It is clearly obvious where those spots are, instead we display big signs with a phone number, so someone can clean up the mess. Is it that the community is not prepared to make any sacrifice to allow these most beautiful creatures to live among us?

 Is it that koalas get in the way of development and are just pests, as we continue to carve up every inch  of our remaining  forest, or is it just shear stupidity?

We should remember that our nature and our natural beauty is our prosperity.

Guy Innes 

Salamander Bay

I am extremely dismayed that anyone is calling for the dropping of the speed limit to 50km/h for koala safety along Port Stephens Drive. I mean please?

I am all for protecting our wildlife but this is too much.

We already have Salamander Way now at 50km/h thanks, no doubt to some well meaning crusaders. The road to Hell is being literally paved with good intentions.

I want my travel unimpeded and as efficient as possible, that’s what I pay for.  I do not want my travel retarded by every “cause” that someone wishes to get vocal about. Find another way. Perhaps flashing yellow lights attached to the koalas’ heads may assist in reducing the toll.

Luke Thiele

Soldiers Point

During Dementia Awareness Month, which runs throughout September, Alzheimer’s Australia is calling for greater awareness and understanding of dementia so people living with the condition feel less isolated and alone.

There are more than 353,000 Australians with dementia and an estimated 1.2 million people involved in the care of someone with dementia. In the Port Stephens electorate there are an estimated 1,350 people living with dementia. That figure is projected to increase to about 3,250 by 2050.

We hear repeatedly that when someone is diagnosed with dementia, friendships and some family relationships suddenly disappear because people simply don’t know how to interact with their friend or loved one with dementia. Treating people with the same respect, kindness, inclusiveness and thoughtfulness you always have is what makes a difference to them. I encourage your readers to find out more by going towww.fightdementia.org.au.

Regards,

The Hon. John Watkins AM, CEO

Alzheimer's Australia NSW

Following Emergency Preparedness Week, Red Cross wants all Australians to be prepared for an emergency, whether it’s as large as a bushfire, cyclone or flood, or as personal as a family crisis .

Too many conversations after an emergency begin with “I wish I had…”. People wish they’d taken the kids’ baby photographs; kept their passports safe; upped their insurance; looked in on their neighbours.

For decades, we’ve seen first-hand the trauma, stress, and hardship that disasters bring; things many of us just aren’t prepared for like anxiety, grief and loss, relationship problems, and financial hardship that can go on for many years.

You can’t get back what you’ve lost after an emergency. But you can plan to protect what matters most.

Our free guide can spare people much of the avoidable grief and trauma because we know that the better you are prepared, the better you will cope. 

Download your RediPlan at redcross.org.au/prepare and get prepared.

Jody Broun

New South Wales Director,

Australian Red Cross