As I admired its sturdy little forests I found myself asking these questions:

In what way will each of these forests be changing the patches of earth in which they grow? Might they be missing the other plants that have surrounded them in their native lands where they have truly flourished in the past?

Where and how is the natural under-story of these trees going to establish itself? Which plants in these will we regard as "weeds" in this controlled experiment?

How will the edges of the forests interact with each other? Will particular native birds and animals flourish in particular forests and will they be bemused with the juxtaposition of unfamiliar trees?

Who is deciding how to use this place as a source of research data and how are they prioritising projects? And on and on.

It's not that I don't love the place, but let's hope it now encourages us all to think in climate-wise ways about the sensitivity of the systems on which our planet depends.

Could we have some leaflets that initiate these discussions soon? Such texts will make our visits to the Arboretum even more exciting.

Jill Sutton, Watson

We should think very carefully about any reduction in the number of trees in Haig Park. The park was established very thoughtfully by Charles Weston in 1921 to act as a windbreak to mitigate the cold winds from the north. It has been very effective in its maturity.

Once you start removing trees the effectiveness of the park will be compromised.

Compaction of the soil by concentrated overuse by people and vehicles may well hasten its demise.

If the junkies give it a bad name, don't blame the trees.

Be careful what you wish for.

Derek F. Wrigley, Mawson

Telopea Park, with its beautiful and famed trees, was listed bythe ACT Heritage Council in 2012.

On Sunday (May 21) one of its old and large eucalypts was demolished.

This act was done on the basis of "bird damage".

Many remaining trees in the park are bird-damaged. Does this mean they are all condemned?

Does the ACT government want a heritage-listed park without trees or without birds?

Or without both?

Auriol Weigold, Kingston

Now that the evenings are very dark early, it distresses and amazes me to see most on-road cyclists attempting to navigate major arterial roads in evening peak hour traffic doing so wearing very dark clothing. The few riders who wear bright coloured cycling tops, rarely luminous, often negate same by wearing a dark-coloured backpack.

These cyclists are incredibly difficult for motorists to see, given drivers' need to safely adjust to many different driving and lighting situations.

Riders should seriously consider the huge risk at which they place themselves. The adverse effects of any collision are horrific for any parties involved.

It may be best to leave work early or to take the bike on the bus going home.

John Mungoven, Stirling

In your article ("'Flawed' pokies scheme", canberratimes.com.au, May 18) about ACT clubs' contributions to community groups, you quoted the CEO of the Canberra Southern Cross Club, Ian Mackay, referring to meals his club has provided to several such groups.

"I don't think that's at all unreasonable, it's part of the giving program that we do. These groups are after food, not cash," he said.

As volunteers at the Curtin Day Centre for palliative-care clients, we would like to emphasise how grateful we and our clients are to the Southern Cross Club for the cooked meals they provide weekly for our clients.

Even if we had plenty of cash it is unlikely that we could provide a good substitute for the meals provided by the Southern Cross Club.

Without a midday hot meal, our clients would be unable to attend the centre for more than a few hours.

We know that they and their carers value the day out that these meals enable them to enjoy, with entertainment and other activities in a supportive group.

We heartily thank the Southern Cross Club for its help.

Joseph de Riva, Karen Anderson, Bernie Ayers, Helen Crennan, John Eyers, Annette Farr, Catherine Grinsell-Jones, Viola Kalekerinos, Karen Lloyd, Lesley Ratcliff, Kris Reed and Marg Stuart, Lyneham

The letter by Rex Williams (May 20) is a total affront, with its vitriolic anti Semitism and selective, imperfect manipulation of historical "facts".

The Holocaust killed not only 6 million Jews but also an almost equal number of others deemed by the Nazis to be inferior: homosexuals, collaborators, people with mental and physical impairments, Romany people and as well any who dared challenge the brutal policies of the Nazis.

To say the "Jewish PR machine swings into top gear in promoting the Holocaust again" is beyond disgusting.

Those of integrity and faith worldwide rightly deplore the attempted extermination of a people based on their religion. The Holocaust is not "promoted" in remembrance but acts as a Memorial Day for the dead, with the hope that never again will the world bear witness to such premeditated, industrialised mass murder.

At the time the state of Israel was established, the Arab population was also given the chance to establish their own state.

Their leadership thought the newly established state of Israel could quickly be destroyed. After that the Arab population, most of whom had left when their leaders told them to in order to avoid the war they started, would then be able to return.

The region needs our prayers and positivity, not more hatred, to ensure that two states for two peoples becomes a reality.

Yvette Goode, Yarralumla

Monday, May 22, was the 75thanniversary of Sir Robert Menzies' famous "forgotten people" speech.

If you have not read it, do yourself a favour and google it. Itis amazing how relevant it is still today, only more so, unfortunately.

Two central tenets of the speech were that the "middle class" was the backbone the country and that "The great vice of democracy ... is that for a generation we have been busy getting ourselves on to the list of beneficiaries and removing ourselves from the list of contributors, as if somewhere there was somebody else's wealth and somebody else's effort on which we could thrive".

He later refers to the "leaners" being supported by the "lifters". What he called the great vice of democracy, I would call the Achilles heel of democracy.

[This is when] the number of voters living off the public (taxpayers') teat outnumber those that are creating the wealth and paying their taxes.

How many of those people now on welfare would willingly forgo their benefits in the interest of democracy?

It has been reported that some 60 per cent of Australian voters now receive some degree of welfare and that some 40 per cent do not pay any net tax at all. How long do people think that our country can sustain such self-interest and greed?

M. Flint, Erindale

Bob Salmond (Letters, May 20) takes Keith Binns to task for suggesting that Jesus would condemn Australia's refugee policies. I cannot leave Bob's statements unchallenged. I have not been to the Manus Island or Nauru detention centres, but I have spoken to many people who have worked there and I have read numerous reports about the conditions there.

I don't know where Bob heard that they are like holiday resorts; certainly not from people who have worked there who, without exception, condemn the conditions as inhumane and akin to torture.

Inmates live in tents or non-airconditioned buildings, the small amount of clothing they receive is unsuitable for tropical conditions.

I wonder how Bob can conclude that millions of destitute people around the world would willingly swap places with these people?

Contrary to Bob's claim, the great majority of those who have been assessed have been found to be genuine refugees.

This means that they are likely to face persecution or death if they return to their homelands.

I do not presume to know with certainty what Jesus would say about this, but I doubt it would be, as Bob suggests, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's."

I think it more likely that Jesus would say, "Love your neighbour as yourself."

Charles Body, Kaleen

A recent letter drew attention to the discounting of the consumer price index for "quality improvements".

I wonder whether the Australian Bureau of Statistics also inflates the CPI for reductions in the quality of goods and services. For example, do banks provide the same level of personal service in branch as before or dotheir phone contacts answer as promptly?

Are all white goods "better" or do some use inferior materials than before or tend to fail more often and have a shorter life?

The discounting was introduced with the mean-spirited aim of reducing increases in pensions and such payments. Surely Australia is well enough off to allow its pensioners a share of technical improvements in the quality of goods and services.

The very usefulness of the CPI should be questioned. It originated to measure the minimal amount that working families of the fifties "deserved" to meet a basic standard of living. Increasingly it is a mixture of fictions and conventions designed to reduce the value of welfare payments.

It is time to use a measure based on total household expenditure.

It should include government charges for services such as rates and utility charges.

Phillip Bubb, Reid

I was a tad disappointed on reading Crispin Hull's recipe to deal with the North Korean problem ("Why are nations still trying to appease North Korea?", Forum pp.2-3, May 20).

The nuclear arms race was initiated by the United States when it dropped the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima and it is now unstoppable.

Nine countries now possess nuclear weapons.

Most of them also have the means to build and deliver those bombs.

The US and Russia alone have almost 10,000 warheads.

Trying to stop North Korea from pursuing its own nuclear armament program, even at the cost of starting a potential third world war, this time nuclear, is not the way to go about solving the problem we ourselves have created.

Punishing and isolating the agitated and difficult kid in the classroom was never the best way to make that kid quieten down and see reason.

The reasons why nations are still trying to appease North Korea is because the alternatives are too horrendous to contemplate.

John Rodriguez, Florey

Now that our PM and Treasurer have advised us to consider leaving the Big Five [banks], perhaps they can guarantee they won't pull the same stunt and tax/levy the next biggest banks in their next budget – before people move their investments.

Maybe it will be prudent for us to invest in foreign banks right now and not to wait any longer — or are you planning to tax/levy these banks as well?

P. R. Temple, Macquarie

WARMONGER MADNESS

The Liberals are upping Defence spending from $32 billion a year to $58 billion a year in the forward estimates.

We are not at war. We are not under attack and we have no defined enemy.

This is madness when scarce funds are needed for infrastructure, schools and hospitals.

Ray Armstrong, Tweed Heads, NSW

LICENSED TO PAY

Another revenue source for the Commonwealth government could be a licence fee, or levy, on all social media accounts in Australia (Facebook, Twitter etc). A TV and radio licence, like in the UK, could be introduced too. We used to have them in the 1960s.

Just one licence per person or household, not per TV.

Adrian Jackson, Middle Park, Vic

PINPOINT ACCURACY

Thanks to Rob Ey and A. Rowell (Letters, May 22). I can heckle from the hip about the self-indulgence and shallowness of Andrew Wall's opinions, but they are the ones who can point out that he is dead wrong, knows little about the process and is generally barking up the wrong tree.

S. W. Davey, Torrens

NOT CONFIDENT

Well said, Graham Brady (Letters, May 22). You offered a good alternative to the penalty shootout .

We are up against the big money, though. It is down to the fans to say, and I am gloomy about that considering the indifference exhibited by them so far.

Tom Middlemiss, Deakin

WORDS TO PLEASE

What a well-crafted letter by Luca Biason on Monday (Letters, May 22). As my colleagues at CSIRO Entomology used to say, "Mother Earth has a bad case of the lice."

Malcolm Robertson, Chapman

DEPRESSING FIGURES

There's always talk about how mental health treatments may prevent suicide but little about when they cause suicide. According the Adverse Drug Reactions Database of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, suicides related to use of antidepressants have soared by 118 per cent since April 2011. Children as young as two, are on these drugs.

Linda Vij, Mascot, NSW

POLLS APART

The Liberals replaced Tony Abbott with Malcolm Turnbull because the opinion polls were against the government. Turnbull is still carrying the legacy of his predecessor. The poll is still haunting the government. Where do we go from here?

Sankar Kumar Chatterjee, Evatt

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.

Keep your letter to 250 words or less. References to Canberra Times reports should include date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published).