Having worked at Sydney hospitals, I was aware there would be a charge for parking. I was not aware all other parking on the site will be restricted to two hours.

To make matters worse, only 130 parking spaces will be initially allocated to staff on a first-come, first-serve basis.

There are well over 400 staff working at the Shoalhaven Hospital, so if you are not allocated a space, same problem as before - where are you supposed to park without getting fined?

And where does this leave the visitors and outpatients?

It was revealed Scott Cam will be paid $345K to be the National Careers Ambassador to promote TAFE, meanwhile 200 TAFE staff will lose their jobs over Christmas to meet a 3% efficiency dividend. This is the same government that has cut $326 million which could of paid for an extra 32,000 trainees or apprentices. With more cuts to penalty rates to the lowest paid workers who are also trying to get decent pay rises, this government still insists on telling people we're better off. I think this is beginning to wear a bit thin with most "silent" Australians.

Andrew Constance, I appeal to you as my local member to act on behalf of all volunteer firefighters in NSW.

We hear of accolades for our courageous firefighters. They volunteer their time, effort and expertise to protect people and property. Imagine the impact of bushfires without them!

As a RFS volunteer, it is mandatory to undertake training courses. Many may be unaware that our volunteers have to sacrifice income or leave in order to attend these training courses. I believe this to be not only unfair, but wrong.

Firefighters volunteer to protect the public and fulfil a vital role. They should not lose income to do so. The NSW government should compensate volunteer firefighters for loss of income.

Training courses should not be consigned to weekends, taking away family time. Our fire fighters are invaluable. Its time to value their input, by ensuring their training is not an out of pocket expense.

While the south coast burns how many helicopters sit on the ground at our bases?

Tragedy strikes the Netherlands. On February 1, 1953, a devastating flood hits. Just over 1,800 people die, 72,000 are evacuated, thousands of livestock lost and a tremendous amount of property is damaged. To reduce future devastation, the Dutch government created the North Sea Protection Works, which included building a dam and barriers across the sea.

Australia is the driest inhabited island continent. Due to unprecedented dryness; vegetation east of the divide is burning property, livestock and, yes, lives. Out west drought has lent a blowtorch to fertile paddocks; dried up rivers and devastated crops.

What do we get from governments; a shake of the head and sympathy. There's no Dutch courage or hero making decisions. Australians may well be on the way to viewing the final sunset across a backdrop of a wasteland. Yet governments do not see any urgency to prevent nature's genocide.

Just like the Netherlands, our survival depends on government leadership. A good start would be to pump desalinated sea water into catchment dams, lower river estuaries and drought stricken areas.

That's not too much of an ask, is it?