The Liberal Party is run by an urban political elite who have a cast iron grip on pre-selections and are at the beck and call of powerful big end of town interests. Finding “100 grand” would eliminate the average Australian from the political contest but would be “chicken feed” for a head office backed Liberal with political aspirations. 

Mick McGlone (“Lessons to be learned from animal friends”, The Border Mail, July 16), I believe the dog from Footrot Flats was revealed to be called Cream Puff. If I recall correctly it was in the movie. Which explains perfectly why Dog is always twitchy around Aunt Dolly. 

So Louise McOrmond Plummer (Letters, The Border Mail, July 16) claims I am both arrogant and a bigot because I wanted to see more accurate and balanced reporting on a range of topics.

She claims an adherent to Islam is more entitled to interpret its meaning than I am therefore I am arrogant.  Well, for clarification I didn't pluck the translation of Islam as “submission or surrender to the will of Allah” out of thin air. This interpretation is widely reported throughout the Muslim world and its teachings. So, if you are going to call me ignorant then please apply the same sentiment to all of the other authorities that cite the same interpretation.

She then makes a cheap and unsupported attack upon Pike and Hanson, implying I am a supporter of them despite my clearly stating I am not politically aligned.

Finally, she cherry picks one topic, gay marriage, out of several topics I mentioned that seemed to have prominence in reporting/supporting without alternative viewpoints as being “bigotry”. Well, no, it's called balance.

Remember, Louise McOrmond Plummer, my letter was carefully worded on the key theme of wanting to see more balanced reporting on a range of important social topics. However, given your comments, its both ironical and hypocritical of you to attempt to bully people with viewpoints that don't align with yours.

I invite you to read Straight and Crooked Thinking by R.H Thouless because your arguments, assertions, deviations and thought patterns need to be tempered.

I’m writing this as a concerned CFA volunteer with over 35 years service. I’m concerned that our volunteers and the public, individually, have no avenue to voice their concerns about the CFA negotiations, so I’ve written this with the hope that you will publish this in your newspaper.

The federal election may be past and somewhat forgotten, but don’t forget the struggle of CFA volunteers to overturn the government’s thinking of agreeing with the current EBA, effectively giving the UFU control of the CFA.

Just because it no longer gets front page coverage, we must not give up our efforts at protesting to the government of the proposed EBA, and potential union takeover of the CFA.

We should keep asking premier Daniel Andrews what is in the union EBA that his former minister, the CFA board, the former CEO of the CFA, and the chief fire officer found objectionable and didn't agree with.

We must not allow union control of the CFA. If volunteers or the public would like a vehicle with which to petition the premier on this matter, go to www.communityrun.org/p/support-cfa.