When in opposition, debt and deficit were the problem. Abbott and Hockey talked business and consumer confidence down for three years and then suddenly found the fix was something that was beyond the control of Australia.

So change direction now in government; debt and deficit are not so bad; in fact, let's go for double or nothing.

And while it is no longer necessary to reduce federal government debt, it becomes sensible for the mug punter to now borrow and increase their personal debt, while already having the highest debt/income in the OECD.

Meanwhile, business is told by Hockey to borrow, because interest rates are low. At the same time, business is told by the Reserve Bank growth is slowing. So, how is business meant to support investment?

We were told the age of entitlement is over, but Abbott can afford to spend $100million on an "interpretation" centre in Europe to accomplish what? Meanwhile, scientists have to justify their work through cost-benefit analyses, broken families need homes, and if a disaster occurs in the Asia Pacific region, the offer of help is a pittance.

The fact is Abbott and Hockey have not a clue how to run the Australian economy to maximise the benefit for its own people or to build relationships in Australia's region that will have a real impact on our future wellbeing.

Abbott and Hockey do not have the intellect or understand the nuances of economic or international relationships to build a better Australia we can be proud of.

There just have to be better leaders in the conservative parties, don't there?

M. Smith, Torrens

I have been a Liberal supporter all my life. However, Scott Morrison has made a dog's breakfast of the childcare reforms. On which planet does the average person or couple earn $165,000 a year. Get out of the cocoon you live in, Mr Morrison. Just increase the GST.

Here is a bit of truth, and don't laugh: 98 per cent of Australians don't trust politicians. That's a bit sad, because when I was growing up, 98 per cent of us trusted pollies. It might just be that in reality Mr Morrison has no interest in doing the right thing.

And, on another note – penalising self-funded retirees?

That is against everything Australian, and yes, before anyone scoffs, I am still working and have a few years to go.

Come on, Mr Morrison, emigrate to the real world, because inside Parliament House is a cocoon where you lose the plot when you walk in the front door.

Phil Geier, Kambah

Senators, if you don't eat up yesterday's vegies, then Nanny Scott will not give you any ice-cream for dessert!

P.R. Temple, Macquarie

Treasurer Joe Hockey is warning that measures such as childcare initiatives to be introduced in the budget are dependent on the Senate passing measures to deliver savings. So, Joe, exactly where did you find the savings to hand over $500million to the Western Australian government?

Perhaps the ACT government should try that one, given the federal government policies have reduced the best-performing economy about three years ago into third from the bottom above South Australia and the Northern Territory, eliminating jobs and killing businesses. But, sadly, the ACT is not a "mate".

Thankfully, this town is resilient and will survive the "blow-ins", as it always has.

J. Nesbitt, Page

Many of the letters regarding Australian Federal Police cooperation with the Indonesian police seem to ignore the fact that, as a result, an operating drug ring that had and was importing drugs was broken. If that is not crime prevention, what is?

If they had alerted the drug mules to their surveillance, all that would have happened is those mules would have been spared jail. There was no evidence to prosecute them in Australia.

Those higher up the chain (eg, those subsequently executed, as barbaric as that was) might still be organising drug importations and harming countless, mainly young, Australians.

I say well done, AFP, and I am sure the parents of those who are and would be lamenting the ruined lives of their children by selfish drug importers do, also.

Mark Dawes, Kaleen

My wife died in 2006 from breast cancer at the age of 41. She was a teacher of IT at a girls high school, passionately inspiring and mentoring young women to excel in a male-dominated world. She was a long-time netball coach of young girls, even as cancer ravaged her body. She was as selfless a person as you could ever hope to meet.

The parish church was packed at her funeral with over 400 family, friends, colleagues, students, ex-students, and people touched by her generosity. Yet, Australia's media was none the wiser.

Today, 1500 people attended a service for a convicted drug smuggler who, had he not been caught, would probably still be destroying the lives of countless Australians ("Widow leads tributes to Chan", May 9, p6).

In all probability, a good proportion of those attending Andrew Chan's memorial had never met him or his family. And yet the nation's media reported and broadcast this event on national TV.

Compare the two lives, and the two events. Whose life was worth reporting? Who needed to be shown to Australia and commemorated? The nation's bleeding hearts and media conglomerates should hang their heads in shame.

Does the media feel proud offering column centimetres and air time to a criminal; a man who chose to lead a smuggling ring and only reformed because he got caught and was faced with no other choice?

Waste no time on the scumbags of this world, and instead celebrate and support the lives and work of thousands of everyday Australians who make this world a better place. They are the people who matter.

Ollie Raymond, Narrabundah

As usual Jack Waterford ("Retrial a test of ACT's justice system", Forum, May 9, p1) hit the nail on the head with his comments regarding the ACT's peculiar system of justice.

Attorney-General Simon Corbell is the last person who should be selecting a judge to hear the retrial.

The idea that Mr Corbell would select a judge who he thought would be sympathetic to David Eastman is far-fetched. If Eastman is declared innocent, the ACT ratepayer will ultimately foot a huge damages bill. This, added to what has already been spent, will put our economy even more in the red.

Added to that, if he is declared guilty, his legal team will undoubtedly appeal on the grounds that Anthony Whealy could be perceived to be biased. This, in turn, will add to the bill and a possible further appeal to the High Court will ensure that all lawyers involved will retire earlier and wealthier than they ever imagined.

Howard Carew, Isaacs

Once again, I read the ACT government's flimsy 25-year-old non-excuses for the lack of an ACTION shuttle service between the airport and the city ("Airport public transport raises councils' ire", May 10, p8) . The big difference this time is that they come from Shane Rattenbury.

Minister, you can't have it both ways. With your left hand, you would have us believe that Canberra can commission and build a world-class light rail service, a long-overdue initiative that I fully support. With your right hand, you ask us to accept that Canberra is pretty much the only OECD capital on the planet that is incapable of organising to greet airport arrivals with a cheap and easy-to-use public transit to the city.

Stephen Saunders, O'Connor

Steve Garlick (Letters, May 6) takes issue with the costs of the ACT kangaroo cull. However, he overlooks that ACT governments over recent decades have established nature parks and reserves on land that would otherwise have been utilised for urban development – land that as real estate would be worth many hundred million dollars. In doing so, they have created some of the best nature parks of their habitat types anywhere in Australia.

The prime example is, of course, Mulligans Flat, where behind the feral-proof fence, formerly extinct native animals are being reintroduced. It is beyond belief that the ACT government would make these commitments and investments and then allow the reserved areas and their biodiversity to be degraded by overgrazing.

I believe that with continuing good management and research the Mulligans Flat/Goorooyarroo reserves will eventually become another iconic place in Canberra, on a par with the botanic gardens and the arboretum, and a great tourism asset. The impact of eastern grey kangaroos has been studied for years, but it is hardly a surprise that many herbivores in favourable environments without predators can experience massive population increases to the point where they seriously damage the environment.

There are numerous examples in Australia and overseas, most notably rabbits in Australia, and I have personally seen areas in Victoria eaten back to dirt, with starving kangaroos barely able to move.

As a committed and active conservationist, I'm saddened by the need to cull 2500 kangaroos. It's the right policy.

Bruce Lindenmayer, Chapman

Jack Kershaw (Letters, May 7) is correct in thinking that Canberra and the area around Ginninderra Falls should be governed by the same governments, and in wanting to resolve the "thorny machinations with NSW and the Commonwealth".

However, his proposed method of doing this (moving the NSW/ACT border north) is extremely suboptimal. It does nothing to resolve the cross-border problems suffered by many NSW citizens living near Canberra, and by all Canberrans who travel outside their city. The anomalous situation of having the 2per cent of Australians living in the medium-sized city of Canberra governed in a manner different from that applying to all other Australians is ridiculous. This anomaly provides no benefit, but causes much inefficiency and waste.

The recent decision to transfer responsibility for planning of much of Canberra's territory from the Commonwealth to a local government was correct. Indeed, no part of Canberra needs to be part of a Commonwealth territory.

The ACT is an anachronism. It is a device created to facilitate the construction of a capital city. That city has been created. The ACT is now about as useful as horse troughs and stables lining Northbourne Avenue. The only sensible solution to the problem Jack identified is to eliminate the ACT and thereby remove the NSW/ACT border entirely.

What Canberra does desperately need is a city council comprising politicians who devote all their working time to local government issues, and representatives in the NSW Parliament to argue for regional benefits for Canberra.

Bob Salmond, Melba

Provocative she may be, but it is a pity the accomplished Miriam Margolyes resorted to using such crude language for body parts ("Margolyes not afraid to be provocative", May 7, p6). It was quite unnecessary for her to refer to female genitalia in connection with her unease about her show, especially in an expression which is, or should be, socially unacceptable.

In this preview of her show, Miriam Margolyes has set back the movement for proper respect for women in our community.

Despite her talents and learning, she would not be welcome at my dinner table.

Eric French, Higgins

"Kambah Village Centre is a disgrace", writes Judy Bailey (Letters, May 9). She's spot on. But I counsel her that seeking recognition of, and action on this from the administration will almost certainly lead only to tears.

She is also on track about it being time for a wholesale south-side makeover. With the exception of the largesse it has perversely bestowed on a few of the already better-heeled southern suburbs, the ACT government seems to be avowedly north-centric.

South-side residents seeking a better return on their rates in the foreseeable future might be well advised to move to anywhere north of the Yarralumla-Narrabundah line.

Ed Highley, Kambah

ACTION is to "trial" a cashless service on route 202 ("Trial run for peak-hour cashless bus route", May 6, p2)? It's easy to see how the trial can demonstrate the benefits for bus drivers and possibly some passengers already using MyWay cards, but how can it possibly assess the disadvantages some passengers may experience?

On a visit to Sydney, I ended up walking from Central Station to Wynyard because I couldn't use the buses that passed me, which were designated for prepaid passengers only. How will ACTION ever know about would-be passengers visiting Canberra who might find themselves in a similar predicament? Doubtless ACTION will proclaim the trial a huge success, but I suspect that verdict will be based on one side of the story only.

Howard Silcock, Narrabundah

We only live 45 minutes from Canberra CBD and, like Ian Keen (Letters, May 9), we have no landline either. Apparently, there is an outage in this whole area of Tarago. Our landline has been off now for two weeks and we have limited mobile coverage. Telstra has the worst service of all companies I have dealt with here and overseas.

I think Australia is a Third World country for not only telecommunications but also electricity.

Julie Gray, Bungendore, NSW

I feel compelled to respond to Baden Williams (Letters, May 8). It could only be a male who would make reference to "infamous songs by drunken university and rugby football celebrations". When will we ever move on from misogyny?

Hopefully, many people will be reminded of the delicious desserts with this name – Apple Charlotte, Charlotte Russe – or gain knowledge of the meaning of the name Charlotte being "womanly, valiant, strong and free".

Margaret Tuckwell, Aranda

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.

STRUGGLING FOR YEARS

I have a newsflash for E.R.Moffat (Letters, May 8). The people depicted on Struggle Street on SBS were there for the entire length of both terms of Labor's Rudd / Gillard / Rudd governments. Ah, the caring and sharing years of Labor (not).

Mark Sproat, Barton

A BUDGET PREDICTION

I predict that on Tuesday the words "negative gearing" will not emerge from Joe Hockey's mouth. The reason for that will be that many of his senior ministerial and party colleagues (as well as some opposition members) are currently taking advantage of that juicy tax-avoidance scheme. Who says that the age of entitlement is over?

Chris Lathbury, Fadden

IN WRONG ROLE

Rather than chairing the Prime Minister's business advisory council, Maurice Newman should be appointed senior research fellow at the Abbott government's recently created $4million climate contrarian centre. ("Climate change a UN-led ruse, says Tony Abbott's business adviser Maurice Newman", canberra times.com.au, May 8).

Thos Puckett, Ashgrove, Qld

ANOTHER IN JEOPARDY

Peter Gardner, allegedly caught bringing $18million worth of "ice" from China to Australia, could be shot ("I was duped: death row fears for Australian", May 8, p5). Will Tony Abbott attack China as vociferously (and spend as much of our money) as in the case of Indonesia?

Anna Nguyen, Holt

TRYING TO PLEASE ALL

Prediction: Abbott/Hockey deliver a please-all marginal voter budget along with the "new" PM image and the Coalition calls a snap poll. With party owner Uncle Rupe on board, who knows what the spring of 2015 will bring. The UK election showed all bets are off. I fear for this joint on several fronts.

Linus Cole, Palmerston

BADLY OUT OF TUNE

What Baden Williams (Letters, May 7) is really telling us is that university and rugby football players are still celebrating by engaging in a vicarious form of violence against women.

Patricia Saunders, Chapman

APPLAUSE FOR RAIDERS

I note fewer writers on these pages keen to discuss the future careers of the coach and certain players from the Canberra Raiders since their recent successes. Perhaps a little acknowledgement for those successes and encouragement for the future wouldn't go astray. Well done to Ricky and the team.

Greg Norman, Melba

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.

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