How can parents have any faith in their children receiving a quality education when many teachers can’t even read, write and count at a basic level?

Daniel Andrews needs to get back to basic literacy and numeracy in our schools.

Now I have had enough. Who is going to pay for my next new TV remote?

In 2015 constant use of the mute button whenever the narcissistic Tony Abbott flooded the airwaves wore out the remote.

In 2016 the same repetitive overuse of the mute button broke the next remote whenever the supine Malcolm Turnbull of the Turnbull/Abbott government dominated the airwaves.

Now in 2017 the unspeakable Donald Trump has already caused another mute button meltdown on the next one.

Why, oh why, are TV remotes not made of sterner stuff?

First we have a federal minister committing an offence that would see a company executive likely sacked and stripped of all entitlements (and consider themselves lucky to avoid a jail term), and what do we get from our Prime Minister? An inquiry, with the findings to be kept confidential.

We have AVO orders that are not worth the paper they are written on (“No use in paper protection”, The Border Mail, January 21). We have judges giving bail to violent and mentally deranged offenders who then go out and commit murder, mayhem and carnage. What sort of justice system is this?

If you are a victim of such criminality you can apply for compensation but no one can sue the police for dereliction of duty. No one can sue a judge personally for a bad judgement he or she has made, no matter how horrific the consequences may be, and no one can sue a minister.

Pic up any act of parliament and the first thing you read is that the bureaucrats indemnify themselves for any litigation in the execution of their duties within the act.

Talk about writing your own job description. 

Parliamentary privilege is a classic example of this. What right do these politicians, judges and bureaucrats have to use legislation to put themselves above the laws that govern the rest of us.

I thought in a democracy no one was above the law and no one was below the law but this does not appear to be the case.

I write regarding your article regarding the road toll (“Zero toll can be a reality” The Border Mail, February 1).

I have long been an advocate of separation on any road for different types of vehicles.The cost is prohibitive, it has to be funded somehow no matter how unpopular it may become. There are some roads in the Dandenongs that completely ban trucks and I think that should be applied to some roads in this district – at least until our cowardly politicians can exert their waning authority and provide us all with safe roads to accommodate all road users.

That will mean user pays for everyone, no excuses accepted. Anyone who uses the road should be subject to a levy of some kind, or taxes should be raised to cover the cost. It's not too much to imagine, surely, if you want a service you pay for it and with today’s coverage of politicians' overuse of entitlements, there should be a reining in of excesses across the board.

Why fight about it? Just do it, and make every road user responsible for the privilege of using the carriageway that peoples’ taxes have paid for.