My understanding is that the demand on Bridport’s water treatment plant at that busy time exceeds the plant’s capacity.

Should there be unusually low water flows in the Bridport River? 

Coupled with this inadequate treatment capacity, what does this potentially mean for Bridport’s residents, visitors, fire-fighting capacity, hatchery, port and other businesses?

I suggest a disaster waiting to happen. Yet there is a simple solution.

Scottsdale’s water treatment plant’s capacity has four to five times the demand there.

When needed, a low-cost gravity-fed pipeline could transfer some of that excess to Bridport.

Such a pipeline was in TasWater’s own works program but has now been deleted.

Despite a $1.5 billion works program, TasWater now apparently regards Bridport as such a low priority that no solutions are proposed?

Respectfully we disagree. We hope that our political representatives will also push for a higher priority when the government Memorandum of Understanding with TasWater is settled.

In a letter published in the local paper in February, TasWater’s General Manager, Community Relations, promised TasWater would soon begin a community engagement program to establish the impacts of water restrictions on Bridport.

As far as I am aware, this is yet to commence.

Ten years after the Scottsdale-Bridport pipeline was first proposed, isn’t it time that TasWater, the Dorset Council, and our political representatives truly grasped the potential gravity of Bridport’s water shortcomings?

Isn’t it time they got together with the community to fast track a solution?

Len Gillett, Bridport.

With a proposed takeover of Fairfax Media by the Nine Network, subject to shareholder and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the value of the two merged companies has already reduced from $4.2 billion to $3.8 billion after the first day of the announcement due to the reduction of Nine’s share price.

With Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood to leave with a $6 million payout, and a “gentleman’s agreement” with Nine CEO Hugh Marks to retain the Fairfax Charter of Editorial Independence, but not in written form, it may be of some concern that 60 Minutes is considered Nine’s flagship of investigative journalism.

With digital behemoths, for example, Google and Facebook, taking considerable advertising revenue from traditional media sources, the aforementioned behemoths cannot cater for local issues of education, health, and infrastructure development to name just a few as examples.

Considering Australia has one of the most concentrated media ownership markets worldwide, it may be a test of our democracy to retain one of the country’s last remnants of a functioning society, which is investigative journalism.

Kenneth Gregson, Swansea.

THE drought in NSW, and neighbouring states, has brought about a situation that expresses itself as a form of Australian mateship in its element. 

This mateship comes in the form of our farmers coming to significant assistance, by providing stockfeed, to mainland farmers who are in dire need of it.

The community spirit could be considered as remarkable, and further, as a pleasant surprise. To give us some insight to the importance and gravity of this initiative, it involves some 1100 bales being delivered to the mainland. 

The assistance involved in this hay run initiative includes farmers, transport companies and the government; a case of organised and collective effort. It is this type of approach that demonstrates the basis of a significant form of resilience.

On a focus closer to home, Minister Jeremy Rockliff and others have noted the potential problem for our East Coast farmers, who are also experiencing dry conditions – hopefully some reserves have been allocated.

Paris Shacklock, Devonport.

WHY is the federal government not channelling all the millions of dollars that go to foreign aid to the Aussie farmers that are finding it hard through drought and been screwed by the food companies and food retailers?

Maybe pollies will wake up too late when there is no Aussie food on their plates.

K. Nunn, Newnham.

I'm a 15-year old boy I'm off a farm at Longford and I'm seeing what’s happening to other parts of the country we live in. 

Like the the droughts and floods, and I don't understand why we are giving so much money to people or companies that don't need it.

Let's say the gay marriage vote that spent a lot of Australia’s money, where we could be spending the money on the farmers that are feeding the people of Australia.

We have been working to feed Australians since we came here as criminals, and we seem to be taken no notice of, us hard-working Australian farmers. If we didn't have these men and women Australia wouldn't be what it is now.

I'm asking for people to notice the farmers of Australia, and the government to take notice of the farmers in this place we call home, and to see that everyone in this country would not be here today if it wasn't for us.

Sym Hood, Longford.