Big guns will fire on Monday, but not just for King's Birthday holiday

Any year calendar shows 2026 is a match for 1942.

While Monday, June 8 marks the King's Birthday, Monday, June 8, 1942 was the date of the Japanese submarine attack on Newcastle.

The 84^th anniversary of that shelling coincides with Fort Scratchley's Open Day.

The public is invited to view the firing of those historic guns at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Entry is free.

Rick Carter, Fort Scratchley Historical Society secretary

Keep the local news on the air

Very disappointing that WIN, after purchasing NBN, has decided to shorten the local news broadcast and no weekend broadcast. I've watched since day one, I have a Neilson Rating box, and it won't get any NBN news after June 27.

Greg Parrey, Rutherford

NBN bulletin angst may pass

It is understandable that many people in Newcastle are uneasy about NBN Television replacing the one-hour local news bulletin after so long. But in the long run it might prove beneficial and an improvement.

Here in Canberra, Capital Television in 2001 replaced the locally produced one-hour bulletin with Sydney's. WIN stepped up to the plate with 30 minutes of local news followed by 30 minutes of the Sydney Nine bulletin. It meant a less narrowly-focused selection of news and a new, broader perspective.

One incident in 1990 sticks in my mind about Capital Television and their local news bulletin. It was the day of the signing of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty between the US and Russia. It was also the day that Kosovo was bombed in the Balkans war, but Capital Television pushed those events back in the bulletin and led with two items about the Canberra Raiders playing the Panthers in the grand final.

There might be some angst and misgivings at the moment, but once the change occurs most people will not miss the old local bulletin at all and realise that the new system is far better.

John Moulis, Pearce

We take care of our own, but we can do better

Former senior Australian of the Year and author Jackie French has written a powerful article about the state of aged care in Australia ('Jackie's story', Newcastle Herald 3/6). Every politician at federal and state level should be compelled to read it, then investigate the issues raised in their own electorates.

We all have an interest in aged care, either for ourselves, a family member or friend, or just because most of us will grow old. The system is broken or flawed and it demands an extensive review to ensure that money is being spent where it is needed and on the people who require it.

I fear it is already heading down the same path as the NDIS and out of home care for children and young people.

Australia is better off than most countries when it comes to looking after its people, but failure to ensure systems are working as intended is seeing many deprived of the care they need when they need it. We can do better, and we should.

Kaye Duffy, Bar Beach

E-bike battle started with red tape

According to a recent online ABC news item, "Why are e-bikes suddenly all over Australia's streets?" by Ben Knight, the genesis of the e-bike issues across Australia came in 2021 when Barnaby Joyce was deputy prime minister and transport minister, and Kevin Hogan was his assistant minister.

The assistant minister's decision "to remove the requirement to meet European standards on e-bikes led to a five-year free-for-all to import all the high-powered, unregulated, and now illegal bikes you see on the roads" the article states.

This decision was seemingly made without consulting the relevant bicycle groups involved. No one really knows why this decision was made, although Bicycle Industries Australia speculated that it may have been to "reduce red tape" to "make it easier to import products"

Enforcing red tape like these Euro e-bike standards certainly play a role in protecting our community. The Albanese government reinstated the Euro e-bike standard at the end of 2025.

Ian Thomas, The Hill

AUKUS beggars can't be choosers

The government handed over billions to America as part of the AUKUS deal for new nuclear subs. Now the US has decided to provide us with three secondhand ones, which according to Richard Marles is all OK. One wonders if they will be decommissioned by the American Navy before Australia takes delivery. If so, it seems Australia has learnt nothing from buying secondhand navy vessels from the US, namely "Minnorra" and "Kanimbla". They almost sank coming to Australia, then they spent years at Forgacs in Newcastle being refurbished. Not long after that, one of them was scuttled after millions were spent on the two lemons. It seems the US has taken control of AUKUS and we get what we are given.

Steven Busch, Rathmines

Is Snowy Hydro 2.0 worthwhile?

The troubled Snowy Hydro 2.0 seems to have more issues, with the cost blowing out daily. Is it really worth it? My response is definitely not. From day one, when the prime minister of the day announced it, from what I had learned over the years such a scheme was flawed because it uses more energy to pump the water than it generates turning the turbines, using more energy than it creates.

I have been quickly shut down with the argument the pumping is done when the energy is cheaper and generated when the energy is more expensive, but it is still an energy negative project. Nobody it seems knew the true costs of getting it up and running.

Fred McInerney, Karuah

Ratepayers are footing the bill

In reference to City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath's pay increase ("Bath top-up: CEO to get pay rise after closed door vote", Herald 28/5), why is this matter clouded with secrecy? The article pointed out that three meetings were held, with former lord mayor Ross Kerridge chairing the last one in February this year. He was quoted as saying the deliberations of the performance review are confidential but there were "extensive discussions'' before the final outcome. One can only imagine. With questions from the Herald unanswered and ignored, surely the ratepayers are entitled to know more about matters concerning the CEO. After all, he does work for us.

Col Parkins, Wallsend

Broken promises set a standard

Salvatore Cocco believes it's not so bad to break a promise if it's in the right interest ("Breaking promises can be justified", Letters, 3/6). It should have been taken either the previous election or the next to let voters decide. The timing isn't so critical that it has to be now; it's not a war-time decision. As for other governments breaking promises, their impacts were quite obviously less. Labor has demonstrated it can't be trusted.

Tony Mansfield, Lambton

Major parties, not-so-minor woes

Politics have moved quite significantly while people see things in social or economic terms. A decreasing number are not supporting the traditional ideological view of major parties. Why would this happen? They "change their position" and both major parties are guilty.

Grahame Danaher, Coal Point

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Tributes & Funerals Notices

Davis, Annette
2026

Published 6 Jun

Cooke, Kenneth Frederick
1948 - 2026

Published 6 Jun

Downey, Helen
1946 - 2026

Published 6 Jun

Farraway, Heather
2026

Published 6 Jun
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