This pipeline enters our region via Moree, Narrabri and follows the Kamilaroi Highway from Boggabri to Gunnedah to the north, and skirts around Gunnedah town to follow Pullaming Road to Breeza, then near the train line to the Gap Road and cross country just to the west of Quirindi and then south.

This development was approved for 10 years in February 2009 and its approval has just been extended for another 5 years. As a newly titled landholder we were unaware of this pipelines existence, it wasn't noted on recent legal title searches and due diligence, and no correspondence has been received by us.

Upon advice from the company the last update sent to the prior owner was in 2011 with a project status update. The advertising for this project modification omitted necessary local advertising in Gunnedah and Quirindi local government areas in October 2018, yet other regional areas along this proposed pipeline were afforded their perfunctory advertising.

The local landholders who will host this infrastructure indefinitely, have been strangely kept in the dark on this extension approval process, with no direct update or contact from the company.

The extension and approval process did receive many objections and non-committal comments. Only one supporting submission was received from a company Weston Aluminium, who funnily enough shares the same general manager as the pipeline company Queensland Hunter Gas.

I think the company should prepare themselves for a battle, as much as the farmers, landholders and community members along this route should too. The process so far of exclusion and subterfuge should be warning enough for our community.

Peter Wills,

Breeza

I am writing to let you know how disappointed I am to hear that racism is alive and well in Tamworth.

A friend of mine bought a house in Tamworth so he could leave the big city, and it's expensive rents behind and start a new life in his own home.

Not long after he moved into his new home, his premises were attacked and damaged. Twice I believe. Luckily he was not hurt either time.

He is unable to find work despite applying for 10 jobs in the last 12 months. He is well qualified for the jobs. But he is Asian. And, apparently, that is a problem for some of the people of Tamworth.

This man is living on his very small savings rather than apply for unemployment. He believes if he lives a simple life, keeps his faith in God and is kind to his fellow man he will find the job he needs.

I am a proud seventh generation Australian. I love my country and have always thought of Tamworth as being a good Australian country town with the Australian way of "giving everyone a go".

I am ashamed to hear of the racism that is being shown to this man. He wants to work and help his new hometown but is being pushed aside because he is different.

Some people in Tamworth should be absolutely ashamed to call yourselves Australian.

R Hewitson,

Sydney

I recently took my 82-year-old neighbour to a specialist appointment in Tamworth. He had made this appointment three months prior.

On arrival we were told that the time he would be spending there was two hours. I returned 1.5 hours later and my neighbour said he had had an initial series of tests and was now waiting to see the specialist.

Another 45 minutes and I inquired at the desk and was told "he will be next in to see the doctor". Another 15 minutes went by and the patient was called. I read magazines for another 45 minutes and finally, my neighbour appeared and said: "this is absurd....I have been sitting in that freezing room and my patience is exhausted".

Before we left I complained again at the desk and was told "the doctor is busy". No explanation or apology was offered at any time. A day completely wasted! We then commenced the 2-hour drive home. Surely, some courtesy could have been extended to us!

Suzanne White,

Warialda

Congrats to Armidale and Glen Innes Severn councils for voting a climate emergency. Pity Tamworth Council/mayor won't acknowledge the situation we are in.

Everything is dead or dying around town for lack of water, smoke is covering the town tonight as fires are burning throughout NSW. Hard to imagine where we will be in six months time as no rain is forecast.

Graeme Reeves,

Calala

Imagine waking up one morning to find your shower has gone cold, the lights won't switch on and the fridge has gone off, along with the food inside. A growing number of people are facing the nightmare of being disconnected from their energy supply, according to recent research from the St Vincent de Paul Society.

The second national Households in the Dark report found that close to 200,000 households in NSW had their power cut off by energy providers in the three years from 2015 to 2018. They fell behind on their bills due to increasing prices, the effects of the ongoing drought, and household financial crises brought on by high rents and insufficient income support payments like Newstart.

At Vinnies, we are especially concerned for our regional and rural communities, where we see a greater increase in disconnections compared to cities. Of the 30 postcodes in NSW with the highest proportion of power disconnections, all but one were in regional or rural areas.

If your home is at immediate risk of being disconnected we encourage you to contact Vinnies or another local Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) provider for assistance. The NSW Government's cost of living service can also help make sure households are receiving the assistance to which they are entitled.

Getting through the drought is hard enough without having your power cut off. We urge the energy industry and all levels of government to take lasting action to ensure regional households can keep powering on.

The full Households in the Dark report can be found at: www.vinnies.org.au/disconnections

Jack de Groot,

CEO, St Vincent de Paul Society NSW

What all people should realise is that the future of younger generations (those younger than fifty) has been caused ominous by global warming, climate change, pollution, acid rain (in the Northern Hemisphere), the hole in the ozone layer, the el-nino effect, polar ice caps melting and other destruction of the world's ecology, environments and eco-systems.

The older generations (those older than fifty) have predominantly caused destruction and damage to the world's ecology, environments and eco-systems which will mainly ruin the future of younger generations.

Consider these facts.

Between 1750 and 2000, humans released 0.5 of a trillion (million million) tonnes of Carbon that Earth had stored up in fossil fuels. Or humans had caused climate change, global warming, pollution and other ecological destruction and damage by using fossil-fuels.

While over the coming century (2000 to 2100), humans will release one trillion (million million) more tonnes of Carbon into the world through ecological destruction and damage by using fossil fuels. (Oliver Milton, the Planet remade, page 22).

Stop Killing The World All Humans. Revert Back To Nature. Be Environmentally Kind And Conscious. Use Renewable Energies. Try To Save And protect The Ecology, Environments And Eco-Systems Of The World.

David Sidney Harris b.A. (Pure Maths) Grad. Dip. Ec. (U.N.E., NSW, AUSTRALIA)

St Vincent's Care Services, Heathcote

A Picasso painting, Bust of a Woman, hanging in the Tate Modern gallery has been slashed. It is apparently worth 23 million Euro ($US 26 million) or should that be was worth.

This is worrying. Art and objects of values should be safe and where needed be protected. Given the number of recent terrorist attacks how does anyone get a knife into an art gallery?

To me a more worrying issue is why is it worth so much and let's not discuss the $500 million Da Vinci piece? People can pay whatever they think something is worth for whatever they want but that painting would be just as good for $1million with $20 million donated to a hospital with enough left over for a few drinks with friends.

Support the Arts that give us beauty but also support hospitals that give us life.

Dennis Fitzgerald,

Melbourne