There are at least five separate state and local government departments and agencies already directly involved. The so-called 'Hunter Park Masterplan', released by Venues NSW for comment in 2017, is all the public have seen and it has already been changed beyond recognition by new additions and developments on the site.

There has been no proper public consultation, no transparent discussion between agencies, and no clear idea of how the city will accommodate a brand-new 21st century suburb of 7000 people in its heart.

Symbolic of this shambles is the name. Hunter Park? Where did that come from? Who decided? Who was asked? Nobody knows. Isn't a valley, a river, a hospital, a beer and a main street enough? Not even the marketers who named it a 'blockbuster precinct' could claim the name is imaginative, contemporary or innovative.

This is public land. Let's step back, take our time, and work together to make this a showcase urban renewal project. The ball's in our court.

WELL it's crept up on us again. The dreaded Australia Day awards and the naming of Australian of the Year. I don't know about you, but I think we all deserve an accolade this year. It's about time the awards were given to every single one of us "ordinary" Aussies. We have all (well most of us anyway) done a darn good job in keeping this country working this year.

OK, you can say that it's perfectly wonderful to give a young woman the top honour for fighting acts of violence against women.

In my opinion, generally speaking, the place of women in this country has improved a lot because of us ordinary women who for decades have silently strode our way through the forest to be the very best that we can, demanded our own private expectations be respected and in the process, role modelled for our own daughters and colleagues. We haven't gone out to have our faces plastered across the papers. We have been silent achievers and achieved much.

And there are so many really good caring and thoughtful men in this country. We don't see them hum drumming for publicity because they are good people. We don't give them the rightful recognition that they deserve.

I'm sure this year we will have to put up with the usual hype about the Australia Day awards but this girl is going to recognise all the unknown wonderful people in this country who truly deserve the honour of being called a "special Australian".

I LIVE in a street bordering Merewether High School. All day recently there was a mass removal of trees on the school campus. This also occurred last January. It should be noted that the school grounds have no large gums or "widow makers" that I'm aware of, so safety concerns would not appear to be an issue.

The shade, cooling and general environmental effects provided by these stands of trees are a significant benefit to the school population and surrounding bird and bat life. As a taxpayer and local resident, I would like to know the school's rationale for this tree removal, which seems quite wanton and unjustified, particularly in this time of climate crisis.

I BELIEVE John Ure ("No Hillsong penalty confounds", Letters, 21/1) and many local state and federal politicians show an anti-religious bias (or an anti-Hillsong bias) in their comments about the Hillsong camp at Glenrock. This event was attended by people who were at least twice vaccinated and RAT negative tested before entry of the event. The "singing and dancing" was performed under cover of a wall-less structure by young teenagers who did not have drinks or food at the time of that activity. Police attendance did give directions for "better COVID-19 safe conditions" but no charges were warranted at all.

Other venues that crammed people indoors with alcohol in hand, maskless and RAT test-less ... I await if any significant charges are laid against these venues.

John, I do not like Hillsong style of church. While the PM has attended that church, it does not make him a member, and who said a mess was left after the camp? Usually the organisers do in fact clean the area before leaving. Just because there is some negative press regarding Hillsong, justified or not, ought not to give you, and others, open slather to condemn anything that Hillsong does without justification. I am not certain where all the people attended live but I would suggest that there was a significant number of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie residents from the local Hillsong churches.

OLDER Australians should not accept - or be expected to accept - death from COVID so that others can resume their normal lives or because our health system is crumbling.

Oldies are not expendable or irrelevant; out of sight and out of mind. They should not accept their COVID deaths stoically because "they have lived their lives". They should not be expected to sacrifice their remaining years so that younger Australians can "live with COVID" or "let 'er rip". Older Australians' deaths from COVID should not be treated as statistics by NSW and federal government politicians who are largely responsible for the mess in the first place.

The longer people live, the more precious do their remaining years of life become.

Australia's organised labour movement has lost another inspirational and trusted leader with the passing last week of Fred Moore. During the 99.4 years of his life, Fred set a very high bar to be met by those with an aspiration of becoming working-class leaders. For over 50 of those 99 + years, I was fortunate to have Fred Moore as a mentor, comrade, and family friend.

Fred Moore was a respected leader in every way, a man so highly respected by his coal industry peers, he was the first and only member of the Miners Federation, awarded life membership while still a working coal miner. Those of us fortunate to have had Fred Moore as our leader in the many campaigns committed to improving the lot of coal industry workers, the traditional owners of this land and the Australian community have been extremely privileged.

There will be many tributes flowing in recognising Fred's value to the nation and rightly so. Vale, my loyal comrade, and much-loved friend .

GRACE Tame did the right thing by giving the PM the big snub. She knows this government has done nothing to solve the problem of violence against women in the 12 months since she was awarded the Australian of the Year. One can only hope that at the coming election, every female voter in this country also gives him the same big snub.

GRACE Tame; what an embarrassment for Australia. Acting like a petulant five-year-old on the last day of her tenure as Australian of the Year. Hopefully we have seen and heard the last of her. It was a slap in the face to all the great Aussies who treated the title with respect.

REGARDING Australia Day, January 26 - for those in our community who have a problem with this day, date, meaning, celebration. That's fine, as the last time I looked we are still a free country, but please do not be a hypocrite. If your feelings are so strong then I trust you didn't take the public holiday, just went to work as normal.

WHEN you are a professional sportsman in the public eye, it's usually the last or most recent act you're remembered for. But then along comes Nick Krygios, unintentionally hitting a tennis ball into the face of a young fan. Nick's obvious regret and handing a racquet to the lad is something of a true gentleman.

BRUCE Mackenzie ('Road Rage', Herald, 20/1) may have inadvertently generated stronger support for the proposed new section of Nelson Bay Road with his "over my dead body" statement.

MY heart bleeds for people like former mayor of Port Stephens, Bruce Mackenzie ('Road Rage', Herald, 20/1). The decisions that he would have been involved in which would have affected the lives of tens of thousands of people. It certainly doesn't matter to anyone in council until it affects you. Come check my place out after losing everything in a house fire and what red tape has cost me.

MEAT Loaf has gone to rock n roll heaven and left us with the unanswered question - what was it that Mr Loaf would not do for love. If it's the same thing I wouldn't do for love then I'm on the big fella's side, but if it was that other thing ... well as long as nobody is watching and gin is to blame, I'm comfortable with that. RIP Meat Loaf.

IT was not Mr Meat Loaf, super rockstar extraordinaire,who let some yobbo footy Melbourne crowd down, but the other way around, and I've had to sit and listen to those same gronks say how good it was when they were in NY to hear Bob Dylan live in a basement play bad harmonica.

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