I like that Wollongong MP Paul Scully thinks the blue line painted on the road tracing the UCI bike route will bring tourists to the region. Although he is encouraging bike riders, I would like to ask where do other tourists coming to our region get to park and visit local cafes etc when the majority of parking particularly at City Beach (South Beach) is taken up with rows and rows of P platers.
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Parking near the lighthouse and beside Steamers and Longboard have P plate cars parked from 8am-3pm most days. Don't worry about the 4 hour limit they just exchange parking spots with each other when the time is up.
Any early morning walkers see them arrive in the morning. Mostly only one person per car and occasionally see them doing their swaps throughout the day. As we have timed parking in the CBD maybe it's time to do the same at the beach Mon-Fri to ensure tourists actually get to spend money in Wollongong through being able to find a park.
Lesley Matthews, Wollongong
Matters a decent man
Response to the Looking Back article "MP in super league stoush" (Mercury, October 12) brought a smile to my dial with memories. Former South Coast Labour Council secretary Paul Matters certainly did not miss former MP for Cunningham Stephen Martin. As usual Mr Matters was across the issue and made his position crystal clear. A decent man with principles.
Adrian Devlin, Fairy Meadow
Fines don't deter miner
I was shocked to read that since 2015 Whitehaven's Maules Creek coal mine in Narrabri has been issued with at least 13 environmental orders and penalties of various types, resulting in more than $750,000 worth of fines.
It is hardly surprising that the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is being taken to court to show it has considered the mine's environmental and public health impacts before renewing its licence to operate for another 20 years. But it's not just the NSW EPA that is under scrutiny.
In its latest report, Beating Around the Bush: How Australia's National Environment Law is Failing Climate and Nature, the Climate Council reveals that since the national Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act was passed in 1999, 740 fossil fuel projects have been approved, or waved through without assessment.
Accordingly, the council, together with Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action, is calling on the federal government to pause all fossil fuel project approvals until the EPBC Act has been strengthened to effectively address climate change.
In particular, the Act must ensure the climate impacts of new developments are properly considered in the approvals process.
Ray Peck, Hawthorn
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