There were no complaints or attacks when ICAC was exposing the corruption of Labor Party politicians Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald some time ago.

There seems to be a lack of understanding about the role of ICAC; it is not a court of law and is restricted to making recommendations. Whether legal action follows is, I understand, up to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Sometimes the tabloid press is responsible for "smearing" reputations by implying that witnesses who are called are somehow linked to the alleged offenders. Apparently there is a lot of research and investigation that is done confidentially, but eventually matters under investigation must be made public. It is noteworthy that the former premier is being investigated on a matter of probity, not, I understand, of corruption.

I suggest that some media people need to consult a good dictionary.

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A law that needs to be changed is one that prevents farm properties of less than 500 acres having a house built on it.

With corporations and foreign investors buying multiple properties and in many cases bulldozing farmhouses and other improvements, the population of people living in many districts has declined dramatically.

These mega farmers have little interest in the community, usually employing contractors to do their work and have minimal people living on their aggregations, thus destroying communities for lack of participants and also making it difficult for firefighters to find crews.

There are a lot of parcels of land in most districts that don't make the 500 acres and have no residence. If these farms could be built on, it would bring much-needed population to many areas.

Some of the smaller properties may not be large enough to sustain a family but usually in such cases family members find employment in the district, either way the land will be productive and there is absolutely no logical reason for it not to be built on.

The hypocrisy is that most councils permit thousands of acres of good farming land to be subdivided into 2 to 5-acre blocks so that city people have somewhere to ride their lawn tractors but producing absolutely nothing. A couple of years ago I raised the idea of diverting floodwater around North Wagga in major floods. It was a simple plan which required clearing a flood path of major obstacles 1km wide then drawing water from near Gumly to just past North Wagga then taking advantage of the 2.3m fall in elevation from Hampden Avenue to near the Gobba Bridge to clear the water.

The plan would save Gumly, East Wagga and North Wagga from major floods and though it would likely cost around $30 million, that much would be saved by not having these areas flooded in just one flood, not to mention the peace of mind for many hundreds of residents.

A good lake in North Wagga would be a by-product of the levee and with the trotting track and plenty of open country there is potential for a major sporting area that can be built without causing flood issues.

For information on the levee plan, call me on 6922 1216.

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