We will get a second harbour crossing, the West Connex, light rail to Parramatta, upgraded sporting facilities, road upgrades and the list goes on.

But I live on the South Coast. Time to ‘‘find and replace’’. Find ‘‘We’’ and replace with ‘‘Sydney’’. That’s more like it. This area will get what we’ve always got, zero investment, just higher electricity prices.

 Suppose we can always rely on Noreen to fight for us (not) if she manages to come out of her post-election hibernation before the next election.

Graham Jones, Cordeaux Heights

I was one of the artists who worked on this sculpture in 1992 with the people of Berkeley at the community centre and repaired it twice since with other artists.

 I can understand how the community are attached to this art work. Our names and our marks are embedded in this work. Are the moral rights of the artists being considered here?

Were the community fully consulted before a decision was made to remove it? Are any options being considered?

Judy Bourke, Thirroul

 Once again another emergency ambulance trip to Wollongong Hospital in the dead of night for treatment for a flare-up of a recurring problem.

 Yes, I spent 40 hours in the emergency  short  stay unit waiting for a private room as my condition meant I had to be kept in isolation. No, I am not complaining. The wonderful staff on duty at all times hovered over me like guardian angels, doing everything they could to make me comfortable.

When finally moved to a single room  the staff nursed me gradually back to health. As for the hospital food, I couldn’t eat for three days, but when I could, the meals were tasty and hot, with generous portions, no problem there.

How lucky we are to have this icon in our city. No complaints from me, just heaps of gratitude. 

David Taylor, Horsley

 I’m writing to clarify a point raised in the article ‘‘Highway rubbish tip’’ (Mercury, May 21). In the article on the illegal dumping mounds along the old Princes Highway the journalist writes that council ‘‘decided to investigate itself but was later forced to call in the government’s Internal Audit Bureau as well’’.  This is incorrect.

Last week a decision was made by the Lord Mayor and myself to commission the NSW government’s Internal Audit Bureau to carry out an independent review of the incident. This approach was endorsed at the council meeting on Monday, May 18.

The recent initiative to put physical barriers in known illegal dumping hot spots, while positive in intent, has been unsuccessful in its deployment. We’ve taken a number of steps to urgently address the situation, and these are detailed on  the council’s website.

Council shares the community’s concerns regarding the discovery of the low levels of bonded asbestos (fibro) in these mounds, and at the worksites the soil was taken from. We are working proactively to ensure this does not happen again, which is why we commissioned the Internal Audit Bureau’s independent review. 

This, and the EPA’s own investigation, will help ensure this doesn’t happen again.

David Farmer, Wollongong City Council general manager