Let’s calculate how much is being spent, and how much would be saved with one-off major funding for a pipeline from a water storage facility in the great dividing range.

Barnaby Connor Joyce, use your head more productively, you would go down in history as the first politician for decades to actually make a lasting change for areas constantly hit by drought and truly support the rural villages, towns, cities and farmers west of the mountain range.

In the big priority shuffle of life and survival, there is NO other resource as important and valuable as water!!

Marissa Galloway

Tamworth 

Mr Barnaby Joyce has too do more at a federal level in regard to irrigation and rivers and dams and put laws in place so as all states have a better system to keep a safe reserve at all times. But this falls to Mr Kevin Anderson as it is the states that control water.

I believe this state government has no policies, direction or leadership on water security and Mr Anderson is a ‘party yes man’ and if wishing to keep his highly paid position using his words ‘I'm here for the people and the politics will look after themselves’.

Laws have to be made as to water security such as the transfer of irrigation from one area to another.

It has to be stopped and pumping above the Manilla weir stopped when the water is flowing less than 100mm over the wall, instead of waiting until it stops, is killing the Namoi river below it.

Do not allow any pumping on environmental flows, cap all dams at 25% and stop State Water from pre-selling. Only sell when dams are above this level to lucerne and cotton farmers, and only allow coal to fill wash dams on high water. Also make major users install satellite tracking on pumps so as when they pump outside this they are fined.

Also I believe laws must be made to protect our small business' in our small rural towns as to help them in drought and hard times as done for farmers. It must be time we all refrain from the attitude of ‘I'm alright, Jack’, bugger the rest as when your small business boss has to close due to hardship and you lose your job you can bet London to a brick you or they will get a government pension for life.

David Davis

Manilla

This is a national disgrace! Totally irresponsible in the middle of another drought, living with signs of climate disruption all round us, the NSW government gives Shenhua the green light without a management plan, despite being well aware that the majority of people in Australia don’t want Shenhua’s Watermark coal mine on the Liverpool Plains. 

The majority of people in Australia don’t want ANY new coal mines. We want renewable energy and a well-managed transition to a clean economy. No more coal mines or gas fields.

Meg Nielsen 

Bentley NSW

In another of the stories that looks to handle the symptoms rather than the cause we see a suggestion that school starts later for sleepy students.

Although it may amaze many, some students don't actually want to go to school and some teachers too. For the students this has been made worse by their late night, generally internet based, activities where they are online way past the witching hour and so rise very late in the day. Teachers of course, from personal experience, rise at the crack of dawn and head into work early to prepare for these students.

Having sleepy students in a class is it always caused by late nights as a boring teacher can put anyone to sleep although the general cause is the disruption of the circadian rhythm and the need for sleep eventually. Running classes later will suit some of these students but what of the majority who keep regular hours and the parents who don't want to drop off children later in what would be working hours nor pick them up later in the evening.

There is a need to get people back to regular hours as the caring environment of a school where chronic lateness is a cautious concern will be replaced by a working environment where lateness will be met by a concerning caution and eventually the sack and not the one for sleepy heads.

Wake up and smell the flowers and get used to an early start to the day.

Dennis Fitzgerald

Box Hill