The elements of legal contracts have been very well established, in some 1000 years of legal practice and established precedent. As inconvenient as it may be to the Canberra Liberals, the Territory has entered a binding, valid and legal contract to construct this major project. Construction will begin shortly – well ahead of the election later in the year.

We all understand that Oppositions oppose, but the notion that Canberra can just walk away whistling from a binding contract shows that Mr Nairn has been misled by the Canberra Liberals on this point.

With a binding contract in place, Canberra has a choice between wasting its money on drawn out court cases and eventual damages payouts on the one hand, or the brand new Capital Metro on the other.

Brendan Lyon, chief executive, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia

Minister for Capital Metro Simon Corbell's claim (Letters, June 1) that "the Capital Metro project has been one of the most transparent projects in the ACT's history" doesn't carry much weight in light of the ACT government's deplorable record for lack of transparency with respect to infrastructure projects. Canberra ratepayers will only learn the true cost of light rail when the government finally reveals exactly which project costs have been expressly included in the contract. Only then will we be able to work out which other project-related costs have been omitted and creatively accounted for under other cost headings within TAMS' budget.

The forthcoming amalgamation of Capital Metro into TAMS will facilitate the government's ongoing efforts to avoid real transparency in relation to light rail costs.

Bruce Taggart, Aranda

Congratulations Ian Warden on his lament at the passing of the summer beautification of Civic by the bold "petuniateers" ("Woden turf war ruffles feathers", Gang-gang, May 31, p8).

As the Canberra Complaints Choir eulogises in sombre dirge the passing of the flowers, no doubt the Wall Street Philistine Choir will serenade the enlightened decision to replace daytime flowers with nighttime fairy lights.

May each of those offering for election to the Legislative Assembly declare her or his position: flowers or fairy lights?

Paul Whalan, Queanbeyan, NSW

The ACT government is off song on West Tuggeranong ("More consultation on suburb next to river", May 31, p1).

Tuggeranong must cross the Murrumbidgee, just as planned by Labor's Tom Uren when minister responsible all those years ago. The widened Kambah Pool Road formation, peeling off thesouthern end of the Parkway, stands ready for completion and connection to its river bridge well south of the Kambah Pool reserve. Another bridge would go in near the town centre, which was placed on the west side of current Tuggeranong to relate to the across-the-river expansion, not affordable in Uren's time. Environmental matters can and will be correctly attended to. That's because, while the National Capital Authority will no longer have control (concerns from Matthew Frawley, Letters, May 9), the powerful Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act will still apply.

If the West Belconnen development can proceed (hopefully not like its appallingly overdeveloped "gateway" first stage on part of the Holt golf club's former land) then so can West Tuggeranong. Critics crying "urban sprawl" are wrong because Canberra is well planned with dispersed town centres.

It's to be hoped the responsible ACT politicians and planners will ensure that the new suburbs will contain larger, more affordable house plots.

Jack Kershaw, Kambah

I hope local citizens will get behind talented Canberra's mainly young people in the production of Catch Me if You Can at the Gungahlin College theatre. The actor playing the main character is Sydney-born, but the rest of the cast all appear to be our own talented citizens and the standard of all areas of the performance is something we can be proud of. It runs until June 11, so I hope many people will support them. You can be guaranteed a really enjoyable time.

Audrey Guy, Ngunnawal

Shane Rattenbury claims (Letters, 27 May) that "the evidence shows that Leon Arundell's assertions" (Letters, May 21) that the construction of Capital Metro will cause 60,000 tonnes of greenhouse emissions, that it will not reduce public transport operating emissions, and that it will discourage public transport use "are in fact wrong". The evidence shows that Mr Rattenbury and the ACT Greens should support cost-effective buses.

Mr Rattenbury offers no evidence to contradict the Environmental Impact Assessment estimate that construction of Stage 1 will cause 60,853.76 tonnes of greenhouse emission.

He offers no evidence to contradict my assertion that public transport operating emissions will not reduce when the bus travel displaced from the light rail route is reallocated to "more buses, on more routes."

The only "evidence" Mr Rattenbury offerson public transport use is a studyby Steffen, Percival and Flannery, that accepts Capital Metro's Stage 1 patronageestimates.

The study also makes the curious assumption that as few as 25 per cent of bus patrons "whose current route is solely or predominantly down the Gungahlin-city corridor or the Dickson-City segment of the corridor will shift to light rail."

Leon Arundell, Downer

Ross Fitzgerald's recent article on voluntary euthanasia ("We all deserve right to assisted death", Times2, May 30, p5) highlights one of the more significant anomalies in Australian politics: the disproportionate influence of the the extreme religious minority, whose various excuses for their opposition to voluntary euthanasia and marriage equality are only poor attempts to obscure the real reason.

If the extreme religious tail is ever going to stop wagging the Australian dog, we need to elect people like Professor Fitzgerald rather than those who represent the Australian Christian Lobby and its ilk.

Fred Pilcher, Kaleen

It is difficult to find the words to express my disappointment, disillusionment and despair at Malcolm Turnbull's transformation since his election.

I actually believed that the nature of national politics was about to change, that intelligent, rational argument and discussion would replace the negative confrontation and point scoring that dominated Parliament and the media.

But how quickly he has descended to the simplistic, misleading slogans that so characterised the Abbott era. How swiftly he decided that it was much easier to abuse Labor than to advance, question and debate ideas. How dispiriting it has been to hear him deliberately misrepresent Labor's proposals even when the views so vehemently asserted are the exact opposite of positions held in the past.

At first I was prepared to accept such reversals of previously principled positions as the price he had to pay to placate the right wing of his party, but now I am no longer convinced. I now believe he will continue to accommodate their extreme positions to retain leadership of the party.

And then there is the hypocrisy of advancing science and innovation verbally but doing so little to restore the funding of research and reinstate the many scientific bodies abolished or decimated by Abbott; the hypocrisy of espousing the causes of multinationals and Australian businesses who cheat on taxation while at the same time cutting the staff of the ATO;the irony of espousing innovation while cutting funds to education and making it even more difficult for women to attend university.

It has become increasingly clear that Malcolm Turnbull stands for the big end of town, for business and corporations, not for halting and reducing the increasing gap between rich and poor Australians.

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose!

Jo Vandermark, Larrakeyah, NT

I suppose we should be thankful that two of our four local members at least have the decency to not claim an additional perk ("Federal MPs get expenses to turn up", May 31, p1). From the others, as usual, the buck-passing cry is "We simply abide by the independent Remuneration Tribunal's finding." But just who is the tribunal? The website tells us they are two in number and both are top-level corporate businessmen (no women here). Forgive my cynicism, but my experience of the corporate world tells me that virtually unlimited expenses are standard practice at the top levels. Why don't we have a couple of more ordinary members of the public who would bring a broader understanding of what is reasonable in the way of remuneration and expenses? Of course, we would still need regulatory oversights that would actually mean something and require MPs to act with both dignity and a sense of integrity in relation to their "entitlements". They clearly won't do so unless we force them to.

Eric Hunter, Cook

I'm bemused by the claim raised by Ruth Sherlock, that "[Donald] Trump's tax affairs may prove his undoing" (May 30, p7).

She wishes. If the media weren't so fixated on an outsider and populist winning the Oval Office, they might just concern themselves with the utterly corrupt, influence-peddling Clintons. The question begs: can you run a presidential campaign from a federal prison cell? Answer: go ask Hillary's campaign manager.

Gerry Murphy, Braddon

I have been in the mid West of the US for the last few weeks and I would not be surprised if Trump becomes president – with all the likely downsides for Australia and the world.

In talking to a very limited sample of Americans from Texas, Oklahoma and the Great Lake States there is what I can only call an ignorant support for Trump as if he could really offer an improvement on what is not a bad American lifestyle.

While there are real concerns re issues such as jobs and the behaviour of financial institutions these problems have been in part caused by rich elitist white men, just like Trump! Unfortunately the US media are giving Trump an easy ride and Hillary Clinton is having difficulty landing any punches and is not helped by Sanders on the sidelines.

I hope our political leaders are assessing what a Trump win might mean for Australia.

Rod Holesgrove, O'Connor

Given the enormity of the crime scene, it's not surprising that the Australian Crime Commission estimates $500 million goes on countering serious and organised crimes.

But it is a planetary leap to go from that scene to linking prohibiting drug laws causally to organised crime and its profits, as Bill Bush does (Letters, May 31).

Put briefly, and simply for purpose of argument, let us assume that cigarettes and their smoking had been illegal the past 50 years, and that enablers of the product and its use had subverted the law for huge profits. Would society have accepted that the fault lay with the relevant prohibiting law, and not the enablers?

Would it have blamed the law for causing thousands of deaths annually ? Against this reasoning, why should anyone accept that ACC monies spent countering illegal drug enablers are in any way part of the problem, when they are a formidable part of the solution.

Colliss Parrett, Drug Advisory Council Australia

According to reports emerging from the US at the weekend it now seems apparent that FBI director James Comey will be presenting a recommendation to Attorney-General Loretta Lynch arguing that the Clinton Foundation "is an ongoing criminal enterprise engaged in money laundering and soliciting bribes in exchange for political, policy and legislative favours to individuals, corporations and even governments both foreign and domestic."

This is very significant in terms of the Australian election. Investigations need to begin urgently into the fact that AusAid donated an estimated $10million to $25million to the Clinton Foundation between 2013 and 2014. The fact Lynch – a Clinton crony – is unlikely to indict Clinton should not deter Australian investigators from working with the FBI to determine the nature, purpose and fate of these AusAid donations.

Greg Ellis, Murrumbateman, NSW

I see from your Editorial ("Another own goal on Great Barrier Reef", Times2, May 31, p2) that the Australian government, through its Environment Department, is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the world. It demanded that all reference to damage by climate change to Australia's UNESCO World Heritage sites – notably the stark and startling bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef – be deleted from UNESCO's latest report.

On Monday night's Q&A program, federal Liberal MP Steve Ciobo vigorously promoted Adani's proposed Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin, which would, if it goes ahead, export coal to India via a new – and possibly government-subsidised – railway line and expanded port facilities.

This has the potential to further damage the Great Barrier Reef through dredging, shipping movements, and also the significant addition of CO2 emissions and resultant increase in global warming stemming from India.

Would it not be a lot smarter, and less destructive, to put a lot more innovative effort into developing better and cheaper technology in solar plants and farms, with battery storage, using our almost infinite free sunlight?

The aim could be to export the equipment and/or the technology to the hundreds of Indian towns and villages that lack electricity and remove the need to import (our) coal and build expensive coal-fired power stations. This would create many new jobs and add to our economic growth. We win, India wins, and the world wins.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

Channel Nine expended much effort in trying to come up with the absolute worst camera angles for Wednesday night's State of Origin match. I almost choked on my Weet-Bix (yes, I know) when one of the commentators exclaimed "Did you see that?" Well, no, the camera were focusing on something well away from where the ball actually was. Well done!

Kim Fitzgerald, Deakin

ANU ATTACK UNFAIR

What is the ANU's management playing at by attacking one of the jewels in its crown, the School of Culture, History and Language? Vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt acts like an academic Ebola virus, destroying ANU's own healthy tissue. Why sack so many scholars and teachers of such quality? Isn't that what universities exist to foster? I have three degrees from ANU and am disgusted at Schmidt's vandalism.

Peter Stanley, Dickson

RENT CONUNDRUM

Government departments are such reliable and lucrative tenants that the buildings they rent are desirable for investors to own, and make profits from ("Woden's Aviation House selling for $68.1 million", June 1, p8). If investors can make profits from renting offices to government, then why can't governments make equivalent savings by having the property in public ownership instead?

Janet Burstall, Hughes

COLD NO INCENTIVE

While I appreciate that the ACT court system needs to ask people called for jury duty to arrive 30 minutes before they are actually required, I do not understand why on autumn and winter mornings when the temperature is below zero that these prospective jurors are kept outside waiting in the cold!

Surely the ACT court system can do better than this.

Gay von Ess, Aranda

SUPER, NOT

Julie Bishop and Sarah Hanson-Young have both stumbled when questioned on superannuation policies. Perhaps if politicians' pensions operated on the same lines as ordinary wage and salary earners, they would be more aware of the real world .

Robyn Lewism Raglan, NSW

HOW'S THAT

Richard Whitaker's letter (June 1) concerning Australian Sex Party candidate Ross Fitzgerald's cricket career does sound like Ross has the makings of a wicked keeper.

Peter Baskett, Murrumbateman, NSW

DRIVE LACKING

Before any more roadworks are begun, could Territory and Municipal Services Minister Meegan Fitzharris see if just one of the many outstanding projects could be actually completed and give the long-suffering motorists of Canberra some respite. The glacial "progress" on such places as Constitution Avenue and the "park" opposite the decrepit Alexander and Albemarle buildings in Woden must surely soon qualify for the Guinness Book of Records.

R. Allnutt, Deakin

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