I was, however, in shock at the near impenetrable scrub that has taken over large areas. There are no tracks and it required near superhuman strength to make progress in places. The scrub was ever present for much of our three-day walk.

The fact that only three parties were recorded in the visitors book on Mt Kelly in the past 12 months suggests the area is greatly under-used and under-appreciated.

While I appreciate the inherent value of wilderness, and also the impact the bushfires have had on the makeup of the vegetation, it is time to consider allowing better foot access into what is a real gem of the ACT. A foot track, well designed and constructed, would allow those willing to make the considerable effort, access to a natural area that is the equal of some of the world's best hiking areas. It's time for a considered discussion about how to more fully utilise this large and spectacular part of the ACT.

Peter Fogarty, Aranda

As has been remarked (Dallas Stow, letters April23), the marvellous vista down Northbourne Avenue reveals the spire of Parliament House. It also reveals the summit of City Hill to the east, with the flagpole on the western slope.

The Parliamentary Triangle was a significant feature of Walter Burley Griffin's plan, with apices at Parliament House, Defence HQ at Russell, and City Hill.

Documentation (Google Parliamentary Triangle) shows Commonwealth Avenue Bridge leading to the summit of City Hill.

At what stage can this side of the triangle, continuing along Northbourne Avenue, have gone astray? How recently could the error have been rectified?

It would seem that if Commonwealth Avenue Bridge had been correctly situated, then Northbourne Avenue could have been aligned in continuation without much alteration.

Why did this never happen? Will it ever happen?

Jack Palmer, Watson

The very day after Anzac Parade, I read that the Anzac Park East building is to be replaced with a block of flats.

Looking at the notice (Canberra Times, April26, p5) advertising the disposal of public assets, I can understand the Department of Finance wanting to trouser some extra money, but I don't see anywhere the guiding hand of the National Capital Authority.

The symmetry of the two portal buildings at the lake end of Anzac Parade are part of the central axis defining the vista intrinsic to Walter Burley Griffin's formal plan for our city. Is the NCA silent on this?

Even if through government mismanagement and negligence these buildings have deteriorated, surely they can be rescued: See AMP's plan to refurbish Sydney's first skyscraper at Circular Quay (Canberra Times, April26, p22).

Maybe the neglect is so serious that all participants just want the evidence of it to just go away, to be replaced by something new and shiny, and hang the symbolism, the symmetry and the city's landscape plan.

Mike Allan, Forrest

I agree with John Trueman and M.Flint (Letters, April26) in their responses to John Davenport's defence of the tram. Davenport demonstrates what happens when a blind commitment to ideology overrides careful rational analysis.

It is obvious there are some savvy and experienced transport people involved in Can the Tram, who are committed to public transport and rapid transit solutions.

However, the Gungahlin tram project failed badly on multiple grounds, when the detailed analysis was undertaken by various experts. In contrast, light rail examples such as the Gold Coast make sense in view of the number of visitors daily to that area and enough pivotal institutions along the route to make its use viable.

Murray May, Cook

So Andrew Barr is thinking about using citizens' juries to let the people have their say on major matters.

Pity he didn't do that with the tram. Instead, he used his call-in powers to stop even parliamentary consideration of the issue and let contracts just before the election to stop people having their say there.

He won, as it happens, but that election wasn't a referendum on the tram; the Liberals would have gotten the tram right and everything else wrong, which is why people didn't vote for them.

Let's hope, if he does go ahead with the idea, that he doesn't get his random sample of voters from the rolls of various ALP sub branches.

Stan Marks Hawker

One of the 7pm ABC news presentations last weekend broadcast an interview with a beekeeper, the significance of which completely escaped the presenter because she is probably captive to ABC groupthink on climate change.

The beekeeper reported that he and many others were feeling financial pressures because returns from product honey and pollination services had been declining over recent years because of cold summers. How strange, considering reports on hottest weeks, months, even summers, since whenever.

Russian scientists studying climate change and possible links to solar cycles are predicting serious cooling mid-century, not unlike the Maunder Minimum.

Is this real evidence? Could bees represent the proverbial canary?

Aert Driessen, McKellar

For the first time ever last election I voted for a Liberal government in the ACT.

Jeremy Hanson guaranteed that SHOUT would be given $600,000 over three years to continue the valuable work we do in the community.

However, I am now guaranteed I will have a tram, which is probably something I will never use.

I ask people who live with chronic conditions and their carers to consider how they will vote in the next election. We do have strengths in numbers to change the government.

Paula Calcino, Oxley

Rod Matthews (Letters, April 26) states as received wisdom that the ABC is left-wing in its political analysis.

He also suggests that the ABC thinks it is centrist and balanced, thereby implying the organisation is unaware of its bias.

At best, this is muddled thinking. To suggest that the ABC is incapable of understanding its positioning on political analysis is insulting and gratuitous.

Mr Matthews should also remember two other things. First, a key task of media organisations is to analyse policies and actions of the government of the day, thus ensuring a high degree of accountability. A healthy media is likely to focus on governments more so than other political groups simply because they are in power.

Second, perceptions of bias are likely to be influenced by one's personal starting point. Mr Matthews does not acknowledge this. His comments would have been more credible if he'd also made an objective analysis of Australia's other main media organisations.

Keith Croker, Kambah

France's mistreatment of Muslims is worse than Clive Williams reports in ("Why France is a target", April 26, p16).

During the French occupation of Algeria until 1962, soldiers butchered 5 million (mainly Muslim) civilians. In their quest for racial purity, Hitler's Nazis were marginally higher. They killed 6 million Jews.

To this day, the French government refuses to admit its genocide and apologise to Algerians. Nobody knows how many Aboriginal people were killed in Australia's quest for racial purity. But in 2008, then prime minister Kevin Rudd apologised for Australia's attempted genocide. One day a prime minister may apologise for putting refugees into prison camps.

But I'm not holding my breath. Labor and Liberal MPs fear losing votes. The White Australia Policy has gone but the malady lingers on and on.

Graham Macafee, Latham

I wish to inform Mr Dutton that since 1975 boat people have come from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan (to some extent Iran and Sri Lanka), predominantly fleeing war-torn situations. It was Mr Dutton's Liberal Party predecessors that got us involved in these wars; therefore they must assume the blame.

It was because of our participation in the form of military support in these regions that these asylum seekers considered Australians as friendly forces. They deliberately targeted our shores in the belief that they would be granted refugee status.

Mr Dutton should remember the MV Tampa scandal, the Siev X disaster and the Siev 4 children overboard controversy before he apportions blame.

Dennis Petrovic, Rutherford, NSW

We deem "freedom of speech" as a key Australian value. This was put to the test this week and we have failed once again. Let's put aside the sentiments and political correctness of right or wrong. The rage at Yassmin Abdel-Magied after her Anzac Day tweet clearly indicates we are a highly biased, misogynist and opportunistic society, looking to exploit the mistakes of others.

We have a high level of double standard. It appears we support "freedom of speech" only when it is about what we like to hear.

Usman Mahmood, South Bowenfels NSW

The Immigration Department should be sent to Nauru, where there is good accommodation and welcoming locals. The Minister for Science and his department's staff should be sent to Antarctica, and the Prime Minister and his department should be sent to the Norfolk Islands. The Tax Office should be relocated on the Cayman Islands.

Susan MacDougall, Scullin

Good to see our government keeping us tight with the USA. Now we have a government minister with "alternate facts", as popularised by the Trump administration.

Minister Dutton is demanding an apology from the ABC for reporting facts from the PNG police on Manus Island, instead of using his alternate facts about the PNG soldiers shooting up the Manus Island "concentration camp" (a term used by Pope Francis).

Unfortunately the term "alternate facts" had not been invented at the time of the Howard government's "children overboard" fiasco. I would like to call on the ABC to promise never to use "alternate facts" from our Coalition governments. They are as reliable as a President Trump tweet.

Rod Olsen, Flynn

The US never has to "go it alone". They can depend on us good old "Arsies" to pour blood and treasure into their wars.

Russia has watched in dismay as the US pushes EU membership and compulsory NATO membership ever closer to Russia's western borders. The US has also set up a ring of armaments aimed at Russia. A recent John Pilger documentary showed China and North Korea ringed by US bases. The US taxpayer has footed the bill for overseas bases – in some cases since 1945. Add to this constant US intrusion in the western Pacific with war games.

The problem is not Russia, China, North Korea; the problem is US provocation.

Barrie Smillie, Duffy

Can anyone explain why the federal and Queensland governments continue to promote the Adani mine project? Did Turnbull's 30 pieces of silver include support for Abbott's view that "coal is vital for the future energy needs of the world, so let's have no demonisation of coal"?

It is clear that Adani is a scam; the mine will be established, management's cut will be banked in the Bahamas and then, surprise, the price of coal will collapse and the mine will be closed.

Adrian Gibbs, Yarralumla

NOT FOR HER FAMILY

I'm not surprised Lucy Gichuhi wants nothing to do with Cory Bernardi, given his antipathy towards Africans, Asians and Aborigines, in particular ("Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives to merge with Family First", April 25).

Michael McCarthy, Deakin

PEOPLE THE PROBLEM

When will national and international governments wake up to the fact that failing to address the primary cause of climate change – population growth – will only slow down but not stop climate change?

Ed Dobson, Hughes

INCREDIBLE DUTTON

Peter Dutton's latest shot across the bow of the ABC would be laughable if it wasn't so telling of the man. He is certainly living in la la land if he thinks the ABC has anything to answer for. .

D.J Fraser, Currumbin, Qld

Do any of these people whining about the "left" ABC ever listen to Amanda Vanstone's program Counterpoint, or Tom Switzer's 'Sunday Profile. Sometimes I think that they never encounter any of the ABC apart fromQ&A.

S.W Davey, Torrens

JAW JAW NOT WAR WAR

The subtitle on the article "There are no easy answers" ("North Korea nuclear stand-off", CT, April 25) got it dead wrong. Nothing could be simpler: use diplomacy, negotiate.

Kenneth Griffiths, O'Connor

THE DARWIN LINE

Having US troops stationed in Darwin in case of Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, and at the same time calling on China to deter North Korea firing missiles at us, puts us in a precarious position.

Glenys Hammer, Narrabundah

OUR BEST FEATURES

Values are one thing, but perhaps Australia's best features are its peace, democracy, freedoms, liberalism, easy-going character, and welfare system.

Rod Matthews, Fairfield Vic

James Gralton (Letters , April 26) has succinctly summarised current Australian values as "a selfish, inward-looking and mean society, thinking only of ourselves". What became of the values we celebrated on Anzac Day?

Peter Snowdon, Aranda

BICKERING SICKENING

Anzac Day has become a day for rival factions to bicker over what is respectful and what not. I think the root of all evil stems from our politicians' contagious disease (bickering) that is infecting the whole nation.

Mokhles K Sidden, South Strathfield NSW

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