The Catholic hierarchy, (Bishops Coleridge, Hart and Fisher in particular), would do well to keep their views to themselves and to avoid further public humiliation of their institution.

The Catholic laity, as they have done for years on so many modern issues of moral significance, will vote and act and live by their own good values and not the bishops'.

Frankly, given the evidence exposed and the findings to date in the Royal Commission on Child Sexual Abuse, the Catholic hierarchy has long lost the right to comment publicly on any issues of moral significance and to expect their views to be taken seriously.

That lesson is one they clearly are yet to absorb.

I suggest the bishops would more successfully promote the Church, work to restore its reputation and aid the community by serving a long penance (decades) supporting and promoting the Church's good works through its various social agencies and to leave public commentary on moral issues to others more in touch with modern society.

John Mungoven, Stirling

Minister of Education Simon Birmingham stated on TV gay marriage is important because marriage leads to stability in society, but according to information on Google, in 2015 there were 113,595 marriages and 48,517 unstable marriages that ended up in divorces.

It will be interesting to compare with these statistics how many same-sex couples divorce — if same-sex marriage goes ahead. And interesting to see which are the more successful marriages.

Thousands of heterosexual couples choose to live together happily as partners just as thousands of homosexual people live happily together as partners. One of the main reasons heterosexuals were forced to marry was so their children would not be illegitimate. Gay couples do not have this problem.

Why change anything and end up in the divorce courts?

P. A. Upward, O'Connor

The Coalition for Marriage tells us we have the right to say No.

The question is why would you? The spurious slippery slope argument that throws up religious freedom and radicalising school curriculums has its beginning in one place: a belief that legalising same-sex marriage will normalise behaviour they believe is abnormal.

That prejudice may be the product of religious teaching, culture or upbringing, but the arguments about social disintegration are reminiscent of those that followed the introduction of no fault divorce in 1976.

It makes me wonder, if a successful No campaign could create a new slippery slope where divorce laws are changed, along with the legal recognition of de facto relationships and children are only taught about the Christian definitions of marriage.

Bart Meehan, Calwell

Just a few questions about matters arising from Mr Turnbull's negotiations with the gas supply trinity Santos, Shell and Origin ("PM guarantees supply", September 28, p.1).

Firstly: what price will we have to pay for the gas which we own?

Secondly: if we are going to be asked to pay more than the export price, how can this be justified, especially seeing that the cost of refrigerated transport must form part of the price paid by the overseas importers?

Thirdly: why is the so-called guarantee only for two years, when the government wants to extend the life of the Liddell power station by five years from 2022, allegedly to get us over the hump before Snowy Hydro et al can be brought on line?

Fourthly: will the government be able to prevent the aforesaid Trinity from limiting production to jack up prices?

Surely the rule must be that local consumption has first dibs, followed by exports.

BHP Petroleum chief Mike Yeager told News.com.au on 17 March 2017 that the existing Bass Strait gas fields could easily supply the whole of NSW and Victoria "indefinitely" but that production for export contracts had fallen short and so Bass Strait production was being sent to Queenland to top up the export contracts. It seems that we may have to invoke the Holy Trinity to bring some sanity into the whole process.

James Gralton, Garran

I strongly think that N Korea will be willing to sit again on the negotiating table if Mr Trump throws away his smartphone, revoke his Twitter account and starts to talk to them and to the world with his mouth.

Mokhles K Sidden, South Strathfield, NSW

Securing gas supplies is no doubt a win for the government, but their energy problems are far from over — the much harder electricity affordability and reliability problem remains.

It is not just a matter of redirecting existing resources.

This is a major shambles, years in the making, a mix of fanatical ideologies, poor science, opportunistic politics, rent seeking, misplaced faith in renewable energy and much more.

Solving it will need a complete rethink, based on evidence-based, reasoned thought, much of it drawn from the engineering and science Malcolm Turnbull tells us he favours.

Doug Hurst, Chapman

Had to laugh when I heard Bob Katter, in the process of defending Christian traditional values, nominated the NRL Grand Final as the "most sacred day of the year outside of Christmas". That says it all about the purity of our Christian values, doesn't it?

S. W. Davey, Torrens

Jack Kershaw's call to scrap the flawed City to the Lake plan (Letters, September 27) is echoed in countless letters to The Canberra Times.

Apart from questionable land sale matters recently investigated by the Auditor- General, and the current House of Assembly hearings, there has been over 15 years of compromised planning pushed by a development lobby supported by gullible politicians and promoted by bureaucrats.

Processes are marred in spin and obfuscation.

Advice critical of City to the Lake provided by esteemed planning experts as well as the joint standing committee for the ACT was ignored. Community-action groups are labelled by governments as the 'vocal minority' so they too can be ignored. Warped visions reflecting developments conveyed in lines and boxes on a plan receive 'professional awards' while they butcher our outstanding Lake Burley Griffin system that arose from past award-winning planning and construction.

Public consultation has become an art form of skewing to give politicians what they want.

Sadly, the ACT Greens, blind to social, environmental and aesthetic damage to our lake system, support selling the public's lake parkland to private development in order to pursue their rigid policy of getting rid of cars and car parks.

Meanwhile, the National Capital Authority adopts a Pontius Pilate approach to protecting the lake's national significance. A review of the City to the Lake's West Basin proposal has been requested by Lake Burley Griffin Guardians and, of course, that too has been ignored by governments.

Juliet Ramsay, Burra, NSW

Many youth at festivals won't be told definitively if their ecstasy pills, and probably others, are safe or not ("Pill testing given OK for festival", September 23, P1).

Recently an American pill-testing body noted that tablets sold as ecstasy in 2015 went through comprehensive lab tests.

Published results found a total of 134 substances other than MDMA and that the re-agent pill tests can at best distinguish between only eight of these chemicals.

A full suite of seven different pill-testing kits could only distinguish 16 chemicals in addition to MDMA. This means that any of the 118 other chemicals could be present but undetected.

A dangerous drug group known as empathogens adulterate ecstasy pills are sold as ecstasy.

Most testing kits can't make the distinction, certainly to remove any doubt.

If you don't know what you're testing for, your results will be unreliable, and therefore unsafe.

Interventions like pill testing pander to an open society ideology, but do not remove reasonable doubt about consolidating drug use, or are constructed to put users on the only road to true safety — freedom from drugs.

Colliss Parrett, Drug Advisory Council Australia, Barton

You report that military courts, unlike civilian courts, do not publish the identity of offenders ("Surge in cases of sex misconduct", September 29, P3), while our civilian courts publish identities even when innocent. No wonder our law is regarded as an ass.

Greg Cornwell, Yarralumla

Relying on essential utilities, I find it interesting to read daily and to watch on TV reports about the never-ending increase in the price of energy bills and the rhetoric from politicians to "shop around".

But what do we do about other life essentials where we can't shop around and are at the mercy of an entity without competition.

The price of water in this town has reached the point where it is verging on legalised theft. I haven't had a hose on my vegie garden for six months and yet I got a "Dear John letter" from Icon water last week telling me that they need to adjust my monthly direct debit from $145 to $171 a month or $2052 a year.

I have a brother who lives in Wagga. He has an in-ground swimming pool and beautiful lush green lawns throughout summer. His annual water bill is a whopping $820 a year.

How can these rates can be justified?

Mike Harding, Holt

Congratulations to the Adelaide primary school for their "Do it in a dress" fundraiser attracting $270,000 in donations for girls' education in Africa thanks to Senator Bernardi's faux pas. Perhaps he could help other schools by promoting a "Do it with egg on your face" days.

Keith Hill, Kaleen

Rod Matthews letter (September 27) presumably opposes renewable energy and might have been written by the coal lobby.

Firstly, he should be patient. It could once have been said that no country had ever put a man on the moon.

Secondly, there are three university departments, even in this country, which have demonstrated that a transition to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050 is possible.

And thirdly, while it would be feasible to "maintain modern living standards", we should be questioning their desirability, involving, as they do, excessive consumption, built-in obsolescence, status seeking, non-recyclability, waste and much else.

Dick Varley, Braidwood, NSW

Securing gas supplies is no doubt a win for the government, but their energy problems are far from over – the much harder electricity affordability and reliability problem remains.

Unlike the gas issue, it is not just a matter of redirecting existing resources.

This is major shambles, years in the making, a mix of fanatical ideologies, poor science, opportunistic politics, successful rent seeking, misplaced faith in renewable energy and much more.

Solving it will need a complete rethink, based on evidence-based, reasoned thought, much of it drawn from the engineering and science Malcolm Turnbull tells us he favours.

That will not be easy, but without it nothing will improve.

Doug Hurst, Chapman

GALLOP'S LEGACY

The late John Gallop was the foundation president of the "Friends of St Johns", formed in 1986 to support and the heritage of Canberra's first Church.

Successive "Friends" committees and members have continued this commitment.

Len Goodman, Belconnen

'KEEP DRIVING'

Paddy O'Keefe (Letters, September 29) I'm pretty sure the only thing the ACT government will want to say to you re your concerns is "Keep driving".

Sean Allan, Kambah

HEFNER'S FAREWELL

I was shattered to read ("Death of the playboy", September 29, P.1, P.6) of the death of Hugh Hefner, but extremely gratified by the media coverage this important news received.

It was a fitting reflection of the enormous contribution Hefner made to the advancement of society in general and of women in particular. LOL.

Ed Highley, Kambah

BUTT OUT ABBOTT

I am staggered that Tony Abbott thinks it's his business which song is played at any sporting fixture. And worse ... that he thinks he can influence what is or isn't played at a sporting fixture.

Helen M Goddard, Turner

KNOWLEDGE IS KEY

I wish someone could explain to Tony Abbott that the same sex marriage discussion is about knowledge, not politics. It is over three decades since Abbott is recorded as having completed any formal education, in line with almost all his parliamentary colleagues. So much for lifelong education and the need to embrace the continuing knowledge boom.

Audrey Guy, Ngunnawal, ACT

AMAZING COINCIDENCE

So, it's just a coincidence that we're to have a pro-gay marriage song at the grand footy final, smack in the middle of the gay marriage voting period.

Oh yeah? Pull the other one!

Dr. Rol Mitchell, Bellbowrie, Qld

COOKING UP A CRISIS

Is our government creating a gas crisis just to fix it? Is W. Book of Hackett the only one who thinks this? (Letters, September 28). No, you're not alone W.Book. They are cooking this one up and it is obvious.

Roseanne Byrne, St Georges Basin, NSW

GAS ANSWERS

The obvious answer (to the gas shortage) is to only permit export after the domestic requirements are met. The domestic price should be no higher than the lowest export price.

The political and legal answers are much more complicated.

Charles Hirst, Latham

Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message field, not as an attached file. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610.

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