Excuse me, why should the crossbench senators keep their promises when they have been provided with ample examples by the government on why it is OK to break election promises?

Also, our Prime Minister and his ministers keep reminding us the Senate should respect the will of the people and accept the mandate of the people. May I be so bold and remind the Prime Minister that these same people who elected the members of the government also elected the members of the Senate? Their mandate? Be a house of review? You can't have it both ways, Mr Abbott; respect the will of the people.

Valdis Juskevics, Flynn

When Clive Palmer finishes playing games with Tony Abbott and his crew, how can we be sure the cost of living will drop?

I believe Qantas has set the precedent by saying its airfares will not drop if the carbon tax is repealed. Qantas also said the carbon tax had no effect on its running costs. Although Qantas is not my favourite airline, at least it is honest.

So many voters have been conned by the danger of the carbon tax, and when it is repealed nothing will change despite the threats by Clive Palmer.

Robyn Lewis, Raglan, NSW

While I detest the current government's policies and treatment of minorities, my wife and I and the majority of Australians voted for them. There is no reason that a few people controlled by Clive Palmer should, or more importantly could, determine the future of this country.

The current government's policies should be passed by both houses and at the next election the people of Australia will vote and correct this huge mistake.

Ian McRae, Holt

Unmentionable mothers, far away, are so desperate that they are self-harming to give their children a chance. Our national leader calls this ''moral blackmail'', a term that, like ''legal blackmail'', is a nonsense.

What Tony Abbott means is that he's angry that these untermenschen are showing the courage that makes the gunboat refoulement policy look cowardly and unAustralian.

He and his band of ''we are superior, but we are not racist'' colleagues cannot ascend any moral high ground that can compete with a mother's sacrifice for her child. Remember Sophie's Choice.

He and his band would do well to search for a moral compass that has a true direction. Whatever instrument they are holding at the moment is pointing them, and us, straight to hell.

''Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.''

Hugh Selby, Lyneham

Senator Eric Abetz (''Asylum seekers left in limbo'', July 9, p1) reportedly said: ''I see no sense of social justice whatsoever in giving priority to those who bypass safe haven after safe haven after safe haven.'' From action taken on their behalf in the High Court, it is apparent that the 153 people now on board the Australian customs vessel are from Sri Lanka and their voyage originated in India.

Neither country is a signatory to the UN's Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and therefore cannot be regarded as safe havens.

Could Senator Abetz reveal which signatory countries to the convention were bypassed by those now on board the Australian customs vessel? Or are his words a further deceitful attempt to justify the government's actions that signify Australia is unwilling to be a safe haven for refugees, despite our signatory status to the convention?

Alison Jones, Duffy

The usual suspects are again bombarding your letter pages in support of refugees coming by boat and, by extension, people smugglers. Once again none of your correspondents spares a thought for those refugees, like those I have sponsored, who have been living in UN refugee camps for many years. Now the government has achieved its mandate of stopping the people smugglers, it is high time it substantially increased its intake of asylum seekers from UN refugee camps, thus offering at least some hope to those who cannot afford to pay people smugglers for their passage and a short cut to citizenship.

Ric Hingee, Duffy

Have there really been ''fewer robberies, sexual assaults and car thefts'' in Canberra (''Fewer robberies, assaults lead crime rate lower,'' July 9, p1)? Is it not the case that some crime incidents reported to ACT police are simply not recorded and other incidents are not reported to the police because victims realise that their complaints, however valid, will simply be ignored.

Based on personal experience and reports from other citizens, it is clear that incidents reported to the ACT police can be ''fobbed off'' for reasons such as ''manpower shortages'' or ''lack of vehicles''.

The ACT police might choose not to attend incidents of prowlers and malicious damage, and they are so rarely seen out enforcing road rules, but their statistical collection system seems to be A1. It is high time that the ACT had a police minister who expects proper performance from the police and doesn't just give them more Tasers and capsicum spray.

Mike Phoenix, Greenway

Acting Superintendent Brett Booth was right to point out that crime is cyclical and that the recent downturn will likely end soon. He may have had in mind a couple of Abbott government-inspired initiatives almost sure to produce a turnaround.

Tens of thousands of APS redundancies and sackings, pork-barrel-transfer of jobs away from Canberra towards more marginal electorates and no hiring, followed by demand-starved contraction in local support industries, will see local unemployment surge in coming years. That always boosts crime.

But the clincher is the scheme to leave the newly unemployed under 30 with no means of support for 12 of the first 18 months of their unemployment. While drug-dealing and prostitution can absorb some, others will necessarily start assaulting/robbing us, our homes and our cars.

We'll be back at old crime rates in no time.

Cuthbert Douglas, Bonython

Nicholas De Marco, in his heartfelt piece ''Courage in the face of relentless injustice'' (Forum, July 5, p3), notes ''some encouraging early signs from the [Marist] headmaster'' in ensuring that the school will not continue to cover up child sexual abuse. He wonders if the hearsay about an attempt to install a plaque at the college to victims being stymied by the school is not true.

Unfortunately it is true. As reported in The Canberra Times on May 31, 2012, the school's headmaster, Richard Sidorko, refused a request by my brother, Nicholas Quaine, a previous student at Marist Brothers Canberra and a victim of sexual assault by Brother Kostka Chute.

Nicholas wants to ensure there are no more victims of sexual assault and has requested Marist Brothers install a plaque at the school to acknowledge the wrongs and also, importantly, to alert future students and give them the vocabulary to report inappropriate behaviour. To date, the headmaster has refused his request.

Memorials such as the Jewish Memorial in Berlin serve to remind and educate us that atrocities should not be forgotten nor repeated. Memorials provide dignity to those who suffered, and affirm that their experiences were not trivial, or to be forgotten.

It would behove Richard Sidorko, now that he has heard the testimony at the royal commission, to reconsider the request for a plaque to demonstrate that the school now cares more about victims than protecting its image.

Julianne Quaine, Turner

So why did 70 or so teens trash the house in Kambah (''Home owners reeling after teens go on $100,000 rampage'', July 10, p1)? Not because it was unoccupied (that just made it easier), but because they could and probably with little punishment.

A real estate agent steals a couple's home deposit of $22,000 and receives a $10,000 fine (that goes to revenue) and suspended sentence (''Agent stole couple's deposit'', July 10, p2).

As a society we need to do things a little differently if we want these people to change their behaviour. So rather than the owners requiring insurance to pay up, minus the premium obviously, which then has the flow on of putting everyone's insurance costs up, we should instead demand that the cost of repair or recompense be paid out of the criminals' pockets.

If they don't have the money then they start selling their stuff until they get it. If they are underage, the parents, the legal guardians, pay up. I don't have insurance so that other people can take advantage of it. The criminal needs to feel some pain as well. How about they stump up the costs of their deliberate and wanton actions?

Joe Murphy, Bonython

Elizabeth Knight's column (''No place quite like homewares,'' BusinessDay, July 11, p14) makes a number of errors that cannot be allowed to stand uncorrected.

Knight did not need to ''wonder whether Lowes would be willing to extend'' its joint venture with Woolworths. It has been extended until October 2015. We have also previously stated that 90 stores would be built by the end of financial year 2016, not 150 as stated in the article.

Knight states our rationale for entering the home improvement market was all about taking on Bunnings. This is wrong. Home improvement is a $45 billion market with 5 per cent annual growth and one dominant retailer with a 15 per cent market share. The rationale for entering this market remains strong.

You cannot compare the performance of Bunnings, a mature operation, with Masters, which is still a start-up. Masters is a very young business and we remain confident it will be a long-term profit contributor to the Woolworths Group.

Matt Tyson, managing director, Woolworths Home Improvement

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