that that's actually going to happen any time soon, then I would suggest that it's her who believes in the tooth fairy.

I HAVE visited the Hunter Botanic Gardens about once a year for over 20 years and have always enjoyed the time spent there. When the lockdown finishes I suggest that people pay this well known landmark a visit. I'd also like to compliment the volunteers who do such a great job.

JOHN Bonnyman, I couldn't agree more. Reuniting football players with their spouses should take priority over people wishing to see dying family members or reuniting three-year-old children with their parents.