Letters and short takes October 25 2023

Coincidentally, I emailed the Department of Transport last week asking about the Cessnock line's future use and plans for its refurbishment/removal. This was spurred on by reading a 2021 blog piece by Lake Macquarie transport enthusiast Bryce Ham ('Not the end of the line for the South Maitland Railway' published online 12/03/21) where Mr Ham advocated for a potential eight stations along the spur, at Gillieston Heights, Kurri Kurri North (to serve Kurri Kurri TAFE), Kurri Kurri, Weston, Abermain, Neath, Aberdare, and finally Cessnock, with express services stopping at Maitland, Gillieston Heights, Kurri Kurri, and Cessnock. An example timetable was also provided.

Both Mr Fenwick and Mr Ham make valuable points on the merits of this idea. The adjacent suburbs are fast growing, and existing infrastructure is designed around a car-centric urban model. Reopening this rail line would greatly improve transport and connectivity between Cessnock and Maitland, offering a cheap sustainable and reliable option for the expanding populace.

The rail line is also of historic social value. Renewing it, rather than removing it, would enrich the region's incredible rail legacy.

We need the switch to clean energy to reduce emissions, but there is a downside.

The closure of ageing coal-fired power stations means a substantial drop in income for workers in the industry. One reason is that, in the past, strong union representation in the mining sector helped achieve higher pay rates. Working families could provide better educational opportunities and material well-being for their children. But now, much more is at stake for future generations. Countless families in Australia have already suffered displacement and hardship due to the increasingly severe floods and fires fuelled by global warming.

This trend is set to intensify. During the 2022 floods hundreds of schools were closed, disrupting students' learning. The same thing happened during the 2019 to 2020 bushfires. Children are among the hardest hit by extreme weather events. The writing is on the wall for coal.

I hope coal mining unions will help support the clean energy transition in their communities, for our children's sake.

Geoff Black ("Massive cars facing a big problem", Letters, 23/10), SUVs are not "unwanted" and being dumped in Australia.

As reported by Peter Martin ("How the SUV rose to take over Australia's roads", Opinion, 19/10), SUVs are now more popular (three to one) than sedan cars in Australia, despite being more expensive than smaller sedan cars. Why is that?

SUVs are obviously not "unwanted". As for saying that "few of these large SUVs will be going on a long road trip any time soon", there will be many more of them going on road trips, of whatever length, than electric SUVs, of any size, any time soon.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the US federal government. NASA has been observing concerning changes to the climate of Earth since the middle of 20th century and has made it abundantly clear that, as a result of their scientific investigations, the burning of fossil fuels to produce energy has been found to be the principal cause of human-induced climate change.

Of course, money plays a huge role here. But it is almost beyond normal understanding how large Australian corporations, making massive profits as a result of burning fossil fuels to produce energy, can continue to be involved in a business activity that has the potential to seriously threaten the continuation of all life on Earth.

Why does the drain next to Marketown, in Steel Street, smell like a cesspit? The council, or whoever is supposed to be in charge, may have been able to get away with it in the 19th Century, however, this is the 21st. Please have it cleaned. It's a stinking disgrace.

Isn't it ironic that the supposedly most holy place on Earth is a war zone, and US support for Israel has the potential to create a much greater war.

Gandhi was a wise man. Attributed to him was this quote: "An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind". Would the perpetrators of war please take heed.

The Climate of the Nation 2023 report states, among other things, that more than 70 per cent of Australians indicate they are concerned about climate change and its impact, 45 per cent say that fossil fuel producers should pay for the costs of responding to climate change, and that 66 per cent think Australia should plan to phase out coal mining. It is clear that any political party that ignores Australians' concerns about human-caused climate change does so at their peril.

I think that Hope Estate is the most disorganised concert venue. Earlier in the day, I dropped off my children in the car park but when I went to pick them up, I couldn't get on to Broke Road because the police had blocked it off. Why? This resulted in large groups of young people faced with a dangerous walk back to the intersection. There must have been a thousand cars forming a traffic block between Wine Country Drive and Broke Road. More care is needed by police or concert organisers. What a joke.

Following Peter Dutton's successful strategy of defeating the recent Voice referendum by employing tactics designed to spread fear, division and confusion, and thus scuttling any chance of bipartisan support, I understand he is now being referred to as Australia's Donald Trump, but without the charisma.

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