People are entitled to an opinion and respected  for having that view.

I call it a “spray” because of the words used and the groups he has a swipe at.

The Prime Minister has to be respected and the likely Prime Minister has to be loathed?

I have come to a view that Australia Day need not necessarily be January 26 but a day that should be agreed by consensus.

I agree with some how you could view it as “invasion day” – when you review history of the arrival of the first fleet was the beginning of the exercise of the destructive effects of  British Imperialism in the Australian Colony.

Peter Corkish, Wollongong

Thank God the summer of tennis is coming to a close. \

Hour upon hour of meaningless matches.

The usual build up of the Aussie "champions" inevitably followed by their early departures save for one shining light to have the media spotlight thrust upon them.

And as for the cricket, in the BBL and WBBL, there are two teams out there and neither of them are playing cricket.

Paul Nathan

Far from being a “white elephant” the Sydney Desalination Plant was a brilliant concept – build a desalination plant and run it on green energy.

And that is precisely what the former Rees government achieved by building a 67- generator wind farm at Bungendore and then securing a 20 -year contract with the provider Infigen Energy to produce renewable energy for the plant. Brilliant.

The deal: the SDP would buy a minimum of 180,000 Renewable Energy Certificates from Infigen every year. The certificates provided the evidence that the plant was totally powered by renewable energy.

The plant operated continuously for its first two years.

On December 9, 2011, the dam storage level reached 80 per cent.

The water supply was reduced to about 90 million litres a day.

The plant's performance and increased dam levels mean the original two-year proving period of running the plant at full capacity (250 million litres/day) came to an end early.

The plant ceased production on  July 2 2012.

At revenue neutral and on performance the plant was an outstanding success.

John Macleod,  Berry

Three Victorian coal-fire powered stations went offline at the same time so major blackouts were possible.

Is it not time that this ancient technology be retired?

Australia needs safer and cheaper power generation to ensure that adequate energy is available at all times.

Ben Morris, Wollongong

​​​​​EDITOR’S NOTE: Reader contributed images of our beautiful region you are used to seeing here now run with the letters to the editor online on our website  at illawarramercury.com.au.