Both facilities were suitable for temporary accommodation not so long ago. Supposedly the mothballed units, state-owned, have sewage problems and electrical faults making them unsafe or fiscally impractical to use. Neither of these circumstances were evident in the recent usage. I find it suspicious that the dormitory units, and cottages are considered less safe than folks living in cars in winter with their children. Doubting the motivation for rejecting permanent changes of use my questioning would be who, under what authority, advised they were not fit for use?

Do those who objected have special interests in these properties for other purposes, and is there a plan to sell off the sites to anyone? Our current extreme levels of homelessness require every effort by state and federal governments' urgent attention. Lip service to homelessness for victims of violence and families homeless for many reasons make actions, however well meant a drop in the bucket. Once was the time that homeless were seen to be alcoholics and addicts, but the newer breed are the lost Aussies who are ignored and forgotten. Thirty thousand new homes sounds a lot. We have nearly half a million in this situation now, and an estimated 70,000 are families.

Do something, we have so many buildings fit for purpose, except for red tape.

I HAVE often thought and said that the vacant housing that is government owned ought to be used as accommodation when there is a need for emergency housing. Since all governments since at least 1970 have failed to allow affordable housing to be a reality, urgent action must be taken to get the homeless off the streets. While there may be some minor issues at Stockton and Nelson Bay, the continuous failure of both state and federal governments to deliver on long-term housing policies has a strong degree of responsibility in the housing problems. Making affordable housing for all Australians ought to become the main game of both governments. Even if not as pristine conditions as one might dream of, these buildings were sufficient to house many people a short time ago.

Governments need to begin to think about what can be done rather than what can't. A new hospital is built in the middle of a bed shortage and the old hospital is closed down, so the new hospital does not do much to increase the net number of hospital beds. All this is illogical, especially since the logic behind the shut downs during COVID was that the hospitals could not cope.

WHAT a beautiful letter from Dr Barney Langford concerning the Voice to Parliament, ('Past sins show need for change', Letters 10/8). In just a few words, Dr Langford has explained why it is a moral imperative that the Australian people support the Uluru Statement from the Heart and one of its constituent parts, the Voice.

Like myself and no doubt many other readers and contributors, Dr Langford would have grown up and received his education at a time when First Nations people were not included in Australia's story. We were taught that our history started in 1770 when Captain Cook sailed up the east coast; "Aborigines" were referred to, if at all, in passing as the noble savage who stood on the shores but played no part in the "discovery" and settlement of Australia. They were effectively airbrushed out of history.

It is only since about the 1960s that a concerted effort has been made at many levels of Australian society (except, notably, among many conservative politicians) to acknowledge that First Nations people were actually here before us, to recognise their extraordinary history of survival over tens of thousands of years, their innate knowledge and skills in thriving in the harsh Australian environment and, importantly, to recognise and accept responsibility for the mistreatment, amounting almost to attempted genocide, meted out by earlier colonists and governments. I trust Dr Langford's eloquent explanation will help those readers who were unaware of this history of colonisation and mistreatment of the original inhabitants, or who do not understand the simple, generous message and invitation enshrined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

I READ a very sensible letter from Bob Allen, ('Learn the lessons from teachers of the past', Letters 10/8). I agree with his sentiments. Sadly, I do not think that we will ever return to the days when most pre-service trainee teachers had a scholarship that covered their fees and provided a small fortnightly living allowance and in return, they entered into a bond that said that they would teach anywhere in NSW for five years. A pity, really; it was a system that worked quite well. I also agree that today's teachers have far too much added to their plate that simply takes time away from the core business of teaching and developing positive, professional, interpersonal relationships with children and young people ~ that is where teaching should return its focus.

Another item to streamline is the written report to parents. Some years ago, it was deemed necessary to personalise these reports and to include more information. That became a multi-page document that is filled with waffle which is most often generated by a computer program. What do parents really need (and want) to know? If their child is well behaved and compliant, if they are engaged in the learning, and how they are performing in each subject.

That is - are they achieving at age /grade/year level? Or above the standard for that year of school? Or achieving below what is expected at that year of school? Or, in some cases, is the child/young person following an individual program designed to meet their special needs?

Surely all of this information can be well documented on a one-page report to parents, simple but effective. If there are further issues to discuss or if clarification is sought, this is best dealt with at a parent teacher meeting (I have never liked the term "interview" as it takes away the idea of speaking freely and working together for the best interest of the child/ young person.)

In short, my advice to those in charge is to give teaching time back to teachers, make teaching enjoyable again, and relieve teachers of the largely unproductive admin.

I do hope that the current education review occurring in NSW takes note of the observations of retired educators and current teachers in its deliberations. I also hope that the NSW Education Minister and Opposition education spokesperson would similarly reflect on the thoughts of current and past teachers and educators.

SURPRISE surprise: CommBank makes record profits while people struggle and the government has to spend billions in assistance. Stop CEOs being paid millions and make huge profiting companies pay their share of tax.

THE Newcastle Knights' men's first grade side, which is traditionally the core of the club, seems to be falling away. It would seem to me at this time they are more interested in the women's competition, signing players right, left and centre. It would seem that there is less interest in what is happening with the first grade. They've only signed a couple of forwards who are in my opinion not game-breakers. They also have two players in Ponga and Best who I think are liabilities in regards to their injury problems that are well documented. Let's get a good scout out for some young players with ability and a will to win and a bit of a hard edge. If they don't, they will be more than often looking at a wooden spoon instead of a third NRL premiership.

JOHN Milne, (Short Takes, 5/8), you're sick of petty arguments? Sounds to me like a pretty petty complaint.

ME too Robert Tacon, (Short Takes 10/8). But I had assumed that Julie Robinson's letter, ('No masking what really matters', Letters 4/8), was an attempt at satire. No one could be that thoughtless could they. to not care about our most vulnerable and openly express a lack of empathy for the people still dying of COVID and their families?

WONDERS will never cease, a letter to the editors page (10/8) with no comments from either Adz Carter or Steve Barnett on the same day. Amazing.

JOHN Arnold (Letters, 8/8), suggests that the US and NATO provoked Russia's invasion of Ukraine by not addressing the Kremlin's list of demands. Never mind that Russia's demands impinge upon Ukraine's free exercise of its sovereignty. They recall China's demands of Australia, including one that Australia must reject "manipulation by a third party", meaning the US. Anthony Albanese rightly said we respond to our own national interest, not demands. Isn't it the lesson of history that appeasement of international bullies doesn't work? It's true that Ukraine is no model democracy. The Economist's 'Democracy Index' (2021) classifies Ukraine as a "hybrid regime", somewhere between democracy and authoritarianism, and says the whole of Eastern Europe is a region characterised by a weak political culture, difficulties in creating institutions aimed at safeguarding the rule of law and persistent issues with corruption. Still, that's no excuse for Russia to invade, target defenceless civilians, appropriate Ukrainian territory and lay waste to cities.

I BELIEVE the only problem the NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has to deal with is too many snouts for too few troughs.