Community consultation with these people, as with all government institutions, is a joke. Fair enough they consult but like all government departments I dealt with over 40 years, they spruik the fact they consulted the community but then go away and do what they were going to anyway. 

In the same sex marriage debate everyone got to have their say “in writing” and look at the result because no-one could tamper with the results. On the Frogs Hollow flying school issue every single resident who puts in a submission needs to be heard not just a selected few.

How many anti-flying school residents will be invited to this crucial DA meeting to speak their piece. I also suggest they speak last. I have been at many council DA meetings where those opposing it were given very little time and only a few could have the floor. Then while all this was going on the professional script writers from those proposing the DA worked feverishly to blow holes in what opposing residents said. This I know from experience is a very daunting process for all us grassroots residents. Council needs to have the intestinal fortitude to take on the Joint Regional Planning Panel on this issue because we live here, they don’t.

Our son is a Qantas pilot and did his initial training here in Merimbula then at Moorabin in Melbourne. He became an instructor at General Flying before becoming a Qantas pilot.

During his time with General Flying they brought in Chinese students who wanted to train here to become pilots in China. Our son found it very worrying. They could barely speak English, practically no coordination  and many wanted to stay and become pilots in Australia. When he visited China years later he would not fly Air China fearing one of these pilots would be flying the plane.

When we mentioned the proposed flying school at Frogs Hollow, his response was, “you are joking aren’t you? If they approve that one of you keep your eyes in the air when travelling to Merimbula.”

It would be totally unfair to the residents out there, they chose to live in a peaceful, quiet environment, not have planes flying over all day, doing stop and goes as part of their training. It would also be of concern to us that they would be flying over our beautiful area here at Thompsons River Estate.

We say No to this development and hope that council will do its homework and squash this proposal altogether.

In “Raise your children to know God” (BDN, 10/11), Meredith Coe says the Bible is the “best and most reliable” source of information for bringing up children.

Fair enough. But God’s moral teachings in the Old Testament (some of which Ms Coe quotes) aren’t always clear.

For example, it seems clear I should bring up my daughter to be a virgin until her wedding night. But what if my son discovers on his wedding night that his wife isn’t a virgin and that, as a result, she has to be stoned to death by the men of the town (Deuteronomy 22:13-21). Should he join in, or should he stand back and hand out rocks?

Also, the Bible tells us that anyone who curses their mother and father should be put to death (Exodus 21:17). You won’t get any complaints from me on that one (especially if we’re talking about my son). But what's the statute of limitations on this? Can I wait till next time I have to kill a neighbour for blaspheming, being homosexual, or working on the Sabbath (all of which God demands), and knock them off together?

But I quibble. Perhaps we should all just be grateful to Ms Coe for reminding us that God’s word is timeless and unchanging, a bedrock of morality.