Letters, November 18 2022: Live music or quiet? Planning gives Newcastle both

Communities change, needs change and venues might need to change too. Many have. There are places where a night economy thrives, and places where it should be discouraged. That's town planning, and it is important that our city is planned to be the best place to live, work, and play. And the best place for hospitality and entertainment.

Some venues have signs requesting respect for their neighbours. I think that is a central issue. It seems some patrons defending the music scene want everyone to ignore what neighbours find offensive. It is not a debate about noise, or being there first - it's about a rise in anti-social behaviour. And that needs to be constantly addressed if our city is to be a safe place for everyone. Other patrons, passers-by and neighbours all have a right to be part of a safe and vibrant community. We are creating the future, more than a good night out.

AS the family of the woman at the centre of the allegations of neglect and inadequate care at Lara Dungog ('COVID-19 outbreak forces nursing home into dorm-style care', Herald 17/11), we would like to go on the record stating that we have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for the staff at Lara Dungog. The way the staff and management have conducted themselves in the face of difficulties is nothing but admirable and professional. Thanks to the staff at Lara, our mother survived her first COVID infection and is now back in her own room. While our mother has been in Lara, all staff have been polite, professional and compassionate.

TO Denise Lindus Trummel and others who have moved into the city precinct: in the 1960s we danced to the music at Tyrell House, City Hall, the Palais and YMCA in Mayfield, all within earshot of residents. You probably visited some of those haunts in your day as well. Did you care about the residents while you were enjoying yourselves? I think not.

There are a number of over-55s villages in Fern Bay and surrounds, we all moved here knowing Williamtown airport and RAAF base were there many many years before we moved. We don't complain as it was our choice to move here, just as it was your choice to move into the city. I suggest if it is all too much, then you have a choice to move out to the suburbs again.

CORRECT Ian King, (Short Takes, 15/11), no-one has to agree with everyone else about anything, but merely disagreeing with someone does not give one more rights than whoever they are disagreeing with. However, I would argue that any live music venues (should) have more rights than any blow-ins who seem to disagree with the venues' very existence. If, as you said "people who live near live music venues are entitled to the same peaceful enjoyment of life as others", does that mean that when I lived near a busy main road I shouldn't have had to deal with heavy traffic noise?

Of course not. Such noise was always going to be inevitable, and it was my decision to move into a noisy area. Funnily enough, I did in fact move into a house near a "motorcyclist enthusiast" who, before moving away a few years back, would often rev his bike up at around 2am. But there was of course no way I was to know about this situation before I decided to move into the area, unlike absolutely anyone who decides to move into an area near a live music venue.

WILL solar panels be a curse like asbestos? Will they need to be safely removed and disposed of into landfill because of the substances they contain?

Solar panels contain a mixture of lead, cadmium and other carcinogenic chemicals that cannot be removed and will not break down. They will eventually become brittle and break down into airborne particles over a period of time. It's expected the cost of safe handling, storage and disposal will be similar to asbestos, but on a much larger scale. If anything deserves a royal commission it will be the legacy solar panels will leave for future generations, especially in the numbers this government has planned.

I would expect it will take a very brave editor, or a journalist with a moral responsibility who won't be pressured with political influence, to create public awareness to stop this toxic legacy from being a curse for future generations. November is asbestos awareness month; maybe solar panel awareness should be seen as much the same.

THE world has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times. So why did Paris settle on a target of 1.5 degrees of warming? At that level, the minimum rise now expected, tipping points move from being possible to likely: the collapse of the ice sheets in west Antarctica and Greenland; the die-off of tropical coral reefs and the rapid thaw of northern permafrost.

Australia has about 30,000 square kilometres of land at two metres or less above sea level, home to about 300,000 people. As the oceans and atmosphere's warm, weather events become more extreme. At 1.5 degrees warming, it is likely that 99 per cent of the world's reefs will experience heat waves that are too frequent for them to recover. For example, the Great Barrier Reef has already experienced four mass bleaching events in the last six years alone.

While the focus at COP27 has been on the loss and damage to developing countries, five failed consecutive rainy seasons in Africa for example, it is imperative that the world stops emitting greenhouse gases as fast as possible. The willingness of the US and China to resume relations and work together again on climate change is very positive news. Australia's pledge to reduce methane emissions is also a good start.

THERE is no container freight strategy for the Port of Newcastle due to government policy. A clear opportunity exists to build a dedicated rail freight line between the port, Badgerys Creek and Port Kembla, which can be funded by replacing container trucking through Port Botany as the means of transporting containers in NSW.

Ignoring the need for a container freight strategy is irresponsible public policy. By selling-off the 52-hectare Intertrade site at the port, ("Port waits on site sail", Herald 14/11), the state government is restricting a railway line for serving the container terminal. A container terminal without a freight strategy is what is being proposed. It is time for Labor to oppose selling the Intertrade site pending a freight strategy.

I'M not one to pour cold water on a bad idea, but what is on my mind is the absolutely adorable animated cartoon kangaroo called Ruby, who is the ambassador for Tourism Australia's campaign to encourage tourists to return to our shores. I'm concerned that if the hoped-for tourists decide to do a little research about our iconic kangaroos, they will find a horror story. They will discover that every night of the year kangaroos flee in terror as they're shot by hunters in utes. They are being slaughtered at an alarming rate to supply the lucrative meat and skin trade. The numbers are well in excess of one and a half million kangaroos killed annually, and this figure does not include juveniles (joeys) at foot who, if not killed on the spot, will run away when their mother is shot and die of starvation or predation. Nor does it include babies in the pouch. Sorry to rain on your parade Ruby, but I think you've been conned.

CAN Frank Ward OAM please come out of retirement and run for NSW Premier? He does not need to create a policy platform, just copy-and-paste his letters on these pages, exemplified by his brutally clear analysis of housing policy, ("Stamp duty shift win only for some", Letters, 16/11). I know Frank's getting on in years but surely that's no problem in a world where men in their 70s and 80s look like running for the US Presidency!

IT'S not right the way juveniles are being treated in detention, but little is said about how these kids end up there, particularly Aboriginals as highlighted in the Four Corners report. They are living in communities almost totally reliant on welfare, they get minimal education, they are using drugs and alcohol from a very young age and committing petty crimes. The problems lie in the environment they grow up in, and that's what needs to be addressed. These people have to take responsibility for their actions, particularly when a lot of these juveniles are recalcitrant.

COLIN Rowlatt asks will Trump ever be brought to justice for his crimes against the American people. (Short Takes, 16/11). I ask will America ever be brought to justice for its war crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam? I say no. American society was built on slavery, arms deals, war games, and murder of its original inhabitants. American democracy is a myth, governed by capitalism. Australia and America are birds of a feather who cuddle together.

VERY funny Steve Barnett, but I think you may have shot yourself in the foot about screwing the tax man. He might just be coming your way after that comment, and no amount of "Rehc Tubs k'la" will get you out of that one. (Butchers talk).