The service I received from reception, the nurses and doctor in the department was excellent. The doctor was worried that because I am on warfarin and I had received a solid knock to my head there could be further problems so he organised a CT scan.

He also said that my ear required an ENT surgeon to stitch it and organised for the surgeon to come and see me. She agreed with him and I was treated in a theatre. Again, the treatment I received from the anaesthetist and nurse post op was excellent.

We are so lucky to have this facility in our town and having it staffed by such caring professionals.

Tim Fischer you were a tall man amongst gentlemen, I will never forget your commitment to visit your fellow veterans in the Persian Gulf Christmas 1990, including myself, I will always be grateful. You were a caring passionate man who loved your family and your country. RIP Tim Fischer and thank you for your service.

Your correspondent David Beard makes a good point when he describes the absurdity of Australia exporting natural gas to other countries who then sell it back to us at a profit (Letters 29 August 2019). How this fits with the Government's commitment to lower energy prices is a mystery to most of us.

There's a second flaw in the Government's energy logic too. Energy Minister Angus Taylor has been suggesting that exporting gas reduces emissions because gas burns cleaner than coal, so when other countries burn Australian gas, Australia can take credit for the cleaner energy.

One of the fundamental principles of all the international greenhouse agreements is that you count the emissions at the place where they are emitted, not to country of origin of the fuel. If Australia wants to claim credit for other counties emissions reductions, we should also take the blame for the emissions from Australian coal being burned overseas. Do that and we become the sixth largest emitter in the world. So much for the Government's argument that our emissions hardly count on the world stage.

As we speak, the world`s lungs are being cut down and burnt. Many species of animal and plant life are being irrevocably lost. Local indigenous people are being forced off their land, perhaps forever. A tragedy of planetary proportions is happening on our watch. For what? For more meat pies and hamburgers?

How dumb we are. The human race called itself Homo sapiens, the clever man. But the tragedy unfolding in the Amazon rainforest of massive land clearing is not that clever nor smart. It`s madness. Unlike Apollo 13, spaceship Earth does not have a Houston. Nor is there a planet B.