Perhaps the Minister for Transport, Meegan Fitzharris, can explain to the community how if these measures were effective, that we ended up with a record number of drivers caught.

Peter Toscan, Amaroo

So, Mick Gentleman, Minister for the Environment and Heritage, can't handle the truth and, even though he hasn't seen the film Kangaroo, he's quick to claim it is "one sided and sensationalist" ("Confronting: roo doco hits big screen", March 9, p9).

The hypocrisy of the ACT government, supported by the Greens MLA, Shane Rattenbury, has no limit. The government has refused to consider new evidence, including from CSIRO, that their kangaroo management policies are doing more harm than good.

There is nothing "small-scale" about the annual cull of ACT kangaroos. Over the last eight years, kangaroos have largely been wiped out — to make way for widespread development, changing the landscape from a grassy outlook with wildlife corridors to one that is covered in tarmac and concrete, as far as the eye can see.

While the minister is right in that the ACT doesn't have a commercial culling program, it benefits greatly, by getting rid of them, to free up the land to build ever more new suburbs. And as pointed out previously, in some of the nature parks, having killed off the kangaroos, the government has resorted to grazing the land with cattle to keep the grass down.

So much for the minister's withering claims that he wants to protect the environment. Go figure.

Philip Machin, Wamboin, NSW

"My challenge to everyone in this room is to be at the cutting edge of communication, to put up contentious, risky and interesting ideas ... we definitely have to change ..." ("I hate journalists ... Andrew Barr", Canberra Times, March 12).

Is this the same Andrew Barr who when given control over this unique city chose centralisation, high-rise buildings and trams as the pillars of development?

Just in case Mr Barr's resolve for renewal should extend to urban planning, I would like to quote Jeremy Dalton, an urban planner and strategy technologist invited to a Transport Innovation workshop hosted by the ACT government recently.

In his public lecture on February22, Dalton aligned himself with a widely held view among experts that within 10 years almost all urban trips would be taken by driverless vehicles in shared mobility mode.

Mr Barr, could we have some government funding put to openly investigating this contentious and interesting idea in the Canberra context?

John L Smith, Farrer

To those with angst about Woden Town Centre's future, don't worry. People will cross town to be there as entrepreneurs see its value.

A lot of good stuff has been lost, like the most brilliant cafeteria building ever. But the town centre's 1970's "brutalist" charm will be rediscovered. People will re-appreciate the seriously conscientious central plaza, guarded by Marvel Hinder's newly revealed burnished stainless steel "Sculptured Form". They'll see new appeal in evocative elements, like the beetling scale of the bevelled shopping mall pediments, the back-straightening north-south axial pedestrian way cut through the carefully placed office blocks imbued with '70s conscientious detailing, and of course, the magic Callum Offices perched over Yarralumla Creek.

Look again at recent developments like the police station, and even Sky Plaza's (residential complex in the south-east corner) north facades.

They have a more timeless appeal than many contemporaries, and were designed to respect Woden's epoch. So should any proposed new developments there.

Jack Kershaw, Kambah

The National Retail Association, in pushing for a zero increase in the minimum wage for its workers ("Retailers urge zero wage rise for lowest paid", March 14, pp 2 & 3) is in effect, when inflation is taken into account, arguing for a decrease in their workers' wages.

Perhaps the management of retail businesses behind this push could instead have a close look at their own practices.

For example, could the business be run more efficiently? Could consideration be given to lowering prices and increasing the likelihood of increased sales? Could their market research and marketing be improved, and could the external appearance of their business premises, their location, or both be improved to attract more potential customers?

It seems to me that to penalise the lowest-paid workers to make up for failings of management is taking the easy and lazy way out.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

I have no sympathy for spies who are traitors to their country, like the Russian who was poisoned in Salisbury last week.

Most traitors spy for money, not ideological reasons.

In the recent UK cases, not only has the "former" double agent been poisoned but so has his possibly innocent adult daughter and a UK policeman. The Russian's wife and son are already dead.

If this attack was perpetrated by Russia it not only tells double agents that you and your family will be killed but it warns the UK, who employed the Russian, that this type of attack can happen in any residence, park, cafe or hotel room where UK citizens may also be at risk.

Adrian Jackson, Middle Park, Vic

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