The Douglas Aerospace debacle proves one thing; all the councillors know is what the directors tell them, and they only tell them what they want them to know.

That started in the 80s and it has not changed. The losers are the ratepayers once again. The councillors have to take control! 

WOULD one of our councillors please answer the following questions?

Why did council step away from its normal activities and decide to be a money lender to Douglas Aerospace? Who was responsible for the due diligence investigation regarding the loan?

Who was responsible for carrying out the inspection of the Douglas hangar to see that it met the required standard for the proposed purpose?

Why was Douglas allowed to operate in a building that did not meet the required standards?

When the general manager resigned, if it was for personal reasons, then he deserved commercial confidentiality. If, however, he resigned because of a failure to carry out his duties or if he misled the council, then confidentiality is unwarranted and ratepayers are entitled to have full knowledge of the circumstances.

Despite promises, we are still waiting to see a censored report; when will we see the report?

At the moment, the lack of information from council means that an odour of cover up is beginning to pervade the air.

Surely some councillor is willing to come forward and clear the air about a catastrophe that appears likely to cost ratepayers millions of dollars.

PETER Young, in your letters on Wednesday, seems to think that "the erroneous beliefs [of Islam] can often lead to the implementation of consequences of these errors" – ie radicalisation and terrorism – yet then goes on to speak about how his own religion says many things, none of which apply in this day and age any more than the actions of those stoning, raping or exploding because of their holy books.

You need to read your own holy book a little more, because the one man and one woman definition of marriage is hardly present at all, being far overshadowed by the types of marriage you seem to think are "erronerous".

Religion is not a valid reason for denying gay marriage. The books in question even say as much. The irony of judging members of one religion misreading their own book yet pushing an agenda by misreading their own is not lost here Mr Young.

WHEN the pressure is on it’s always good to know who will stand beside you when things get tough.

Will our local member Katrina Hodgkinson cross the floor of parliament to support us in our fight against a forced amalgamation?  I wonder. It’s a national disgrace.

For local government  right across NSW, things are tough right now. Confidence and uncertainty is rife.

In the absence of any substantive advantages being proven, many councils and their local communities have refused to buckle under the state government’s push for amalgamation. Bland Shire is one of those councils. At this time we don’t need ifs, buts and maybes. We need a definitive response before we go into battle.