It is hard to get a job, and can be hard to keep one, especially when trying to balance that job with study, life or family.

The last thing young people need is to be taken advantage of.

READ MORE: Fair Work Ombudsman catches Ballarat businesses underpaying staff

Employers need to stop asking themselves 'what's best for my business,' and instead ask themselves 'how would I feel if this happened to me.'

Slavery was cheap too - it didn't mean that it was right.

Angus McCallum, Brown Hill.

Where is Peter Laylor when we need him? Will we have to have another "Eureka Rebellion" in protest against an unfair and money grabbing tax imposed on country people?

We, the people of Ballarat and other gold mining areas are up in arms over the state government's proposed inequitable Gold Royalty. If the State Government "kills" the gold mining industry in country areas, it will be responsible for putting many people out of work.

The mining operation in Ballarat employs two hundred and twenty people directly and many others indirectly. Country areas, traditionally, employed many of thousands of people in manufacturing industries; this has all but disappeared due to government policies, we cannot afford to lose one job, let alone many hundreds. What's happened to Labor policy of looking out for the worker?

Mining has a very technical, highly qualified skill base and to lose these people from our regions would be devastating. There are no work alternatives waiting around the corner for such workers. We deserve better.

Brian Canny, Alfredton.

Scott Morrison, why did you sneak out of the country to go to the UK for D Day when you don't believe in our freedom of speech or democracy.

Then 3 Chinese ships entered Sydney Harbour and no one but you knew.What we need is a UK Charter of Rights, one that protects our freedom, journalists, whistleblowers and all Australians. Most leaks come out of your ministers' offices. As PM, you are responsible.

E. Le Mester, Sebastopol.

Some short sighted politicians and businessmen may celebrate the opening of a large, dirty coal mine but Deloitte calculates the Great Barrier Reef supports 64,000 jobs and generates $6.4 Billion for the Australian economy. With the mine contributing to climate change and coral bleaching, our employment minister Michaelia Cash should have said ADANI spells job losses.

Down south in Ballarat, we can expect more extreme weather events such as droughts which will result in further loss of productivity, job losses and price rises.

Michael Weadon, Lake Wendouree.

There are many towns and cities which have been waiting for over 100 years to have both sides of their streets paved, In addition non paving of footpaths has sneaked its way in again with many councils now allowing only one side of the street paving in new developments.Who accepts the blame? Of course footpaths are only one part of the overall neglect in our municipality demise, but how much longer do we have to wait to find a government with the fortitude to look at this matter with integrity? The electorate has strange ways of punishing parties they expect more appropriate policies from.

Donald Drake, Maryborough.

I was frankly appalled at Fr Brendan Lee's soap-box piece (29/5/19) in support of both 'conservative' political positions on matters of public policy and his view that politicians should always support views of the majority, presumably including when the majority is poorly informed.

Considering that Jesus Christ preached a view of the World and treatment of human kind entirely contrary to the official orthodoxy and opinions of the majority of His day, to the point of being in effect an outlaw in his own country and ultimately being killed, I find these views quite extraordinary.

Christ was certainly a political figure, but whether He was 'conservative' or not, I neither know nor care.

I've no doubt, however, that over time the organised church and its various hierarchies, with the amount of control that they have exerted over their 'flocks', have endeavoured to have Him so.

Coming to our recent Federal Election, the focus on categorising electors, politicians and positions being held on issues as either 'left wing', 'conservative' or by some other basic descriptor has not been at all helpful as part of the political discourse.

This approach has engendered an overly combative atmosphere to dealing with important matters, rather than there being meaningful debate and discussion based on well-founded evidence.

No wonder electors have become dangerously cheesed off with our leaders and governments. Perhaps Fr Lee might consider this situation in light of attitudes towards the established church.

Christ taught that looking after the poor was number one, not whether they held 'conservative' or 'leftie' views, whatever they may be.

Hedley Thomson, Canadian

Despite all the recent expressions of enthusiasm for a hydrogen-powered motoring future, little has been said about how to obtain the hydrogen in the first place.

Hydrogen is produced through electrolysis of water, which needs a lot of electricity.

Natural gas is mainly methane (CH4) and maybe this is where the hydrogen is going to come from.

But the combined carbon would need to be disposed of, and breaking down the methane to release the hydrogen would presumably involve a considerable energy input.

Why are hydrogen power for cars and trucks a better bet, overall, than simply battery-powered electricity?