If the Australian government – only after careful consideration of the environmental consequences, of course – concludes that Australia can, and should, have a larger population, then this should be done by immigration, not by stimulating fertility.

Increasing the birth rate adds to the population, whereas immigration merely redistributes it. Immigration must start with refugee resettlement.

Colin Groves, O'Connor

For some years now I have been following Gwynne Dyer's column in The Canberra Times and other English language newspapers and I always find myself in agreement with his analysis. However, I cannot agree with his latest one ("Terrorism – a lethal nuisance", Sunday Focus, March 27, p19).

To call "lethal nuisance" the state of anxiety created by terrorist attacks, however small the number of victims, among the affected populations is to underestimate the potentiality for major social upheavals with possible disastrous consequences across Western societies.

It would only take a series of geographically random but regularly executed terror attacks to bring about massive paranoia, distrust and aggressiveness among otherwise peaceful people.

It is not about being killed in one of those attacks. It is about the possibility of being killed that unsettles my mind.

Acceptance, with or without complacency, is not the solution to the terrorist threat. Our governments need to seriously talk to each other and to the countries where terrorism originates and tackle the real causes that lead young men and women to such desperation.

Let's start by trying to stop all those horrible civil wars.

John Rodriguez, Florey

There is a grain of truth in Gwynn Dyer's view that terrorism is not quite the existential threat some would have us believe. That reality were so simple, a shrug of the shoulders, bury your dead, care for the injured, clean up the mess and sleep walk until the next atrocity. Easy. I would be interested to read Dyer's insights into what we should do about this worldwide nuisance.

H. Ronald, Jerrabomberra

If taxpayers are to be charged at least $30,000 to commission an artist to immortalise Bronwyn Bishop in an official portrait (Canberra Times, March 26, p3), can the taxpayers nominate Canberra Times cartoonist, David Pope, to be the artist?

Margaret Langford, Braddon

The Oxford Dictionary's definition of a concentration camp is: A place in which large numbers of people, especially political prisoners or members of persecuted minorities, are deliberately imprisoned in a relatively small area with inadequate facilities.

I think this perfectly describes Australia's so-called detention centres.

Felicity Chivas, Scullin

I feel I must comment on the dreadful behaviour of supposed Raiders fans shown on the front page of the Sunday Canberra Times (March 27), which shows four "fans" hanging over the railings above the entrance to the officials' tunnel, no doubt shouting abuse at the match officials while three burly "security" guards look on.

I think the Raiders would have some explaining to do.

How did those idiots get there in the first place and what were the "security" guards securing?

I have been associated with rugby league as a match official for several decades and know full well the dangers that these officials faced. Those idiots could well have been armed with some lethal missile or other dangerous material.

David Cook, Evatt

The article addressing the book Generation Less (Sunday Canberra Times, March 27, P13) details that (today) there are fewer opportunities for full-time work and affordable housing, creating a new "precariat" social class (in Australia) lacking security and predictability. Welcome to Australia's post-modern society which ended the age of certainty, probably when you were mapping your route to the top.

The new "precariat" is the victim of slick marketing that sees the bogan residence as something everyone has to have.

In South America and some North African countries, if they tried this type of con, people would be out in the streets smashing shop windows, stealing whitegoods and burning cars. In the Western world, people are more like good old Boxer, the horse in Animal Farm who conceded on his way to the glue factory that this must be good for me.

A big problem for the "precariat" is that the first home owners grant, currently $15,000 in NSW, is tacked on to the price of what you buy and if it is increased to say $20,000, house prices will go up by another $5000 and there is also mortgage insurance - there are no free feeds for "precariat" home buyers.

Les Brennan, Sunshine Bay, NSW

There is something seriously wrong with schools that need volunteer teachers' aids to operate.

It's even worse when the volunteer, Sam Johnston, BA, DipEd, is a fully qualified music teacher forced to "get experience" ("'Generation Less' poorer than their parents, new book reveals", Sunday CT, March 27, p12).

In general, too much industry is bludging on charity labour and that doesn't even mention the hordes of temporary visa holders exploited in this country as virtual slave labour. Major changes are needed to industrial relations in this country.

The economic and political theorists need to recognise that it is impossible to maintain a basic wage in a country which does not protect its labour force and the industries which employ it.

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor

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