Letters and short takes June 3 2023

Many years ago before work I would do my laps and then shower and get changed in the open-roof change rooms and leave feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead. Those fond memories are revisited often. A second storey would create shaded, dark and damp areas and would only serve to destroy one of the very few buildings not to be disfigured of late.

To my mind the proposal is just another money-grabbing idea by council to charge rent for the use of additional space. I think the ratepayers of Newcastle should ensure this idea is never progressed.

FROM when I was a small child I swam in Newcastle Ocean Baths. I have swum there most of my life. It is my happy place, and it improved my swimming stroke. There were always open-air change rooms, and we loved it.

Later as an adult I enjoyed the sun streaming in, drying my body. Is the only reason for covering the change rooms so that an additional building can be constructed above? The majority of the regular users are strongly opposed to this proposal, and where is the parking? Restore both change rooms in their original locations and listen to what the users of the baths want. Don't make the mistake of asking the relevant people what they see as the best outcome and then totally ignore them.

IN response to a recent article regarding the Hunter gas pipeline and the apparent bullying tactics used by Santos, I can assure landholders and interested people that the project isn't "ramping" quite as suggested. I believe this is evident from the poor attendance to their recent community info sessions held at Hexham, Tocal and Singleton.

By my count, no more than a dozen landholders attended across the three sessions, I believe highlighting the sheer resistance to the project. What Santos needs to understand is that the same old script followed by them and other energy companies over time won't cut it in 2023. We are far more informed and are standing together against a project that we believe is simply a bad idea. It's ironic that impacted landholders already have the answers to the questions that Santos staff appeared unable to answer.

It's also disappointing that NSW Farmers chose to have a strong presence at these meetings, knowing that some of its members believe this pipeline will be so detrimental. The irony of an esteemed agricultural college hosting the event also didn't go unnoticed. What's needed is for the broader community to take an interest. They're wanting to drill under your Hunter river five times and go through areas of the Maitland Flood Mitigation Scheme, all in the name of piping a product that will be redundant in ten years or less. Where we live could be impacted forever.

PETER Devey's curious take on Australian history ("Historical accounts not so rosy", Letters, 24/5), is, unfortunately, one that's still all too common. It amounts to this: the Indigenous people of this country got lucky in 1788, when they were rescued from their miserable existence by the arrival of "British values". They should be grateful for the benefits this stroke of good fortune has showered upon them, drop their grievances and blend into the background.

The paternalism, ignorance and insensitivity of such an attitude demonstrate precisely why progress on Indigenous well-being has been so hard, and why an Indigenous Voice is so sorely needed.

Mr Devey says "they (Indigenous people) do not need another Voice to parliament." Rather than tell Indigenous Australians what they need, we should do what we should have done long ago - listen.

THE recent stop work at the University of Newcastle (UN) raised some interesting issues. First, confected fears of the broad-based National Tertiary Education Union that universities routinely would use the law to resolve industrial disputes are remarkable. Negotiations for a new enterprise agreement at UN have been running for two years and now an independent umpire, the Fair Work Commission (FWC), has been called in to assist the parties reach agreement.

There is nothing new or controversial about the university (or any party) accessing longstanding conciliation provisions and advice from the FWC. These provisions were put in place by the Rudd/Gillard government in 2009 and have been used bring parties together with the assistance and guidance of the commission.

To be clear, there is no concerted campaign by the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association (AHEIA) or its member universities to drive down wages and conditions through the use of the law. This is totally untrue.

It is disappointing, especially for university staff, that the union appears focused on baseless rhetoric and sloganeering despite genuine efforts of the university and the third-party umpire to move negotiations forward. It is worth noting that while the NTEU characterizes itself as the 'academics' union, it is not. It is a broad-based union covering many jobs on the university campus of which academics are a comparatively small percentage. The NTEU represents a small percentage of all staff on the university campus. Figures from the Australian Electoral Commission reveal that at the last elections of NTEU officials in Newcastle, of more than 6000 staff over four campuses the NTEU recorded the total number of people on the roll to vote of less than 550.

The idea that we can control artificial intelligence is a bit rich in that we seem to have no control over natural intelligence. War, extreme inequality, and environmental degradation are examples of tragic global ignorance. It is time to look deeper than at the glint on shiny new toys.

MONDAY should be highlighted on every Australian's calendar. Why? Because it is World Environment Day. Australia boasts stunning beaches, colourful reefs, lush rainforests and some of the world's most unique wildlife. All this, however, is threatened by climate change, invasive species, pollution and habitat loss. Having lost 34 mammal species since colonisation, Australia is the world's mammal extinction capital. Nationally, more than 1800 plant and animal species are listed as threatened. Rather than despairing, however, we Aussies best take this opportunity to get active and work together to regenerate and conserve nature on World Environment Day and every day.

ABC'S Q+A will be broadcast from Newcastle for the first time next Monday ("ABC's Q+A to be filmed in Newcastle", Newcastle Herald 31/5). The Topic for the night "The needs of the people from the Hunter region and are politicians prioritising issues outside the capital cities." Herald letter writers who believe the ABC is a biased network, here's your chance to get along to the show and express your opinions. It would be interesting to see the likes of Steve Barnett and co. on the box, trying to get their point across. Should make for great viewing, especially if the coal activists turn up.

I THINK that to have nuclear power in this country, all we need to do is wait a couple of years. A friend of mine told me that by the time the new nuclear submarines arrive they will be outdated for defence purposes, so we will be able to park them around the country and plug them into the grid. Job done. How good is that?

BRUCE Cook, (Short Takes, 2/6), I was in Victor Harbour, South Australia, at the start of the NRL season a couple of years ago. We were staying at the pub. I asked the bartender if I could watch the NRL game on one of the dozen or so TVs in the pub. His answer: go up to your room and watch it, we're no fans of rugby. He didn't know the difference between league and union; stupid sport played by stupid people, he said.

WAS the Knights beating Manly, simply the best ('Fight and flight', Herald 29/5)? Not so. It wasn't a full strength Manly side. The Tigers put the Cowboys away 66-18 at their spiritual home, Leichhardt Oval. I'm waiting to see what the Knights put on the Cowboys when they meet them. Go the Tigers.

When is the NRL going to wake up and stop giving NSW's Origin games to other states ('State of flux', Herald 2/6)? When was the last time Queensland gave a game away? If it's our turn to have two games, great, leave it alone and have two in NSW. That's what most fans want. Wake up NRL.

DAVE McTaggart (Short Takes, 1/6), I have stated in the past the disadvantages of Indigenous people. How could I or anyone else convince you if you don't want us to? You could ask your Indigenous mate.

At the 1967 referendum, 97 per cent of Australians voted for equality. Now in his Voice referendum I believe Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants Australians to vote for inequality. Can someone please tell Mr Albanese he's dreaming.