If you wish to have your child believe in a religion, teach it yourself or send them to a religious school you pay for.

By all means teach, history, culture and a broad discussion on where religion may fit in this.

Teach why some people believe in various versions of a god or gods.

But most of all, teach science and the ability to question and ask for verifiable evidence of what is presented to you as fact.

Now that the Nationals have caused the withdrawal of the council amalgamations in regional NSW we can all get back to normal and do the best we can to ensure Dungog is the great little town it has always been. 

Standing alone has not been a bad thing – we have a great community spirit and community facilities. Unlike some larger centres Dungog has its own hospital with clinics attached, a library, swimming pool, high school and the historic James Theatre. 

We have neighbour-care services, a wonderful neighbourhood centre, active service clubs and various volunteer organisations and cultural groups.

Dungog has suffered  recent misfortunes – especially the hand dealt by Mother Nature with the storm that resulted in unprecedented flooding and now our current lack of rainfall. 

Some disadvantages have resulted from political decisions including changes to the train timetables, which lost some local business.  The cutting of the rail services direct to Newcastle was another blow.  

We can have a say in trying to overcome these by working on ways to achieve improvements to replace lost services, otherwise we could lose other town amenities.

Save Our Rail is still actively working for the community. We realise that though the Newcastle line has been removed, there is still a need for direct transport into the centre of Newcastle, where the new court house is located and where the University of Newcastle additions are being built – and of course to the beach. 

There is an obvious need now, with a new Premier, to come up with an alternative, creative way to achieve some form of rail transport to our major regional city. That could be an underground line, a raised rail line or buildings that allow rails to run under them.  

If you have an idea, come to our meetings – third Wednesday of the month, Newcastle Leagues Club at 5.30pm.

Save Our Rail is also pursuing the need for more frequency of service and improved timetables for Hunter communities. People have moved here because Dungog is on the rail line. We need to ensure this asset is retained.

The recent passing of the UN-proclaimed World Social Justice Day on Monday, February 20 presents an opportunity for Australia to reflect on its role in eradicating unemployment and world poverty.

Living within a developed nation such as Australia makes it easy for many of us to overlook the growing inequality in wealth and income within and between nation states. Three billion people globally live in extreme poverty on less than $2.50 a day.

While this may sound like a distant problem, many of the world's poorest people are Australia's next door neighbours. By leading and contributing to their development, Australia ensures we foster a safe and prosperous Asia Pacific Region which we, as a country, can thrive in for the future.

Amidst the context of Australia's disheartening and severe budget cuts to AusAid, it is promising to see the Turnbull government turning a corner and commissioning a Foreign Policy White Paper.