As stated, these trips often bring with them a sea of comments around them being “junkets” ie. self incrimination - obviously. 

Who really is concerned that Nashville is growing at an amazing rate, on average 100 people per day - Ahem!

The fact of the matter is that the mayor and his councillors don’t have the nous to undertake the conformity of local government and have to resort to procure “ideas” and “ideology” from foreign countries. 

Seriously, if the TRC are incapable of expounding logic on matters as mentioned, and not rely on the talents of experts on home soil concerning this matter, they should be replaced immediately.

As mentioned in previous correspondence to the NDL, that an administrative body should be formed to take over the incumbency of the TRC.

Greg Daly,

Limbri

The Leader reports a great deal of excitement amongst various political groups at the prospect of a bye election in the event that the High Court rules that Mr. Joyce is not eligible to remain in the Federal Parliament.

To save time and a great deal of tax payer money the High Court may rule that Mr. Joyce was not eligible to have his name included on the last ballot paper for the Seat of New England and as such his votes to be removed from the ballot box, the remaining votes to be recounted to select a suitable candidate to represent New England.

A. E. Stannard

Hillvue

If the High Court ruling on Mr Joyce's dual citizenship could be weeks away, then noting some of the activity around this matter, I'd like to comment now.

I think, and I assume many Australians think, that the constitutional provisions here are now a technicality whose power to overturn an MP's popular election is regrettable.

Should Mr Joyce be disqualified and a by-election called, the right of anyone to nominate as a candidate against him is clear, beyond question.

But, of course, so is my right of free speech.

I accordingly suggest it would be to the great credit of all the other candidates at the last election, their parties, and all concerned if nobody nominated against Mr Joyce and a ballot was avoided.

If anyone nominates against Mr Joyce and wins, they will have proved their point, true.

What I would anticipate is that anyone nominating against Mr Joyce would be perceived by voters as engaging in discreditable opportunism on the back of a technicality and politically punished, heavily, at the ballot box.

Many voters who might not otherwise vote for Mr Joyce would, I imagine, vote for him in rejection of his removal from office on grounds irrelevant to his or his government's performance midway through the term for which he was elected.

Here, I think, voters could rightly feel annoyed that opportunism was not only discreditable but costly.

The last federal election cost the taxpayer $226 million nationally, and I think anyone precipitating a further ballot on a politically irrelevant technicality could be fairly charged with wasting public money, as well as time, as it would be reasonable to assume that a challenge to Mr Joyce in these circumstances could not succeed.

Stan Heuston

Oxley Vale

Well, Mr Edwards (Letters, October 18), I won't attempt to justify Tony Windsor's decision, or not, to stand if there is a by-election in New England.

I will,  though, poke a few honest holes in your obvious attempt to promote Barnaby Joyce by stealth.

He may well be a good bloke to have a beer with and pose as every man's bushie, but any fair assessment would have to give him a fail mark in his performance as a defender of his regional constituents and, most importantly, his farmers.

His Liberal partners treat him as a buffoon and patronize him while he, for example, stands quietly by as they play games with the "new" Shenhua coal mining fiasco "on the fringes", they say, of the prime agricultural Liverpool Plains; he remains mute as Queensland food growers have a glut resulting in low prices, but face expensive energy and water bills while the coalition muddles away with an energy policy; with Tony Abbott, he continues to be a climate change sceptic while the extreme weather events crash around farmers' ears; he supports the mammoth Adani coal mine while local farmers worry about the long-term effects on the Great Artesian Basin; and it will be interesting where he goes with the Narrabri CSG push from Santos.

And so the list continues with Barnaby bumbling away, patting backs and pork-barrelling as he goes.

Honestly - nice bloke, hopeless politician.

No wonder welded-on National supporters are already rushing out to destroy any possible opposition.

They know that the electorate is telling them to get their noses out of the trough, give fair dinkum representation to regional Australia and farmers, and stand up to the Liberals, or else.

Barnaby and his team can't or won't do any of that and the National Party no longer deserves the blind loyalty they have received.

Bert Candy

Glenvale, Queensland