The proponents advised at a community meeting at Rose Cottage on August 30 that the ACT community was advised of the proposal via the delivery of 1600 flyers to letterboxes that month.

At that meeting, several residents expressed concerns about the poor manner in which "consultation" is taking place, e.g. 1600 flyers in an area largely limited to Macarthur, Gowrie, Fadden, Gilmore and Chisholm, where there are some 2000 houses and about 130 units. This does not include other suburbs in the Tuggeranong Valley's inversion layer area like Calwell, Theodore, Richardson, Monash and beyond, all of which are likely to be affected adversely by factors such as fuel storage and air quality.

Comments on the draft Environmental Impact Statement comprising 98 pages close on September 23. So, the ACT community faces a very limited awareness of the fuel factory project and a tight period in which to comment.

With better goodwill, surely planning, development and consultation can be done better all round ("Forrest residents rally to push new hotel consultation", Canberra Times, September 20, p9).

Martin Devine, Macarthur

Wow! What a fantastic letter to the editor on the light rail from M.Flint, Erindale ("Rail details abound", September 18). The letter clearly summarised the history of the light rail debate, and then provided an opinion at the end.

This is much more informative than the current newspaper fashion for chatty articles that assume the reader already knows all the history and statistics.

John Skurr, Deakin

Research showing 42per cent of male prisoners have an acquired brain injury (ABI) should arouse serious anxiety in a society which, purportedly, professes to have a commitment to human rights, and Pharisee-like condemns others' failings in this sine qua non of a civilised society ("Dealt a double punishment", September 18, p21).

From state to federal, politicians seek kudos for their endlessly spewed "tough on crime, law and order, lock 'em up" mantra. They see themselves, Pilate-like, absolving their consciences of any possibility that political decisions might well contribute to people becoming victims of the black-letter law, legal (not justice) system, condemned to ride, life-long, on the recidivism carousel.

Politicians retain office, and win elections, by building more jails.

Inevitably, they implement policies restricting options – health, education, employment, finance – of the majority, some of whom fall victim and end up inmates of often privately operated jails.

That such high numbers of ABI should present in prison populations is an indictment of a system and social failure.

ABI results, in a previously normally functioning person, can be due to causes as diverse as direct cranial trauma, near drowning, status epilepticus, accidental drug overdose or medical misadventure. In recent years, governments have seized the opportunity to close mental health "institutions", a euphemism for selling the family silver and diverting proceeds to pork-barrel projects like prisons.

Sadly, Australia seems to have reverted to its 1788 original founding purpose – a soulless prison colony where one's ranking is determined by money rather than need.

Albert M.White, Queanbeyan

Robert Willson (Letters, September 18) tries to blur the republic and same-sex marriage issues by claiming the ARM is "demanding one or more plebiscites" in order to "soften up" voters before a referendum on a republic.

What the ARM actually said in a recent media release was: "If the government insists on having a plebiscite [on same-sex marriage], let's make it a poll on having an Australian head of state instead, and involve the community in a major national reform rather than using voters as an excuse for Parliament to avoid doing its job."

Hard to argue with the ARM's thoughts, especially since the same-sex marriage plebiscite is no high-minded democratic process.

It began as Abbott's devious way of deferring a parliamentary vote, and Turnbull went along with it in order to get the votes to displace Abbott. Now, in a clear contradiction, Turnbull has backed away from his "ironclad" pledge on superannuation while sticking to his plebiscite "pledge".

In both instances it's just so he can keep the support of the far right.

Robert may hope democratic principles are in play, but the onlygame in town is self-serving politics.

Eric Hunter, Cook

When I came to live in Dominion Circuit, Forrest, in 2010, it was a quiet, leafy, suburban street with not much traffic. In the space of seven years things have changed dramatically and the pace of change is about to hot up.

The first major shock came with the 2012 commissioning of the Doris Blackburn building on the corner of Canberra Avenue and Dominion Circuit.

The biggest impact has been car parking. Every weekday, hundreds of cars occupy Dominion Circuit and surrounding streets from early morning until late afternoon, and this despite the fact that parking is limited to two hours. The policing of parking is conspicuous by its absence.

But all that's OK. Workers have to park somewhere. It's not their fault that somebody thought it was a good idea to locate them in suburban Forrest and, anyway, residents will get used to it after a while. There is, however, a great loss of amenity for residents, their properties lose value and Dominion Circuit has become something of a car yard and a less safe place to drive.

And now I find developers are going to build a hotel on the site of the now-defunct Italian Club, across the road from the Doris Blackburn building, and less than 50metres from my home. This hotel is to be seven storeys high, provide 227 guest rooms, a restaurant, bar and function room. It's a source of anguish for me to find that a hotel of these dimensions will be plonked on my doorstep.

And there is no doubt that this project will proceed, because the approval process patently favours developers over residents.

Whither town planning, neighbourhood development plans and the protection of heritage?

Des Fooks, Forrest

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