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IT’S election time, so the State Government has decided to place another 44 police officers and 300 nurses in the Gold Coast region.

They have known for years these staff increases were needed to support a growing population.

So will we have to wait another four years to get a further increase?

Why can’t a political party say we will attach a personnel/employment rate to growth which will be reviewed every four years?

So if we grow as an area, so will our services.

Consider the private sector if a company gets bigger it employs more and gets big premises.

But, no, not our governments, feed the masses rubbish, get reelected and then pull the rug out.

Labor will tell us they have expanded the public service but where and with whom doing what? WAYNE, ELANORA

ANNASTACIA Palasczcuk is in a bind as she embarks on her re-election campaign.

In Brisbane, she spruiks “renewables” to appease inner-city, mostly Green, voters.

Out in the bush she renews her support for the Adani coal mine in the teeth of protests by activists.

Wearing two hats – and speaking with two voices – is no easy job in politics. Whether the electors will buy it is anyone’s guess. P.C. WISON, MIAMI PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk is focusing her attention on the new cruise terminal at Luggage Point in Brisbane.

She would, however, do well to heed the words of US cruise tours expert Adam Martindale (GCB, 11/10), who said “having one (a cruise terminal) at Brisbane wasn’t ideal for the Gold Coast” and that a Gold Coast terminal “would boost the city big time”.

The Premier’s oft-expressed view that the new terminal at Luggage Point would suffice for South east Queensland, shows a lack of understanding of the cruise industry and the preferences of its thousands of passengers.

As Mr Martindale said, “passengers didn’t tend to want to catch a bus or drive an hour to get to a destination”. Such travel usually comes at notable cost, and combined with the reduced time at the destination, is enough to deter the casual visitor.

Ideally ports are close in to a city (eg Sydney or Auckland) and the Gold Coast, unlike Brisbane, could certainly fit the bill.

Having a terminal here on the Coast would result in the city’s name being promoted in cruise brochures and on the internet.

As a city normally considered a tourist destination, our absence leaves the publicity and tourist dollars to all the ports in the country/ region which, seeing the benefits, are eagerly laying out the welcome mat to cruise ships. GAVIN HARPER, HOPE ISLAND

IF THEY think the fare dodgers are bad on the Gold Coast buses I would hate to see the count on the light rail.

With a limited number of transport police travelling and inspecting together won’t help prevent the problem. ROD WATSON, SURFERS PARADISE