I noticed cars pulling into the library car park and when unable to find a park, some were backing out on to Doveton Street, creating a dangerous situation.

Meanwhile the top layer of the multi storey car park was fenced off and a worker was standing guard over a  near empty street, cordoned off for building works. Why can’t these two parking options be utilized?

This is a sign of what is to come when the library will be allocated a total of five car parks.

This will completely undermine our library.  

The idea that families with young children and other library patrons can park up near Officeworks and then walk to the library through a busy roundabout in all weather is ludicrous, and shows a total lack of understanding.

Over a thousand people a day visiting the library is a significant source for our distressed retail centre.

What is planned for the future of our central library?

D. McCance, East Ballarat

I'm a regular visitor to Ballarat and reader of The Courier and I'm surprised by the almost complete lack of shelters at bus stops along major bus routes in Ballarat.

Increasing access and encouraging use of public transport surely is a transport priority.

There's almost an obsession with car parking, but ultimately relying on private cars to get people around will drive down the liveability of the city.

It's about time the conversation shifts to more efficiently and sustainably moving people around.

A simple start would be to provide commuters with some comfort at these stops.

Phil Papas, Preston.

VicRoads safety barriers do not always save lives but in many instances contribute to road deaths.

Safety barriers can be located too close to the road that as soon as a vehicle strays off the road it is catapulted back into the road or entangled in the barrier.

At night the glare of headlights reflecting off the shiny Steel barriers  surface blinds oncoming car drivers. VicRoads should blacken barriers before more deaths occur.

Many barriers on the Western Highway are not needed as  the middle of the highway has a dip.

Even the sleepiest of drivers will wake up when he feels his vehicle hit the bottom.

Reducing the  road toll is more complex than adding obstacles to our roads.

Martin Newell, Melton South

With the extremes in weather being such a dramatic and significant indicator that all is not well with our “natural” environment,  fortunately there aren’t too many climate change deniers left .

The drastically increased CO2 emissions in our atmosphere are dramatically affecting our natural systems and cycles.

We can act on many levels, but we must act soon if we are to avoid devastating impacts on our world. We all need to take up the challenge; start small and steadily increase your actions.

Try reducing your waste, using less fuel or setting up a vegie garden.

One of your best motivations for action is imagining what kind of world your kids may have to live in if we continue to virtually do nothing.

Jane Marriott, Creswick

We are living in a climate emergency. 

We are waking up to extended periods of drought over extensive areas of Australia, below average rainfall over much of Australia, extraordinary floods in northern Queensland, unprecedented extreme temperatures and record-breaking heatwaves. 

It’s climate change. 

The effects of climate change are clear; reduced rainfall resulting in a dryer environment resulting in more ferocious bushfires, collapsing river systems--tragically evident by the death of masses of fish-- mass bleaching episodes in the Great Barrier Reef due to rising sea temperatures and unprecedented floods. 

I am astounded by the contempt and disrespect with which the government has treated the Australian people and our environment.

We are the stewards of this country and we need to insist that our leaders develop policies that respect the environment and are based on scientific evidence. 

We need to wake up and demand that our political leaders know that we want immediate action to address things we can control that may reduce the effects of climate change.

We need a sound national energy policy with strategies that facilitate transition to sustainable and renewable energy generation, encouragement of the uptake of electric vehicles, reduction of carbon emissions in all areas possible alongside a national agricultural plan to support farmers into the future. 

This is an emergency that we all need to respond to no matter what our political views. 

Climate change is a cumulative and overwhelming development resulting from our activities and lifestyle and we all have a responsibility to work together to attempt to reduce the factors that contribute to it. 

We need to insist that our local politicians know that we want action on climate change in the lead up to the election. 

Therese Footner, Wendouree

At last a bank inquiry putting teeth into a tiger which has been dormant.

Josh Frydenberg has accepted the recommendations and will leave the punishment to the board and shareholders.

These folk have actually benefited from the perpetrators actions.

Many people are reluctant to bite the hand that feeds them. We need a deterrent for the future.

Colin Holmes, Ballarat.

Media reporting has highlighted that Prime Minister Morrison has reacted to the passage of the refugee medical transfer bill on February 12 by claiming that under a Labor government the asylum seeker boats will start again, unchecked.

If this is true, it implies that either Labor will cease the marine patrols and boat turnbacks – unlikely – or that existing border security measures are not working very well, if at all.

The passage of the medivac bill has highlighted the fact that there is some common sense and compassion in federal parliament. 

This is a very welcome change from the Coalition's at times cruel treatment of asylum seekers which has always seemed to be mainly, if not entirely, for political rather than practical purposes.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin