It is profoundly disappointing to see the underwhelming, and apparently cursory, approach taken by Newcastle Basketball (NB) in response to widespread community opposition to the loss of natural grassed sporting fields that are no longer being built in the inner suburbs of Newcastle ('Basketball stadium defended in report on $90m proposal', Newcastle Herald 20/5).
NB's doubling down on a wrongful assertion that there are already sufficient sporting fields elsewhere is nothing short of an affront. It is tantamount to the ramming of a proposal that seems so at odds with its shared membership interests across the region.
We need full transparency on its funding. The tacked-on offerings of a "future" 10 metre public access track, a tin shed facade with a couple of extra trees and an expansive car park doubling up as a flood overflow solution defies belief. They don't even bother with an offset, instead I believe relying on a disingenuous strategy to avoid another round of consultation and exhibition.
Hopefully, the council and the newly elected lord mayor can make a difference and call for the proposal to be retracted. I believe that Newcastle Basketball has not taken the community seriously from the outset.
Imagine if the open subject land was a golf course. Why is the issue of the loss of so many long-standing natural green sporting fields and so much park area, so downplayed and dismissed in the face of such community opposition? This is anything but a swap-out.
The Mater Hospital has become a mess and an embarrassment.
More importantly, I believe it is not fit for purpose as a public hospital that provides emergency services and serves cancer patients. It is high time a replacement was planned and built within five years. Why? Apart from the recently, widely reported issues, the site is constrained and not easily accessed
I would suggest that the John Hunter Hospital campus would not be the ideal location either, as it is very busy. Cancer patients need easy access and, preferably, a less busy area.
Two areas, to me, stand out as possibilities: Callaghan ~ within the university campus; could form closer links with the medical faculty and Hunter Medical Research Institute; and is close to the rail. Alternatively, Glendale ~ a central location (on former State Rail Authority land); within half an hour of Newcastle, either side of the lake, Maitland, Kurri Kurri and just over half an hour from Cessnock; adjacent to the rail line and the future Lake Macquarie transport interchange/rail station at Glendale.
All local MPs should support such a plan. It needs action now.
I attended the Jets match on Saturday night, looking forward to an exciting semi-final. It was a tight match, with Sydney FC getting the first goal.
But I was not expecting the response from the Jets supporters surrounding me on the bleachers who at that point seemingly turned into an aggressive mob aggrieved at every move the other team made. They booed loudly and incessantly at the opposing players at every opportunity while standing up, stabbing their arms in the air. It felt like I had been transported back to the ancient Roman Colosseum with the locals baying for blood.
Is this really sport? My friends say it's normal. Is it?
I wonder what message this sends to the kids watching. My take was, "it's OK to turn into an ugly mob, no harm, it's just sport". Important and lasting messages are conveyed on sports fields through competition. I always thought they were good messages, but after this A-League game, I know they can also be anything but good. I think we have lost the real meaning of sportsmanship: fairness and respect and of enjoying the game for its own sake.
Is it too late to get it back?
Regarding Josh Leeson's story ('Dad angry after son struck by golf ball', Herald 19/5): as a Jets supporter for many years I also attended the gripping semi-final match on Saturday night between the Jets and Sydney FC.
Upon arriving at the ground, well before kick-off, I was greeted with the Sydney FC active supporters' group chanting aggressively "F--- off Newcastle".
This wasn't a great start to what became an epic match.
It was upsetting then to read about the injuries that were sustained by some young supporters and adults from flying objects like golf balls and beer cans, when the Jets scored the late equaliser.
The supporters' groups add a great atmosphere to A-League games and this is one thing that distinguishes soccer from other codes such as league.
However, if the A-League is serious about promoting this great sport as family- and children-friendly then extreme behaviour by some supporters' groups needs to be stamped out.
Hopefully, Venues NSW can use CCTV of the game to identify offenders and punish them appropriately.
It may be a surprise to anyone following the misfortunes of the University of Newcastle that its executives have been awarded a pay increase while the university struggles to find funds to support its students and staff ("Executive pay rises 'don't meet pub test'," Herald, 20/5). While vice-chancellor Alex Zelinsky has given assurances to the staff that their concerns can be raised without fear of reprisals, perhaps the real cause of low morale has been shaped by the university's leadership? It's like a bad joke from the 1970s: "sackings will continue until morale improves".
Charlie Crispin ("We vote politicians in to do hard things", Letters, 20/5), the government wasn't "forced to deny" anything before the last election. They were asked questions, and the PM chose to answer, 50 times, that his government would not make the changes to the tax system they are now proposing. Is it any wonder that people, young and old, who have grown up believing that honesty matters, have had a gutful of pollies and their win-at-all-cost games? The time to "do the hard thing" was before the election.
Are we not surprised how dumb humans are, sitting on their hands doing nothing about saving our planet from environmental destruction? How about doing it for your grandchildren? We are sitting back allowing right-wing influencers to sabotage the implementation of renewable energy for no more than short-term profits. It's greed. Wake up, people. The Coalition and One Nation want to build coal-burning power stations. How dumb.
The Treasury estimates that rents will rise $2 a week. Renters are about to be fleeced by the sheer ignorance of Albonocchio. This bloke couldn't run a chook raffle; you'd end up with a tray of feathers and parsley.
