Hold the fireworks

sir – In Australia, great swathes of the Outback, also encroaching upon Sydney, are in flames, destroying property, homes and lives. Yet civil servants have assigned A$6.5 million to spend on the New Year’s Eve firework display.

Did the thought never occur that the firefighters and the victims of this horrendous ongoing blaze could do with this huge outlay of money? Packaged correctly, fireworks could outlast a generation. Sandy Forsyth

Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire