It's not just cars taking over our footpaths | Letters to the editor

I would like to add that cars aren't the only blockades on footpaths. Caravans, trailers, bikes, boats, skip bins, piles of gravel or bark chips, builders' debris, fencing around new builds, fallen over real estate signs, overgrown trees and bushes, side hedges planted to the gutter, working sprinklers, large holes without guards, free stuff, spiky plants and long grass requiring a machete to tame it also make footpaths impassable. Are they illegal too? Such frequently encountered obstacles are why the roadway has become the "footpath" of choice for many walkers.

Susie Stevenson, Tamworth

In a stunning display of irony, the moral crusader turned Canberra street ornament, Barnaby Joyce, was discovered in a state that can only be described as a masterclass in hypocrisy. Far from the hallowed halls of their constituency, they lay, crumpled and inebriated, a spectacle not of political prowess but of moral decay; and a laughing stock of those that voted for him.

Picture the scene: the self-righteous pontificator, who never missed a chance to lecture on the virtues of moral fortitude, now reduced to a comical caricature sprawled out on the pavement, clutching a mobile phone like a lifeline to some semblance of dignity. But alas, even that lifeline was squandered as their conversation, laden with obscenities, echoed through the otherwise serene Canberra streets.

The media, ever hungry for a tale of political hypocrisy, wasted no time in lampooning his continued fall from grace. Headlines flashed across screens worldwide, turning the once esteemed MP into the punchline of a joke that reverberated from London to Los Angeles.

It's a cautionary tale, a reminder that those who preach the loudest about morality often have the most skeletons in their closet. And as your fallen MP comes to terms with their newfound infamy, perhaps they'll reflect on the wisdom of practicing what they preach before the next sermon begins. After all, in the theatre of politics, the spotlight can be unforgiving, especially when it illuminates the dark corners of one's own hypocrisy.

David Baker, Adelaide Hills

Barnaby Joyce's article in the NDL on 7th October 2023 stated "not a word has been uttered by the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister or Treasurer as to why sheep are being sold at prices cheaper than a chop in the shop, a whole sheep cheaper than a hamburger."

Last weeks sheep and lamb sale at Tamworth Regional Livestock Exchange saw Lambs average $205 per head. Prices for lamb in Woolies this week by comparison are $22/kg for midloin lamb chops down from $28 in November 2023. Even crossbred ewes made $105. By comparison in the 10th October 2023 which riled BJ Xbred lambs made $102-$106 and ewes $42.99. So prices have gone up over 200 pc while supermarkets have dropped prices by 22 pc in the same time. (comparison prices from NLRS for same class and breed of livestock)

Not a peep from Barnaby about the turnaround in prices. As an accountant you would think Barnaby would understand supply and demand, forward contracts and supply chains a bit better.

It appears he has been too flat out in Canberra after parliament of an evening to write to the NDL to correct his rant of October last year. Perhaps his next commentary in the NDL and letter to constituents should be congratulating the government and retailers for efforts to reduce prices to consumers whilst producers have seen dramatic increases in prices?

Graeme Harris, Calala

After reading the opinion piece by the CEO of the "Coalition for Conservation", with such biased anti-renewable rhetoric, I was completely unsurprised to see that the board of directors includes a "former Federal President of the Australian National Party", the chair of the "NSW Liberal Parties Audit and Governance Committee" as well as "a former NSW Liberal Leader".

If only we acknowledged that fighting climate change should be above petty politics.

Conservative politics appears to completely fail to understand that a livable environment trumps everything.

Andrew Brown, Nundle