The generosity of donations of clothing, food, blankets, etc, can't be denied but can cause significant problems without achieving the relief that we might desire it to.

Donated goods can be difficult or costly to transport to where they're intended and often become a waste problem for the recipients. In the case of my father's tiny village - the volunteers who were running the local relief station were asking people to take more than they needed and share it with others to ensure it didn't become a problem they then had to spend money on, ie moving items elsewhere or sending to landfill. They just needed to get rid of it.

So here's just a few reasons why cash is great in times of disaster:

It enables people to promptly buy exactly what they need, when they need it - clothes that fit, prescription medicines, fuel.

It supports the local economy by sending that cash back through local businesses who are also likely to be affected by the disaster.

It doesn't create the additional costs of transport, storage or distribution.

Supporting people and communities with cash also supports the dignity of individuals by enabling them to make their own choices - particularly about clothing. It was quite a few days after the bushfire destroyed everything my father and his wife owned that he finally asked me if I'd take him to buy some new undies.

As a broadcaster, I reported on this sort of terrible event for nearly 30 years, "Homes lost ... people left with only the clothes they had on ..." And while I felt great sympathy for these families, the reality of that loss is incomprehensible. The trauma of it is a story for another day.

I'm grateful for the support given to my dad. People have asked how they can help people in other areas that have been devastated by these fires. Cash. And if you're not sure where you can donate, ask the local council or registered clubs in the area as they are likely to know where your donation can best provide relief.

ONCE again the people of this great area are being dudded by the state government.

First we have the stadium issue where now the people of the state (not just Sydney) are having to fund another $100 million for the new stadium rebuild but also the $1.5 billion over budget light rail system.

Why is it that we here in the Hunter cannot get the small amount of extra funding to finally build the cruise ship terminal for the city? This would be far more useful to a lot more travellers who as we all know need to travel to Sydney first to get a ship.

Can we get an actual statement of where all the money from the sale of our harbour went? I would like to see the one that has the truth and not a spin document or press release. I guess we only need to look at Sydney to get the answer.

OLD news but it seems that Robocop is up and running with gay abandon with regards to hard working pensioners who at least put some money away to help with their future.

I am the enduring guardian of a mate's wife (he passed away seven years ago) and she is in a local care facility (this one has looked after her absolutely brilliantly from day one, not much mentioned about the care facilities doing a great job with their residents but I would like to sing their praises).

As I am now not allowed to directly be in contact with Centrelink on her behalf due to some obscure rule, my wife is dealing with them as best she can. They have been given all of the details as I have left all of the investments in the care of a trusted financial adviser but this is not good enough and they want details about each separate account.

Time to spend the money on chasing down the big end of town who pay little to no tax because of loopholes and leave those who actually tried to help themselves alone.

MARGARET Galvin (Letters, 19/12), the trackwork you mentioned only requires train, one trackwork bus, not two (between Wyong and Hornsby), then train to Central, with a total time of around two hours 50 minutes to around three hours.

May I suggest also using the third party apps/websites advertised on the transportnsw.info page itself, often they are better. However while this trackwork stops from midday on December 31 and restarts from midday on January 1, they are still the two busiest days for the year, trackwork should be done to avoid these two days altogether.

I'M surprised to find religious junk mail in my letterbox.

TV censorship regarding offensive viewings and literature is thrown down our throats, yet obviously these restrictions do not apply to pamphlet drops. Junk mail is junk mail. If we need religious directions I'll consult my minister, not some random religious group trying to tell people through their 13 point "must know" fact sheet then asking you to watch or purchase their wild beliefs. No thanks, stay out of my letterbox buddy, if you want to deliver something, take some presents around to the homeless in time for Christmas, or is that against your religion?

JOHN Ure's letter regarding Trump (Letters, 18/12) contains a lot of big words used to denigrate Donald Trump and there's not much to argue about because he is an easy mark and some people actually make a living out of it.

However, Mr Ure, who's Labor leanings are, I believe, no secret, appears to have been using his diatribe about Trump as a lead up to attacking Scott Morrison for "making a mess of things here".

It's no easy job to lead a nation in the grip of a severe drought and raging bushfires while attempting to ease the financial burden on thousands of desperate farmers.

When the Liberal party took office in 2013 they inherited a $55 billion deficit from the previous Labor government and it now appears that the present government is about to bring in a long awaited surplus. That is something that no Labor government has done since the late Bob Hawke was prime minister.

The Herald pen goes to Margarete Ritchie for her letter about protecting birds.

WHEN we're all sitting down enjoying Christmas lunch with our families, spare a thought for the firefighters and hope they get home safe to enjoy xmas with their families.

WHEN the Australian of the year is announced, there's only one winner - our brave firefighters.

I HAVE seen photos of the latest bushfire in the Blue Mountains. The situation looks like what happens after an eruption from Mauna Loa. Scott Morrison therefore didn't need a trip to Hawaii at all.

POPE'S View (Newcastle Herald, 19/12) showed a cartoon depicting a child sitting on Scott Morrison's lap asking "Daddy what did you do in the Climate Emergency?". The easy answer is that the PM kept wise counsel while many in the media had been screaming hysterically about climate change. An indicator of the possible outcome of this "emergency" was drawn with both the child and Scott Morrison wearing long-sleeve garments. A Freudian slip by Pope perhaps?

IN years to come there may be a little girl sitting on David Pope's knee asking what he did in the Climate Emergency and he'll be showing her his catalogue of cartoons where he captured the landscape of political inaction ('Pope's View, Herald, 19/12).

WHAT a great day today hearing that unemployment is down, finance figures are up and household wealth has risen. But what will we Aussies do? We will complain about the Prime Minister having a few days off with his family before settling into a busy 2020. How dare you.

JOHN Fear (Letters, 17/12): the decades-old tradition of live music, that you seem to find incessant and have previously chosen to view as a personal inconvenience, is also a great way to encourage people to return to the East End of Newcastle. Especially given the fact that literally thousands of Novocastrians love going to gigs at venues like the Queen's Wharf Hotel. Just saying.

WE need a crossing at the Carrington roundabout outside of the Salty Palm shop before anyone is killed, as people are trying to cross there and the traffic is unrelenting, especially early morning and night. Three people nearly got killed there last night while attempting to cross when a P-plater came speeding around the roundabout and had to stop suddenly to avoid them.

EVEN the dullest of wits must be scratching their head by now and thinking "maybe those scientists were right all along".

LIKE, seriously, something desperately needs to done about the Greens. This disgusting situation we are in should never be repeated again.