Instead, members of the community with your or similar views on topics from immigration through to climate change will base their opinion almost entirely on another opinion. 

There is nothing worse than a debate involving opinions that have no basis in our reality, or are not related to facts. 

A well researched, fact based, balanced opinion on the other hand is a fantastic thing. 

Research, by the way is something you should have done, as Evelyn Beatrice Hall, author of The Life of Voltaire created the quote regarding free speech, perhaps to consolidate her views on his writings. 

I am reminded of the singer-songwriter of smash hit Blowin' in the Wind and producer of Express Yourself by N.W.A., Abraham Lincoln (dec. 1996) who once said, "Don't believe everything you read on the internet". 

Sussan Ley, who may be your federal member of parliament, has been shown to not have the integrity, scruples, judgement, intelligence, ethics or honesty to be a minister, let alone an MP representing voters and taxpayers.

Surely the health minister of any government should be a qualified medical doctor.

Ms Ley is a person chosen from a very narrow field of unqualified candidates to be the face of an ideologically driven political party hell-bent on destroying our Medicare.  

Once destroyed, the system will be sold off to investors and health will become a profit driven industry – just like in America.  

​While she fronts the media and pathetically tries to justify the gutting of one of the world’s best healthcare systems, she spends our money like it is an infinite supply of dollars, and on a whim purchases a $750,000 Gold Coast investment property.  

Not only that, you and I paid for her and her partner's trip to do so.

Such behaviour must gall hard working doctors who have had their incomes frozen by government.  

Such actions must distress people who now have to fork out for critical pathology tests. Such actions must seriously upset people whose lives depend on medicines that are not covered by the PBS.  

Every Australian should be angry at such flagrant and disrespectful behaviour.

Many other questions need to be asked, such as: what are Ms Ley’s qualifications to be the federal health minister apart from being a book keeper? Where did she get the money for a whimsical purchase of a $750,000 investment property? And why apologise for her error of judgement (only after it has been exposed though) when her behaviour is unlikely to change because it has been shown that once one’s nose is in the trough of public money, it will devour and consume as much as is possible?

I read with concern in The Age (December 27) about glamping (glamorous camping) over the Falls Creek to Mount Hotham track.

My main concern is that people with money to spend on a cosmopolitan lifestyle and wealthy tourists are wanting a place to stay to view, but not truly appreciate nature, and are pushing out people who want to experience and appreciate nature through more traditional camping.

I would like to echo the editorial (The Border Mail, December 27) stating that this idea is prioritising the economy, and in my view, cashed up people with cosmopolitan lifestyles and wealthy tourists over everyday campers.