Twas there at the New Year's Dance of 1948 that I met with and danced on the beautiful polished floor with Ron.

After the midnight hour he took me home to my friend's place in Manuka and bade me goodnight at her back gate.

Before that year ended we were married and I moved to Canberra.

Evelyn Bean, Ainslie

The editorial headline, "At last, we have a plan to save Albert Hall" (Sunday Times, June 12) was a trifle optimistic. As the editorial reported, "At first glance it appears the 10-year plan was worth the wait".

Faced with bipartisan obstruction fronted by the father of a retiring Labor senator and the former Canberra Liberals president, the town council has decided to shelve development plans for the hall's environs, for the moment.

It's money in the bank. Full sell-out of the public facility can wait but it will come back on the agenda.

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor

Australia may soon lose the many gifts that Ricky Muir has brought to our government ("Last stand", Sunday Focus, June 12).

Ricky was – of course – "underdone" when he entered the carnivorous world of federal politics in 2013; and he was spit-roasted for his early gaffs by TV's cheap-shot current affairs and by the creatures of Sydney's corporate/Liberal-shill talk radio.

We watched and listened, formed our opinion, and moved on. What we didn't see or hear – and weren't shown – was the rapid evolution of this man Muir into a humble, transparent, straight shooter who acts on his conscience.

Senator Ricky Muir is no leaden, entangled, careerist insider. He is a man who has come into his own – and "found himself" so profoundly as an open, accountable politician – that the likely loss of his contribution to the Senate would be a loss to us all; whatever your politics.

Here's hoping.

Ross Kelly, Monash

Chris Tonkin ("If the cap fits", Letters, June 12) takes to task the whingers who've written to The Canberra Times rather than to Zed Seselja's office about his birthday card largesse.

Obviously, Tonkin has never written to a politician. Such a letter would have sunk without a trace or, if there had been a reply, it would have been full of absolutely nothing; certainly not an apology and agreement to stop wasting our money.

But, in Tonkin's aggrieved tone, do I also detect a touch of chagrin that now ' readership – not just the postie and the cards' recipients – know what passes for paid work in Senator Seselja's office?

Bronis Dudek, Calwell

Do we really need vitriolic letters a'la C. Tonkin's rant?

Norman Lee, Weston

A universal soldier? MA? A sea of celebrity farewelled a great American ("Ali funeral draws stars, thousands to Kentucky", June 12, p6); can we expect canonisation, beatification, sainthood next? Oh, no, Muhammad renounced Christianity, so he may have to be made an Islamic wali (friend of Allah) by popular acclamation.

Waleed Aly explained "the most dramatic U-turn in modern human history" better than anybody else as per usual ("Gloss after loss sanitises Ali", Canberra Times, June 10, p1-4), and deserves another award for saying that if Muhammad Ali were the greatest "then he deserves more than for us to remember him by forgetting who he really was".

"But I ain't got no quarrel with him", Sufi saint or not!

Noelle Roux, Chifley

Voters in "battleground" seats nominating "the economy" – an ephemeral concept – as their number one priority is reflective of an era in US politics ("Economy top priority for voters in battleground seats", Sunday CT, June 12, p.11).

James Carvell, chief strategist of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, framed the, subsequently, potent slogan "It's the economy, stupid". Luckily for Clinton the "economy" enjoyed boom times, even though signing NAFTA (1993) exported hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs to Mexico. Clinton successfully raised the minimum $4.25 wage by 90¢ over time! His "tough on crime" and "war on drugs" caused an explosion in the prison system to accommodate thousands of extra prisoners – an economic boost, surely!

The specious pretext on which Turnbull took the country to election is concerning for all who earn their crust by the sweat of their brow, i.e. Senate rejection of Australian Building and Construction Commission legislation. This abhorrently repugnant legislation discriminated against a small section of the workforce while leaving crooked bankers, financiers, politicians and tax evaders to go about their business under protection of their political mates.

This reinforces the observable fact that deep-pocketed rent-seekers have subverted the democratic will, reducing it practically to a cynical, pretend exercise. The avowed, central (only) election policy to reduce tax for evading corporates, who regard this exercise as optional any way, is reward for their support.

Tied to this is the vengeful intent to eliminate penalty rates for those who are already living more frugally than poor-house rats.

Plus ça change ...!

Albert M. White, Queanbeyan

Surely there's a limit to how many times the bellwether seat of Eden-Monaro can be referred to as the bellwether seat without officially changing its name to Bellwether!

I am unaware of the accomplishments of Messrs Eden and Monaro but I'm sure neither would match the super-ovine sacrifices the traditional bellwether suffers for his flock – firstly the agony of castration and then the humiliation of being dressed up as a bell-ringing decoy for danger.

I'm sure many electorates would rejoice in being named after such a noble creature.

John Clarke, Pearce

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