Lucky Tamworth was chosen as part of a four stop tour. A powerful arrangement of selected, celebrated stories from a 31 year repertoire.

Such precision, agility and total command of the work brought goosebumps to my skin. Eighteen amazing personalities breathing life into a unique inherited past. Proud

Christine Watson, Tamworth

I refer to the privatisation of the NSW State's poles and wires by the current NSW government between 2015-16.

Regional Nationals MP's approved the sale of the poles and wires claiming they had saved Essential Energy jobs vital to bush economies which they didn't, with more than 1,500 employees gone plus more to follow, delivered cheaper electricity which they haven't and delivered a handsome $6 billion dividend to regional centres and well may we continue to wait to see that bounty hence the additional sale of the Snowy Hydro for $4.15 billion.

We see the folly of electricity privatisation when the vital service is cut by a storm or other event, there is no doubt there are far longer delays to getting the electricity back on as rural residents recently experienced.

The fly in the ointment of electricity privatisation by the party that claims it solely represents rural people - Barilaro, Toole, Marshall, Anderson and others is that it will deliver a massive cost to landholders who now must bear the responsibility of paying for the replacement of dilapidated timber poles at a cost of upwards of $10,000 per pole.

Anything on the landholder's property that feeds their infrastructure is generally the landholder's responsibility, as the poles are now a genuinely designated "Private Pole" (PP) and our amalgamated but once great former county councils have extricated themselves from the responsibility.

Now it is fair to say that when former Premier/Deputy Premier Mike Baird and Andrew Stoner issued their press releases in 2014 lauding the miracle of electricity privatisation and when rural people stepped up to vote for their Nationals candidate at the 2015 and 2019 State elections the issue of job losses, increased electricity charges and maintenance costs of the residual network was not front and centre of the voter, presumably because the Lib/Nats barely mentioned it for obvious electoral reasons.

Voters were duped by the Nationals and now rural landholders will reap the whirlwind of woefully poor Nationals advocacy for rural constituents.

The Lib/Nats are cutting Essential Energy to the bone. I can recall the Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall back in 2014 talking tough saying he had stood up to his Liberal colleagues on the matter and while in recent years he has delivered for his electorate far more than his colleague next door, he has also fed his residents to the privatisation wolves and they are also encumbered with market based fees and charges like the residents in the Tamworth electorate and electorates elsewhere.

You might not think that this issue is a big deal but if you are a property owner, wait until you are advised that the electrical service poles on your property need to be replaced, the cost will be significant.

Mark Rodda, Tamworth

Thank you to the Northern Daily Leader for the many positive business and community news articles. In particular, articles showcasing existing, new and emerging small businesses.

Small Business is the backbone of our entire country. Reporting positive, factual information on community events, new, emerging and existing local small businesses is of enormous benefit to us all.

Cr Helen Tickle, Tamworth

Australia has a proud military history that spans more than a century and on 28 February we will commemorate 30 years since the official end of one of our more recent conflicts, the First Gulf War.

Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the international community responded quickly, with the United Nation's Security Council imposing sanctions on Iraq, giving it until 15 January 1991 to withdraw from Kuwait.

When this date passed, the combat phase known as 'Operation Desert Storm' began, which lasted until 28 February 1991 when coalition victory was declared.

Australia deployed more than 1,800 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel from the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, and the Royal Australian Air Force to the Gulf from August 1990 to September 1991.

Our ADF personnel provided escort and logistics support during combat operations and continued working after the ceasefire in February of 1991, as Australians remained in the region to assist with humanitarian efforts. The war also saw the first RAN women serve in combat-related roles in warlike service as part of the crew on the replenishment ship HMAS Westralia.

Our commitment demonstrated that Australia was able to make an effective international contribution to a distant conflict at short notice.

All Australians were fortunate enough to return home, however the same could not be said for our coalition partners who suffered losses.

As we approach the 30th anniversary, I encourage all Australians to remember those who served and thank them for their service, to reflect on our nation's efforts, and to learn more about this conflict in our military history. Lest we forget.

Darren Chester, Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel

"What is Barnaby Joyce going to do to fix all the climate change that he is causing?" Someone actually asked me this recently. I asked if they really believed that and they said yes.

How do you even reason with people who think one man is personally responsible for the climate, and able to affect the weather? This is deranged thinking, but it doesn't surprise me anymore.

Eco-anxiety does strange things to people's minds - they start believing things that are so far off the planet it's like an absurdist comedy.

Daniel Peckham, Tamworth

What a wonderful display to see our Defence Force's latest acquisitions pass over our city. Our military should be applauded for the foresight to bring our armed forces with the best equipment available.

Max Hyson, Tamworth

Round and round we go in a state of paralysis over Australia's energy policies. For some reason, the energy "solutions" presented by our politicians appear to contradict research that is done by their own government agency. How ironic.

The draft GenCost 2020-21 reported that renewable energy continues to be the cheapest new sources of electricity in Australia. Large-scale solar was priced at $1408 per kilowatt, while wind costed $1951.

In contrast, black coal cost $4450 per kilowatt, brown coal cost $6868, and power from a small modular nuclear reactor was $16,487. New gas-fuelled power costed $961 per kilowatt; however when operating costs were factored in, renewables (combination of wind, solar and battery) were cheaper than gas and coal.

If our politicians are truly looking out for Australia's best interests other than their own, clearly an energy policy that shifts us away from coal and gas, and towards renewable energy is the answer.

Ching Ang, Kensington Gardens

Thank you for the fact check on the claim 'coal from other countries has 50 per cent higher emissions than Australian coal' is false (Morrison coal claim nonsense, 23/2). This argument is used to try and justify why we continue selling coal to other countries.

In a similar vein Barnaby Joyce put forward his own personal amendment for the CLEAN energy finance corporation to be allowed to build high efficiency low emission coal fire power stations which actually only reduces emissions from coal by about 10 per cent while adding 20 per cent to an already uncompetitive price.

Pulling wool over our eyes, by validating the need to continue burning coal, will work no more.

Australians know better; we deserve a government that acts in our best interests, and this means transitioning our economy out of heavy polluting coal and towards a cleaner (and coincidentally more prosperous) economy.

Jenna Bastian, Tamworth