Despite H Ronald's claim (Letters, July 11) that the ABC is not to balance the commercial media, the ABC charter also states: In the provision ... of its broadcasting services the Corporation shall take account the broadcasting services provided by the commercial and community sectors of the Australian broadcasting system.

Together, this means that one of the requirements of the ABC is to fill the gaps left by commercial broadcasters when it comes to factually informing and educating, while entertaining, the Australian community.

Using Playschool as a topical example as it is celebrating 50 years this week, is H Ronald seriously suggesting that the ABC should have walked away from this program years ago when commercial TV aired Humphrey B Bear and Fatcat?

There are many other ABC programs which have also stood the test of time because their content has a richness beyond the superficiality of the made-for-profit offerings of the commercial media.

From the tone of the letter, I can only conclude that H Ronald's view is very subjective indeed.

Mark Boscawen, Banks

That America, with varying degrees of support from its friends and allies, has been attempting to contain the rise of China is beyond doubt.

That America et al have failed to do so is beyond doubt. That the current American President has not accepted this is beyond doubt. That the next American President will not accept this is probably beyond doubt.

That China will continue to grow economically and militarily is probably beyond doubt. It is also probably beyond doubt that American continuation of its current China policy, on an "If at first you don't succeed ..." basis, which insists that America alone must be the single dominant regional power, will lead to a major confrontation into which much of the region will be drawn.

Is it beyond the ability of Australia, as a self-proclaimed "middle power", to develop and promote an alternative policy, a policy which seeks to make space for China and which recognises that China, because of its growing size and strength and its historical regional presence, has a right to share regional power and influence with America?

Peter Moran, Watson

Jenny Weston, Canberra Harness Racing general manager and Peter Stubbs, Canberra Racing general manager, express some degree of confidence that the two ACT horse racing industries are not in the firing line of animal welfare groups (Horse racing industries confident Times 2, July 12, page 21).

Both outline their respective sports ongoing monitoring of animal welfare and treatment.

I am sorry to say that the odds of the animal welfare groups not going after horse racing in all forms after the greyhound "victory" would make that proposition unbackable.

Both may have drawn some degree of confidence from the assurances of the RSPCA but I would urge them both to view the website of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

This group's views on horse racing are quite clear and they are not alone.

Here's a hot tip for both of you. Save your pennies on the ponies and put them in the legal fund. You're going to need them.

T. J. Farquahar, Ainslie

Kevin Coughlan seemingly defends greyhound racing by asking what will happen to the 6000 greyhounds currently racing if the sport is banned. (Ban horse racing next?, letters, Canberra Times, July 12).

The greyhound industry kills 18,000 healthy dogs per year so if the 6000 dogs currently racing are killed, it will still be preferable to killing 18,000 dogs next year, the year after and so on.

The ways in which dogs are killed in the industry are cruel too.

Unwanted greyhounds have been reportedly bludgeoned, electrocuted, hanged or killed by drilling into their brains.

Life for racing greyhounds is no "bed of roses" either. I witnessed this when working in the backyard of a greyhound owner.

In the corner of a gloomy, dirty shed several greyhounds were confined in small cages. When the owner brought them out for their twice daily "run" it was simply to relieve themselves. Three minutes later they were returned to their sunless prison.

As for horse racing — I'm sure every true animal lover would welcome a ban on this cruel sport too.

Jenny Moxham, Monbulk, Vic

The final insult in the greyhound industry cruelty saga – after the chilling exposure of widespread live baiting, the revelation of routine universal wastage of slower and non-prime animals locally and via export, and the industry's breathtaking post-scandal internal emails recommending guile over remorse and reform – has to be the images now of Sam Dastyari kissing greyhounds for the cameras even as he, Luke Foley and Bill Shorten agree with National MPs like Katrina Hodgkinson that such a wholesome Aussie industry and way of life must be saved.

Former NSW Labor Premier Katrina Keneally is correct, citing this performance — there is no hope for the NSW ALP.

And not much more for its federal counterpart. Baird and Turnbull — you can rest easy.

Alex Mattea, Kingston

Andy Lord is right to argue that NSW and ACT government decisions to shut down the greyhound racing industry should be accompanied by a regime of meaningful compensation for owners and breeders whose livelihoods will be destroyed as a result ("Gunning greyhound trainer with 250 dogs would be 'ruined' by racing ban", July 12).

Of course, as long as the industry continues to insist that "only a small percentage" of its number are responsible for the criminal practice of "live baiting" and the annual slaughter of 7000 low value dogs each year, casually and callously described as "wastage", there will be little public support for such compensation.

In fact, many might see the immediate and brutal destruction of an industry that has presided over the cruel slaughter of tens of thousands of helpless animals over decades as an equally cruel but welcome irony?

John Richardson, Wallagoot. NSW

Martin Aubury's report ("Luck stops an air disaster waiting to happen", July 11, p5) is a quietly, chilling reminder of the importance of strong aviation regulation and control.

In big-league aviation today disasters are less likely to be connected with primary aircraft failure and more about flight deck problems, pilot experience and issues of aircraft maintenance.

Airlines must be kept up to the mark and I was seriously disturbed to read that, in relation to the 2014 Virgin ATR 72 incident, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, has just conceded pilots make mistakes, and that, in this instance, "the risk controls were readily, but inadvertently, bypassed by the crew".

And then it seems, the aircraft, "seriously weakened" in the incident, continued in operation for five days (which the ATSB apparently does not explain) putting "all who flew in the damaged ATR 72 [in] grave peril". Aubrey's piece finishes, "Sometimes luck alone keeps Australia's aviation reputation safe".

Martin Aubury's credentials speak for themselves and I believe on this, and other evidence, there is a strong case for an independent - expert — review of Australian air safety, in all its dimensions, now.

Brendon Kelson, Isabella Plains

It has been announced that Britain is to purchase nine Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft for three billion British pounds.

This should be of interest to the new Turnbull government as they are designed to be submarine hunting planes.

One can assume that any aggressor will have similar capability in the future. The technological changes taking place in this field along with sea-going drones should raise questions about the considerable expenditure on 12 submarines the government was so keen to announce before the election. Is it too much to expect a review of the commitment given the need to reduce the budget deficit

Steve Thomas, Yarralumla

It is not hard to believe that weapons manufacturers combined with hard right politicians and like-minded military seniors can, and have, put together a scare campaigns as a build-up to an attack on almost any nation, these people have had unlimited success since WW2.

Sadly too many prime ministers and presidents of nations have been so easily led. Iraq was a classic case, with a wonderful choice of alarming words "Weapons of mass destruction".

I believe these 'leaders' should be forgiven, but their deeds never forgotten and that Australia, particularly, should never again 'Go to War' without the explicit approval of the entire Parliament.

Martin Ryan, Duffy

Recent comments in The Canberra Times that the ACT Greyhound Association receives an annual government taxpayer subsidy of $1 million needs clarification.

Prior to the sale of the ACT TAB the three racing codes received monies from a turn-over tax on each bet made via the TAB. The sale of the TAB gave the ACT Government an injection of over $100 million and an ongoing annual operating licensing fee.

Monies paid to the three codes including the Greyhound Association continue to come from the gaming industry itself. To suggest anything else is disingenuous.

Peter Conway, former chairman, ACT Race Course Development Fund

An insightful piece from Ross Fitzgerald ("There is a price for destroying prime ministers", July 12); some of the plotters have already paid a substantial price and they deserved it.

Anyone with any political nous would have known that the electorate always remembers a disloyal and treacherous act, especially when it involves a prime minister who worked so hard for four years to get the Coalition into government. This betrayal by Malcolm Turnbull was a gratuitous act of ambition and for his cohorts, it was self-preservation, all to no avail for some of them.

Turnbull will not invite Abbott into his senior ministry because it will be painfully obvious to everyone that the 55 members made a horrendous error in changing leaders. The adage "Never change horses in mid-stream" can be fatal — and so it was.

Turnbull did not breast the tape on July 2, he crawled over the winning line, humiliated.

Lesley Beckhouse, Queanbeyan

P. Shaw's letter (July 12) cannot go uncommented but I await a similar one criticising Malcolm Turnbull for his 'victory lap' when in fact both leaders were thanking their supporters for their work.

As for Shorten's 'lie' I wonder if P. Shaw can recall the repeated attacks on Medicare beginning with Malcolm Fraser, and not ending with Turnbull who has frozen doctor's rebates and reduced services in a continuance of the Liberal Party's ideological war.

I wonder if P. Shaw can also recall Abbott's "great big new tax on everything"; Hockey's "Budget emergency"; Morrison's "war on business" and Turnbull's "smashing home values" 'lies'? Of course "No cuts to education"; "No cuts to health" and "No cuts to the ABC" is probably a bit too far back for P. Shaw to recall, let alone the "Never ever dead and buried" GST promise.

Roger Terry, Kingston

Penelope Upward (Letters, 12/7) writes 'Didn't Saddam Hussein gas 4000 Kurds to death? Isn't that a weapon of mass destruction? And should the West stand by and let that happen and not do anything?'

This notorious episode took place in Halabja in March 1988, and one of the particularly disgusting aspects of the affair was that the West indeed stood by and did nothing. The author of the standard history of the attack, Joost R. Hiltermann, concluded in the New York Times in January 2003 that "Iraq carried out the attack on Halabja", and that "the United States, fully aware it was Iraq, accused Iran, Iraq's enemy in a fierce war, of being partly responsible for the attack".

The US and its allies, in attacking Iraq in March 2003, arrived 15 years too late to help the dead Kurds of Halabja.

Dr William Maley, Reid

Saddam Hussein gassed the Kurds with US supplied weapons 1998 when the US were supporting Iraq in their battle with Iran. The US remained great friends with him until he invaded Kuwait in 1991, then starved over 500,000 children to death in the years of sanctions.

How on earth anyone could claim the 1988 crime, paid for and supported by the US, as an excuse to slaughter over one million Iraqis from 2003 onwards defies all logic.

Three white arrogant clowns decided they wanted the bloody oil in Iraq, that is the truth of it all.

Marilyn Shepherd, Angaston, SA

UNBALANCED IDEAS

It's entirely understandable that H Ronald (Letters, July 10) would mistake reason and balance for "green left" views.

Jon Stirzaker, Latham

GREYHOUND INCOME

I guess the billions of dollars of income from greyhound betting make it harder to camouflage one's true colours and keep up with the evolution of our society.

Luca Biason, Latham

RUDD AS UN BOSS

It will be a really sad day for all the world if Mr Rudd is even nominated for the next UN secretary-general position.

Mokhles K Sidden, South Strathfield NSW

FOLLOW THE MONEY

We all know the three amigos Bush, Blair and Howard lied but the real questions is why. Generally the process to find the answer is to follow the money. But surely the American and British military industries would not have had anything to do with the lies.

Max Jensen, Chifley

TRUTH THE WINNER

It is often said winners write history or the man with the gun writes history. George W Bush, Tony Blair and John Howard were those with the guns. Hopefully the Chilcot Report is the beginning of a change where the truth is recorded as history by those with the facts.

Chris Woodland, Bawley Point, NSW

RIGHT WING VIEWS

Balance Jenny Goldie (Letters July 12)? Remember, the letter you refer to was written by H. Ronald the most balanced right winger in the letters pages. The end of his seesaw is always on the ground.

Chris Carder, Spence

SENATE MESS

Malcolm Mackerras is apparently dissatisfied with the composition of the new Senate ("Senate vote system must go", July 11).

I imagine many voters were too. The ridiculous preferential system subverted their votes so that, in many cases, the most popular candidate was not elected.

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor

SLOW IS BETTER

Ballot paper voting may be slow and clumsy to count but electronic voting is too vulnerable.

Rod Matthews, Fairfield, Vic

BRANDIS NOT MISSED

George Brandis went missing in action during the campaign. Watching him on Q&A made me understand why.

Thos Puckett, Ashgrove, Qld

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