Bad planning is the real culprit

When the federal government privatised Canberra Airport this compounded the problem, as a single organisation, unfettered by any planning restrictions, attempted to compete with these town centres.

The implementation of a paid- parking regime and the selling of car parks has contributed to the lack of easy parking, leading to a slow decline in use of these town centres. The millions of dollars diverted from net incomes each year for parking fees have adirect impact on people's expenditure patterns, as well as the profit margins of retailers.

Parking is free and easy at Fyshwick. Why wouldn't you choose to go there? Many of the retailers have been lured away from town centres on the pretext of cheaper rents. Most of my favourite stores in Woden- Phillip have closed or relocated elsewhere (a combination of excessive rent and parking issues being the ruination of many small businesses), so what was once a short walk to Woden has changed to me having to use my car.

Suggesting that densification is the answer to revitalise the town centres only exacerbates already-existing traffic-light clutter and parking issues. It is naive to imagine people buying units in town centres will not want to own a car to use around Canberra, where no public transport exists, or for interstate trips. It is naive to think that retailers would rush to open new businesses within the existing shopping mall regimes when cheaper options are available.

I concluded long ago that the engineering and planning skills of the staff in the Department of the Interior should be reinstated and every subsequent ACT government sacked for its chaotic planning abilities.

Julie Lindner, Farrer

The latest State of the Region report would have saddened the heart of any proficient townplanner.

Civic is approaching deadlock at peak times. In another decade, the present frustrating wait to cross London Circuit at peak hour will be significantly longer.

Walter Griffin designed Canberra to be a pleasant place that would be easy to get around. His idea was that Civic would be a small hub, around which strong town centres would circle.

The green belts would give the town centres the opportunity to develop into mini Civics. To do this, each town centre would be provided with space for substantial infrastructure, such as in the case of Belconnen.

Since about 1990, infill, which is a direct negation of Griffin's concept, has been the name of the game. The results of this are starting to hit home. Traffic congestion has steadily worsened within a 12-kilometre circle of Civic, which is becoming overbuilt to the point where parking is scarce. Unbelievably, more departments are being encouraged to locate there.

I remember Simon Corbell's comment on the announcement of the Molonglo development that, of course, it would be a dormitory suburb. It was perhaps the silliest thing he has said.

The development is predicted to have a future population of 60,000. It would be the ultimate in traffic congestion if most of the residents commuted to Civic.

Howard Carew, Isaacs

When are the citizens of Murrumbateman going to realise that they live in a suburb of Yass and not Canberra?

They already have three wonderful primary schools, two public and one Catholic, and a vibrant high school full of great teachers and successful students. There is also a fully subsidised school bus from Murrumbateman to Yass.

When they moved to Murrumbateman, they moved to Yass, NSW. Enjoy nice things.

John Terrey, Yass

Unfortunately, I think Terry McDonald (Letters, June 17) has the wrong end of the stick. Murrumbateman residents want a school in their town, provided by the NSW government, paid for by their taxes.

Similarly, many residents of Bungendore and surrounds want a high school in Bungendore, to give their children options instead of attending ACT public and private schools, or public schools in Queanbeyan.

These NSW residents don't want to freeload on the ACT. They want to stop the NSW government from freeloading on the ACT.

Peter Marshall, Councillor, Palerang Council

Gillian Phillpot (Letters, June 16) voices concerns about the lack of recognition of diploma-trained nurses. I, too, resided at Ali Curung in the early 1970s and can confirm the skills, dedication and compassion of the nurses working there.

The nursing staff provided fantastic service to all 500 residents of that community. I had total confidence in their ability to deal with my newborn baby. There was not even a phone service and the nearest doctor or hospital was two hours away.

Many outback residents, past and present, fondly remember those wonderful nurses.

Corrie Bennett, Kambah

Ian Warden, David Stephens andhis fellow members of the estimable Honest History organisation ("A Canberra Battle of Waterloo", Gang-gang, June 15, p10) might like to know that a memorial to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk stands on the Miramar Peninsula south-east of Wellington, New Zealand. It was Ataturk who led the Turkish army against New Zealand forces at Gallipoli in 1915.

The memorial was erected in 1990, its location selected as a result of a remarkable likeness to the Gallipoli peninsula.

The memorial contains every one of the beautiful words so long attributed to Ataturk but now a matter of dispute, so given that the City of Hume in Melbourne is considering a similar memorial incorporating those same words, they should perhaps be likewise informed.

Robin Poke, Hughes

'Stopping the boats' saga is one handy distraction for government Tony Abbott's "stopping the boats" spiel is a vote-winner.

There is no doubt Tony Abbott is relishing the intrigue he is causing by refusing to either confirm nor deny that cash was paid to the captain and crew of a vessel that was seeking to transport refugees to Australia.

Abbott firmly believes he is on very strong ground in the court of public opinion by continuing to proclaim that he and his government will do "whatever it takes to stop the boats".

While sections of the community opposed to such actions might be taking the high moral ground, none of them are likely to vote for the Coalition.

Abbott knows his actions are a great vote winner and they come at a time when he and his government badly need a distraction to divert attention from the deeds of ministers like Treasurer Joe Hockey. Make no mistake, this is all about politics at its very basic level and Abbott will string it out for all its worth.

Ian De Landelles, Hawker

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's hand-picked "special envoy for citizenship and community engagement", Philip Ruddock, has dismissed the furore over the alleged payment of money to people smugglers as "nothing" ('Leaked briefing paper shows divisions in Tony Abbott cabinet over cancelling citizenship', canberratimes.com.au, June 16).

How reassuring to learn that our parliament's longest-serving member hasn't forgotten his principles.

John Richardson, Wallagoot, NSW

Have Tony Abbott and his government forsaken old-style morality for some new-fangled definition, crafted to allow bribery? Or is something wrong with we who believe it's immoral to bribe people smugglers?

Pope Francis (a pretty much "with it" guy) supports the traditional definition of "moral," and my doctors report there's nothing wrong with me. I ask Mr Abbott: "Is it moral to bribe people smugglers? Can a government bribe people smugglers – directly or indirectly – and remain moral? Can the PM of such a government be a moral Catholic?"

Judy Bamberger, O'Connor

Last week, Peter Martin ('PM inflating housing bubble', Times2, June 9, p1) attributed the growth in house prices to the 1999 capital gains tax rule changes which meant "only half the profit investors made would be subject to tax". Here he neglected to inform readers that exactly the same result could apply under the pre-September 1999 CGT rules, due to cost base indexation. Plus he made the laughable suggestion that negative gearers (I am not one) are "indifferent to high prices" – great, I'll sell my ex-guvvie to an investor for $5 million!

On Tuesday ("Tax expenditures off limits", Times2, June 16, p1) he makes another laughable suggestion –that tax expenditures, such as superannuation tax concessions, are "off the books, largely unnoticed". If super tax concessions are "unnoticed", why did Costello cap concessional super contributions at $50,000 p.a. in 2007, why did Labor halve the cap to $25,000 p.a. in 2009, and why did Labor reduce super tax concessions for high income earners in 2012 and propose a further reduction in May this year? Please, less hyperbole, more fact.

Michael Plummer, Watson

It is not altogether clear what is the federal government's intent in moves to strip citizenship from those people who leave Australia and fight with Islamic State. Much comment has been made about it being basically a political move to show the public once again how tough the government is in protecting our borders. But is there also the belief among Coalition members that this policy would act as a deterrent to would-be terrorists?

I am highly sceptical of such an outcome, given what we know already about the motivations of those who join IS. Decades of research has shown that even the death penalty has little effect on violent crime rates. It is therefore difficult to believe that the threat of losing one's Australian citizenship would be considered seriously by those drawn to the cause of fighting with terrorist groups.

Tim Hardy, Florey

The long memory of Penelope Upward (Letters, June 16) is flawed. The Whitlam government did not cancel Australians' British passports. Its removal of references to "British" from Australian passports had no effect on their holders' status as British subjects or Australian citizens.

The Abbott government, by contrast, proposes to deprive certain Australian citizens of their citizenship.

Frank Marris, Forrest

The Coalition sided with free speech advocates to stop Kevin Rudd's internet filter on the grounds that it would slow download speeds, stop the free flow of information, and be ineffective.

Now that it is in government, it wants to introduce an industry-run internet filter to block access to sites that disregard the rights of copyright owners, regardless of whether or not those sites also offer access to non-copyrighted content. Intellectual property is not "property" in the way that most people understand the word, but rather, it is a monopoly right, which "owners" use to extract higher prices from consumers than they could in a free market.

The government is effectively defending the "right" of big multinational corporations to make excessive profits, over the rights of Australian citizens – who in the past had to put up with TV shows appearing a year or more after they first screened in the US, and who still have to put up with discriminatory pricing based on geographical regions.

While the government claims that it is protecting property rights, blocking sites that infringe copyright could be a Trojan horse for blocking access to VPNs, which people who live in undemocratic countries use to protect themselves from the prying eyes of government and to get around censorship.

Once we consent to internet censorship to protect commercial interests, is it really inconceivable that a future government will try to block access to content that it deems to be "against the public interest" – like climate sceptic websites, for example?

D. Zivkovic, Aranda

Just a few weeks ago, the Snowy Mountains ski resorts were beside themselves with excitement about the fall of snow that occurred just in time for the opening weekend.

A well-known Thredbo personality said the fall would set up the season nicely. The media, as usual, believed the resort press releases.

But now, where has it gone? For the past week, the snow cameras at the resorts have been showing lots of grass, and about the only snow visible is that on the ski/board runs – inother words, the snow made overnight by snow guns.

Although the resorts reported a 30-centimetre fall, the Snowy Hydro snow-measurement graphs indicate a fall of maybe half that at their highest site, Spencers Creek, and that has been fast receding.

All skiers and boarders hope for a good season and this present front will hopefully bring good falls, but I really wish the resorts and the media would adopt a more cautious and realistic approach to Australia's incredibly variable snowfall. I always say, "You never know what sort of season it is going to be, until it's been."

Matthew Higgins, Ainslie

I recently spent more than two hours phoning the CSIRO to ask about an insect that could affect an experiment I am engaged in. No one could help. No one had the authority to answer anything. It was as though the Division of Entomology did not exist.

The phone numbers on the internet were a waste of effort.

I received apologies all around, but no information from anybody.

What has happened to this organisation? Are its resources so eroded that information that has been the strength of the scientific organisation since its inception is no longer available?

Rex Williams, Ainslie

JOIN THE QUEUE

Bruce Haigh (Paying to stop people smuggling has precedent, Times2, June 16, p5) had better reconcile himself to joining a conga line several million citizens long who wish Abbott brought to account for unashamedly trampling on Australia's international reputation.

Albert M. White, Queanbeyan, NSW

SMUGGLING BRIBES

Without getting into a debate about the rights and wrongs of bribing people smugglers, I think it a bit rich for Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla to lecture Australia about bribing people smugglers when it appears that many of his own police and officials are accepting bribes from the same people to facilitate the "trade".

Ric Hingee, Duffy

WHY SO SILENT?

I've been scratching my head about why Labor's been so silent on the issue of the LNP's bribing people smugglers – surely a free kick if ever there was one. Then we find out that they were doing exactly the same thing. A particularly virulent and pestilential pox on both their houses.

Fred Pilcher, Kaleen

PITY THE TAX STAFF

Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey starve the Taxation Office of staff required to chase revenue billions owed by their high-worth mates and corporate donors ("ATO's great compliance massacre", June 16, p1). Pity tax office staff and managers. Pity our country.

D. Kozak, Red Hill

ONE AND ONLY

Icon Water has said it will be spending money to educate customers about its new name. Newsflash: Icon, you have no competition so why spend more of our money on brand awareness?

Adrian Smith, Yarralumla

PASSPORT SHOCK

No, Ms Upward (Letters, June 16), some of us have long and vivid memories. It's 1966, I'm 13 and I have just received my first passport. I read it and discover, gasp, that I am a British subject. The hell I am! I still remember the shock and disgust I felt. I became an instant republican.

M. Philip, Latham

GRACE UNDER FIRE

Gillian Triggs has been a model of "grace under fire" while being relentlessly attacked and bullied in public by Abbott government ministers. It is they who are politicising the role of the Human Rights Commissioner, not her. Professor Triggs' poised and measured response to Bronwyn Bishop's mean-spirited attack during Q&A on Monday night deserves a standing ovation.

Shan Short, Hackett

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