• December 18

Daily the surrogate's heart beat is what a gestating child hears, until that connection is ruptured.

• DECEMBER 17

Peter Dutton would have some credibility if he freed the captives on Nauru and Manus Island.

• DECEMBER 16

Two stories in yesterday's Herald struck me as a stark reflection of why Australian justice, as it is mandated by our political representatives today, is so confusing to the general public.

• DECEMBER 15

It would seem that the interests of Australia would be far better served if the federal government accepted the dire warnings of climate science.

• DECEMBER 14

Whoever you think is responsible for the falling educational standards in Australia, it's not the students.

• DECEMBER 13

Malcolm Turnbull is the leader of the Liberal Party ("You'll hear more from me in 2017, Bernardi promises", December 12). From this I can only assume that he has majority support within his party. But the media reports only on what is said by a minority in the party who oppose his views and that of what I must assume are the "silent majority" of the party. Where is this majority of members of the Liberal party who voted for a Turnbull leadership and presumably support his views? It's time we heard from this silent majority of liberal Liberal members of Parliament. Come on, Turnbull needs your help. Esther Scholem Macquarie Park

• DECEMBER 12

Sincere thanks to Sir David Chipperfield for warning us about the danger posed by turning Sydney's CBD into a monoculture of office tower-- but it is already too late! 

• December 11

I notice Jean-Claude van Damme was in Broken Hill to consider areas suitable for African wildlife rescues sites ("Saving species a Damme fine idea", December 4).

His name was on everyone's lips during the federal election campaign and ever since Herald letter writers have been keeping an eye out for the Prime Minister's favourite former Eels player: Jobson Grothe. But he's proved elusive.

John Howard was fond of saying the Liberal Party was a broad church. Not broad enough that Kristina Photios was able to speak her mind without having first quit ("Liberal Party powerbroker's wife Kristina Photios quits over lack of action on climate change", December 9). Are Liberal Party membership and integrity now mutually exclusive? Malcolm Turnbull should take note as he tries to lead the country while he doesn't even lead his own party. Bill Gillis Hallidays Point

• DECEMBER 9

How is it that our Premier, Mike Baird, can spew forth blatant lies about the veracity of the land title system changes he has initiated?

• DECEMBER 8

My advice to policy makers: avoid tossing out the baby with the bathwater.

• DECEMBER 7

As an octogenarian who has voted Liberal all my life I am now sick and tired of yesterday's men sitting on the backbench sniping at the government.

• DECEMBER 6

When the chief executive of the Law Council of Australia tells Mike Baird that leasing the Land and Property Information unit is not a good idea, maybe the Premier should listen.

• DEC05

The problem with recruiting IT and skilled technicians to Sydney is more likely to come down to a world shortage of these qualified people than boredom.

We write letters and then along comes Cathy Wilcox and in four frames summarises the Baird ethos (Wilcox cartoon, November 27).

• DECEMBER 3

As I watched Mr Turnbull crow about what his wonderful achievements this year I realised that he had finally reached the logical conclusion of his journey as Prime Minister. He ends the year equal in stature to those who surround him in Parliament. He has become a moral pygmy.

Maths students of Kazakhstan take a bow. When our front page story blared "Australian students fare worse than Kazakhstan in maths and science", readers were quick to provide some solutions to the problem: "what's wrong with maths standards in Australia." As Peter Baker of Smiths Lake pointed out: "It's seems that despite the brilliance shown by its maths and science students, the country of Kakakhstan continues to be used as an example of what a country shouldn't be....  The story also gave a backhander to our students.."Is this the best you can achieve?  You can't even beat Kazakhstan of all countries?" But as Robert Fisher, a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Sydney we should not dismiss this central Asian country as some mathematical backwater.

• DECEMBER 2

The additional $549 million cost of the inner-city light rail project is only the tip of this emerging dinosaur ("Public were misled on light-rail costs", December 1).

• DECEMBER 1

Simon Birmingham says he wants evidence-backed action to stop Australia's slip in international school rankings. Here it is: the more we privatise our education system, the more we slip in the rankings.

• NOVEMBER 30

The government constantly uses Australia's growing budget deficit to justify ever more punitive crackdowns on the reporting errors of welfare recipients who are already struggling to survive.

• NOVEMBER 29

Look Malcolm Turnbull, end this time warp and give yourself the opportunity to be dumped with dignity.

• NOVEMBER 28

Fidel Castro started his political life as a ruling-class nationalist, opposed to the corrupt US supported/appointed regime of Fulgencio Batista.

• November 27

The statistics show that new NSW cycling laws so blatantly favour motorists over cyclists ("New cycle fines top $1.3 million", November 20).

Congratulations to Rob Stokes for breaking ranks and telling it like it is.

Readers had plenty to say about the resignation of the Independent Commission Against Corruption's chief this week and many smelled a rat.

• NOVEMBER 25

It is a very difficult job to excise corruption in politics. Since the founding of NSW, government leaders were more inclined to buckle to corruption than confront it.

It is good to see you giving good coverage to the need for a sugar tax.

• NOVEMBER 23

Your front page photo of Sydney's fastest growing suburb, The Ponds ("Terracotta warriors, November 22), paints a bleak picture of where urbanised living is heading.