Senior members of the heritage industry are clearly bent on smothering the rejuvenation of our city in new heritage consulting opportunities ("Heritage experts lobby for Canberra", May 28, p1). Their predictable views ought to be balanced by the real aspirations of residents who want Canberra to be a better and livelier place to live than the well documented mausoleum that is being proposed.
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Chief Minister Andrew Barr is correct to fight for Canberra as a living and evolving city that can provide for all of its residents, not just heritage consultants.
Michael Longley, Braddon
Treasurer's 'rent'
I was amused to hear Treasurer Joe Hockey's explanation on Q & A on Monday of the $270 "rent" a night he pays his wife when he is in Canberra.
Please Joe, come and stay at my place. Only too pleased to have you stay. As I am a part pensioner, however, I will really need that money in 18 months' time when my pension decreases in line with changes outlined in the Coalition's budget this month.
Seems some of us are meant to sacrifice for the nation's economy, but others aren't.
Raelene Dunstall, Fraser
Citizenship rights
The Abbott government's zeal to declare that some Australians are citizens no longer if they take up with the wrong company is an uncomfortable reminder of Soviet doctrine. Perhaps there are a handful of Australians that I might wish were "former people", but neither the Government nor I have the right to wave a wand and make them that unless those in question wish to renounce their citizenship. Meanwhile they are our problem. We helped to create them and have a responsibility to find proper ways of persuading them to do no harm.
Roy Darling, Florey
Waiver for all?
The ACT government has waived a lease variation charge to ACT Tennis for varying its lease to enable it to re-develop the site – presumably, like other sporting clubs doing the same thing, for residential and/or commercial re-development ("Tennis body granted waiver of payout", May 26, p2). The Chief Minister says the charge is being waived because the development will include an indoor tennis centre, which will "make brand new sports facilities available to Canberrans".
Does that mean that, when the Canberra City Bowling Club is ready to re-develop its land in Braddon, it will not have to pay a lease variation charge if it includes an indoor bowling green in the development?
R.S. Gilbert, Braddon
Matters of choice
I drew an interesting parallel between Ross Fitzgerald's opinion piece "Let the dying taste freedom" (Times2, May 26, p1) on euthanasia liberation and Jenny Goldie's letter to the editor (May 26).
She pointed out that while the original intention of women's liberation was to give women a choice to work, these days, most women have no choice but to work if they wish to meet their own, their families' and society's expectations.
If assisted suicide is similarly liberated, we could soon find ourselves living in a world where we no longer have a choice but are expected to die prematurely rather than let nature take its course.
Margaret Fox, Watson
We give very substantial powers to doctors and other medical staff powers to do things to our bodies that would otherwise render them subject to criminal charges. We do so appropriately on the basis that what they do will be for our benefit and we surround it with strong accountability measures and ethical frameworks.
As I understand the proposals for euthanasia it would involve giving medical staff similar freedom to take action on the request of a person to take a person's life. This it seems to me is to introduce a fundamental contradiction into the heart of the vocation of medical staff. To hand over the power to take human life to anyone is not something that should be done lightly and without careful consideration.
Doug Hynd, Stirling
Solutions please
Jack Waterford was on a very high horse in his sanctimonious tirade against this nation's approach to asylum seekers ( "Abbott holds the cards in an early election", Forum, May 23, p1). Implicit in his outrage was the view that we should open our borders and hang the consequences. Policy purity is so easy for the politically impotent.
This is a very difficult issue and it would be illuminating if the revered Waterford would risk outlining his thoughts on what he would do to solve the problem.
H. Ronald, Jerrabomberra, NSW
IS strategy needed It was interesting reading Nicholas Stuart's thoughts on the current state of the fight against Islamic State ("Ramadi's fall demonstrates a strategy in tatters", Times2, May 27, p5) and the failure of strategies to halt IS advances and consolidation in Iraq and Syria.
Just over seven months ago, Mr Stuart was embedded with Australian forces in the Middle East and he reported a fortnight after the US bombing campaign began ("The fight against IS is military physics in action", Times2, October 21, p5) that the then Australian commander in the Middle East advised in part during a dinner conversation that "it's difficult forming a coalition, but defeating IS isn't a challenging task".
This article hinted at the likely problems facing the coalition in Iraq, but it's obvious based on recent events there and in Syria, that the application of military physics to halt and defeat IS has not worked as well as originally envisaged.
After the initial flurry of TV footage taken during the RAAF's early participation in the coalition bombing campaign, media coverage of progress made by Australia's combat and training missions has largely disappeared, unless a senior member of the government visits Iraq.
Thankfully, Nicholas Stuart provides irregular updates on Australia's involvement and the success or otherwise of implementing coalition strategy to support the Iraqi government in defeating IS.
It does indeed look like it's time for a new strategy, but given recent history and the players involved, what's the likelihood of future success?
John Gillies, Lyneham
Passport equality
The progressive and much-needed changes to the Australian Citizenship Act to eliminate citizens with dual passports from fighting and killing overseas appears conveniently directed at Muslims, much to their chagrin.
The government needs to assure Australians that the same will apply to the dual-passported Israelis who for years have abused this weak link and have gone to Israel to serve in the IDF, which has been implicated in some dubious battlefield tactics against Palestinians.
A confirmation of this equal status should be sought by any Australian interested in justice and the reason for those "special arrangements" that Israel enjoys with the federal government, particularly with Foreign Affairs.
Rex Williams, Ainslie
Good English
Colin Glover (Letters, May 25) and George W Gerrity (Letters, May 27) are both right. Everyone needs to reach competency in the use of the English language to be able to function in this world of words. This is particularly true at academic levels, and specifically in the writing of theses, journal articles, essays and material for wider public reading.
The clever people who have the knowledge need to be able to impart it in clear terms to all of us. Quite right: We can't be a clever country if we neglect the teaching of English in all its aspects. This includes the teaching of plain English – the sort of English that uses everyday words, straightforward sentence structures that are clear to most of the population, and not just to a select audience. Non-native speakers of English have to learn English to survive in English-speaking countries, so they tend to be willing to absorb English grammar and so on to make themselves understood. Native speakers, on the other hand, acquire English grammar as they grow, and maybe with some good teaching at school – if they are lucky.
They don't have to learn it as a second language. I wish that all children could be exposed to learning a second language (no matter which one) because it would tell them that there are patterns in word and sentence structure in that other language. And that would tell them that there must therefore be some sort of patterning in English that might be useful to them. I wish.
Elizabeth Manning Murphy, Isaacs
Centrelink IT
Minister for Human Services Marise Payne claims (Letters, May 28) that, inter alia, "Our IT system is so antiquated that we cannot provide information about a claim to customers in real time". Well it wasn't always so. Centrelink was formed in 1997 and was called the Commonwealth Service Delivery Agency before the name Centrelink was chosen. It was, in fact, a renamed Department of Social Security, and DSS was chosen to be the core department of the new agency because, among all other service delivery agencies in the Commonwealth, it was by far the best in terms of speed, accuracy, availability and reliability of IT services to its own frontline counter staff and customers. Since Centrelink was formed, the department has suffered budget cuts and efficiency dividends, as have other departments, but the lack of support and properly directed investment in the IT branches over the past few years have been marked.
There is even an endemic antipathy among newly arrived senior IT SES staff to the traditional, successful IT systems which enabled DSS to outperform all others.
I fear it will get a lot worse before it gets better.
George Beaton, Greenway
To the point
BID TO SAVE CANBERRA
The battle to save Canberra has been joined ("Heritage experts lobby for Canberra", May 28, p1). The sooner Andrew Barr goes, the better. He couldn't run a bath.
Bill O'Connell, Waramanga
FIFA ARRESTS PLEASING
It is fantastic news that US investigators have rounded up some of the thugs in the FIFA mafia. Football fans around the world had despaired at ever seeing corrupt officials charged, because FIFA did not tolerate external scrutiny and threatened all who attempted to do that.
Rajend Naidu, Glenfield, NSW
LICKED BY LEGALESE
I rarely have to consult a dictionary when reading the Canberra Times (unless it's an item written by Jack Waterford). But I was flummoxed by "non-refoulement obligations" ('Sex offender's torture fears overruled", May 25, p2). Even my six-centimetre-thick dictionary offered no clue. Perhaps uncommon and unusual terminology could, in future, be explained by Canberra Times' writers for their less learned readers?
Gordon Fyfe, Kambah
PICKING ON THE POOR
Tony Abbott's promise to govern for all looks hollow when he facilitates a race to the bottom in government cleaning contracts ("Public service building cleaners slam wage cuts," May 27, p7). Abbott's axing of the $500 super benefit for lower waged was premonitory. Ned Kelly only robbed banks; Abbott robs the poor.
Albert M. White, Queanbeyan, NSW
FAREWELL TO AUTUMN
A delightful article by Megan Gorrey ("Last of autumn brings dynamic weather", May 28, p3) with beautiful photos complemented by beautiful writing to give a complete picture of the end of a colourful season.
Peter Stubbs, Gungahlin
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