Did the ABC drop the ball in reporting of university protest?

Aside from a university's role in enabling free speech, my main concern is how well did the ABC exercise its responsibilities in getting the whole story, thus enabling the audience to make up its own mind?

Was, for example, the student asked to provide evidence validating her "unqualified support" (to help a judgment to be made on her credibility)?

Indeed, was she asked why she used the word "unqualified" rather than modifying it to something less provocative? Was she asked how much concern she had that fellow Jewish students might be fearful for their safety in the face of her stated view?

In the interests of balance, was she asked if she would appear with a Jewish student representative in a moderated ABC debate over student rights and their potential impact, and if not why not?

Incidentally, did the ABC make any similar offer to representative(s) of the ANU's Jewish students and if so what was the result?

If these and similar open questions (rather than the now ubiquitous and inevitably un-informing leading questions) weren't asked, then it provides further validity to the criticism the ABC is allowing its journalism standards to fall and the result is the increasing generation of heat instead of light.

Admiral Chris Barrie's opinion piece ("Are Climate risks 'too big' for politics", May 6) delivers a firm backhander to the previous government, the current government, the public service, and the National Defence Strategy authors (who include his successor-once-removed as CDF, Sir Angus Houston).

Unlike old soldiers, it would appear that old admirals won't fade away, especially when convinced that not only are they right, but everyone else is so wrong.

I feel sorry for the two young ANU students who in their youthful naivete possibly might have gone too far in their support for Hamas.

I hope ANU disciplinary action is lenient.

But the reports about this were more revealing about the power of Jewish lobby as it could not help itself but jump on the students with over the top criticism.

Also revealing in The Canberra Times article was that it acknowledged the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas but did not mention the more than 34,000 deaths in Gaza since then.

Nor did it acknowledge the decades of death and displacement Palestinians have endured since the creation of Israel.

The mainstream Australian legacy media is far too one-sided in its support for Israel.

Should the federal government pour taxpayers' money into a project whose costs exceed its benefits? ("Federal budget to include new funding for stage 2B of light rail," May 7).

The ACT Auditor-General revealed that the government estimated that Stage 2A of light rail would cost $268 million, and Stage 2B would cost $905 million.

So far the ACT government has spent over $800 million on Stage 2A. That brings the expected cost of stage 2 to more than $1,700 million.

The government values Stage 2's estimated benefits at only $1,217 million.

The ACT Education Directorate's 2023 changes to suspension from school procedures - no longer punitive, and no longer than necessary to ensure a safe and effective learning environment - have the offending students' welfare at heart. All students need encouragement to stay engaged at school.

But we don't live in an ideal world. There are students, even quite young ones, who regularly disrupt classes, not just by being a bit annoying. The directorate is aware of instances where teachers have been regularly abused and attacked, furniture thrown, windows broken, and students evacuated because of the danger. I know this sounds extreme and it is.

I strongly support a child's right to attend a public school. But students have a right not to be traumatised in their classroom. And teachers have the right to a safe workplace and to not sustain injuries. The directorate must be held to account to ensure schools can manage students in a way that works for the student, classmates and teachers. This means adequate resourcing, available psychologists, counsellors, behaviour specialists and other agencies as necessary.

The "Times Past" column of May 5 reminded me of the controversy surrounding the alterations made to the facade of the War Memorial in 1983.

I had my first glimpse of the newest facade on the recent Anzac Day weekend and was horrified.

I thought for a moment that I had been transported to Moscow because the facade appears to have been inspired by Stalinist-era Russian war monuments.

It presents a forbidding, authoritarian face that repels rather than attracts. If the intention is to intimidate visitors or to showcase monolithic military might the facade is a great success.

As a long-term resident living adjacent to the shared path surrounding Lake Tuggeranong, I am somewhat bemused (or rather, amused) by several pedestrian contributors to your letters pages complaining about cyclists not ringing bells when passing.

Perhaps these self-important and ill-informed people need to be educated to the fact that these paths were originally constructed as bike paths (not shared paths).

If they are walking along a shared path it is exactly that, and they should be expecting a high volume of bicycle traffic.

So Mr Albanese is angry at decisions taken in regard to the released detainee allegedly involved in a horrendous crime.

He's "outraged" the prosecutors didn't oppose bail and believes his Community Protection Board made "wrong decisions" and "failed" regarding monitoring.

Given that the Prime Minister of the nation clearly has no confidence in the people involved in these incorrect decisions one has to assume that they will all be submitting their resignations.

It would also be fair to assume that the Immigration Minister (Giles) involved in appointing and overseeing the board will also have to go if accountability has any meaning to this government.

The proposed government attempts to tame Facebook in order to protect local journalists and news media are well-intentioned but doomed to failure.

The first attempt led to Facebook dropping Australian news including access to fire reports; a potentially life-threatening danger. There needs to be a better way of getting community safety announcements heard by everyone, everywhere.

The recent Optus problems involving 000 access also show how easily it can all go wrong.

These matters would fade into insignificance if Facebook decided to take its bat and ball home and switched off access for Australians for even a brief time.

A day, nay an hour, without Facebook and there would be riots at Parliament House that would America's January 6 insurrection attempt look like a picnic luncheon.

The media does need support, and now protection, but going to war will not achieve anything.

A new approach is needed.

It is ironic that the very thing which the pro-Palestinian protesters are advocating and defending - peace and stability in Gaza - is the very thing not being displayed in the various protest sites, primarily in the United States, but now around Australia.

Unfortunately, this has been reflected in previous protest movements such as the Vietnam War, US race riots, the Capitol Hill, the January 6 riots, the "Me Too" movement, and anti-COVID-restriction demonstrations.

They all began with good intentions but degenerated into disrespectful, violent, inflammatory and in some cases, fatal episodes.

The volatile Middle East religious and political environment is a deep-seated and seemingly intractable dilemma which flares up in response to periodic triggers.

When this happens the response should be for negotiated solutions.

Peaceful and respectful protests by concerned citizenry are one way of contributing. But when they result in the exact opposite, the whole reason and motivation for the protest becomes questionable and the cause is undermined.

Even if you believe the dubious casualty figures provided by Hamas and ignore the hundreds of aid trucks entering Gaza each day, it still can't be reasonably argued that Israel is committing a "massive genocide" as Rex Williams claims (Letters, May 5). Israel is fighting a war of self-defence against a terrorist group that entrenches itself among its civilian population.

The editorial on Sunday, May 5, claimed that the existing light rail has driven up land values which is "bad news for the persistent naysayers". Hardly. higher land costs make houses and units even more unaffordable. More naysayers I contend.

Michael McCarthy (Letters, May 7) should recall that Shakespeare's "Scottish play" doesn't belong to Scotland, but is an English play set in Scotland. It's as authentically Scots as, say, Bridgerton is a reliable portrait of Regency England.

It's sad to see the protesters at American and Australian universities chanting "intifada" and "from the river to the sea" in support of the genocidal Hamas savages who invaded Israel and murdered almost 1200 Jewish men, women and children (and kidnapped 250 others) on October 7.

Anybody committing family violence should be called up to serve two years in the army. This would boost the military and families could stay in their own home. Perpetrators would have to support the family from their wages.

The way things are going tells me that Albo does not know anything much about anything. How can he manage the whole country? Can we have a vote of no confidence in the Labor leader please?

There is only one reason for Israel closing down Al Jazeera. It finds Al Jazeera's revelations of the truth regarding Israeli atrocities in its war on Gaza unpalatable. Netanyahu's claim that Al Jazeera is a mouthpiece of Hamas is a lie.

David Hobson is right. I regularly cycle from Woden to Tuggeranong. Even though this is quite a long trip I rarely hear any other cyclist sound a bell. On the other foot, many of the walkers I meet are wearing headphones or ear buds. I often wonder if they have heard mine.

How do you unsubscribe from our PM's daily bon mots? His thought bubbles are driving me to despair.

The feds are giving the ACT government $50 million towards light rail. It is all going on planning and not actual building. Can anyone else see the obscenity of this? The developers must rubbing their hands with glee. No wonder we can't trust our pollies.