The AFP could not have entered Parliament without the agreement of the Presiding Officers. Second, it is clear that the AFP has given priority to this inquiry, apparently at the request of the Board of NBN Co, over other matters which a reasonable person would think might deserve more priority.

These include the many murders, burglaries and other thefts which remain unsolved in the ACT. And what of the AFP's failure to progress investigations into the criminal conspiracy of 7-Eleven franchisees to defraud workers?

The question is not has the AFP acted independently and lawfully but has it acted wisely? I venture to think not.

Ric Innes, Weetangera

The Australian Federal Police have now searched Parliament House's computer servers in their efforts to discover the whistle-blowers in the NBN case. Nothing, it appears, will stop them in their search for these miscreants.

Yet, when it comes to those who whistle-blow over conditions on Manus and Nauru, another federal offence, the AFP appears bamboozled, even though these offenders provide their names. Or, is it that these crimes are investigated by the famed Border Patrol and not the AFP?

There are suggestions politicians see no value in prosecuting these cases and have restrained our law enforcement agencies.

If this is the case why does the law still exist?

Overzealous official

Andrew Meares's photograph illustrating your story "Raids not political, say police and Govt" (August 25, p6) exemplifies two iron laws of public affairs: (1) there will always be an overzealous official or officer throwing his or her weight around; (2) said official or officer will always end up looking like a goose.

Political personalities

As the Parliament we had to have gathers for the first time it seems the biggest winner in the recent election was the Egotist Party with so much of the popular vote going to "political personalities" instead of professional politicians.

The eponymous Nick Xenophon Team, Pauline Hanson's One Nation, Jacquie Lambie's Network and Derry Hinch's Justice Party attracted groupie voters in their thousands to the extent that they now hold the balance of power in our nation.

How long will it be therefore before voters get to pick between Bill Shorten's Labor, Richard Di Natale's Greens or 'Insert name here's' Liberals?

And locally, how long before our current and former Canberra Times superstars join the fray with Jack Waterford's Indigenous Rules Party, Ian Warden's Fuchsias First, and Frank Cassidy's Republic NOW!

Victims of insults

Meredith Doig ("On the contentious matters of 18C, it may pay us to look to the soics, or the sense of a former judge", Comment, August 25, p16-17) quotes Epictetus: "If someone responds to insult like a rock, what has the abuser gained with his invective".

In most contexts concerning racial discrimination, it might be appropriate to contemplate the definition of Chinese water torture: "a process in which water is dripped continuously on to a person's forehead, allegedly driving the restrained victim insane".

Many victims of derogatory insults are possibly bemused at their first encounter with bigotry but there comes a time when this wears very thin.

18C might discourage the first drop from falling rather than wait until the point of insanity is reached.

D.P. Coen, Macquarie

Meredith Doig's suggestion of of a new test for 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act – how "a reasonable member of the community at large" would respond – misses the whole point of federal anti-discrimination legislation.

Surely a key purpose is to protect racial minorities.

Whether a member of the "community at large" would feel intimidated (or indeed would understand how a member of a racial minority would feel) is surely irrelevant if the behaviour in fact intimidates members of a minority racial or ethnic group.

The test must turn on the impact of the behaviour on the minority racial or ethnic group the legislation seeks to protect.

Ernst Willheim, Forrest

We are all in debt to Judy Bamberger (Letters, August 22) for warning us that Andrew Bolt's writings vilifying Aborigines could lead to an Australian version of Krystallnacht, where Nazis smashed the windows of Jewish-owned shops throughout 1938 Germany and let them be looted.

This explains why shops in Walgett, Brewarrina, Wilcannia and elsewhere are barred and grilled with enough iron to fit out several prisons.

It's so that their Aboriginal owners can protect themselves against the inevitable Krystallnacht rampages by frenzied fascist readers of Bolt's columns.

It's called shooting yourself in the foot, Judy.

Bill Deane, Chapman

David Barratt's assertion (Letters, August 24) about the virtues of the IPCC's climate modelling cannot go unchallenged. Climate modelling is a very imprecise science. One only needs to look at the accuracy of our current 7-day weather forecasts – which are derived from a sub-set of the broader global circulation models – to see that this is the case.

If we cannot predict the weather seven days hence, what hope do we have of describing the climate decades or a century ahead?

Climate and weather are complex beasts with myriad feedback loops and considerable internal buffering and our knowledge and computer models are not sophisticated enough to predict their vagaries. Let's not pretend otherwise.

Wayne Ralph, Hawker

Does Scott Morison's reference to the "taxed nots" include the wealthy and the multinationals that dodge paying tax in Australia.

R. Smith, Scullinc

Former Chief Minister Jon Stanhope wants a review of the Land Development Agency and for more land to be released, faster. In other words, accelerated urban sprawl and urban infill.

But you can bet your bottom dollar the role Canberra's rapid population growth plays in creating demand pressure on land prices will not be on Mr Stanhope's agenda. Once again it will be taken as a 'given' that Canberra will double in size over the coming 50 years or so.

And once again, confused and disoriented politicians (and ex-ones) will fail to acknowledge the 'elephant in the room' as they cling, like barnacles on a sinking ship, to their unsustainable 'bigger is better' economic ideology.

It's time Mr Stanhope broadened his vision. This is now far too serious an issue to look only at the politically convenient solutions. Housing is a fundamental need and a basic human right.

To this end, we need high profile people, like yourself, to have the courage to speak about the population issue, if we are going to secure a socially sustainable ACT.

Martin Tye, Kaleen

When approached by an eager candidate in the forthcoming ACT elections, all electors should think of the victims of domestic violence and ask what is being done to help the wives, mothers and other females who comprise 87 per cent of the victims, trying to free themselves from controlling men.

Nation-wide a woman is murdered at least once every week, one hospitalised every three hours and with many enduring, on average, 35 assaults, before calling for police protection.

What then, apart from calling the police, are the avenues available for those seeking to end a violent relationship?

Beyond motel accommodation, which is short-lived by many, especially by those with children, what other secure accommodation, along with essential services, are readily available to such vulnerable people?

Above all, are these services adequately funded to help bring an end to this dreadful scourge? Voters should ask themselves that on polling day.

Keith McEwan, Bonython

According to the ACT government, the new Crookwell wind farm will be "able to power 41,600 Canberra homes" ("Crookwell, SA wind farms 'final piece' in renewable plan", August 24, p5). The actual number is zero, as homes need continuous power.

A commercial organisation would be fined for using such a lie to promote its products. Fining a government organisation wouldn't make sense, so the responsible politicians and other managers should be fined, demoted, or sacked (without golden handshakes). Truth in political statements should be policed by the Competition and Consumer Commission, or by a similar organisation set up for that specific purpose.

Mike Dallwitz, Giralang

A. Brown (Letters, August 24), in response to my suggestion (Letters, August 19) that Canberra's residential leases be converted to freehold to give "home-owners" the security of tenure that freehold provides, says that's not necessary – because "the law permits an extension of a lease". It does.

But that doesn't provide the security of tenure that a perpetual freehold certificate of title does; the home-owner has to rely on some bureaucrat's interpretation of the law – and, more importantly, laws can very easily be (and often are) repealed by future governments.

Incidentally, Mr Brown, you're wrong to say I think I'm a "wise old owl". I'm only 91.

R.S. Gilbert, Braddon

Jenny Heywood (Letters, August 25) seems convinced that evidence of homeopathy's effectiveness exists, but was either excluded or suppressed when both the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Review of the Australian Government Rebate on Private Health Insurance for Natural Therapies produced their reports last year.

I would suggest that neither body's "future depends on patentable pharmaceuticals" – as she so cynically imputes – and that were such folk-remedies able to pass clinical trials, pharmaceutical companies would be mass producing so-low-as-to-be-effectively zero cost tinctures instead of their expensive evidence-based preparations.

Perhaps Ms Heywood might be kind enough to cite the peer-reviewed research showing homeopathy having anything other than a placebo effect. If this research exists, it it seems to have somehow flown under the radar.

James Allan, Narrabundah

Health funds should pay homeopathy rebates with homeopathic money. Soak a $100 note in 100 litres of water until the water has absorbed the essence of the money, soak blank pieces of paper in that water until they have absorbed that essence and then pay the rebates with those pieces of empowered paper.

Heino Lepp, Macquarie

Mike Dallwitz (Letters, August 24) is convinced that "the [kangaroo] cull aims to reduce kangaroo numbers to the level that is most beneficial for the environment". But what does that mean?

In the six years since the ACT kangaroo management plan has been published, there has been no effort made to ensure we are not killing off kangaroos unnecessarily.

And after all this time, the government has yet to identify the causal link between kangaroos and the threatened and endangered species that are meant to be the beneficiaries of all this culling.

There is a view that the government is killing too many kangaroos. Annual targets are not met; cattle have to be deployed to keep the grass down in nature parks; there are wide scale burn-offs due to increased bushfire risk; and bushwalkers write into The Canberra Times to say there are no kangaroos left to see.

Perhaps the government is indeed on the wrong track. And Mike has been taken in by all their spin.

Philip Machin, Wamboin, NSW

GAY MARRIAGE ACTION

It is high time our newly elected federal MPs did the work they're meant to do. A plebiscite completed by our population and at a cost 0f $160 million has to beapproved or rejected by the Parlimentarians. I suggest MPs take such steps once Parliament sits next week.

John Belcher, Flynn

John Howard didn't need a plebiscite to change the Marriage Act in 2004 so why do we need to spend nearly $200 million on a plebiscite now when some members say they will ignore the will of the people no matter what the outcome? Organise a joint sitting of both Houses and have a conscience vote.

Ray Armstrong, Tweed Heads South, NSW

JOYCE'S PRIORITIES

Hooray for Alan Joyce ("$1b profit: Qantas to pay first dividend in 7 years", BusinessDay, August 25, p21)! He cut costs. Never mind the Aussie jobs sent overseas, or compromising safety standards.

Don't think about the significant drop in aviation fuel prices. He made a lot of money. Hero.

S.W. Davey, Torrens

SHORT ON FIGURES

There are lies, damned lies and no statistics.

Phil O'Brien, Flynn

MONEY TO BURN ON IT RAID

On the same day that Treasurer Scott Morrison warned Australians of the dire risks arising from failing to rein in government spending, we saw the AFP raiding Parliament's IT system. That costly, disruptive exercise was part of a continuing investigation to find those responsible for the crime of making the government more accountable for its management of NBN funds.

Tony Judge, Woolgoolga, NSW

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