As a ratepayer I am entitled to two free kerbside collections a year of any household rubbish that I put out. Why can't ratepayers donate their kerbside collections to Vinnies or any of of the other charitable organisations in this area.I have only used the collection  service once in six years.

If council can afford to use ratepayers money to fund a free shuttle bus service, never used by outer suburb residents, why can't they transfer collection services to those who would benefit the most by helping others.

Dave Cox, Corrimal

It disgusts me to hear and see on the media what oxygen thieves the Prime  Minister and the leader of The Opposition really are.

Firstly for the PM to get up in the media and try to tell the people of Australia how Senator Sam Dastyari should be kicked out of politics because he was seen with Mr Huang and may have told him his phone was being monitored and  supposedly may be telling the Chinese some national secrets  produced a photo of him next to Mr Huang, only to be shown up by Labor to be in the same photo as Mr Dastyari but elected to fold the photo he was holding over so he could not been seen.  Just goes to show what credibility the Prime Minister has to the public.

Next to Mir Shorten to get up and tell the whole of Australia that all the Labor side of politics are all Australian citizens and had all the time in the world to prove that they were, to be shown that that was an out and out lie and thinks nothing of the lie just shows how much credibility he has to the Australian people.

As for all the people found out to have dual citizenship they should be prosecuted by the law for fraud as taking the money for wages is no different to people taking the money from Centrelink that they are not entitled to and get prosecuted for in court.  The people being sent to the High Court should be paying all their own expenses not the taxpayer because as it stands now the pollies think there is one law for the public and another law for them.

Bob Newhill, Wombarra​

I write in response to the article about the  Illawarra schools and hospitals getting donations tied to new poker machines published in the Illawarra Mercury on December 4.

The article attempted to whip up outrage over the fact that hospitals, schools and a range of other worthy not-for-profit groups benefit from the proceeds of poker machines. Yet this practise has existed in NSW since poker machines were first legalised in clubs back in 1956.

In that year alone, between £500,000 and £750,000 in poker machine taxation went directly into the Hospitals Fund and was distributed in the form of regular maintenance subsidies. And it’s not just charities and hospitals who have benefited.  Arguably Sydney’s two most iconic landmarks, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House were both part-funded by the proceeds of dedicated state government lotteries.

Not-for-profit clubs were granted a license to operate gaming machines in the 1950s for that very reason -  they exist for community benefit.  Clubs provide much-needed funding for schools, hospitals and a variety of worthy causes, including charities, community groups and local sports teams.

And clubs are now building much-needed community infrastructure such as child care centres, aged care facilities, cancer centres and in the case of Rooty Hill RSL – a $100 million state-of-the-art Performing Arts Centre for Western Sydney.

These are the benefits the independent regulator, Liquor and Gaming NSW, want to hear about when determining applications for gaming machines. They want to ensure any potential individual harm brought about by poker machines is outweighed by the undeniable community benefits.  In that respect, the system works.

Anthony Ball, CEO, ClubsNSW

Now that the hysteria of the same sex marriage has been passed in Parliament lets get back to solving the problems of every day living. Pulling into gear petrol prices, property prices, and making sure that all of these politicians turn up for school every day.

Warren Fleming Balgownie