Colin Dunn, Chairman, Pambula and District Community Development Limited

Great shame the majority of our elected  Bega Valley Shire councillors have so little regard for liberal democracy and good governance that they reappoint the general manager of an enterprise with a turnover of more than $100 million, namely Bega Valley Shire Council, with an annual salary of $300,000 without inviting competitive applications from the open market for administrative talent, and elect the mayor and deputy mayor by their own factional votes, disenfranchising ratepayers. We need a ratepayers’ advocate to give the community genuine voice.

Jon Gaul, Tura Beach

Recently I wrote about my experience when trying to return to Merimbula from Hobart via Melbourne after being abandoned by Rex when my flight was cancelled and I was only offered a flight two days later. 

After I made my own way back to Merimbula at more than four times the cost of my original ticket, I rang Rex to ask what they would do about the situation. I spoke to a staff member in a call centre in Orange and was told that I would be refunded the cost of my ticket but not the credit card surcharge applied when I booked online. 

As I had purchased travel insurance online when I booked my ticket I felt confident I would recoup the significant amount I had to outlay in order to get home. However the insurance company told me they could not accept my claim as the reason for the flight cancellation was that Rex had initiated the cancellation not me.  If I had cancelled the flight because of unforeseen circumstances I would be able to make a claim but as it was Rex, they could not pay. 

I find this totally unreasonable. Buying insurance online at the time of booking means you do not have the ability to read all the fine print before ticking the box. The experience only confirms my opinion that insurance companies are unscrupulous in avoiding payouts to people who have bought cover in good faith. I won’t be buying insurance online. 

I remain disappointed by Rex and am still waiting for the refund of my ticket and for some form of apology. As for the insurance company I will not be using them again. 

Dianne Hocking, Merimbula

To the residents of Tathra affected by the bushfire, we'd like to share our experience as we went around collecting donations during the Band Together concert.

The crowd were amazing in their generosity. Everything from gold coins to $50 notes got thrown into the bucket. One lady dropped two sandwich bags full of coins she had been saving. Some brought with them donations from others who could not not make it to the event - these were wrapped in notes with messages of love and best wishes. Many people rummaged through their bags to find every last coin. Some didn't have any change on them but made the effort to track us down later; we had many who made it a point to wade through the crowd to give us their heartfelt contributions. The spirit of thoughtful solidarity and support was abundantly evident all round.

The concert wouldn't have been successful without the contributions from the artists, many individuals and organisations but two people deserve to be recognised: Darren Jones, the organiser and Jess from the Sapphire Coast Turf Club, thank you for courageously taking on the lions share of the work!

Vera and Rick, Bald Hills