A brave breed indeed. The one bitten by the shark kicked it off and drove himself to hospital, from where he was later discharged. His two rescuers helped him ashore, gave him first aid and "immediately returned to the water for another hour of surfing"!

Well done boys, glad there was a happy ending.

Evelyn Bean, Ainslie

National Capital Authority chief executive Malcolm Snow has been hosted by Tony Trobe in his weekly contribution for the last three weeks. For the most part, Snow's responses to the questions have been fit for a politician's publicity primer.

This week he said: "The homogenous office enclaves of Parkes and Barton have triggered a parliamentary inquiry about their lack of amenity and almost non-existent night economy" ("Canberra's future: more vibrant, more interesting and more dense", Sunday Canberra Times, April 12, p17).

Canberra is an isolated, single-employer, seat-of-government town, or city, if you like. It has isolated clusters of high-security institutions surrounded by suburban dormitory centres. The last thing Canberra needs is integrated living/working/playing areas.

Snow is attempting to misappropriate the inquiry, which is only a belated smokescreen to distract from public servants' complaints about loss of free parking (they need their car to do the shopping).

Town houses and nightclubs cannot seriously be considered for the Parliamentary Triangle.

Gary J.Wilson, MacGregor

Regarding traffic congestion in Gungahlin ("Million-dollar revamp aims to solve congestion in Gungahlin", Sunday Canberra Times, April 12, p7), isn't this also why the light rail (that I support on a larger scale) is being built, to reduce the reliability on motor vehicle transport?

Edward Corbitt, Farrer

I am duly chastised by Ms Bamberger ("Fair's fair", Letters, April 12). I may have come across slightly mean-spirited and sarcastic when commenting on the dreadful plight of our international students. I am heartened, though, that Ms Bamberger has, no doubt charitably, rented out rooms to ANU students. It may be a minor source of income for her, but the meagre amounts she receives would be offset by the warm inner glow of assisting those in need.

She is right in pointing out that employment is hard to find. It is for many people. I have a suggestion. Her assistance to the international student body could go beyond the offer of board and lodgings to a well-paid job.

Living in a funky, student hub such as O'Connor, I see a niche market for a cheap restaurant that caters to those less well-off. It could be staffed by international students who, no doubt, would bring their multiculturalism and flair to the cooking and serving of the modestly priced, yet flavoursome meals.

I have even thought of a name: "Bam! Burgers". This speaks of the punchy and spicy flavours one could expect. Feel free to use it, Judy. It is not trademarked and it would provide me with some type of warm inner glow.

T.J.Farqahar, Ainslie

The Jane Austen Festival, which is all about historical accuracy, has its facts wrong about Canberra's Albert Hall (April 12, p2). The Albert Hall did not exist in 1913. It was opened in 1928. It is not Canberra's oldest building.

Stephen Holt, Macquarie

Unless it expands the transit lane network, the government is unlikely to meet its 2012 election commitment of "increasing the public transport share of all work trips to 10.5per cent by 2016".

The public transport share of trips to work increased from 7per cent in 2001 to 8per cent in 2011 – short of the Sustainable Transport Plan's target of 9per cent. On present trends, it is unlikely to exceed 9per cent in 2016, because population is growing faster than ACTION bus boardings.

Transit lanes boost bus boardings because they reduce travel times. The Transport Elasticities Study showed that improving public transport travel times is the most important factor in encouraging greater use of public transport.

Transit lanes offer travel times comparable to or shorter than those of light rail. Buses have shorter walking times to and from their more closely spaced stops, that largely compensate for any on-road speed advantage of light rail. Removing buses from light rail routes will add delays to trips that use those routes but extend beyond them.

A tram-bus transfer would include several minutes to disembark, walk from the tram stop to the pedestrian signals, wait for a green signal and walk to the bus stop, plus up to an hour to wait for a connecting bus.

Leon Arundell, Downer

With everything going on in Victoria about cancelled contracts and in the ACT about light rail, perhaps we should have a referendum on whether light rail should go ahead in the ACT. Then all the electors could have a say.

G Spence, Bruce

Jack Waterford's recent piece on the passing of Peter Walsh claims Walsh joined the Labor Party because he objected to both conscription and the Vietnam War. I believe it is far more likely Walsh's joining the Labor Party mirrors that of the pattern of Daniel Mannix and the old tribal (Irish) Catholics in this country.

After all, communists and atheists in the Labor Party like Arthur Gietzelt and Jim Cairns were actively goading the North Vietnamese to invade South Vietnam to murder South Vietnamese Catholics and set up an atheist and Marxist police state. And, as I recall, he didn't like wheat quotas, just like Liberals John Hyde and Bert Kelly. Like Paul Keating, Walsh would have joined the Labor Party holding his nose. It was only his intergenerational and tribal hatred for the better-off, better-bred farmers in his locality, usually Presbyterians and Protestants of Scottish descent, that coerced him to chose Labor over the Liberals or the Country Party.

Like Keating, it was only his seething hatred of Liberal Protestants that forced him to join Labor. They both would have been far more comfortable with Liberal philosophy. Luckily for Australia, they were able to do far more damage to both old and new Labor from inside than if they had joined the conservatives.

It's all moot now, as Australian Catholics have all but deserted the modern Labor party, riddled as it is with the "dregs of the middle class", personified by the likes of Sam Dastyari. Even a modern-day Daniel Mannix would be joining the conservatives and urging conscription to defend Australia and Christianity from the Labor Party.

Christopher Smith, Braddon

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