I guess you wouldn't see one in, say, Forrest, but they are proliferating in your average suburbs here, rusting away, covered in peeling graphics, and standing for ages right on or over the front boundary, knee deep in weeds.

Who knows what they contain – maybe an occupied bed or two? Without doubt, they constitute a building under the planning rules, so they can clearly be illegal with respect to their size and floor area, amorphous unarticulated bulk, placement, external walls not being sympathetic with the house, and probably their use.

"Funky", like the decorated and pierced ones in West Basin, they're not, and never will be.

They mostly stay in situ way beyond a reasonable time frame for use as temporary storage during say, renovations to the host house.

However, I don't see any renovations happening on the properties where containers exist around here.

Their commercial suppliers are clearly trying to compete with properly constituted long-term storage buildings etc, rightly located in industrial or service areas. But, they're "boon-docking" our suburbs. That sharp destructive practice has got to stop, and shipping containers need to be banned in residential areas, for the sake of the valued amenity of our local environment.

Jack Kershaw, Kambah

In the article "The best education under the Sun?", (August 27, p13) it was reported that "Canberra was the first state or territory to establish the revolutionary secondary college system, with Tasmania since adopting a similar model." This is incorrect. Rosny College in Tasmania was established in 1973, before the ACT system.

To the teachers involved in course writing and establishing the new system, Rosny was cited as a positive example for the potential success of the Canberra system. Much useful information was drawn from the Tasmanian College.

From the beginning of Dickson College, intercollege visits were held between Rosny and Dickson.

Lyn Moss, Flynn

Tasmania was the first to establish a system of secondary colleges separated from high schools, with the ACT system being modelled on Tasmania's. How do I know this? I moved to the ACT in 1976 as a 24-year-old. In 1968 and 1969, I attended Hobart Matriculation College, a standalone year 11 and 12 college in Hobart.

Hobart had two other such secondary colleges at that time – Rosny and Elizabeth – and there were similar colleges in the other major Tasmanian population centre, Launceston. Those stand-alone secondary colleges in Tasmania were well established by the time I attended, and so pre-date their introduction in the ACT by at least 10 years.

Don Sephton, Greenway

We have just had the chance to escape a bit of the Canberra cold, and our trip included using light rail in Adelaide and the Gold Coast. In both places it was convenient, comfortable and simply made life easier. We went to places we would not have wanted to take the car, or to places we would not have gone without the convenience of light rail.

Canberra deserves to have the same transport options. For those who are uncertain, my own experience tells me that it will add so much to Canberra. The first leg may not come to my part of town, but I know we are investing in the future of our city, and that is something I am happy to contribute to.

Marcia Denman, Duffy

The new Canberra bus timetables that started on August 27 are a disappointment. After all that time, money, investigation and consultation, we still cannot get a bus from Manuka to the National Library or Parliament House. The two buses going north from Manuka (routes 4 and 5) travel an absolutely identical route via Kingston and Russell into Civic. Would it not have been possible to split them between Commonwealth and Kings Avenue bridges?

Daryl Powell, Griffith

It is both sad and costly that there is a long trail of dead kangaroos along Monaro Highway ("Monary Hwy littered with dead roos", August 29, p6). Perhaps the NSW government could consider building a fence along the road, as has been done along the Tuggeranong Parkway .

One would only assume that they would not use the same contractors who built the ACT eyesore, which has poles that do not match the height of the mesh fence .

It has been suggested that when the height of the poles was calculated, it did not dawn on whoever ordered the poles that the poles would need to be sunk into the ground for stability .

The width of the sagging unsupported mesh at the top looks suspiciously like the depth of the post holes.

Paul O'Connor, Hawker

Following on from the article "ACT freight depot plans given $1m grant boost" (August 29, p3) the appropriate authorities should also consider upgrading the current train timetables to increase passenger travel from Goulburn via Bungendore and Queanbeyan into Kingston, so that the volume of cars travelling into Canberra could decrease.

I have tried over the past few years to find someone at NSW Rail to discuss this with, but sadly they all disappear at the mere sound of my suggestion. It cannot be that difficult, surely?

Vanessa Lauf, Bungendore, NSW

There are calls from various quarters most notably the Labor Party for a royal commission into the banking industry.

Personally, I have never had a problem with the banks but have had a number of serious issues with a telecommunication provider (Telstra). On one occasion I had to resort to the Telecommunications Ombudsman to resolve the matter.

I have reached a three-month stage now in trying to have Telstra sort out my current nightmare. Complaints are handled in the Philippines. Unfortunately when told the problem is fixed, the next bill arrives and nothing has happened.

Emails to the Customer Resolutions Coordinator are ignored and the process starts all over again with someone else – three times now.

I'm sure the number of people who have had problems with telecommunications providers far outweigh those who have had problems with banks. The Telecommunications Ombudsman would be overwhelmed with complaints.

How about a royal commission into the telecommunications industry instead?

A. Quinn, Palmerston

In the interests of "budget repair", the Turnbull government is slashing programs and staff at the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Film and Sound Archive, the National Library, and the Australian Museum.

It doesn't extend to $300 million on "consultants", or taxpayer paid "study tours" to holiday resorts for politicians, not to mention $50 billion on submarines which will certainly be obsolete and/or useless in any future cyber war. Spare us any more "budget repair".

Richard Keys, Ainslie

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton describes Sarah Hanson-Young's transfer from the immigration to the trade, finance and education shadow portfolios as a "demotion". Isn't Dutton rather overestimating his portfolio's importance? It currently ranks ninth in cabinet, six slots below Foreign Affairs and Trade and three slots below Finance.

Michael McCarthy, Deakin

The present clamour by various fringe groups, combined with politicians' unethical trying to buy votes from a minority, leads to the present and morally corrupt situation on the subject of same-sex marriage. The vast majority of the population recognise marriage as between a male and a female.

So, we now have the situation where it seems most politicians are trying to play goody-goodies (ie, win a few votes) by declaring that the extension of marriage to mono-sex couples is a norm. It is not and in the animal world of which we are but a small section, cannot be.

Malcolm Turnbull wants a plebiscite which does not oblige parliament to act on the result; yet no political party seems to embrace the idea of getting the majority of people to oblige parliament to accept their preference for marriage to be viewed, not as a political football, but as a reflection of nature as a whole, by holding a referendum.

If politicians want to save the expensive cost of a duplicitous vote either by politicians or through a non-binding plebiscite, then just have the backbone and support nature and the current status, which means do nothing and vote to keep marriage the way it is! Why do the vast majority have to put up with the present waist of time, money and hubris?

Stewart Back, Fisher

It's interesting that the LGBT community and their supporters don't want to risk a plebiscite on the issue of same sex marriage. It certainly looks like the inevitable "no" result from a plebiscite would not further the LGBT cause to have the marriage act changed. This would be brought about by a majority of voting Australians voting "No" to the changes.

It is then a very logical conclusion that instead of a plebiscite, Senate members get to vote to change the marriage act to include same sex partners, these members would have to respect the wishes of their constituents, it should still be a vote for "no change".

If the majority of Australians do not want change to the Marriage Act, it follows that the Senate members could not in all honesty vote "yes" for what is after all a trendy lifestyle choice for a very small vocal minority of people.

L. Barnard, West Belconnen

Wayne Ralph (Letters, August 27) questions the value of climate models.

Clearly no computer model can predict in detail what the weather will be like in Canberra on August 27, 2066, but that's really not the point: global climate modelling and local weather forecasting are very different beasts.

The proof is in the pudding: climate models work. The combined leading models have projected global temperature changes over recent decades remarkably well.

Right now the averaged global temperature is a little above the median of model projections. See bit.ly/climodaug16 for the latest graph.

Matt Andrews, Aranda

Wayne Ralph invokes the tired old non sequitur that, because we don't know what the weather will be like in a week's time we cannot make reasonable predictions about the climate decades in the future.

In 1980 James Hansen and others wrote a paper entitled "Climate Impact of Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide." They predicted that by 2010 the global average surface temperature would increase by about 0.4°C. Average global surface temperature in 2010 was actually 0.44°C higher than in 1980. Not bad for a 30 year prediction!

It is dangerous to take the difference between two particular years as a trend. Natural variation causes peaks and troughs in temperature and choice of the start and end years can produce a misleading result.

It is better to use regression to find the line of best fit for the data. This gives an estimated average temperature increase of 0.51°C for the period, suggesting the paper was conservative.

Climate models have performed amazingly well in the past given the difficulties they have to surmount. They are not perfect but are very useful.

Paul Pentony, Hackett

SAME OLD LINE

R. Howland (Letters, August 29) has aptly compared Scott Morrison to Louis XIVth because like the Bourbons, the Coalition learns nothing and forgets nothing. Morrison's bleating the same old line we've been hearing for 35 years. All they ever change are the catch-phrases.

S.W. Davey, Torrens

COSTLY CENSUS

So the Census has cost us around $340 million. That's about two same-sex marriage plebiscites. Shame they couldn't have conducted them together seeing as we are asking everyone anyway.

Jevon Kinder, Murrumbateman, NSW

Malcom Turnbull and Scott Morrison don't want Australia to assume a $1 trillion debt. Then why spend $160 million on a useless plebiscite!

Tad Dufelmeier, Gordon

PLEBISCITE PROMISE

Australians were promised a plebiscite. Let's stage the plebiscite or find a 'win-win' solution, please. Surely it is time for some factual, common sense debate regarding this vexed issue.

Jennifer Hogan, Kaleen

STAY COVERED

While there may be a time and place for scantily-clad women to serve beer ("Hi-vis nudity on ACT building site", August 27, p7), it is surely not winter in Canberra!

Jon Glanville , Curtin

VOLUNTEERS TRAINED

The United Firefighters Union ("100 new firefighters needed to avert catastrophe: union", August 25, p5) should be reminded the ACT Rural Fire Service manages bushfires in the ACT and its over 500 volunteers are certainly well trained and ready for the coming season.

Ian M. Harding, Palmerston

GET OVER IT

There's a simple, sharp response to those like Bill Deane (Letters, August 27) who consider it "free-speech" to attempt snide "jokes" about our indigenous fellow Australians. The response (borrowed, with full irony, from the ultra-conservatives' mantra) is: "You're wrong; get over it!"

Eric Hunter, Cook

MANLY MOST HATED

Perhaps, as R.J. Wenholz (Letters, August 30) suggests, "Manly have slumped to third on 'the most hated team in the NRL' table – behind the Bulldogs and the Broncos". But Manly always will be my most hated team since their wealth enabled them to steal all the best players from poorer Western Suburbs when I lived in Sydney.

Murray Hunter, Titirangi, New Zealand

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