Letters to the editor July 1 2017

Spare a thought for the people from the far south coast and beyond who do not have a service at all. The year is 2017 and we had a rail bridge built in the 1800s and still no train has ever been over it.

A rail line down to Albury would be great as look at the jobs it would create.  We have the highest unemployment near in the state and a member who just has not an idea of her own.

Bob Manskie, Sanctuary Point

The white flag of surrender to the terrorists creeps ever higher on the flagstaff of hypocrisy and political power mongering.  Turnbull and Brandis now badger technology companies to allow their pet spy services to have access to encrypted communication. Turnbull said: “there can be no ungoverned spaces. Ungoverned spaces pose great risk…The internet cannot be an ungoverned space”.

He went on to say terrorists “cannot be allowed to operate with impunity within ungoverned digital spaces online”. These Orwellian words should send shivers down the spines of every freedom loving supporter of democracy in our nation.

Each time some propeller head, beardy, weirdy manages to condemn himself to Hell with a successful terror attack the goose stepping ideologues declare it an attack on our freedom.  Then stampede to try and remove one more element of our society that defines that very freedom.

Andrew Sefton, Thirroul

Adrian Devlin (Illawarra Mercury, June 21) quotes God’s view on same sex marriage.  I suggest that God’s view is subject to the interpretation of the individual.

Consider that, even in my lifetime, the Church (presumably the Custodian of God’s view) has promoted, condoned or conveniently ignored such practices as forcing “unnatural" left handers to use their right hands, refusing to marry divorced people, refusing marriage between Catholic and Protestant, and between black and white, not recognising “de facto” marriages, forcibly removing illegitimate children from their mothers and aboriginal children from their families, not to mention child sexual abuse and the perception of male superiority.

In earlier times the Church accepted slavery and was involved in torture of “heretics” and the burning of “witches”. So what has changed? Does God have a different view on those practices now?

Barbara Sawtell, Oak Flats

The State Liberal Government is sending our rail system backwards. Labor was the one who provided us with electric trains to the South Coast line.  They gave us the “V” Sets which could be 4, 6 or 8 car sets. Liberal comes in, gives us Oskars which are either four or eight car sets but mainly four car sets, a reduction in seating then sends all our “V” sets to Lithgow.

This was a backward step, now they are going further back with new Carriages with less seats. It shows they have no interest in the Passengers on the South Coast Line and are not helping Member for Kiama in assisting him.

The afternoon four car sets that are overcrowding the simple solution would be Central, Wolli Creek, Waterfall stations only then down the Coast. Then just ahead of these trains start one just before this at Hurstville, stopping at Sutherland then Waterfall.

Passengers could then change at Waterfall to the express from Central to South Coast or just couple it up at Waterfall to make an eight car set. This would stop the people going from Central to Hurstville and Sutherland.

Richard Cannan, Warilla