Sonia Hornery is an excellent member also.

The reason behind the recent turmoil is probably known to many, and I am pleased that the two Labor members will stay representing Newcastle.

I FELL in the garden, hit my head on a brick and cut my forehead. I went to Belmont Hospital's emergency department and was greeted by friendly faces. They got me cleaned up, in to see a doctor who carefully assessed the damage, consulted with his colleague, stitched me up, went through a process including a scan, held me for four hours, checked with me every 20 minutes, gave me a sandwich and drink and advised me to call if there was any problem. What a wonderful health system with friendly professional people. They deserve more recognition.

IT is a welcome sign that common sense and reality has finally triumphed over political ideology when South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas says "the simple fact is we need nuclear power globally to decarbonise the energy sector and that's good for South Australia because we're home to a significant uranium mine". For a Premier of a state that some claim is the mecca of renewables, he is showing national leadership.

IN typical Peter Dutton form, he sees only one side of everything. Not a shred of compassion or understanding for Gaza or its people being slaughtered by the IDF. Fortunately most Australians are better than that.

IF you read about the NRL in some papers you would mistake it for a soap opera.

I CONTINUE to be an avid NRL fan. Yet, south of the NSW-Victorian border, it is all AFL. In fact, NRL results are rarely reported in the media here despite a very successful Melbourne Storm NRL team that has competed in the competition for 22 years.

Have things changed that much in 40 years? One weekend, 40 years ago, I was in Victoria. The NRL grand final was played at the SCG. I had to wait until I was north of the Victorian border, on Monday, to find out the result.

AFL expansion into the northern states has been more successful than NRL expansion into AFL states. The AFL has established two major clubs in Sydney and one in Brisbane, whereas league's attempts to establish clubs in Perth and Adelaide were aborted way back.

Objectively, if two-legged aliens landed in Australia and compared the two codes, I wager that they would favour AFL. The code has many two-legged athletic processes in jumping, catching, kicking, ball-bouncing, dribbling, passing and running, whereas NRL in the main has only passing, catching, running and a weird offside rule.

Whatever the aliens may think, I continue to be an NRL fan, and watch streamed games, trying to hunt my wife off our TV. I cannot enthuse about AFL. The locals think I am crazy. I might become a Melbourne Storm fan and take the long train journey into Melbourne to see them.

Whatever the NRL says, would I be joining Victorian NRL converts or NRL fans from the NSW and Queensland who have happened to settle in Melbourne?

IS it any wonder that both major parties are seeing their primary vote drop? It would appear that, unless you are a lobbyist based in Canberra where all doors are open, ordinary voters are treated with complete disdain.

Last year I was in the domestic terminal at Melbourne airport with my wife awaiting a plane bound for Newcastle. We were early, so we visited the bar. When I went to pay the bill I was shown a notice on the bar that said 'card only'.

That was OK until I read the small print telling me that a surcharge of 1.5 per cent would be applied. To me this is exploitation of the worst kind, especially during a cost-of-living crisis. I accept that small businesses have a transactional cost associated with card use, but to force me to use a card and then apply an extra cost is exploitation.

I sent a letter to the PM expressing my disappointment that this Labor government was allowing this rort of forcing people to use a card and then charging you for the privilege to continue. The Prime Minister's Department passed the ball to the Treasurer, who has had four months to respond to my concerns.

I have not even had an acknowledgement that they have received my letter. My local member was contacted and they promised that they would chase this up with the treasury. I have stopped holding my breath.

Can I have a lobby pass please?

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Penny Wong only has to mention that Labor is considering a two-state solution as the way to maintain peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians, and she is attacked ("Foreign Minister reignites debate on two-state solution", Herald, 10/4).

Considering that Palestinians were either killed or forcefully and violently removed from their land last century, and the hellish conditions of life since, it must be difficult hearing others making suggestions about their future. These people, who are Muslims and Christians, are being denied the most basic of human rights, which include adequate food, shelter and medical attention.

Tens of thousands have been killed and injured, their land has been decimated, and their future looks worse than bleak.

It beggars belief that when a politician from a small country mentions that recognition of Palestine may be the way forward she is bombarded with complaints.

CARL Boyd ("More pain as Gaza fight goes on", Letters, 11/4) has an extreme view that I believe has little truth in it.

While Israel has admitted that a tragic error occurred, and has sacked and sanctioned responsible people for a single attack on relief workers due to mistaken identity and chain of command failure, there is absolutely no other evidence of Israel intentionally putting non-combatants in harm's way.

The movement of the non-combatants is for their intentional protection by Israel; as well, the delay in the ground offensive into Rafah is to resolve the relocation of the non-combatants. Hamas, however, intentionally hide behind women and children and allegedly operate from hospitals.

Israel has permitted more aid into Gaza than can be reasonably distributed by the aid workers. Israel is being blamed for not letting in aid, and as well for not distributing it to the population.

Note well that no other country in history has been compelled by public opinion to supply aid and to distribute it to the population in a war zone.