So too is his unquenched defence of the City of Newcastle council regarding the fate of our priceless baths. The council's primary consultative process was the community reference group meetings.

A number of relatively minor suggestions were adopted by council from these. However, the critical contentious issues concerned the likely huge costs and negative heritage, social and environmental impacts of two controversial issues - the massive concrete slab floor and raising the height of the baths - were in our opinion never up for substantive discussion despite our requests.

The same much-needed comprehensive and evidence-informed debate never occurred at the council meeting in November 2021, just before the council election that led to unanimous approval for the works.

I believe Mr Scott's assertions appear to have been influenced by council's manufactured consent approach to community consultation, where tick-the-box processes override substantive outcomes reached through informed sensible discussions. A fatal flaw in Mr Scott's support of council's inadequate consultative process is that the general public of our city and the regional users of our iconic baths were, in our opinion, never afforded a reasonable direct opportunity to consider any independent and reliable cost/benefit analysis and detailed environmental impact assessment of the proposed works. Nor were they afforded any personal opportunity to lodge any objections, which occurs with lower cost development applications.

We understand no independent professional wave study analysis was undertaken to determine the appropriate height (if any) the baths should rise and rate of sand deposition. We fear the absence of such data in the designs could cost ratepayers and users dearly in future years.

Ian Pederson, a highly respected professional engineer (Letters 1/3) expressed similar concerns about the baths' restoration regarding the need for an independent technical evaluation. Such an inclusive and fully transparent, external review is essential to ensure best value for ratepayers.

FOR 60 odd years I have been a Labor voter, but I am about to desert the sinking ship because I am totally disgusted with the party and its pathetic leadership. I have not heard Albo say anything good about our present government and let's not forget, he is the same man that said quite plainly that in his term, he would not snipe at the government and be supportive in times of crisis.

Although I am critical of Labor, I am totally done with the whinging about flood insurance and the expectation of government handouts. For one, these people continue to live in flood-prone areas that for over 80 years have been flooded time and time again. I believe they don't pay insurance, they mistakenly think that floods are a thing of the past and over time save a bundle by not insuring. Then the dice rolls, they get flooded again and then expect us to pick up the tab to re-establish themselves and generally stay in the same house.

I personally know of one house that has had big water in it about 10 times, but still, the same family stays there, whinge, and expect handouts. We used to call Poms whingers, but compared with the new age Aussies, they are rank amateurs. Come on Australia, have respect for our leaders; pay your way and get your finger back to where it should be. Don't complain because it is easy. Do something for yourself and make our country great and tough again.

I'M sorry Newcastle Herald, but your editorial ("Ley's coal win headed for High Court", 16/3) makes it clear that coal's environmental impacts are not, in fact, understood and accepted, not if our paper frames these impacts solely in moral terms. Yes, it is immoral to let people in Lismore and many other places like it become collateral damage because we want to keep making money causing climate change. Yes, it is immoral to leave our descendents in misery and hardship for generations to come. But immorality is only one aspect of this damage.

What about the spread of mosquito-borne disease? What about the daunting clean-up and rebuilding cost of flood and fire, or the lives lost to extreme heat? What about arable land lost to altered weather patterns or the chaos of coastal inundation in large cities and mass migration and upheaval? The disruption that extreme weather is already causing to food, water and transport systems is the effect of only one degree of average global warming.

Contrary to your editorial, it doesn't seem to me that most people do understand and accept how much worse this is likely to get if warming continues. It is only reasonable to ask those who insist that coal cash now is worth the price of climate extremes do some reading and soul-searching about how many lives and livelihoods they're dumping on the other side of the ledger for their own convenience and comfort.

YES Peter Devey, (Short Takes, 16/3), you can cherry pick figures to suggest that climate change doesn't exist, and all those thousands of scientists across the world don't know what they are talking about. Personally I believe in direct evidence that I can see and read. Glacier National Park in the US was first explored, documented and photographed in the late 1800s. At that time there were around 150 active glaciers identified and listed. Now the number is reduced to only 25, and the expectation is that by 2030 there will be none. Those glaciers have been there for thousands of years. I wonder where they have gone. Have climate activists come in at night to spirit them away? Maybe climate change does exist after all. By the way. the same thing is happening across the world, this happens to be the best documented.

ON the weekend I attended the Under The Southern Stars and Scene & Heard festivals, witnessed no violence, and the police I spoke to said that no arrests were made, and that everyone attending was extremely well behaved. This would probably defy belief for some people, as alcohol was served at both events. Oh, and despite alcohol being served, I didn't catch COVID either. But maybe I was safe from COVID because neither festival served shots of alcohol.

MAYBE it's time for the council to fence off Frazer Park so that people cannot gain access ('Sea tragedy', Newcastle Herald 14/3). Obviously people are overconfident of their own abilities or cannot read as drownings just keep on happening there. Barriers have been put up elsewhere in dangerous spots, so why not here?

PETER Dolan (Letters, 15/3) regularly appears on this page to parse and pick at statistics on COVID vaccination efficacy. However, he never really makes clear the point. Vaccines aren't perfect? Well, yes, but I've never heard anyone claim they are. Is it all part of a plot by Big Brother to snatch away our freedoms? It's a bit late to worry about that; it's been happening for decades. One thing is, however, clear. Although the unvaccinated are in a rapidly-shrinking cohort, last I looked they were nine times more likely than the vaccinated to end up in hospital with COVID, and 24 times more likely to die. So if Mr Dolan is saying that vaccination doesn't make hospitalisation and death statistically less likely, he's wrong.

DON Fraser, (Short Takes, 15/3) Albo did not mention John Howard by name (this was reported in the Murdoch press). He did however make reference to Hawke and Keating, and alluded to other good leaders. I'm afraid Scotty does not fit that mould and I hope we'll see the tail end of him soon.

The PM accuses the Opposition Leader of trying to present himself to the Australian voters as someone other than himself. Funny, the PM is doing the same thing. We all know the type of person he is, but he tells us he is not that person at all. What were those colourful words his colleagues called him; liar, horrible, a psycho and possibly a few that cannot be mentioned. We all know who and what you are Scomo and hopefully you will get your just reward at the election.

Scott Morrison is yesterday's man. Unable to grasp the new realities of living in Australia. He needs to go away and reflect on the things he could have done so much better for all Australians if it wasn't for his belief in miracles to improve our lot in life. You actually have to do practical things via government agencies rather than shift the blame when it all goes to mud. An election in May should bring relief to us all for a job not at all well done.

We could have built dams to mitigate floods and store water, but we didn't - we built desal plants. Why? Because we listened to the Peer Reviewed Up To The Minute Climate Scientology. Ooops!

The Victorian CFMEU is now saying nuclear power would provide "secure, reliable, low-cost power" to complement renewable energy in the power supply mix. I wonder what Labor's assistant climate change spokesman Pat Conroy (an old CFMEU union man) has to say about this? Do not hold your breath waiting for a reply.