Council have been asleep at the wheel with not coming up with a do-able Growth Management Strategy to house people.

The previous GMS rezoned three green field areas but none of these were taken up.

In the current GMS there is a green field proposal for immediate commencement. This proposal has all services, walking distance to town and family friendly terrain but was rejected on a technicality with no prior consultation to allow amendments.

We understand that the Council won an award for public consultation. Council may argue that everyone has had the opportunity to express a view and my answer to this would be that the silent majority has not voted and will not as they don't believe the Council can do anything.

Since the previous GMS (10 years ago) only two proposals for rezoning have been accepted and two maybes.

What about the silent majority that want do-able development for their children's future? Development means families have an appropriate sized property ... families mean children in schools, attending clubs, groups, etc, which means the town will continue to thrive.

'Infill' means elderly and single folk may have to live in the back yard of someone else's property and that means the town, as we know it, will suffer.

Jackie Harris, Bellingen

The Sydney Morning Herald on August 26 carried a front page story, 'Minister attacks river experts'. It was a strong critique of our local state member the new Water Minister, Melinda Pavey. With no background in hydrology and related fields such as limnology she has used voodoo science to criticise expert opinion in the associated fields. These include the opinions of Dr John Keniry, the head of the Natural Resources Commission, Bryce Wilde, from the same organisation and Professor Fran Sheldon from the Australian Rivers Institute.

The state of the Barwon Darling river system is in crisis due to over extraction. More catastrophic fish kills are forecast for the global warming summer. The defiance of scientific opinion by right wing politicians alarms those who have broader opinions and understand we are heading towards the mass extinction of species.

What drives the thoughts of right wing politicians? Mammon is the answer here. Short term financial gains for greedy irrigators and party backers and to hell with the consequences of mass fish kills. One fact is obvious, a lack of learning and subsequent enquiring mindset drives their motives. I'll never get a look in, but of one thing I'm certain, in a National Party household, where knowledge is resisted, there is a dearth of books.

Warren Tindall, Bellingen

It was with both sadness and concern that I recently heard about the resignation of a 2BBB board member whose wealth of Australian broadcasting experience over more than 30 years brought valuable experience to our community radio station.

The current board has worked hard over the past two years to meet an increasingly complex regulatory environment: governed by cooperatives' law, directors have duties in relation to long-term business and financial planning, as well as ensuring the Cooperative complies with statutory reporting; the Australian Communications and Media Authority also requires that a range of conditions be met in renewing broadcasting licenses every few years. These are not roles to be taken lightly and require a substantial level of commitment and skill. In short, running a community radio station is a complex and the current Board has a done a marvellous job in bringing on a fresh new approach with greater community linkages.

I would urge community members to support 2BBB by becoming a subscriber.

Lydia Bezeruk, Bellingen

I was saddened to see on NBN news that our beautiful Baalijin Nature Reserve has been vandalised by construction of access roads to facilitate the logging of the Kalang Forests by NSW Forest Corporation. I hope that Forestry Corporation is held to account for this appalling disregard for our native forests, ecosystems and the wildlife that call it home. The NSW EPA must hand them a significant fine and cancel planned logging. These steep forests with their unique erodible soils should never be a site for industrial logging, it is sheer madness.

Robbie Bentley, Gleniffer

As a resident of Hillside Drive, I am sick of the cars that daily speed down our street. I don't know why they come down our street as Pilot St. is a quicker route out of the town. It is only a matter of time before a child is hit outside the day care centre. Often the kids are excited at the start of the day and are in a hurry to cross the road to the centre, unsupervised by their parent who is still unloading the car.

I witnessed a child do this and using my best teacher's voice called for the kid to stop, as a speeding car approached. I would implore the council to install a speed bump outside the day care centre to help avoid a fatality.

Denis, Urunga

The Snooki letter