While ever the NRL cannot acknowledge its mistakes, things will never get better.

The NRL has lost the plot on the use of the bunker. It was supposed to stop howlers/shockers and make the game better.

Now the bunker is running the game and, with all of the camera angles and slow motion effects, regularly manages to interpret the outcome differently to what is obvious.

If this is the best they can do with video technology, heaven help us when they introduce forward pass technology!

I'm not sure how they will convince technology that a ball finishing in front of where it is passed is not a forward pass.

On that note, a player in front of the dummy half when the ball is passed to them isn't a forward pass. It is offside.

Don't get me started on voluntary tackles. It used to be referred to as a dog act, second only to a head-high tackle!

PETER Mullins, you have taken the words clean out of my mind ('Why I'm switching off the game I used to love', Letters, 25/5) as far as rugby league is concerned.

It is no longer rugby league. The huge number of ridiculous rule changes have made it too annoying for me to watch.

The game is especially slowed down enormously by defenders laying all over tackled players and holding them down. A certain club from a non-rugby league state introduced this cheating tactic some years ago and the referees must be under instruction to now allow all teams to do it. The scrums are a joke, play-the-ball breaches are rife and hardly any players can tackle these days.

You are so right about the positional play of wingers. Scoreboards are almost like Aussie Rules numbers.

The name "rugby league" should be changed to "commercialised BS". It is no longer a sport.

NO doubt the LNP is in a state of shock and disbelief at the decimation of their party and with their history of ignoring the concerns of the Australian people and their hesitancy for reflection and change - let's give them a hand, shall we?

We'll head straight to Scott Morrison, or ScoMo as he is known. His religious, knockabout and blokey image worked for a while but as time wore on it was clear that Morrison wasn't so easy to fathom.

It began to slowly dawn that he had one finger in the Christian Pentecostal pie, but the majority of the man was a fully-fledged member of the LNP elite boys' club and soon the cracks of hypocrisy began to show.

His disregard and failure to address inappropriate and criminal behaviours towards women of the party is just one example.

The Libs have always prided themselves on economic prowess but the utter waste, negligence and rorting of the public purse left education, aged care and health institutions needy and begging.

Those most disadvantaged and vulnerable like the homeless, refugees and those on inadequate JobSeeker payments quickly discovered his hardness of heart and lack of mercy.

Finally Morrison's hypocrisy became so apparent it glowed in the dark and couldn't be ignored.

OUR new prime minister has advised the recent Quad meeting that Australia will be increasing its efforts with carbon reduction.

Listening was India's prime minister, Narendra Modi. Seemingly, India and China, classed as 'underdeveloped countries', will not adhere to anything related to the Paris Agreement until at least 2030. China is then most likely to ignore that target date.

Whilst Australia is intending to increase its manufacturing efforts, with electricity prices already on the move upwards, goods produced in Australia cannot be competitive in the world market, although these goods can be consumed in Australia.

With both India and China continuing to build coal-fired electricity plants, what is the rush for Australia to reduce emissions from coal-fired electricity production when our efforts are being negated 20 or more times by China and India, and our efforts in increasing manufacturing will not gain us any worthwhile profits from the world market?

China and India are possibly the two largest manufacturing countries in the world. I wonder whether Mr Albanese reconciled any of this in his discussions with the Indian prime minister?

IT seems that the Teal Independents and The Greens have far more ambitious plans than the Labor Party has, concerning the timing of phasing out the use of fossil fuels to produce energy.

I can see major problems emerging if clear thinking fails to manifest itself quickly, in regard to this all-important matter.

It will be of the utmost importance, in my opinion, for the Teal group, The Greens, and the Labor Party to realise that if ever is the right time, for some sensible give-and-take concerning the timing of phasing out using fossil fuels, it is, without a shadow of doubt, now.

This opportunity to phase out using fossil fuels, over a period, must not be lost.

WITH a belated message that Scott Morrison was to recommend a shipping container terminal for Newcastle, it can be assumed the new government will do the same.

Before any action takes place, I suggest the people living in Mayfield and outer transport suburbs should know how many containers per day will be transported, which streets will be used, and at what times these trucks will be working, for residents to have a say.

What most don't realise is that most trucks will be coming from Sydney trucking companies with Sydney drivers, and if 3000 container movements per day happens as suggested, it equates to 6000 trucks per day, being 3000 driving to the terminal and 3000 driving out of the terminal, 250 trucks every hour, or one every fourteen seconds, for a 24-hour operation.

Some will say why bother, because I live at Dora Creek? Even now an increase in traffic flow has me waiting much longer to enter the main road.

Once this continual convoy of trucks begins, I foresee more traffic lights needed from the terminal to the freeway to provide a gap in traffic flow and allow local transport to move.

To consider railway transportation rather than trucks, railway transport creates double handling and double costing, trucks not trains, delivered to the final destination.

As for government investment, It should be a mandate that government investment in this profit generating business should expect a return on investment to a percentage value of total cost, paid for by way of shares, thus a position on the board of directors.

If this is unsuitable, then I suggest this business is unsuitable for taxpayer support.

WHILE being sympathetic to young police trainees and acknowledging the need for these essential services to live within our communities ('High price of joining force too much to cop, Newcastle Herald, 24/5), they are not alone and there is a need to look after all essential services such as nurses, teachers, ambulance drivers - many who work long shifts and drive home fatigued. Perhaps it is time we reverted to supplying houses as was done in the past. Wages were low but at least there was a roof over their heads within the community not too far from work.

WELL said Peter Mullins ('Why I'm switching off a game I used to love', Letters, 25/5). I'll bet NRL refs get paid more than a lot of players, yet have to refer most things to their boss in the bunker. I'm beginning to like golf more as well.

NOW we wait to see who will lead the Coalition ('Dutton in one-horse race for leadership', Herald, 26/5). Already they're making noises about returning to Liberal values - whatever the heck they're supposed to be! But imagine Nationals who actually cared about agriculture, the environment and farmers. Imagine Liberals who actually cared about, umm, well anything, really. Imagine an opposition that believed in a contest of ideas instead of a mission to destroy. Just imagine.

CONFUCIOUS said: "Good government is attained when those who are near are made happy, and those who are far away are attracted". May I add, not pointing the finger at people who do not fit their alien political requirements.

JOHN Tierney, no-one is better qualified to lead a minority government than Mr Albanese ('No democratic serenity with Seinfeld result', Opinion, 26/2). Despite the opposition's manufactured "unworkable" government, by "speaking it" the very tough - yes - Mr Albanese is credited with the smooth running of the strong minority government parliament from 2010 to 2013. It seems Mr Albanese is very inclusive, collaborative, consultative and cooperative.

READING about Port Stephens Council's dire financial situation ('Council cash grab reaches grants bucket', Herald, 26/5), Mayor Ryan Palmer a couple of weeks ago splashed out on a top-range four-wheel-drive vehicle costing $86,000 of taxpayers' money ('Price of mayor's new car queried', Port Stephens Examiner, 18/5). Questions were asked why he needed a vehicle of that calibre. Now I know the answer. It's so he gets a smoother ride over the big potholes that council can no longer afford to fix.

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