How on earth the CT can justify a page one article about several tiles in the men's toilet of an RSL club in coastal NSW is beyond me.

As an Assembly member, Ms Cody would be much better off concentrating on the poor and homeless people who lead a miserable life in the nation's capital.

Warwick Priestley, Amaroo

Labor MLAs should be concentrating on problems in ACT Indigenous health, housing, employment and incarceration rates.

It is timely to inform ACT Labor of what a state Liberal minister recently wrote: that her government is concentrating on those issues, and more for the state constituency.

Labor got its train sets for Christmas (light rail and government).

It is now the turn of the ACT community.

NSW can look after itself.

I respect the moral support provided to an army veteran of Afghanistan. It should have been provided privately, between husband and wife.

Christopher Ryan, Watson

Bec Cody's anger over men being "expected to urinate on Aboriginals" seems a little off the mark. The photo of the offending tiles (February 15, p.8) depicts two feature tiles on a wall to the left of a stainless steel urinal.

Ms Cody's understanding of male micturition is sorely lacking.

We urinate on the stainless steel, not the wall and floor.

What is way off the mark is your hijacking of ACT Assembly time for a matter that does not concern the ACT.

T. J. Farquahar, Ainslie

What a petty person you are, Bec Cody ("Blight on the tiles", February 15, p.1).

I suspect the haughty-looking photo of you on page 1 of The Canberra Times is a good reflection of your character.

A pox on petty politicians who can't get their minds out of the — ah, urinal — and concentrate on more important matters in their own electorate here in the ACT.

Don Sephton, Greenway

Your article on Mick Gentleman's overseas trip ("Gentleman's light rail trip cost $70,538", February 15, p.8) illustrates what is wrong with this government's approach to transport.

He was looking at successful tram operations in 2016, long after the government was committed to its tram.

The sensible time to do a trip like that was before the decision was taken and to look, not only at operations, but also at the analysis that was undertaken before they were built.

The key to a successful operation is proper planning where all the various options are looked at before making a decision, not the ACT approach where this analysis wasn't done and the decision to proceed was taken, for political reasons, in the middle of the 2012 election campaign.

Stan Marks, Hawker

I wish to thank Mick Gentleman for taking the time to investigate how light rail can improve Canberra. Now, if he'd just arrange to spend $70,538 fixing Kambah's recently resurfaced roads, I'd thank him again.

Neil Lynch, Kambah

The ACT government once again assumes, against the evidence, that people will want to cycle excessive distances ("ACT's first park and pedal to open at National Arboretum car park," February 9, p. 10).

Even in the cycling-mad Netherlands, fewer than one in 12 cycling trips is longer than eight kilometres.

The government has not learnt the lesson from its $10million off-road path that covers only part of the 15-km-plus route between Gungahlin and the airport. Fewer than 30 commuter cyclists use it.

The government now expects people to put their bikes in their cars, drive to the Arboretum, remove their bikes, and then cycle more than eight kilometres to work.

Building more footpaths will do more to encourage walking and cycling.

Leon Arundell, Downer

It is very disappointing that the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment and Energy and the NCA have approved the demolition of Bruce Hall.

The justification for this decision is tenuous and the disregard of the Canberra community's voice woeful (127 submissions of the 129 objected to the demolition).

Very poor documentation was submitted with the development application; it lacked robust analysis and direction for the conservation of Bruce Hall's heritage values.

Sadly, the building will be replaced by something that has a severe impact on the important landscape setting of University Avenue and Black Mountain.

R. J. Nelson, Crestwood, NSW

Re: "ACT to trial chevron road markings to stop tailgating", (February 14, p.2).

This is doomed to failure as drivers (will) ignore it. A two-second gap at 100 km/h amounts to approximately a 54-metre gap. A 54-metre gap on the Parkway or Gunghalin Distributor would be an open invitation for three cars to immediately jump in.

For the AFP to police such rules would at once result in multiple accidents and road closure for hours. Maybe fixed speed cameras with the technology to measure speed and relate it to the distance between two vehicles could be introduced in many places, not just on 100km/h roads .

Now there's an idea , Mr Barr. Your deficit would probably be fixed in three months.

Paul O'Connor, Hawker

I fully agree with R. Wright (Letters, February 13) in that "members of the ACT government must be chauffeur driven around with their eyes closed not to notice the disgraceful state our nation's capital is in" as far as lawn mowing, litter, graffiti, and so on are concerned. Many road signs are covered by overgrown tree branches.

I often have to call TAMS to get very long grass cut on corners that don't let you see if a car is coming from your right.

V. Munoz, Holt

Studies have demonstrated that Canberra's newest concrete wastelands (Gungahlin, Wright, New Macgregor, et al) are more than seven degrees centigrade hotter than their well-planned, leafy and older suburban siblings ("Please re-leaf me ... no canopy means hotter suburbs", canberratimes.com, January 14, 2014).

This means that the new developments in the ACT will put more stress on the power grid, demand larger volumes of water and raise the risk of fires by increasing the average temperature of nearby bushland and farms.

Despite these inconvenient truths, all of our major political parties are dead set on expanding Canberra!

Have these "leaders" forgotten that we barely scraped through the last drought?

Are their heads in the sand? Or do they lack the gumption to withstand the lobbying and whining of major developers?

Canberran's deserve better.

Pat Crowley-Bacon, Carwoola, NSW

The Turnbull government is blaming Labor for pushing up electricity prices. Hooray for the battler, you might think.

But hold on! We're also being told we should wear the coming health insurance rise of fiveper cent taking top cover to around $4500 a year. Never mind that these annual rises become cumulative while the funds are all making decent profits, large slabs of which are going to their senior executives.

And to cap it all, thousands of lower income families are being asked to accept cuts in family benefit payments – all in the name of "budget repair".

At the same time, the Turnbull government has fun abusing the Opposition Leader and playing pass the parcel with a lump of coal in Question Time. Now there's national leadership for you.

Eric Hunter, Cook

As I read Richard Denniss' article, "Blackouts and prawns" (February 11, p.10) I realised it's not just Trump's White House that proffers "alternative facts"; the Turnbull (or is that Trumbull?) government deals in the same coin.

As Denniss says: "The Turnbull government's effort to blame a temporary shortage of electricity on a permanent shortage of coal-fired power stations is wrong on so many levels that it's hard to explain the extent of the error simply."

Nevertheless, he managed it clearly and plausibly.

What he didn't quite say but I would is that the Liberal-National Coalition appears to be so bereft of intelligence and integrity that it is incapable of differentiating between fact and fiction.

Bronis Dudek, Calwell

Doesn't the government know the electorate understands that burning "Clean Coal" makes the summers hotter and the bushfires worse?

Doesn't the government know the electorate understands privatising the electricity supply allows electricity suppliers to withhold supply until the price is right, causing blackouts.

Doesn't the government know it is time to leave the lobbyist la la land of "clean coal"?

Bruce A. Peterson, Kambah

It is a source of constant amazement that the suburbs of Canberra and Queanbeyan are cluttered with horrific houses designed by builders and ignorant home owners.

Why is there no base compulsory criteria for home design approvals which focuses on minimising energy usage? Why do we have so many ugly boxes with no eaves and no trees?

If you engaged a competent architect rather than a tradie and his pub mates for your house design you should find no need for airconditioning in this region.

From Googong to Giralang, the entire region lives under threat of blackouts simply because the folks who live in these ticky tacky boxes have no idea (of the) savings they could make on power if they (had) made a small investment in good architectural design.

Gerry Gillespie, Queanbeyan, NSW

Ian McDonald cannot expect to receive any support or sympathy from superannuants who have recently lost all or part of their pensions. ("Gold Pass defender Ian McDonald lacks the wit to realise he's an embarrassment to politics", canberratimes.com.au, February 9) .

It was his government with the support of the Greens who imposed the new assets test on superannuants.

If those on welfare have been singled out to help balance the budget then it is time politicians past and present contributed to the cause.

Robyn Lewis, Raglan, NSW

There have been many attempts to discover and define the personality of our New World Leader. The personality of our new Caesar, Benito the Second, can be summarised, however, in one well-known word already established in the language — supercallous-narcissistic-extrabraggadocious.

A. Moore, Belconnen

For decades I have accepted a better educated electorate would prevent the rise of dictators like Mussolini and Hitler.

Donald Trump demonstrates how wrong I was. (He is) a person who does not let the truth get in the way of his prejudices in relation to refugees, gun control and climate change; who dismisses indisputable evidence as fake news and espouses contradictory views from one hour to the next if it suits his argument.

Perhaps the problem with American society is the growing inequality generated by a commitment to free enterprise and an unwillingness to adequately compensate the inevitable losers of the "glorious" free market.

Mike Quirk, Wanniassa

CLEAN-UP CALL

Perhaps the folk of Sussex Inlet would like to join citizens of the ACT in calling on members of the ACT Legislative Assembly to "address the filth as a matter of urgency"; that is the unkempt look of our parks, gardens, median strips, roundabouts and other areas. The weeds and long grass are a disgrace for a nationalcapital.

Paddy O'Keeffe, Palmerston

I rest easy in my bed in the knowledge that MLA Bec Cody is hard at work protecting us from from the tacky aesthetics prevalent across much of the NSW south coast ("Blight on the tiles", February15, p.1). She has her work cut out for her.

Steve Anderson, Forrest

ANXIETY UNLEASHED

As a long-time jogger in Canberra suburbs, I have had anxious moments with dogs. To people with a dog off-lead that they cannot control, I say "It's people like you who give dogs a bad name". Sometimes I have to shout it.

R.J. Wenholz, Holt

QUICK ACTION

On Monday morning, I realised I had just left my reading glasses on the bus. I phoned Action lost property. Less than three hours later, Mark from Action rang to say that he had them. It was a bit of a trek out to Tuggeranong depot to collect them, but all in all an exceptional service.

Caroline Davidson, O'Connor

CODE FARCE

Of what use are heritage listings or building codes when our town council can vary them at will, variations are non-appealable and whole farce is upheld by ACAT? ("Govt blocks appeal bid by residents", February14, p.3).

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor

SHARIA HANDBOOK

Is there an agreed, authoritative, user-friendly statement of Sharia law? If we are going to attack or defend it, we at least need to know what it is. Is Sharia law subject to interpretation by individual imams – to a greater or lesser extent than Australian law is interpreted by judges?

Michael McCarthy, Deakin

COALITION TRIO

The Coalition we all knew was a coalition of the Liberals and the Nationals. Now we see it's a coalition of the Liberals, the Nationals and the One Nation parties at both state and federal levels.

Sankar Kumar Chatterjee, Evatt

COMPASSION CALL

Just what we need – a compassionate judge. Compassion to criminals equates to callous indifference to their victims.

M.Davis, Charnwood

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