• OCTOBER 2

Pauline Hanson promises a balanced debate on same-sex marriage yet in the same breath makes a statement which blows those assurances out of the water ("Fears of same-sex hate speech are oveblown: Hanson", September 25).

• COMMENT

Jessica Irvine ("The truth behind the great schools debate", SMH September 30) omits one very obvious difference between Australia and other countries such as Finland.

• COMMENT

The ghosts of Prime Ministers past - notably Sir Robert Menzies and Harold Holt - haunted our pages this week. Following the final episode of Howard On Menzies: Building Modern Australia, our inbox was piled high with pith. Rosemary O'Brien set the cat amongst the pidgeons with the suggestion that Howard has been our most popular PM "in recent decades". "Quite wrong," said Geoff Ford, Wahroonga. "While Howard may have been more successful in implementing his attitudes, the accolade for public popularity goes to those imperfect men, Rudd and Hawkes.  Both these captains were both brought down by a trusted lieutenant, while Howard's deputy was too intimidated to step up.  He was paramount in introducing von Hayek economics (of Thatcher) to replace Keynes' politics (of Menzies) in Australia, but that did not make him popular. Although he's an ambiguity, an anomaly, his career does bear talking about. Think: fridge magnets "Be Alert but not Alarmed".  Au contraire, the SA storms alarmed many concerned about climate change. Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce angered many when he blamed the state's reliance on renewables as a cause for the blackout. Equally galling for readers, was our continued front page revelations on the amount of public money elite private schools are receiving. But all things football - both AFL and rugby league - provided the most mirth in the week leading up to two major football grand finals starring the Sydney Swans and Cronulla Sharks. It was Jack Gibson who said waiting for never-Premiers Cronulla to win a comp was like leaving the porch light on for Harold Holt. Sharks supporters are hoping Harold Holt will be the Lazarus rising, not John Howard.

• COMMENT

The real question, is to what extent our infrastructure is ready for the extreme events we should expect as climate change bites?

• COMMENT

The Independent Schools Council of Australia director Colette Colman ("Private Schools turn on Turnbull", September 28), in saying that funding cuts to well-funded non-government schools could lead to fee increases, has reprised John Howard's justification for the introduction of the failed policy.

• COMMENT

Anni Browning (Letters, September 27) has joined thousands of others in calling for a "free vote" or a "conscience vote" on marriage equality.

• COMMENT

I continue to be amazed that our impotent government continues to blame others for its inability to get things done. ("Last chance for marriage equality, says Brandis", September 26.)

• SEPTEMBER 26

I have spent 85 years forever in the debt of the Sisters at St Patrick's Orphanage Armidale for taking me into their care as a two-year-old, with my older brother and sister.

• SEPTEMBER 25

On the subject of women's sport, is The Sun-Herald saying, not doing?

• COMMENT

If a school were to use Gonski money to run a breakfast program so that its students could start to learn on a full stomach, when would the results turn up in NAPLAN? ("NSW 'faces $400m in school funding cuts'", September 23)

• COMMENT

Polls have become a popular vehicle for gauging public sentiment on anything political but especially on hot button issues such as a plebescite on same-sex marriage and what Australians think about immigration. So when a poll came out this week claiming 49 per cent of  a sample group questioned oppose Muslim immigration, no wonder the reaction was "ouch." Not just from the Australian Muslim population. Letter writers were incredulous. Many like Gordana Martinovich of  Leichhardt  pointed out the small sample size  and asked "how representative is that sample? She begged for fewer polls and more informed discussion which certainly took place here this week. Comparing this wave of migration to that of post-war migrants, long-time correspondent Ron Elphick of Buff Point questioned the value of such polls. "Those immigrants were not leaners, they were lifters who would have been more than welcome; actually, while I do not really remember the polls, I am sure they would not have been as incumbent on our lives then as they are now." Polls don't really tell the whole story as Hendry Wan of Alexandria was quick to note. "On this letters page alone there is no consensus on ethical issues. The 'human rights' argument has been advanced for anything from same-sex marriage to the displacement of social housing tenants from the Sirius building at The Rocks. Neither marriage nor a harbour view is a fundamental right. No one is any less human for being denied equal access. Fundamentally, the issue is personal ethics versus social ethics (if there is even such a thing)." We here at the Herald, believe the letters pages tell us more about the population than any pollster could. So forget polls. Write to us instead.

• SEPTEMBER 23

It is shocking, disappointing and frightening that 49 per cent of Australians would oppose immigration from any religious or ethnic group.

• SEPTEMBER 22

It is the terrorists and their supporters who will smile most at the results of the poll.

• COMMENT

The Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull and Immigration and Border Protection Minister Mr Dutton may well have gained the admiration of Pauline Hanson ("PM to UN: get tough on borders", September 20).

• SEPTEMBER 20

Then re again, a public non-binding vote on basic human and civil rights is hardly a step forward in a progressive democracy. Chris Rivers Port Macquarie

• SEPTEMBER 19

If Australians abolished the Senate, a prime minister could claim with some certainty he had a mandate to govern as he pleased.

• September 18

Golding's cartoon aptly wraps up what must have been the worst week encountered by Senator Sam Dastyari in his Mr Bean impersonator's life (Editorial toon, September 11). At least Rowan Atkinson's character could (eventually) drive away in his Mini.

• SEPTEMBER 17

Peter Martin argues that many non-working 65 to 74-year-old people could not make extra contributions to superannuation.

• COMMENT

Pauline, you are a one-track pony and it is time for a stewards' inquiry into how you run.

• SEPTEMBER 15

Turnbull has not ruled out a future vote on gay marriage in Parliament.

• SEPTEMBER 14

This time they're wasting taxpayers' time and money on a same-sex marriage plebiscite. Most Australians just want this to happen with no fuss and bother. There is nothing to debate.

• SEPTEMBER 13

Congratulations Clover on a well deserved victory over that disgraceful gerrymander ("Moore storms back stronger than ever", September 12).

• SEP12

We have multiple workers compensation systems, multiple systems for injury compensation in the public and product liability areas, and different systems across Australia for injury caused in a motor accident. The result is a virtual lottery.

• SEPTEMBER 11

Delightful article about fathers and grandfathers at playgroup ("Look who's coming to playgroup: it's daddy daycare", September 4).

• SEPTEMBER 10

Renewable energy will resolve energy poverty, not exacerbate it. After all, energy from the sun and wind is free.

Jessica Irvine again demonstrates why we need economists in her article "How economics can make your dinner taste better" (September 9). Thanks to award winning economic research, we now know that if you don't want to pay too much for a meal, stay away from tourist areas. Bob Eggleton Neutral Bay  

• SEPTEMBER 9

I would be the first to admit that it can sometimes be a challenge being a primary caregiver and a parliamentarian. Tanya Plibersek, deputy leader of the opposition

• SEPTEMBER 8

Sam Dastyari. Another NSW political operative demonstrating that we have the best politicians that money can buy.

• SEPTEMBER 7

It's time to ban political donations so as to avoid any inference of fear or favour.