Both the Coalition and Labor have avoided facing up to the real issue - what should be done for and with the thousands in detention in Nauru and Manus Island.

Indefinite detention, which is what these fellow human beings face, can only bring about a sense of hopelessness and despair, which, understandably, can and has led to suicide and self-harm.

On top of the indefiniteness, these people live in appalling conditions.

This is all so un-Australian.

We must feel a real sense of shame that we are treating and allowing to be treated these people, who set out initially to seek asylum for one reason or another.

They took enormous risks to reach our shores. That reflects on the necessity and desperation that they felt.

The boats have been stopped. Now, we must do something to solve the present problem of people being locked up for an indefinite period of time.

Grubby deals have been done by the Australian Government with foreign countries to wipe the problem from our minds.

The cost has run into many millions.

The government, whether under the Coalition or Labor, has ignored United Nations conventions and recommendations.

Yet the problem remains and it has to be solved.

How long does this indefinite detention continue?

How long does our government continue to spend millions of taxpayer dollars?

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference in its Election Statement rightly stated that refugees and asylum seekers are often seen as a problem to be solved rather than as human beings in need of our help.

That is the bottom line - these people are human beings and are entitled to be treated decently and with dignity. Australians, who enjoy living in an affluent and just society, should demand nothing less.

IT was disappointing to read the article on June 22 ‘Orange feels the squeeze’ suggesting the Orange electorate was the poor cousin of the Central West.

This is simply not the case.

The budget includes a record $69.5 million spend on local roads including $20 million for the realignment of Guanna Hill and $14 million for the Newell Highway at Trewilga.

The NSW Nationals and Liberals Government continues to invest in our frontline services, allocating over $16 million for local hospitals and money to start building a new fire station at Parkes.

The local community is renowned for demanding investment in aeromedical services and is a winner with $17 million in the budget for the new NSW Ambulance Helicopter Retrieval Network.

The budget also contains $2 million to bring the highly successful Youth on Track early intervention program for young offenders to Orange.

The Orange electorate continues to receive strong investment from the NSW Nationals and Liberals Government because it’s the right thing to do – even if we sometimes don’t get credit for it.