Yet another tragic loss of life at Hill 60. The picture memorial to Brenden includes a photo taken on the northern breakwall of Port Kembla Harbour.
A victim from 2021 also had a memorial photo taken from the northern breakwall. Could both these victims be alive today if they had access to the Northern breakwall?
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Access to the northern breakwall has been closed off by Port Kembla Coal Terminal management since early 2020. The watchmen on the gate states it is a private road.
Historical maps show the current road from Port Kembla Rd to the breakwall by various names, one is Northern Access Rd. The signage approaching PKCT shows the road as a public road.
The public have had access to the northern breakwall since its construction in the 1930s only being closed off for port operational reasons - until PKTC closed the access road in 2020.
My understanding is, the road is a Crown road as defined in legislation, allowing access to the public to the northern breakwall. The closure of the road requires the Minister's consent which also requires public exhibition.
Could someone please advise if the road is a Crown road and if so, does PKCT have authority to prevent public access?
If not a Crown road, can the Minister make it a Crown road to allow access and thus a safer fishing spot than Hill 60?
Ian Young, Towradgi
Chinese people just like us
I have to admit that every time I hear about Peter Dutton talking about preparing for war, I feel a little bit worried that other people might want to pick up on his "China phobia".
We all know that a Russian despot is waging war at this moment, but China is not at war with us.
Where I live, I have Chinese neighbours, I have several Chinese close friends, and I have worked for BHP in Malaysia and Indonesia on long stints with Chinese people and not once have I met an unfriendly person from Chinese heritage.
They all bent over backwards to please me ,and they are mostly hardworking decent people, keen business people, and great cooks. We all love Chinese meals!
Australia has traded with China over many years, and they are our biggest importer of Australian coal.
Instead of continuously beating the war drums It would serve our country better to get a more responsible government to start having intelligent trade meetings with the Chinese government.
I know that things are different in all countries, but Chinese people are human beings like us.
"Keep Dutton away from the nuclear bomb button" would be a good election slogan for all of us.
John Pronk, Wollongong
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