They pose a health threat, not only to passengers, but more so to railway employees.

These containers of rubbish from Sydney do not merely smell, they stink to high heaven, and it is appalling that these containers are sitting on Goulburn platforms.

All new citizens must take the Australian citizenship pledge. They pledge their loyalty to Australia and its people whose rights and liberties they will respect and whose laws they will uphold and obey. However, in an attempt to weed out the undesirables, the government thinks it is going to make it harder for those applying for citizenship by making the required questionnaire more difficult. This is an exercise in futility. Even if they tick all the right boxes doesn’t mean they will become good law abiding citizens. Only a complete fool would tick ‘No’ in the Yes/No box to the following question: Will you respect and uphold our laws?

Strengthening this farcical test will have no bearing whatsoever on the quality of those seeking to settle here. As an example of how useless the test is: if you gave convicted serial killer Ivan Milat a similar test, I wonder what box he would tick if you asked him – If you are let out of jail and set free, will you promise not to re-offend?

The word all migrants/refugees that come to our shores seeking refuge dread most is deportation.

Therefore, to weed out the potential criminals and no-hopers, even after they have been accepted into our society, I believe our citizenship Pledge should be revised to read:

Having accepted my citizenship, I am fully aware that if, in any way, I break my pledge and be disloyal to Australia and its people and whose rights and liberties I will not respect and whose laws I will not uphold, I will forfeit my citizenship and be deported back to my place of origin.

So it would be advisable for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to stop fiddling around the edges and do something meaningful and constructive ... The old tick-the-box trick simply doesn’t work.

The Australian Government is planning to tighten the requirements for Australian citizenship. The new requirements may include a stand-alone English test and a commitment to embrace Australian values. 

Australian history is a living testimony of the hard work and sacrifices of migrants from all over the world. Sure, some of them could not speak English very well, but they had the much needed skills to build Australia.  

Afghan cameleers played a great role in exploring and mapping the northern outback and rural Australia. They were a key to infrastructure projects. Lebanese settlements established restaurants, retail and warehousing businesses. Indians, Pacific Islanders, and Chinese supported the gold rush, sugar and banana industries. Italians, Greeks, Poles, Maltese, Russians and French settlers established the wine industry.

I fully appreciate and understand the need for speaking English, but making it mandatory would lead us back to White Australia Policy. Let’s remember diversity is our biggest strength and a key to our great success. 

With the Federal Government touting decentralisation of departments, we in the Upper Lachlan Shire Council area have an opportunity to apply for the same.

The Department of Sports and Recreation can be encouraged to establish a training facility at Crookwell.