The big plus is it is more incentive to do the right thing.

Council elections are approaching and once again we see the blight of party politics entering the process. Party politics have no place in council elections, as soon as they enter they tend to cause a lack of unity in the council members.

All groups should be banned so that we can have a group of individuals whose only objective is the betterment of the area that they represent.

As well as being a catalyst for division, group tickets allow the election of councillors who only attract a handful of votes; this distorts the will of the voters. If a referendum was to be held, I am confident that a system of no groups with first past the post voting would receive overwhelming approval.

READ MORE LETTERS:

I'm writing to express my deep gratitude to everyone across NSW who supported The Smith Family's 2021 Winter Appeal.

Times of uncertainty can make giving difficult, but our supporters have demonstrated a level of generosity that we've found truly humbling. Our vision is to create a better future for young Australians in need, and we launched our appeal with a warning that the fallout from COVID-19 continues to impact the lives of vulnerable children and young people.

Not only are we concerned the pandemic has exacerbated the education gap between the one-in-six Australian children living in poverty and their more advantaged peers, but we're also really worried that many families we support say they're struggling to cope with the ongoing repercussions of COVID-19. Key areas of concern - including a housing affordability crisis, a lack of suitable employment opportunities and the digital divide - are compounding, and affecting families' wellbeing.

This often flows on to negatively impact on their children's educational journeys.

During tough times, The Smith Family's out-of-school learning and mentoring programs help keep children engaged in their schooling and on-track to complete Year 12.

And thanks to the tremendous generosity shown towards our appeal, The Smith Family will be able to support more than 15,000 additional students with our evidence-based educational programs.

These include student2student, which helps schoolchildren improve their reading by pairing them with older buddies, and our after-school learning clubs.

Our programs equip students with essential skills. They open young people's eyes to future study and career opportunities and encourage them to pursue their dreams.

So to everyone who contributed to our appeal to help the next generation of young Australians thrive in their education, I say thank you.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you have something to get off your chest? Simply click here to send a letter to the editor.