The weather cannot be blamed.

The blame lies entirely with the lack of proper maintenance and shoddy construction.

We now have a situation of what amounts to criminal neglect.

New roads are breaking up and older roads, which should have been resurfaced 10 or 20 years ago, are falling apart before our eyes.

The climate is changing, there will be greater variation. It will be hotter, wetter and colder. Council needs a plan to take this into account when dealing with new and older infrastructure.

I have lived and worked in many parts of the world, all classified as hardship posts.

The present condition of the roads around Orange compares unfavourably with them.

We pay very high rates in orange, why should we? We are not getting value for the money we give to council.

What are State and Federal members of parliament prepared to do about this unconscionable situation?

First up, council needs to show the community a five- or six-year plan to rectify these shortcomings; street by street, suburb by suburb and highways.

Many roads are beyond disgraceful, they are dangerous.

They could cause accidents and then council could get sued and they will use ratepayers money to defend themselves.

Get with it, council.

I WRITE regarding the Orange Community Centre recently closed, rapidly and sneakily, by Orange City Council.

This action completely astounds me.

That place was community for so many people. It’s sad that the community has been destroyed.

It was such an important leg-up for many and provides an inexpensive place where people can go and hang out.

Orange is a regional medical hub for those damaged both physically and mentally. Where are the mentally ill and those convalescing from physical injuries supposed to hang out when they’re in town?

Where do the unemployed and those on pensions with time to kill go?

Where can fruit pickers, backpackers and the homeless go for a shower, an inexpensive snack and an opportunity to socialise?

The answer to that is commercial coffee shops, malls, the street, the library.

Coffee shops do not want people sitting there all morning on one cup of coffee. Those people are a nuisance to them, just like people sitting all day in the malls are a nuisance to the public, the shops and mall management. Likewise the town library.

Part of having Bloomfield Hospital in Orange is for council to provide such a facility in the town.

The council-funded Orange Community Centre fulfilled a very important role in creating the conditions for a harmonious and prosperous town.

To cut costs in this way is lousy, short-sighted and one of the most extreme examples of ‘penny wise and pounds foolish’ that I have ever seen.

The Community Centre solved a social problem.

Shutting it creates one.