They could then join "the queue" they perhaps morally should have joined in the first place and not banned from coming here in the future by this method.

I am so ashamed by our treatment of them but also feel they should think of those who are waiting and can't afford to buy their way here.

Lynne Savage, Barrack Point

This morning at 7.20 am while driving home via Princess Highway at Fairy Meadow, I was lucky to miss a head-on collision.

It was just after turning onto narrow Balgownie Road passing the school and oval where there is a bend.

A “tradie” driving in the opposite direction towards Fairy Meadow quickly had to manoeuvre his ute into his lane as his ute crossed into my lane.

This tradie was squinting his eyes, trying to read something on his mobile as the sun shone in his eyes.

It is good that I always drive with both hands on the driver’s wheel and forever am scanning my eyes ahead of me and the rear mirror that helped me to brace.

Tradies, please place your mobile down or sync your mobile via bluetooth to make or receive calls and stop if you need to read a text or covert your texts via bluetooth prior to driving.

Gail Callaghan, Fernhill

It’s now formal.  

The union movement, after breaking laws for years, is publicly stating it has a right to break laws it determines are “bad” or “unjust”.  

But hang on.

How can the union movement make such subjective determinations about the law?

Even if every union member agreed with this position they would still only represent a small percentage of the Australian population.  

Union membership in Australia has shrunk on average numbers from around 55% of the workforce in the 1950’s to around 15.5% by 2016.

What then makes the trade union movement believe it can ignore most Australians and solely make a legitimate determination if a law is “bad” or “unjust”?

Trade unions might serve themselves better if they face and honestly deal with the problem of shrinking membership.  

They might find that most in the workforce and public simply don’t like the way the trade union movement is evolving and/or the increasing presence of seemingly, self-interested leaders.  

Richard Burnett, Wollongong

It’s great news that Archbishop Mark Coleridge and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has announced that “the safety of children and vulnerable adults is paramount to the church”.

This is quite a momentous statement that finally the safety of children and others is more important than the sanctity of the confessional.

It would have been nice if the Archbishop had also managed to apologise to all those who have been abused by members of his church and for the actions of those who have hidden this abuse.

But no longer will priests be able to hide behind ancient religious dogma to conceal this kind of vile attacks.

Doug Steley, Heyfield