And why has the sale of the city pool suddenly become optional, with the suggestion of turning that space into a “green space”? There’s oodles of green space in Bicentennial Park. It sounds like this little green space up the end would be better left as a pool area. 

We are told that this pool and Scully Park pool are past their use-by date. That is silly.

If the pools were maintained properly, they would last for many more years, and the little “green space” could continue to serve the needs of locals, including all the schools who currently walk their children to swimming lessons, avoiding the costs of buses. That same argument is true for Scully Park and the schools in the South area.

Now that we know that council doesn’t even know whether or not it will need to sell the pools, and that we now know that they can dispense with selling the city site, albeit facing the cost of digging up the pool and landscaping the “green space”, could we just wait until there is a clearer picture of the financial position?

It should also be remembered that Scully Park was, to a large extent, financed by local donations and the generosity of many Tamworth businessmen, most of whom would be turning in their graves to know that, after all their hard work and considerable donations, the pool is to be demolished.

The pool was built in 1968, just 50 years ago, hardly old compared to the pool of my childhood, at North Sydney, which was built in 1936 and is only now looking to be upgraded.

Jan Morris

West Tamworth

It is wonderful to see, in black and white, the concerns of our electorate. 

NSW Labor has, for a lengthy period, committed $100 million to establish six mandatory drug rehab centres across NSW and, although locations haven't been selected yet, our region would be at the forefront of discussions. 

A Labor win in Tamworth in March would only enhance our bid for this service. 

We have already made a commitment to reducing nurse-to-patient ratios in regional hospitals, giving nurses and patients a long-overdue increase to safety and care. 

Another upshot to this is the jobs that will be created in regional NSW. 

Registered nurses in nursing homes again (removed by Gladys and Kevin in government) will also make care of our senior citizens a priority and again increase jobs in regions. 

Come March, with a new NSW Labor government, these commitments are guaranteed. 

With a seat at the table, I would be in the best position to ensure the needs and wants of the Tamworth electorate are ensured.

Stephen Mears

Labor candidate for Tamworth