We can't lease Newcastle's harbour off to fund the city's light rail twice

Mr MacDonald challenges our local members who now hold ministerial portfolios to advance the cause of revitalisation and the extension of the light rail to the west.

The elephant in the room that the opinion piece fails to acknowledge is the 2014 Baird government's sale of the Port of Newcastle on a 95-year lease for $1.75 billion. This sale was to 50 per cent Chinese investment. This was claimed at the time to fund significant infrastructure across NSW.

What would Mr MacDonald suggest we flog off this time around? Public assets should, in my opinion, remain in, at the very least, Australian ownership. The federal Liberal opposition has expressed support to return the Port of Darwin, sold to Chinese interests by Coalition governments, back to Australian ownership.

The revitalisation of Newcastle came at a significant cost, which, in my opinion, cannot be ignored or conveniently forgotten.

PHILLIP O'Neill's overview of the future challenges facing Lake Macquarie City Council and residents was a compelling read ("Politicians must shore up resources now to help Lake Macquarie", Opinion 7/4). His opening struck a chord: "The withdrawal from the fossil fuel economy... will hit hardest on the western shores of Lake Macquarie. About 1800 jobs ... will likely disappear, probably more than any other local government area in the nation".

Learning from the UK and Germany is both timely and crucial. The paper Balancing cost and justice concerns in the energy transition notes the UK focused on cost, while Germany prioritised fairness. No German coal miner was sacked. Professor O'Neill highlights the lack of support for Lake Macquarie from transition authorities. Disappointing.

In 2020, the ACTU proposed an Energy Transition Authority, but the National Energy Transition Authority Bill 2022 later faced constitutional hurdles. The federal government responded by establishing the Net Zero Economy Authority (NZEA) late last year.

The Australian National University has advised the authority to prioritise regional prosperity, noting mine closures affect not just miners but contractors and small businesses. With a sizable budget, the Net Zero Economy Authority has the capacity to support wider regional renewal. Any party prioritising the wellbeing of the Hunter in the forthcoming election surely stands to gain.

MUCH has happened over the past 50 years of my life. It makes me wonder about the next 50 years. I won't be around to see it happen, so should I be concerned?

Five decades ago, my generation planned the following 50 years by building the Liddell, Bayswater and Eraring power stations that have served faithfully ever since. The time is approaching to replace them for another 50 years, or to build solar and wind farms with storage batteries that I understand will need replacing every 15 to 20 years. Alternatively, we could build nuclear power stations to last another 80 or so years. They are the only 100 per cent carbon-free energy source to meet future carbon emission targets, as I understand it.

This is not my decision. I can only guide by the experience that my power supply was never a problem over the past 50 years. It's now up to today's generation to decide what is best for them, to go with what they know works all the time or to take a chance on the unpredictability of the weather to provide energy.

I can say from experience that price does not matter when there is a power blackout. Most people will pay almost anything when it has an effect on where you work, going to work or even where you go shopping because everything stops working.

Back in my day, most industries had diesel-powered generators as a backup for when, not if, we had power blackouts. Maybe the same will happen again? I suggest taking advice from experience, not from a government that won't be responsible for the next generation.

I NOTE that the wholesale price of petrol has dropped somewhat, but that's not what I'm seeing at the pump. Nothing new here. I also note that the price of petrol varies by 25 cents up to 50 cents a litre depending on where you buy your fuel. There are various apps to help you find the lowest-cost fuel. Do not believe a cut in the fuel excise proposed by the LNP will reduce all prices. The petrol stations giving big discounts will obviously use the opportunity to finally make a decent margin on their sales.

SO we have Energy Minister Chris Bowen and the Labor party constantly bleating about CSIRO figures denouncing nuclear energy, and then we read they are in partnership with Tomago-based energy company Renaissance Energy on battery development ("Battery boom finding a home in Hunter factory", Newcastle Herald 8/4). If you ask me, this alone throws massive doubt onto any figure or predictions they provide against nuclear energy as an alternative.

LOOK on the bright side, Steve Barnett ("Greens coalition may be worth it", Letters, 9/4). If Peter Dutton keeps being exposed as the empty vessel he is, Labor won't need anyone to form a government.

CAN anyone please enlighten me on how the invasion of Ukraine affects the cost of electricity in Australia? Did we export it to them? The Labor government is blaming all of its economic woes on this invasion. It says inflation is due to the invasion. High interest rates also contribute. Higher food costs are another reason. Perhaps my poor night's sleep could be blamed on it as well.

COULD all of Australia's media please stop using the words 'worker' and 'bureaucrat' in the same sentence? I think it's offensive to the average Australian worker.

WHEN is the NRL hierarchy going to stop contact to the head? Oh, that's right - it seems TV contracts are more important than player safety. Where is the players' union?