Every day, we publish a selection of your emails in our newsletter. We’d love to hear from you, you can email us at yoursay@theconversation.edu.au.
Monday August 24
“Opposing abortion is opposing a person’s rights, and their quality of life. Altering laws to limit or eliminate a person’s right to abortion is forcing the person to invest their life in a child. This is of course a joy for people usually, but when it isn’t, this idea is an abomination. In addition this initiative always comes from extremists and fanatics in the USA. Some Australians cleave to ancient attitudes about sex, but political manipulation is always USA-inspired foreign interference.”
Kym Houghton 
“This article spells out with complete clarity the disparity created by destructive capitalism and the need to consider our earth for the future. Do we actually want to support the American war machine? Do we want to support data centres in a dry continent? Is it conscionable to do so? As a humanist and ecologist, I would leave the mineral in the ground. Money is simply not worth it.”
Isabelle Canty
Tuesday August 25
“I’m constantly being shocked at the sight of adult cyclists with their very young children placed precariously on their bikes, completely unprotected, in various towed carriages, add-on seats or delivery wagons such as is shown in the picture accompanying the article. There are very strict regulations about children travelling in cars, which everyone seems to think is a good idea, but it seems you can do what you like when it comes to transporting young children by bike. Australia is not the Netherlands or Denmark; the roads are not designed for cyclists and there is a completely different driving culture. But it seems that so-called responsible adult cyclists in Australia care nothing for the safety of their young children.”
Gavin Oakes, Yapeen VIC
“Define Australia’s gun problem? It’s like stating ‘The more cars there are increases the risk of them causing harm’. There is no ‘gun problem’, rather a criminal problem. If you insist on blaming an inert object for harm, you should also blame cars, knives, hammers, fists and boots. An extremist drives a van into a Mall in Melbourne, you don’t immediately ban vans.”
Brian Sayers
Wednesday August 26
“Thank you so much for the article on political lobbying. What an eye opener! We’ve known about lobbyists and their attempts to influence the government for a long time but I don’t think the man in the street has fully appreciated their power. Well, I didn’t until this government’s disappointing gambling bill. Strong regulation of lobbyists and diaries of who met whom are essential for healthy government decisions in a democracy. The power of the individual voter seems feeble against the influence of unseen lobbyists.”
Sue King, NSW
“One of the most annoying things is when a usual charging spot is faulty or decommissioned. Publicly funded chargers should remain in service for at least 10 years, with better reliability and more chargers, particularly in rural areas. Public chargers also need better security and disability access, with an Australian Standard to ensure this. After 13 years of EV ownership, we’ve only been caught out a handful of times and never needed outside assistance. More off-peak charging discounts would also help.”
Doug Foskey, NSW
“Certainly, the prospect of being called out ‘after hours’ can curtail many aspects of one’s lifestyle. As a GP over 40 years ago, being on call a few nights a week or every fourth weekend was manageable, adjusting social activities, drinking habits and sleep expectations. Working in remote Aboriginal communities extended this to weeks rather than days, but was still doable. Remote-area community nurse practitioners, however, were on call as first responders for months on end. I suspect parents of high-needs children or aged parents are on call 24/7. Nowadays, as a volunteer rural firefighter, I’m still on call, but with more flexibility and sleep isn’t disrupted by anxiety and anticipation.”
Scott Bell, TAS
Thursday August 27
“We woke to the sad news of Dolly Parton’s passing today. Thank you for your reference to her passing this morning and your undertaking to write more today. Apart from her sensational song writing, I am in awe of her philanthropy and in particular her campaign to address illiteracy through the distribution of books to young children. Can you consider highlighting her philanthropy in your response to her passing?”
Melanie Carter, Largs Bay SA
Editor’s note: We’re delighted to, Melanie. Here’s the link.
“It is disappointing that The Conversation chose to publish such a poorly reasoned comment about banning guns (Tuesday, August 25). All the inert objects listed by the commenter (cars, knives, hammers, and boots) are primarily designed for other purposes and are being misused when used to harm people. Guns are designed for only one thing, and that is to shoot bullets. It is reasonable to ask whether we need so many machines for firing bullets in a modern society and regulate their use just as we do for all harmful products.”
Dr Peter Kandlbinder, NSW
Friday August 28
“I loved the article by Judith Ridge on Seven Little Australians. Part of the book’s charm is its authentic settings. Turner wrote from life and her depictions of urban life are a snapshot of the times. One of the sequels, "Judy and Punch”, focuses on Judy’s missing months in boarding schools and her escape back to Misrule. Places referred to in the Blue Mountains are still to be found today, just like Yarrahappini can be. For someone learning about Sydney, it was a fascinating discovery.“
Maria Hungerford, Townsville
"As an ageing citizen of Australia who has voted for good government for over 60 years, I now find that such an activity has been a complete and utter waste of my time. The quality of the Australian political system is flawed, lobbyists have the floor and dictate what is to be focused on, while we citizens are left outside the room. Transparency is bypassed and elected representatives are supposed to be working for the welfare of all Australians, not the select few with the power and privilege.”
William J Martin