Dorothy Grauer, Warrnambool

The bush fire situation across the world is unprecedented, Australia has experienced the earliest and most ferocious bush fire season in recorded history. Sadly the scientists, farmers and even the majority of fire chiefs have been warning the government only to be ignored or labelled as greenies or dole bludgers. I am not an urban-dwelling greenie or a dole bludger Mr Morrison; however, I, like many others, are concerned about the government's lack of policy. The drought, unseasonal hot weather and devastating fires are indisputably linked and will get worse if we fail to develop appropriate policy to manage our environment, acknowledge climate change as a first step. Our water resources are vital yet the government has given multinational agribusiness companies the rights to over 80 per cent of the water flowing into the Murray Darling system leaving our farmers and rural communities with no water, this is further exacerbated by clearing marginal land. Fire chiefs are being ignored at a time when rural fire fighters are risking their lives to protect people and property often lacking resources. We even have to borrow dedicated planes needed to slow the pace of the devastation, part of a plan if we had one, would be to invest in a fleet of such planes. Water catchment and desalination plants are costly but given we are facing more and longer droughts, we need a government prepared to develop policy and begin to implement the necessary infrastructure funding immediately.

Rob Graham, Terang

Why does a so called progressive Andrews government still allow the annual slaughter of our waterbirds under the guise of a sport. The understandable outrage about the cruel treatment of retired racehorses exposed by the ABC should extend to native and defenceless wildlife that occupy our rapidly reducing wetlands. This government-endorsed carnage reflects a bygone era. It should have no place in a modern and caring Victoria. The duck shooting season scheduled for March 2020 should be cancelled now and permanently.

Tony Delaney, Warrnambool

The Fix our Roads petition has been tabled in Parliament with 8270 signatures - a very strong message to Daniel Andrews and the State Labor Government we want our roads fixed and fixed properly.

The ball is now in Daniel Andrews' court - he has two options he can ignore the petition and its message or he can act and begin by matching the $140 million in funding for our roads put on the table by Dan Tehan and the Federal Liberal Government. If he ignores the petition, he will be ignoring the concerns of each of the 8270 people who signed it.

It's also time for our two Labor upper house members to step-up and start delivering for the community they represent. Roads Minister Jaala Pulford is one of two Labor Members for Western Victoria. Along with Gayle Tierney, she sits at the cabinet table where decisions are made.

It's time for them both, particularly Minister Pulford, to step-up and listen to the genuine concerns the people they represent have when it comes to the condition of south-west roads and to start acting.

Roma Britnell, South West Coast MP

We are writing to thank the Warrnambool community for your support of McHappy Day in 2019 - the largest annual fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).

The Warrnambool community helped us celebrate 28 years of McHappy Day by raising more than $5.9 million for RMHC nationally. These donations will go toward supporting families while their seriously ill or injured child undergoes treatment, helping them to stay together in their time of need.

Throughout the country we saw communities, including residents from Warrnambool, help raise vital funds for RMHC. We saw local Bucket Brigades, emergency services, community heroes, as well as sporting and TV personalities visiting McDonald's restaurants to help make a difference.

We want to personally say a big thank you to everyone in the Warrnambool community, who got involved on Saturday 16 November, making generous donations, which helped McHappy Day raise more money than ever before.

Fundraising efforts like McHappy Day are vital and ensure RMHC can be there for families with seriously ill children when they need it most.

With so many Australian children requiring treatment, every donation goes a long way to keep families together in their toughest times. You can continue to support families in need by donating to rmhc.org.au all year round. Thank you again to the local community for all your help on McHappy Day 2019.

Barbara Ryan, CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities Australia, Katie Holmes, National Ambassador, McHappy Day 2019

Please note: The Standard prefers letters to be less than 250 words. Preference is given to shorter contributions. Letters must include the author's name, address and contact phone number for verification purposes. Letters are published at standard.net.au/comment/your-say/ and in print