The receipt was printed out whether you wanted it or not as it contained your order number. It was about 9 inches or over 20cm long and contained 39 lines of information although my coffee order was only three of these lines. The days of paper orders and receipts should be long gone. Another minor point, please don't promote your environmental on throw away paper receipts.

Let's actually work on environmental concerns rather than advertising our programs.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill

People are deeply upset about what's going on in Australia: kangaroos trapped in barbed-wire fencing while attempting to flee the fires, cows and sheep being cooked alive in the flames, and an estimated one and a quarter billion or more animals now killed in the conflagrations.

Now, we add shooters being ordered to gun down thousands of camels desperately searching for water. There is something that can be done - a long-term fix for this horror and the others that will inevitably follow, as prolonged heat and drought have extended seasonal wildfire periods around the world and we're facing mass extinctions, rising sea levels, and record-breaking temperature changes. It's imperative that we take personal responsibility for the protection of our planet, and by far the easiest way to do that is to stop eating animals and go vegan right now. The UN has stated that meat consumption must decrease by as much as 90% in order for us to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. This requires zero governmental initiative and no promises from giant corporations - it just means choosing to leave animals out of our shopping trolleys. It's a simple but revolutionary action that says: "we will not let this planet and countless sensitive animals die on our watch." We urge all caring people to join the vegan movement. The Earth and all its human and non-human inhabitants depend on it.

Ingrid Newkirk, PETA Founder

I support mining on my homeland area because the benefits it can provide to aboriginal families. Wages from the resources on my homeland country directly onto Aboriginal families tables;, no welfare; no lands council; no ATSIC could ever deliver. Good well paying jobs with very little skills that's what's make a difference in Aboriginal families lives, be the warriors of your family and support them give them a quality of life that being financially independent gives. Own your own land rights.

Now on immeasurable culture, my culture, when working with companies under the legislation you take ownership of the process; take ownership of the collection of artifacts that are in the mine footprint care for them for years; and replace them back on my homeland .The grinding grooves we can can relocate them, and just FYI all of the dissenters were there the day they were drilled to test the thickness for relocation and not one spoke against it because they were getting paid to do so. I don't want to disrupt my culture but the ancestors I believe would say do your best to look after the mob because they are the biggest part of our culture, the mob. And in my belief if you not practicing and learning, doing culture, language with humility them you are disrespectful to it.

Greg Griffiths, Gunnedah

I recently commented on the Leader's Facebook story regarding the decision of Shenhua Watermark Coal, a state-owned enterprise of the People's Republic of China to commence exploration drilling at land the company purchased at Breeza and Nea a number of years ago. I expressed concern about water aquifers, koalas and the productive farmland of the Liverpool Plains. One funny zealot responded to me "your green agenda is being rejected".

I believe that the ongoing saga of Shenhua at Breeza within our great Liverpool Plains food bowl is the defining failure of the Liberal/Nationals state government to terminate Exploration Licence 7223 issued by their predecessors and of the local MP, Kevin Anderson, to show some back-bone and stand up for the farming communities impacted there, these are part of his electorate.

After-all the farming communities around Australia was the genesis of The Nationals and its original iteration the Country Party. I would have thought the party would return decades of electoral loyalty so generously and unselfishly given. But no, not when there are competing vested interests involved or Sydney masters dictate a different path. Of course having privatised many revenue producing monopoly state owned assets such as electricity infrastructure and the subsequent loss of revenue, this government has wedded itself to coal for the royalty revenue it will receive from the 300 million tonnes Shenhua proposes to extract over 30 years. Most state and federal governments do not have an eye on the future.

Firstly to save billions into a sovereign wealth fund for our future from extractive industries makes sense, but they'd rather spirit the billions into the pockets of wealthy party donors or foreign shareholders. What is appalling is that we are seeing the impacts of the worst drought in recent memory, both groundwater and surface water is very scarce. We have seen clearly how this state government has mismanaged it over the last few years and this mine will need a lot of it. We have seen millions of native fish kills linked to water mismanagement. The Liverpool Plains the best farmland in the world faces destruction there. The fast disappearing Koala, the boast from Gunnedah shire council the "Koala Capital", a hollow claim.

Why would we risk that for the short term gains of some royalty revenue from a foreign owned mine? As I mentioned earlier I was criticised by a zealot who suggested "your green agenda is being rejected". I retorted my agenda is "red, white and blue" like our Aussie Flag because I want a future for our kids, our flora and fauna and I want a sustainable future for rural NSW and Australia.

Large foreign mines like Shenhua have no interest in our future or regard for the things many Aussies care for. The proposal is un-Australian and will not secure our future or most importantly our kid's future. I believe The Nationals legacy is a legacy evidently of betrayal and desertion demonstrated by the changing of the guard in Barwon, Orange and Murray electoral districts.

Mark Rodda, Tamworth