Kirk Coningham, director, Master Builders ACT

Dyson Heydon has dismissed allegations that he is biased, explaining that he did not realise he was heading the royal commission when he accepted an invitation to be a guest speaker at a Liberal Party fundraiser ("Trade unions royal commission hangs by thread as Dyson Heydon admits political links", canberra times.com.au, August 18).

He explained to himself that the confusion arose as a result of his mistaken belief that he had been appointed as Prime Hamster Phony Abbott's chief advocate for workers' rights and that it had always been his intention to remind attendees at the fundraiser of the importance of Trade Union advocacy in defending those rights.

John Richardson, Wallagoot, NSW

Julian Assange's feeble failure to deal with his alleged sexual offences, and his self-incarceration in the Embassy of Ecuador, is bad enough ("It's a farce that Julian Assange is still hiding", Canberra Times, August 15, p15), but it still seems remarkable how little his behaviour is judged against his declared principles.

The extent to which everything that happens to him is swept up into a big conspiracy has become wearying. He asserts he is dedicated to openness and transparency of all information, but in his heyday he operated from secret sites, was constantly on the move, and required confidentiality agreements before speaking to journalists, all on the grounds of the potential harm that might be done to his person or WikiLeaks. By his own actions, therefore, we can conclude that confidentiality is sometimes necessary if the world's work is to be done, but somehow Mr Assange seems able to reach this conclusion only in respect of himself.

His self-image as a cyber road-warrior is increasingly tattered. The wonder is that so many intelligent people continue to uncritically support him.

John Robbins, Farrer

An excellent exposition by John Warhurst ("Parliamentary entitlements", Times2, August 13, p1) of the problem of finding suitable people to determine the remuneration for politicians but he does not suggest a solution, so here is my suggestion. Give the tribunal one last job, as follows.

Determine a total remuneration package to cover all expenses for politicians. They can still have the use of Commonwealth cars, the VIP aircraft, but they have to pay the marginal cost of using them out of their own remuneration – the remuneration being a direct multiple of the dole. So a backbencher from Canberra might get, say, "dole $" x7, a backbencher from the largest electorate in WA might get dole$x8, the prime minister might get dole$x16, the foreign minister the dole$x32, and so on. The task will never have to be done again and if they think they need a raise, all they have to do is raise the dole. That's only fair isn't it.

John F.Simmons, Kambah

It is wrong to refer to the end of the war fought against Japan as "Victory in the Pacific Day", and Karl James should know better ("A great generation might quietly pass without notice", Forum, August 15, p6). The war against Japan did not just take place in the south-west Pacific region; it was also fought in south-east Asia, in Malaya, Borneo, Singapore, Thailand and Burma, and none of these countries are in the Pacific. In fact, the only defeat of a Japanese army on land during the war was by the British 14th Army in Burma (again, not in the Pacific).

The correct title for the end of the war against Japan is VJ Day, "Victory over Japan Day", and this is the title used in Britain, New Zealand and the United States (unless they've become politically correct), and many here in Australia, during the 1950s and '60s, also referred to the day as VJ Day.

Christopher Jobson, Monash

Chris Williams (Letters August 12) wants me to defend Israel placing a Jew suspected of a terrorist act against Palestinians on six-month administrative detention. That is the maximum allowed under Israeli law, but it can be extended on expiry, or criminal prosecution can be initiated. The six-month detention is not "pathetic"; it is the first step. When Israel applies this law to Palestinian terrorists, it is accused of being draconian.

It should also be noted that all Israeli political leaders from the PM down strongly condemned the attack.

By contrast, Palestinian terrorists who kill Israeli civilians are treated by the Palestinian leadership as heroes. Their families are paid generous pensions, they have streets and children's sport tournaments named after them, they are greeted with parades and celebrations when they are released from prison, and children are taught to revere them and to aspire to emulate them.

I won't ask Chris Williams to defend this behaviour, because it's indefensible.

Alan Shroot, Forrest

A fundamental principal determining pay rates seems to have been conveniently ignored by ADFA academics reporting on the difference in pay offers between APS and Defence personnel. ("Pay divisions could hurt Defence staff", August 17, p6). We should not pay people what they think they are worth, just what is necessary to get the job done. If public servants in Defence are not happy with the 1.05per cent pay increase that is on offer then let them find employment elsewhere – there are plenty of unemployed people who would take up any vacancies.

Unfortunately there are not enough people queuing up to fill ADF vacancies, hence the pay differential. Unfortunately this general principal cannot be applied to politicians.

Roger Dace, Reid

David Polkinghorne ("Hewitt the man to tame bad boy", Sport, August15, p16) writes that Nick Kyrgios is a homegrown "hero". Sorry, David, he is anything but that. A hero is described as "a man of distinguished courage or performance, admired for his noble qualities".

I am ashamed of Nick's actions and, at present, he is hardly an ambassador for Canberra.

Being young doesn't excuse his behaviour. He has obviously worked hard to get where he is today, so it is sad to see him written about for so many wrong reasons.

Perhaps he does need a break away from tennis to really appreciate the talent he has and to realise what it takes to be a respected person, on and off the court.

L. Buckley, Duffy

It's about time the media stopped using the term hero when referring to some sportsmen.

I believe the meaning of hero is "a person who, in the face of danger or adversity or from a position of weakness, displays courage, bravery or self-sacrifice-that is heroism".

This surely doesn't apply to someone who is playing tennis or cricket or any other non-contact sport.

Bruce Glossop, Holt

There are many descriptors, flattering and unflattering, one could use for Nick Kyrgios – hero is not one.

Please ask your journalists, copy writers and subs to, in future, use the word hero in its only meaning (with apologies to Wikipedia et al). A hero/heroine is a person or character who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, displays courage, bravery or self-sacrifice for some greater good; a man or woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his/her brave deeds and noble qualities.

These words do not describe Mr Kyrgios. In future, please do not demean those who are truly deserving of recognition as a hero.

T. E. White, Evatt

Ms Chel Campbell, from the alopecia foundation, defends Mr Christos Kyrgios' recent radio and Facebook misogynist diatribe as merely a "slip of the tongue", and her organisation has no intention of reviewing his ambassador role ("Alopecia foundation backs Nick Kyrgios' brother", canberratimes. com.au, August 16.

Maybe she would do well to replay and read his words aloud to her board and sponsors. I have no quibble with her foundation's work; just her ambassador's words, which reveal a darker side. The timing of the article was serendipitous; has he rescued any cats stuck up a tree?

Jeremy Pyner, Yarralumla

Although I agree that criticism of Nick Kyrgios' recent bad behaviour is justified, I was disgusted by the opinion article "Kyrgios is 20, not 12. He's a man. Stop mothering him" (Forum, August15, p3).

As Karen Hardy is an experienced and presumably well-educated reporter, I did not expect her to resort to such vulgar slang as appeared in her piece. The words "dick", "twat" and "bugger" all have sexual connotations that are irrelevant to the subject matter.

Surely, her vocabulary contains more appropriate and polite words to use in a newspaper of the calibre of The Canberra Times.

Rosalind Bruhn, Curtin

As insubstantial as Ms Hardy's opinions usually are, I generally do not take the time to read them. However, I did this weekend. In making her central point, she selected adjectives that were at least as adolescent and puerile as the behaviour she was criticising. A more injudicious piece of writing I have not read for some time.

Graham Clews, Kambah

It is the job of newspapers to not only report but to inform. With this in mind and in response to the article "El Nino's dry weather spurs firefighters into action" (August12, p2), it would be useful for those living in bushfire-prone areas to know of a publication entitled The Handbook: Surviving and living with climate change, which was written by the past and present editors of The Conversation, Jane Rawson and James Whitmore, with a foreword by Clive Hamilton.

I was involved, along with many academics, counsellors and survivors of disasters, with the provision of information for the book. This was done voluntarily and fee-free on the basis that one life saved or one injury avoided was worth more than any amount of money.

The handbook covers issues such as preparation, reducing vulnerability, surviving heat, emergency survival kits, surviving fires and floods, self-sufficiency and living with loss. I regard the handbook as a must read for those who live in bushfire areas and flood zones, especially as I have little faith government authorities and emergency services can handle a large-scale disaster, no matter how committed they are.

The related website is survivingclimatechange.net.

Ric Hingee, Duffy

Holcim's intention to shift its quarry two kilometres is typical of mission creep, encountered in all major extractive undertaking ("Quarry prompts fears of hell on earth near Goulburn", August 17, p3). Cherry Hood has good reason to fear 24/7 noise. In addition, crushed granite rock, which releases fugitive dust and fine particles of silica, can be injurious to the respiratory system and establish chronic morbidity.

Additionally, increased extraction entails greater wear and tear on highways and risk to other road users. Registration fees and charges imposed on heavy vehicular traffic represent little compensation for the damage they cause to roads, which require much more frequent, heavy-duty refurbishment.

The suggestion a royalty be applied is logical. After all, the rock being quarried is public property, being taken away free and sold for profit. When the resource is exhausted, the public commons will be scarred forever.

Albert M. White, Queanbeyan, NSW

Yet another death of a young diabetic reported in The Canberra Times ("Woman may have lived if response had been quicker", August15, p3). A Canberra hospital staff member has told me there are many poor outcomes among a group of their patients with type 1 or juvenile onset diabetes. When is the Health Minister going to respond to the systemic issues relating to diabetes care, which have been notified to him?

Dr Nick Melhuish, Hughes

As a lover of film and someone who wishes to see Canberra cinema culture bloom, I am heartened by the changes mooted for the Canberra International Film Festival.

A snappier festival with a tighter focus has potential, if programmed right, to provide the cinema-loving public with a unique experience. But to be clear, the 2014 festival did not fail because we are "drowning in film festivals". Rather, it failed because it was quite awful, and put together by an exceedingly talented programmer who had no real desire to cultivate something that would appeal to the capital's public.

Instead we got nothing more than a poor man's Sydney or Melbourne film festival, only longer and soulless. Not only that, but with attendance low and zero attempt to cultivate a festival vibe, there was no reason to attend last year's festival.

The crew behind this year's event need to ensure they focus on giving people a festival experience, not just a trip to the flicks.

Even though the NFSA is on the nose with many in the community, given their dire 12 to 18 months, there is little doubt Arc cinema is the most promising venue for this new venture. But those running the show could do with being a little less insular, and maybe opening up their Twitter account a little more often (oh look, they just tweeted for the first time since November!) Involve us, and we'll come.

Tim Hoar, Latham

In support of Graham Clews (Letters, August 17) I am reminded of the following observation both my children have brought home from one of the school science teachers who states "there are two types of drivers on the road, those that understand physics and those that don't". Sadly, I think the latter are in the majority.

Joe Murphy, Bonython

TO THE POINT

The Canberra Times wants to hear from you in short bursts. Email views in 50 words or fewer to

letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au

POLITICS OF BIAS

Will the ACTU now call on "Dyson" Heydon to "clean up" his apprehended bias instead of simply "bagging" him for it?

Hugh Gibbon, Pearce

OPEN-DOOR POLICY

Amanda Vanstone says we are an extremely generous nation in terms of our immigrant intake ("We are not mean spirited", Times2, August 17, p4). And let's face it, she would know – she was so generous she even let in let Frank Madafferi even though he was a well-known Calabrian mafia boss.

Chris Williams, Griffith

WAR OF LETTER WORDS

I am angry and distraught that I was not included among the letter-writing glitterati ("Live by the pen, die by the pen", Forum, August 15, p3) I, sir, have been writing regularly to The Canberra Times since 1992 and to be omitted from the dazzling array of correspondents is beyond the pale.

I therefore invite fellow letter writers who feel similarly aggrieved to join me in an all-night protest vigil outside The Canberra Times offices (as soon as summer arrives).

Eric Hunter, Cook

I am devastated that I did not feature as a regular contributor to the letter pages of The Canberra Times. My ego will never be the same again!

Mario Stivala, Spence

Megan Doherty's article coyly refers to the famous/notorious H. Ronald as "he/she", but I distinctly remember a letter in which the said H. Ronald referred to his/her "wife" as a lemon-eater. Could he/she be in a same-sex marriage?

Patricia Saunders, Chapman

DIAMONDS ON COURT

Congratulations to The Canberra Times for featuring our World Cup-winning netballers on the front page (Razor-sharp Diamonds outshine rivals", August 17, p1). It's high time our female athletes got the recognition in the print media that they richly deserve.

More prominence needs to be given to these women, who are great representatives for their country and their sport and not the fallen heroes in male-dominated sports that seem to get far too much media attention.

Shelley O'Neill, Torrens

REFEREE REMEDIATION

For goodness sake, National Rugby League officials, when it's discovered a poor decision was made, as it was on Sunday in the Raiders v Manly match, and it's acknowledged as such by the referee boss, give both teams a point. When a team drops out of finals contention as a result of a bad decision, corrective action must be taken.

Jan Gulliver, Lyneham

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).