Letters and short takes October 19 2023

The decision to develop a container terminal now relies on the state extinguishing the container penalty. Any amount paid to extinguish this penalty must be sufficient to cover the cost of NSW paying NSW Ports for containers handled above the unlegislated cap at the Port of Newcastle; otherwise, the taxpayer picks up the difference.

This means the Minns government must prove that Parliament intended to authorise the state to penalise the operator of a container terminal under the Ports Assets (Authorised Transactions) Act 2012. Then shadow treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, told Parliament on November 2022 "the government has lied about and denied the contents of the [Port Commitment] deeds since 2013. There were years of denial from the former premier, the former treasurer, the former roads minister and the former ports minister about those deeds."

JULIE Robinson ("Nobody enjoys oppression", Letters, 14/10), said "Bullies can't take it when the tables are turned". I gather she was inferring that Israel, a tiny country that has been defending itself while surrounded by neighbours who have wanted to wipe them off the face of the earth for the past 75 years, was the bully in question. If she did mean Israel, then her comment suggests that Israel should accept the slaughter and kidnap of innocent families staying in an unprotected kibbutz recently as part of daily life, without reprisal. I hope I am wrong, because I can't imagine any clear-thinking person in this city making such a suggestion.

ONE of the pleasures I get from reading the Herald is the letters page (I hope that Adz Carter is well) and I always read the letter writer's name first as this often tells me what to expect before I continue. But I have never read a letter in my opinion as divorced from the facts as the letter from Greg Adamson ("Regions showed a lack of faith", Letters, 17/10). Twelve months after 12 years of Liberal national rule in NSW, two years after 10 years of Liberal national rule federally, it is all Labor's fault that the rural communities find themselves so neglected.

THERE is one conclusion that can be drawn from the referendum result: the majority of white Australians do not care enough about our First Nations people.

They do not care enough about their early deaths from preventable illnesses, or their suicides; or their poor education standards or their limited employment opportunities or the innate bias against them in the criminal justice system; or that so many live with contaminated water and outrageous food prices; or that they are confronted with racism daily and that many suffer severe intergenerational trauma. They do not care enough that they are not formally recognised as the first custodians of this land.

Many blame the 'yes' campaign or the Prime Minister. But all the lies and misinformation peddled by Dutton, Price and Mundine were countered by the truth, repeated over and over again by the government and 'yes' proponents. How many times did they have to say that the constitution will recognise First Nations people and give them the right to have a say in matters that directly affect them, and that the Parliament will decide how this Voice will work - the detail? The truth was there, you just had to be interested enough to listen to it or to seek it out.

There was a clear choice for voters - the truth, or lies. The majority chose lies. It's not racism - they just don't care enough about this land's First People.

NEVILLE Aubrey ("What we do now matters most", Letters, 17/10), I believe that your misguided assumption that the 'yes' campaign's failure in the referendum was a sign of continued white racism and colonialism shows exactly the reason it was voted down. The last Census statistics showed we are now a country where more than 50 per cent of people in Australia weren't born here and come from such diverse cultures, too many to list. It failed similarly because it wasn't only about 'recognition'; I believe the electorate saw through it and finally found out about the systemic routing of the multiple systems responsible specifically for Indigenous Australians, a system that another level of Indigenous input wouldn't have fixed. The sooner you accept the democratic result, the better.

INTERESTING to read the breakdown of the vote. 'Yes' did particularly well in some inner-city, left-leaning/woke seats. It was a complete misread of the public by the PM and advisors; the result was a given. I think everyone would want us as a country to "close the gap". We all are lucky that we live in a democracy where people can voice their opinions without getting shot or locked up. The government now needs to get on with the real issues that most people are concerned about. Also, I think most people who are struggling to pay their bills resented large corporations such as Qantas telling them how to vote.

IF Clive Jensen, 'no' campaigner and voter ("I campaigned for 'no', but there's no joy in win", Letters, 17/10), feels "sombre" about the outcome of the referendum, instead of blaming Albanese he should look in the mirror. He wasn't forced to vote 'no'. He voted 'no' because he wanted to vote 'no', as did all the others. They need to own it.

DEBATES including the Voice referendum, smoking tobacco and human-induced climate change, in my view, feature one deliberate action that has been used with great success: throwing a good dose of doubt into the mix produces a desired level of hesitancy that stymies real positive action.

BEVERLY Atkinson ("Manipulation was a mainstay", Letters, 16/10), get over it.

PLEASE, City of Newcastle, understand that your primary job, as voted by the public (ratepayers), is to look after the city's roads, footpaths, overgrown lawns and litter. In my opinion, it seems like these get forgotten once you go two blocks out of the CBD, where you'll notice how disgusting and filthy towns are. Please get on with it.

I'M a Midnight Oil fan. Powder Workers is a Midnight Oil fan website, where comments from certain individuals include telling no voters to f--- off and die, for example. Will Midnight Oil refute such statements? I'm sure they don't agree with them.