After weeks watching our son suffer and slowly die, we are exhausted, and eager to return home to NSW. That is where many people who loved our son will mourn the loss of a friend, cousin, nephew, brother, and grandson.

Yet we face idiotic rules, imposing on us delays and unjustifiable expense. Australian Border Force requires fully vaccinated Australian citizens to submit applications for approval to travel home more than 72 hours before departure, have a COVID-19 test (at a cost of $140!), and then self-isolate upon arrival.

This is to travel from a country with little COVID-19, active testing, contact tracing, quarantining of cases, and isolation of contacts; to a state riddled with the disease. A state that gave up trying to control transmission of this virus months ago. Travelling from NZ to NSW presents a far greater risk to those arriving than it does to the NSW population.

Readers will imagine a family's frustration at having to submit detailed applications for scarce places in managed quarantine, and the agony of being stuck in a hotel room while a loved one is critically ill. However, we understood the importance of quarantining incoming passengers, particularly from places where the virus was widespread. Our son, with seriously compromised immunity, was an example of why rigorous infection control is so important.

If our son had fallen ill in NSW instead of NZ, the hospital would have prohibited us from being at his bedside because of the infection risk posed by visitors from a community with rampant transmission of the virus. Parents being unable to be with their sick children is just one of many awful consequences of failing to control viral spread.

In the case of omicron, elimination was not an option, but slowing transmission ('flattening the curve'), thus reducing the risk that hospitals are overwhelmed and supply chains broken, was achievable. The record shows that despite receiving sound advice from its public health experts, the NSW government repeatedly chooses not to follow it. Making matters worse, the federal government lauds NSW's pro-economy nonsense over the more cautious approaches in other states.

Bear in mind that most of the people travelling from NZ to NSW right now are not holidaying but visiting family members they have not seen in months or years. Having lost control of the virus through negligence, how do the federal and NSW governments justify imposing useless restrictions and financial costs on travellers from New Zealand at this time?

IT was grubby wasn't it? Peter Van Onselen's surprise attack on the PM at the National Press Club quoting text messages about the PM as 'a horrible, horrible person' and as a 'complete psycho'.

I actually felt sorry for Morrison as the cameras zoomed in on him. How have we arrived at this dark chapter in our political discourse?

But wait, then we have Mr Joyce also texting characterisations about the PM such as 'hypocrite' and 'liar'. Add President Macron's similar description into the mix and we, as a nation, really need to be asking ourselves whether we really have a problem here.

GREAT letter supporting Grace Tame from Richard Mallaby ('Tame was deservedly Australian of the Year', Letters, 5/2). But what a shame his and 12 other letters and Short Takes were from men and only one from a woman. And a day earlier it was 14 men and one woman. And the day before that, and the day before that...

I'm sure there are lots of women out there who have knowledge and opinions they want to share with the Herald's readers. Why aren't we hearing from them?

I assume and hope the Letters editor isn't throwing them in the bin. So, is it that women aren't contributing?

If that is the case, why, and what can we do? Is it that men have more time to read the paper while women are doing their second job looking after the household? Or is it that blokes like airing their opinions to others, sometimes even before they have stopped to think about it? Or are women more contemporary and connected, and share their views on social media rather than in print?

To be honest, I don't really know. But as we approach International Women's Day (March 8) I ask that the Herald be aware of the problem and make every effort to encourage and publish more female contributors. And I realise that if my letter is published, I'm proving my point but just adding to the problem. Catch-22.

I AM a triple certificate registered nurse with four university degrees. All my training and studies have been to enable me to be a nurse who can provide the very best evidence-based, up-to-date, safe and caring care to my patients. I have been working continuously as a registered nurse for 52 years. Yes. I still work as an efficient and proficient nurse. I am on $46.518 an hour. Sure. Well above the basic wage, but well below other health care professionals and a lot of other professions.

I love what I do. I'm passionate about the contribution that I can make to improve the lives of my patients. And that's exactly what the government relies on.

The conversation that is taking place between governments and our profession at the moment is the same conversation that has been going on for decades. And it's not all about the money for nurses by any means. It's more about having enough highly skilled trained staff in every setting that we work to ensure our patients can receive that completely safe and timely care that we have been and continue to study to provide. We live in an incredibly lucky country yet our politicians have allowed our health system to be neglected and ground to the place it is in now. Sure COVID has accentuated and highlighted the current situation however our health system has been heading in this direction for years, for decades now. It's time for change. It's time politicians listen to our concerns and grievances. It's time politicians support the nursing profession and allow us to provide the care that our Australian citizens deserve.

IT is concerning that the koala population in the wild has been reduced to around 100,000 in Australia. However, as far back as 1927, the then Queensland government authorised the slaughter of some 600,000 koalas for their pelts, in order to make purses and other fashion accessories. Their present plight has probably taken over 100 years to unfold and it's probably a little late for the blame game.

THE Butcher from the Bay has turned into the Block. Go Grace! From a proud father of a wonderful daughter as well as a son, there's no reason to fear a XX planet, Steve Barnett.

I'M very inclined to agree with you, Mac Maguire (Short Takes, 11/2). Don Fraser made a major misquote from a letter of mine about the PM, so from this I gather that he only sees what he wants to see, especially when it aligns with his broad political beliefs.

SO Prince Charles has COVID again after being twice vaccinated and having a booster. Makes you think.

APPLYING for a job the other day by word of mouth, I had to register with a middle man. The contact at the place of employment rang me and basically interviewed me and explained that the job was identical to the one I was at and had no problem putting me on full-time after a probationary period. The middle man replied that my "background and experience is of a high calibre" but my application was unsuccessful. No explanation or reply to my many inquiries as to why. Hopefully it was red tape and bureaucracy, and not personal.

THE proposal by an extremist minority to rename Lake Macquarie to Awaba ('Lake name in question', Herald, 12/2) is another example of the left wing cancel culture at work. I just have one question for the proponents of this ridiculous idea. Will they have the decency to put it to a council-wide referendum at the next local government elections? I'm guessing it will get about 10 per cent support.

Re: Renaming Lake Macquarie ('Lake name in question', Herald, 12/2). The comment in your report "a lot of backlash obviously", is on the mark, in my view. Who will benefit from this campaign other than those opposed to reconciliation? Governor Macquarie was one of the best, so those who seek to denigrate him must expect opposition.

FOR once I have to agree with Peter Dutton when he states that China would like to see a Labor victory at the next election. Along with France, the United States and all thinking Australians who can't wait to see the back of this appalling government.