Well it's thanks to two Pambula residents - Doug and Robyn Blair. On a regular basis they walk to Merimbula with their pick up sticks and rubbish bags. You may have seen them, what a great job they do.

Many thanks to you both, it is appreciated

Des Whitby, Pambula

Recently I took the opportunity to watch 'Underfrog', a documentary by Harrison Warne, a young local ecologist. It details the destruction being caused by thousands of hungry feral horses to the native plants and animals in Kosciusko National Park.

A few years ago I walked in the high country and saw the delicate beauty of uniquely Australian mosses and sedges growing in and along crystal clear mountain streams. Many of these plants take decades to grow in the harsh alpine conditions. They have existed for tens of thousands of years, forming part of a unique eco-system.

Now these streams are being trashed and turned into muddy bogs, where nothing will grow along their entire length as the hungry horses search for green grass and graze continually. It is not just at crossings that this damage is occurring but along the entire length of waterways. The disturbance is devastating native fish species as well as the specialised plants. The horses are also out-competing wallabies and kangaroos for feed. The native species have soft feet, compared to the hooves of horses.

Some call the horses brumbies and say they are part of Australia's cultural heritage. Well, if massive destruction of a world class national park is part of our cultural heritage it is a shameful heritage.

The sight of a herd of horses racing across the mountains is a beautiful and stirring sight. But we have to ask, should it be at the cost of Australian plants and animals. We should also consider the starvation that is occurring (and is likely to increase) in the feral horse population. What happens when they are too weak to run? That is not such an inspiring sight.

Perhaps a cultural heritage area could be put aside on land with lower conservation values as a cultural area to showcase the horses. Perhaps those who love the horses might be prepared to sponsor them and buy hay and other necessities.

I love Australia, and for me the destruction of Australia's life systems, its clear waters, plant and animal communities is absolutely unacceptable.

Thank you to Harrison and the other people involved in the making of this documentary for shining a light on what is happening on our doorstep.

Dianne Beckett, Merimbula

Scott Morrison is giving people's money away again with first time home buyers' loans. $7000 and $20,000 and now help with their deposit. This is a big handout for the banks. Within 18 months the banks will have the lot, including their homes, because they won't be able to pay it back and most will be working two or three jobs and if they lose their jobs the banks will get it all once again.

Beverley Petersen, Tura Beach

I would like to thank all those voters within the Electorate, those party volunteers that gave up considerable time and all others involved in the political campaigns.

Congratulations to Mike Kelly on regaining the seat of Eden Monaro. Congratulations to the other candidates, you believe in our parliamentary system and have the conviction to stand up and be counted you are prepared 'have a go', the Australian way.

We do live in the greatest country on earth and the Eden Monaro is one of our nation's oldest and most diversified regions. I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to throw my hat in the ring, thank you.

David Sheldon, Independent candidate, Eden Monaro

The long running issue between a majority of local ratepayers and council to make the access to North Tura Beach more presentable and to reduce fire risk by cleaning up understorey deadwood and re-growth has reached a ludicrous phase where council staff have marked out boundary areas in yellow and white paint and undertaken a "drone" aerial survey which is so amateurish as to be useless. The agenda is clear; staff want to create "edge area boundaries" as a matter of urgency to limit any volunteer group clean up. The issue is timing, the area should be cleaned up first then logical boundaries established.

To make amendments to its Site Management Plan (SMP) of February 2018 councillors voted at its meeting of 21 November 2018 to: Council delineate and identify by way of a map: a) open areas and current beach access routes, which are to be maintained; b) current vegetation areas at The Point site and Dolphin Cove site. This map to underpin works described as: retention of banksias and melaleucas (trees) (indicated on map) and options for clearing of other vegetation types including wattle (acacia sophorae) and tea tree (leptospermum) and deadwood. Since those resolutions were made there is still no map available that can show the vegetation and open areas. Council staff appear to have worked assiduously to thwart the wishes of its councilors and local community, pursuing their own agenda to create "edge area boundaries" first. Staff commenced its planning based on a 2014 Landsat image which is some 5 years out of date. The North Tura Beach Residents Association Inc (NTBRA) rejected this image as it showed open and vegetated boundaries quite different from today. NTBRA recommended using publicly available imagery on Google Earth taken on 31 October 2018 - just three weeks - from the date of the council resolution. What more could be so logical? But no, council staff would not do this, rejecting NTBRA's written offer for a workshop meeting to create the map as requested by council resolution. No answer was received.

We now have the "drone" image of 13 May 2019 which is so amateurish that low sun angle shadows make it impossible to judge the edges of vegetation and open areas (see attached). What a complete waste of ratepayers money, given a perfectly clear and usable image is freely available.

On council supervised working bees by the formally inducted volunteer group, none has been held since October last year, and only three in total since they were mandated by councillors. During this period over the summer growing season the intrusive coastal/sallow wattles have significantly encroached over "open areas" as existed at the time of the 21 November council meeting. The issue is one of local residents trying their best to maintain the area in the face of continuing council neglect. The final straw has been official warning notices to the president and secretary of NTBRA.

Chris Young, secretary NTBRA

For many years I have used the Dolphin Cove Beach. Over this time I have seen the initial track access closed and in the last few years the increased clearing of the native bush land that fringes the (now) walking track to the beach.

The closure of the old track access I understand was to preserve the bush and yet it now appears the council is tolerating the removal of that same bush land. Having recently used the 10/50 vegetation clearing scheme I am well aware that the current level of clearing is in excess of what is required under that scheme. I would like to ask the question then how this clearing, which has been in small bites over the last few years occurred?

Robert Geary, Merimbula