For more than four miserable years imprisoned on these remote Pacific islands, they cope with unbearable stress with the environment, a boring day existence and deprived of health and hope. 

These people have been damaged by our government who put them there, uninvited by the local people whose peaceful life has been changed dramatically.

Fair minded Australians are ashamed but what of the government?

Where is the moral courage to change this appalling situation?  I beg the government to take action and the Labor Party to show integrity to its core values and oppose this government's inaction.  Give them freedom.

The Australian and International Human Rights Commissions recommendations have been ignored.  Why?

These people need to be considered as humans and our government needs to find compassion and the morality to give them a future.

Joy Donovan, Fairy Meadow

After spending unknown millions of taxpayers dollars on so called expert transport consultants, all our long suffering commuters have to show for it is hardly any trains at all. The most successful public transport to be found anywhere in NSW is our very own humble Wollongong Shuttle Bus Service.

It has absolutely no timetable whatever, just an operational promise that a bus will leave Wollongong City every 10 minutes. No timetable, yet its reliability has become legendary. Sometimes I see two buses arrive behind one another at the same stop.

One had many pick-up and set downs, and one had a faster run with fewer passengers, yet with the skillful drivers at the wheel it quickly smooths out.

Andrew Constance is a classic example of the wrong minister in the wrong portfolio. He has no grasp whatever of transport organisational skills, or, of the unwavering importance commuters need to place in a stuffed-up rail transport system.

Commuters need their reliable trains for jobs, whereas Andrew Constance is relying on trains for a fat parliamentary pension. The sooner Sydney Trains adopt our shuttle bus mode of operations the better.

Dave Cox, Corrimal

With the Sydney CBD becoming increasingly orientated toward commercial activity, its inner suburban properties became targets for developers to gentrify then to be sold to the more affluent of Sydney society.

The Illawarra has been targeted by those same developers to become a dormitory market for those pushed out of the affordable Sydney market.

Unfortunately, instead of the relevant authorities moving pro-actively to ensure whatever format of “dormitory structures” the developers proposed to build in our region was of an acceptable standard and in keeping with character of the city. They failed to do so and allowed property developers almost free rein.

The result being, Wollongong CBD has become dominated by high rise structures. Man-made wind tunnels within which, natural daylight is present for a few hours a day at best.

Developers of sub-divisions have squeezed additional “Mc Mansions” into estates by reducing the street widths.

A measure which has made on-street parking problematic. More importantly, making access when required by emergency vehicles i.e. fire appliances, almost impossible. 

Accepting that geographically, this region would over time, become an adjunct of Sydney City, should not that process be undertaken with the best interests of the people in mind, not that of self- serving property developers?

Barry Swan, Balgownie