One young woman told me she was separated from her real family who were living in metro Melbourne and Queensland.

"I just love my job," she said.

"My workmates are my family at the moment."

Bravo. And ... what a beautiful city!

Frances Thompson, Nelson

Have noticed lately the Silver Ball at the former Fetcher Jones factory site appears to have not been lit up at night.

I am sure there is a good reason for this but thought in these coronavirus pandemic times it would be great for it to be illuminated as a beacon to brighten up all our lives here in the Warrnambool area.

Wayne Ruwoldt, Warrnambool

Beggars belief how firstly a man from a Melbourne COVID-19 hotspot can get a train ticket to travel to Warrnambool and potentially spread a deadly virus through our region.

Secondly, apparently no checks of ID on the Melbourne-Warrnambool train to make sure no-one is travelling from a Melbourne hotspot to Warrnambool.

Thirdly, it took an on the ball member of the public to alert

Police about this also maskless man moving all over the region possibly spreading a deadly virus which could destroy more families and at risk older people. Any wonder this thing is out of control.

Jason Kelly, Warrnambool

Recently I viewed New Zealand's response to the development of a second wave of COVID-19 and was impressed with the calm but rapid introduction of restrictions. No pointing the finger nor political point scoring instead; a calm, calculated and supportive response.

In contrast how disappointed I am with the Australian and the United States of America (not so united) response, little real cooperation between federal and local authorities, mixed messages to the public and an enormous amount of political point scoring.

This virus is nowhere near defeated and any cracks in the response to it will allow the infection rate to escalate.

I operate a business and have lost a lot of money as a result of the restrictions however I am fully supportive of the current state government measures to reduce the spread of this threat to our health and well-being.

The media have not helped at all giving prime time coverage to groups in our society that don't get it, sensationalising conflict between different levels of government and encouraging a regime of blame.

As a result people have been left confused and angry rather than working with those elected to govern.

This is a threat to Australia as a nation and we now know it can return the minute we let our guard down, we real need a national approach and I think our politicians need to pay attention to our nearest neighbour.

Rob Graham, Terang

The Great South Coast Regional Partnership strongly supports the addition of the Princes Highway to the federal government's National Land Transport Network and the promise of future funding that accompanies this listing.

Our partnership has advocated for additional funding for the Princes Highway - specifically for improvements to the highway west of Colac - since our inception in 2016. The highway is a critical asset for the Great South Coast region, not only as a key freight route for our nationally significant agricultural industry, but also as a supporting network for forestry, future tourism growth, renewable energy projects and aluminium.

The Great South Coast has outstanding investment potential, and this has been evidenced in much of the Partnership's work to date. These endeavours, informed by a cross-section of local business and community leaders working in tandem with government, have revealed the unique growth potential of our region. With a committed alliance working hard to bring creative, yet real-world initiatives to life, the reliance on a reliable and safe Princes Highway network has never been more important.

We will continue to work with the State and Commonwealth Governments to help address this issue in the very near future to allow the Great South Coast to reach its extraordinary potential.

Lisa Dwyer, Chair, Great South Coast Regional Partnership

A decision by the federal government to extend the JobKeeper scheme for a further six months will be welcomed by country Victorian businesses that are relying on the payments to keep local people in work.

Restrictions in place to stop the spread of coronavirus are there to save lives, but they've also had a massive impact on regional economies.

An additional 250,000 Victorians are out of work due to the second round of restrictions imposed on Victorians as a result of Daniel Andrews' hotel quarantine fiasco in Melbourne.

I've heard from many business owners who say they wouldn't be open and keeping local people in work without the JobKeeper scheme.

Expanding the program to make more Victorian businesses and workers eligible for these support payments is relief our country communities desperately need as we enter six more weeks of Stage 3 lockdown.

Businesses will now only have to prove GST turnover has fallen across one quarter, instead of multiple quarters meaning more will be able to access it.

I urge anyone seeking financial support to apply at www.ato.gov.au/General/JobKeeper-Payment.

Peter Ryan, Nationals MP

I want to congratulate our council and the Friends of our Botanic Gardens on the nature playground which is almost completed. It is fabulous and I can't wait to take my grandchildren to play there. However not so happy with the gardens themselves.

I feel sad that there are no annuals. A few daffodils, jonquils, not much else in the way of colour. Where have our beautiful annuals gone. We seem to find them for our roundabouts. Summer was no different. Where have the dahlias gone? They were stunning! Palm trees keep popping up everywhere.

William Guilfoyle designed on the gate. Yeah right! I know that we have drought tolerant plants in mind but hey, not every year is a drought and the roundabouts don't seem to be affected by drought.The gardens are beautifully manicured. The trees are wonderful.

Clearly lovingly cared for but please, give us some colour and something special. My garden though smaller is not much different! I visit the gardens to see what is beautiful and amazing. Apart from the amazing trees, there is not much more to see.

Jill Haberfield, Warrnambool

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 and in print.